Disclaimer: Pokémon is still 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.

Chapter 51: What To Do

Keith turned the computer off. Part of him didn't want to, but he knew he needed to step away and get some fresh air. He'd read all he could, things weren't going to change unless someone jumped out of a building again.

What had happened in Rustboro scared him. It reminded him very much of what had happened in Kalos. In Coumarine and in Durocor, and those were just the ones he knew a lot about thanks to being there or having Danny and Max provide information. This sounded just as bad. Worse, maybe.

And somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling that both of them were involved as well. There were just a few too many things that didn't add up if you looked closely and read a lot of sources. Some were obvious, like the anonymous Trainers who had defended the Pokémon School: he'd seen a lot of talk about who that could have been. Most people seemed to think it was Phoebe, though, which didn't make sense. She…

He shook his head again. "No more, Keith," he told himself. "Starting to obsess."

The autumn air was crisp. Midday where they were meant temperatures below freezing on about half the days, and there'd been a cold snap. Not to the point of snow as high as his waist, but enough to coat everything in white and force winter boots instead of just a good pair of shoes.

Honestly, as much as he'd not really liked snow at first… It was pretty fun to play in, and warming up afterwards was pretty tasty. Travelling in it wasn't great, though. He was used to cold by now, after several months in Kalos and Sinnoh each, but snow? It tired him out, having to watch his step all the time.

Luckily, they didn't need to travel too much. Only one more badge, and that was on the way to the cabins. Seven Pokémon Center hops would get them to the last Gym, and the cabins were only a few hops from there.

He found Jane in the lobby of the Center, on the phone. She looked like she wanted to go outside, but had stopped to call first. "… injured now out of the hospital," Jane's father said. He was wearing work scrubs, and it was clear that he had just finished a shift. Which was weird. Didn't shifts end at eight in the morning or so? It was half past ten. "Oh, hey Keith."

"And they don't know who was responsible?" Jane asked after grabbing and squeezing Keith's hand affectionately. "At all?"

"Nothing. A few of the arrested Trainers were identified as thugs with prior police contact. Most of those are still being treated."

"The school or the square?" Keith interjected.

"School. The square mostly involved lacerations, which aren't hard to treat." A sigh. "Whoever defended that school had no mercy."

"What kind of injuries did they have?" Jane asked. "Or is that something…"

"I can't tell you?" the senior nurse finished with a smile on his face, lifting his thin moustache up a bit. "Not my patients, and this is public knowledge regardless of that. People talk." He raised a hand. "Blunt trauma because something exploded near them. Light frostbite on a few due to Ice Beam application to keep them in place. General cuts from debris and some larger ones consistent with thin blades or large Razor Leaves. One or two serious burns." The hand went down, four fingers vanishing from view. "The blunt trauma and the cuts are the worst. Some of them have concussions, two of them have haematomas, and others have tracheal injuries – that's your windpipe."

Keith raised a hand to his neck. It would be hard to speak if you got hurt there. "And what is the government doing?" Jane asked. "Nothing? Like usual?"

"You are not coming back here, and that is final."

"You can't tell me that."

"Listen, Jane. I have seen too many injuries from attacks this year. Please don't make me see yours too. You agree, right, Keith?"

"I don't want to see her injured," he replied, somewhat on autopilot.

Jane gasped and her father nodded before ending the call with a quick "I love you."

That left Keith with an angry girlfriend. "You… You think I'm fragile?"

His instinct was to laugh. He barely didn't, her angry look forcing it back. "Groudon no," he said, shaking his head as he reached for her hand. "But I don't want to see you injured. That's logical, right?"

Her angry look melted a bit. "You know that's not what Dad meant," Jane replied, squeezing his hand a bit hard, but it was fine. "He doesn't want me to help out when, when… When this reminds me so much of Kalos."

She finished in a whisper, making Keith look around. There weren't any others near. Not even the Nurse was visible. "You and me both," he whispered back. "Go outside?"

Neither of them talked as they walked into the autumn snow, and it wasn't long before the Pokémon Center was no longer visible in the distance. Snow glare made him wish he had brought sunglasses. Sneasel liked it, though. "I want to go back and help."

Keith blinked. Jane was rarely that forceful. More with him, but… "And do what?"

"I don't know, but… We can't just stay here, Keith. People are getting injured and worse! It…" His girlfriend kicked a snow drift, then pulled a low-hanging branch down. It showered them in snow. He wiped it from his eyes automatically. "Did you see what Rustboro police said? From the anonymous Trainer at the Pokémon School?"

Of course he had. "Hyper Beams. Intent to kill." He felt dead inside just saying the words. "Stopped with Pokémon help."

"That's a school. With children inside. And there's been all those other attacks too. Festivals, daycares, hospitals, everything!"

It was all true. Terrifying, but true. Keith's stomach turned. He knew where they'd end up in a week or so. Nearest port was only two hops away, and always ice-free. "So... What do you want to do?"

~~§~~§~~

Evan was pretty fucking glad he was not in Hoenn. Lots of people got hurt, and you had to pay a fine to own Dark-type Pokémon? Or hand them over? Fuck that.

Besides, Sinnoh being so cold was actually neat. Sure, they'd started in Snowpoint and maybe got in two days of travel so far between early season blizzards and a landslide that had blocked a route for a few days, but snowball fights were fun and great to train a bunch of his Pokémon in. Easy soft obstacles to throw for dodging, and Chris's Psychic Pokémon got in on it too. Warming up afterwards was also really nice, with hot chocolate and a lot of laughter.

Chris was fun to be around. A bit weird, but fun. Not a great battler, but he'd said that he didn't mind Evan doing the Gym Challenge, and he was always happy. Sometimes too fucking happy.

Evan headed downstairs, finding his companion waiting for him. "C'mon. I found something neat earlier."

Shaking his head at the early waking habits – at least Chris had learned to get out of bed quietly and let Evan sleep, just as the twelve year old had learned to climb up to the top of the bunk beds very quietly – Evan followed his friend down a pretty snowy path. There hadn't been many people walking there. Only a few footprints were present, and also a few Pokémon paw prints. Probably sneasel or snover. He wasn't great with recognising those, but they were local.

After about ten minutes, Chris went off the path into the forest, and Evan followed. Absol came out, just so she could warn them if something was near. She was the best at that, even as young as she was.

There wasn't a peep from her until…

Until Evan saw the most beautiful sight he'd seen. Ever.

They were on top of a cliff, maybe five hundred feet up. All in front of them was most of route 217; flat, covered in snow, white as far as the eye could see, complete silence except for wind gently blowing and soft breathing. Trees were only visible because they were taller than what was around them. There was another cliff in the distance, but it was far away. Not sure how far. Hard to tell, not that Evan cared. He could stand and watch for hours in the dim sunlight. It was gorgeous.

"Told you."

"You fucking did," Evan replied. Flashes of orange appeared and disappeared in the distance, about two-thirds of the way to the other cliff. Was that the main road? People travelling? With a Fire-type to melt snow? "Never seen anything like it."

"I know. It's just so quiet and beautiful and –"

"Sol!"

Absol's bark prompted both of them to turn around, Evan's hand going to his belt, but it was only a… Sneasel?

A sneasel that dragged itself out of the woods before collapsing into the snow.

It was wounded. Badly wounded. Blood dripped onto the snow, but only a little, coming from an open wound: a broken arm. The bone broke skin, too. It was easily visible, and Evan hurried closer.

Then the sneasel lifted itself on its right arm and started forming an attack. Icy Wind? "We want to help!" Evan said quickly. He spread his arms away from his body and knelt in the snow. "Not trying to hurt you." Absol did an attack behind him, but it was nowhere near them. "Stop it."

The attack vanished. Sneasel looked him in the eye, winced, and moved its head back slowly.

Did it… Did it want him to come closer? He crept forward, half a foot. No response. Another half foot. Nothing. A foot. Two feet. He froze when absol did another attack, but it was again nowhere near. He resumed. Another four feet, and then… Touching distance of the Pokémon.

It looked younger. Smaller than the sneasels he had seen. Hurt badly, too. The broken bone wasn't the only thing. A gash ran down its left side, and he saw a splinter stuck in there. Looked deep too. "You need help," Evan said, and his hand went to his belt, only for the Icy Wind to come back, inches from his face. "I'm trying to fucking help you."

"It's… It's scared," Chris said from behind him, and Evan looked over his shoulder to see the teenager several feet back, his mime jr. in his arms. "At least mime jr. thinks so. Scared of the ball?"

"And it needs help or it's going to bloody die." The Icy Wind faltered, right ear feeling less cold. "What do you want me to do? Nothing?" He was not going to do nothing!

"No! But…" Chris looked left, where they'd come from. "I can go get machoke. He can carry the sneasel."

"Can't we carry it?"

A Pokédex appeared. "Average weight… Twenty-five to thirty pounds. Machoke's safer. Also better for sneasel." The Psychic-type vanished. "I'll be back as soon as I can!"

To Evan's surprise, as Chris hurried off, absol barked once, before running off with him. That was weird, but not the first time it had happened. Absol had reasons for it. Probably because the older boy would run into a tree or something if she didn't come. Had happened before.

"Sel?" the Pokémon wheezed out.

He laid down so he was eye-level. It was cold, but needed. "Gone to get a Pokémon so we can carry you. You're too…"

"Free?"

The fucking hell was butterfree doing out? Evan slowly moved back a few inches before looking at his Bug-type, who was… Sitting on snow? And pawniard was there too!? The hell were they doing? Pawniard… Leapt up? What in darkrai's name?

Evan tried to get up, but a spot of iced snow nearly made him slip.

Wait a minute. Slip. Snow. Sled!

Absol was a genius. No, all his Pokémon were. He looked around, clearing snow from himself. "Over here's a good branch," he called to his pawniard, and the Steel-type struggled through the snow before jumping up and slicing. It fell, Evan collected it, and he went over to butterfree, also collecting the other few branches that had already been cut. He held them together in the middle. "Best String Shot you have, butterfree. Here, here, and here," he said, pointing at the top, bottom, and middle in that order.

The Bug got to work immediately.

~~§~~§~~

Alice looked at the letter with a lot of dread inside her. Her parents hadn't written a letter since… Since she'd let something slip not too long after Paul had been arrested. That had gone over bad. She'd sent two more letters after that, but there hadn't been any replies.

Until now.

"Stop looking at it like it's a voltorb," Linda said, trying to lighten the mood. Alice recognised it, but she didn't feel it. "C'mon Alice. Y'know it's not gonna get better."

"n' wha' if they… If they…"

The Unovan girl wrapped her in a hug. Brief, strong, warm. "We'll figure it out. You are not alone."

"Might be…"

"We won't let ya."

"We?"

Linda gave her a weird look. "Jane. Keith. Danny. Max. Me. Y'know. Friends?"

Two of those friends were probably in Hoenn right now. Alice really didn't need to think about that and what they were doing. "And they're ma…"

"C'mon, let's find out if it's bad."

It was. Three lines in, Alice's eyes blurred with tears. Linda was there with tissues. She dried them, and read on.

Two interruptions later, Alice got to the end. In three words, anger flooded in. The letter was in pieces in seconds. Only Linda grabbing her wrists stopped her. "I'm sorry."

"F'r wha? Havin' pieces o' trash 'rents? Hyp'crit emboar turds! Sayin'… Sayin' tha'!"

"I know, Alice. I know," Linda replied, one hand in Alice's hair. It calmed her a bit. "Tellin' someone ya love her when… What do ya want to do?"

"Huh?"

"How do ya want to tell them to fuck off." Alice's first thought was impossible, but she replied anyway. "Damn girl. No prisoners. Even Paul gets better."

"Paul's sorry. They're no'. Won't be." She knew them well enough for that, even in her anger. "Dun' work, though."

"Ya know… Auntie once told me tha' there's a good kind of revenge. Y'wanna get a head start on tha'?"

"Wha're ya talkin' abou'?"

"Living well is the best revenge." Another hand in her hair. "Wanna start?"

Yes. Yes, Alice wanted to. She leant forward, meeting Linda halfway.

~~§~~§~~

Working around the Littleroot Laboratory had been a good distraction, but after a couple of days, something inside Danny had started to itch. He had learned valuable things, for right now and for later, sure. Capabilities of the Public Intelligence Agency and their agents, and strategies they could employ; radio frequencies that local police forces used to communicate; opinions on what was going on for all Gym Leaders; locations of a few Trainers of note – Max and Sidney notably invisible for the past few days, but Misty being on an island south of Sootopolis had caught his eye, as well as a name in Fallarbor that had been very strange to see – and, of course, plenty of ways to care for Pokémon. Including a particularly fidgety young seviper who'd decided his arm was a good chewing toy.

Antivenin never tasted nice, but at least the bite hadn't been deep, so he wouldn't need to change bandages for a week. The skin wasn't even sore any more. "I'll stop wearing these tomorrow," he told his uncle as the Professor walked into the living area. Danny had been there for about twenty minutes already, after taking a look at the mostly empty medical wing and asking for a medical opinion from one of the ones present there. "Taylor said it was probably okay."

"Maybe next time you'll remember to grab seviper behind the head properly," his uncle replied, undoubtedly smirking. Danny affected being wounded when the man looked in his direction. "It's happened to all of us. Sometimes it's a seviper, sometimes it's an arbok, and the unlucky few eat beedrill stings and can't sit properly for a week."

"Dad told me about that." It had been funnier when he was newly twelve, though. Probably because of experience? "Does he know I'm here?"

"Not unless Norman told him." his uncle replied, sitting down with a small glass of something alcoholic in his hand. "Though I suspect he knows you are okay regardless. Have you been writing?"

"Sent a letter when I was in Fortree, told Professor Oak to send it on." Sidney had suggested that roundabout way so it didn't reveal where he was. "Been sending one about monthly. This one just took a bit longer because, y'know." His uncle did, acknowledging it with a nod. "Should I write one tomorrow?"

There wasn't an immediate answer. The silence didn't become uncomfortable, though. "You should write one before you leave."

What? How did…

"How did I know? Not by reading your mind," the adult in the room said, reading Danny's mind. "It's not something you said, but you were a little too interested in who was where yesterday and earlier this week."

Danny had nothing to say to that. "That obvious?"

"A bit. And you're not even fifteen. Kids your age," his uncle said, affecting an old man voice for a moment, "are supposed to be out and about. And for all your adventures, you're no exception."

Yep. That obvious. "It's just…" Danny started at length, before shaking his head. That wasn't what he wanted to say. "I like it here, I really do, but I feel like I can do more out there."

"And where do you propose you go?"

"To find Phoebe." If anyone knew where either Sidney or Max could be, it would be her. He was certain of it. "Or meet up with Serena if I can't do that."

"Logical. However, I have a different proposal." From somewhere, his uncle produced a brown envelope; the kind that reminded Danny of spy films. "I know, it's a classic. Your mother actually gave these to me a few years ago." Then, he slid the envelope across the table, and opening it revealed a man that looked vaguely familiar. "This is Charles Cavendish, one of the few aristocrats left in Hoenn. He was the one responsible for funding that laboratory in the Aso Mountains, though he has been silent on the second time someone rampaged through that place last month." Danny lifted a set of photographs. Aerial shots. Drawings of the area, labelled. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to—"

"Hold on!" Danny interjected his uncle's cliché statement. "Are you really getting me into this? You realise that—"

"You don't have any Pokémon capable of stealth, coercion, or transport, yes. Which is why there are two pokéballs for transport, a third to disable the alarm system through an electromagnetic pulse, and a fourth to make him more… Amenable."

"That's not what I was going to say," Danny replied, but it did answer a few questions. "Just… Why are you asking me to do this?"

His uncle gave him a long look. "I thought that would be obvious." He raised his hand. "You have motive, because of what he funded. You have the skill to work with any Pokémon. You have the knowledge to ask the right questions. Most importantly, you're not known as an agent."

The fourteen year old sighed. It sounded stupid beyond all belief. Using a teenager to do spy stuff was literally reading material in the last year of school.

But at the same time, he couldn't deny any of what was said. And it explained why he was currently near Fallarbor, according to the withdrawal system. "Who put you up to this? Lance?"

"The venerable Grand Champion of Kanto knows nothing of this. He would be quite cross if I were to ask permission for this. Luckily, I am the Pokémon Professor of Hoenn. His approval is quite literally irrelevant." Then, his uncle smiled. "Besides, it's much easier to ask forgiveness than permission."

"As you're doing now," Danny observed, before shaking his head ruefully. "And what if I don't do it?"

"And here I thought you wanted to find Phoebe." He slid a note across the table. Coordinates. North-east of Rustboro. A time. Three nights from now. "She'll meet you there."

~~§~~§~~

Slateport was muted, and not because it was eight o'clock and pleasantly chilly. May had been here several times before for a Grand Festival, but this year, it was very different. The government had called for a state of emergency, restricting a lot of things, up to and including a curfew between midnight and six in the morning. Which hadn't made any sense because there hadn't been any attacks at night. Drew had looked that up, and while there'd been a few just after six o'clock, they weren't exactly common.

If she hadn't been suspicious of them already because of what she'd known had happened to her little brother, she figured she would be now.

Most of the other Coordinators seemed sort of okay with the restrictions. They weren't happy, but… They could live with them. At least, May thought that from what she'd overheard in the past few days. Some of the stronger ones who could go toe to toe with her weren't as happy. Bunch of them used Psychic or Ghost-types for advanced techniques in the Performance Stages. Those Types were good at that, everyone with a brain knew. They weren't discussing that in public as much, though, for some reason.

Hopefully, it wouldn't cause too much disruption for the Grand Festival itself. There were guards everywhere: even at the edge of the Coordinator Village where all of them were staying, May easily spotted two, with dangerous-looking Steel-types – excadrill and durant – standing guard nearby. They were for 'the protection of the Coordinators', which was kind of weird because nobody had any of the Types on them – it was illegal after all – and even then, Contests came with battle segments too. Now that everyone knew what was coming, everyone was prepared.

The sixteen year old shook her head. No need to think about that now. She'd come here to clear her mind. The move she'd chosen had been decided a while ago: blaziken was going to breakdance a Fire Spin into existence, which should score well with the judges. Fire-type moves always did if you did them right: keeping the destruction in check was a big plus, and while breakdancing wasn't what anyone would call traditionally graceful, it worked.

The rest was up to who she was facing. Hopefully, she could get a decent seed. Get some momentum going before tossing out venusaur or something. She was fairly confident: Petal Blizzard had shored up a lot of weaknesses and…

Hang on. That girl looked familiar. She blinked, shading her eyes against the morning sun, and checked more closely. Wasn't that…

Huh. What was she doing here? Last May had heard, Serena was in Johto, going around there. Was she here for the Grand Festival? There weren't as many people coming in for that, and the more May thought about it, even just a bit, the weirder it seemed. She could think of a few people who'd like to talk to the Kalosian because of Max.

Sixteen and paranoid. Way to go. With a soft snort, she sent out beautifly, pointing one of her oldest Pokémon at the girl in the distance. The hat made her easily recognisable. "Get her to wait."

It happened, and about a minute and a half later, May jogged up on the fourteen year old. "May Maple. I wasn't expecting this now," Serena said, adjusting the damaged reddish hat on her head. "Just my luck. You want to talk?"

May let the cold attitude wash over her. If Max had said something about anything in August, Serena would not like her. "If we can."

It was surprisingly easy to find a place that was somewhat quiet. They had to go out of the village, not that it really mattered because security was everywhere in Slateport. At this hour, cafés were pretty empty, and only open because of the Grand Festival, and they entered the second one they found, taking a seat in the back. A braixen – Kalosian Fire-type starter, evolved into delphox, Fire and Psychic, May's mind provided without having to go for her Pokédex – came out. "I can guess what you want to talk about."

She had to play this carefully, May realised. Max's kidnapping wasn't public knowledge, and she had no real idea where her brother was right now. But… "Did you get in through Rustboro?"

"I did. Two weeks ago. Before everything happened." A waiter appeared, casting a weird look at the braixen. "I'll have a salad and some rice, and… Green tea."

"A Slateport omelette and green tea, please," May replied in turn. The waiter left. "I'm sure you could've helped there."

"I would have, and hated every minute of it," was not the answer that the sixteen year old was expecting, and it must've shown on her face. "I know what the right thing to do is. Doesn't mean I have to like doing it. I was somewhere east of Oldale by then."

May ignored the verbal jab. "Did you get the news on it?"

"First big attack by some kind of local crime group in two years. And an attack of that mysterious disease you Hoennites have got going on." A hand went out to the Fire-type's neck. "I ordered an Everstone for a reason." Serena fixed May with a cool look. "Wasn't Brock involved there? You probably know more than I do."

"Well, I don't. Been around Slateport for a month, and it's not like I can just call Brock."

"Oh, right. Everyone cut you off." When May opened her mouth, a glare closed it again. "They fled Hoenn because of you, May. You didn't trust Max. You didn't trust one of your best friends. And then, somehow what you said got out." Serena inhaled and exhaled loudly, and May found herself following suit to not blow up. She didn't need that. "I want to like you, but right now… I don't think I can."

Wanted to like her? "What?"

"Contests and Showcases aren't that different. Max and Danny helped me when I decided I wanted to become a Performer. You know how many times Max said something about what you had done? Or how many times I looked up videos of you?" Another deep breath from the teenager opposite her. "You using your combusken and blaziken gave me so many ideas with braixen. I won my first ever Showcase because I saw what you could do with a Fire-type. How to use flame for performing. The beauty of something so dangerous. And then…" Serena snapped her fingers. "You threw it away because you said something."

"I didn't," May bit out, before taking another deep breath. "I swear, Serena, I didn't tell anyone."

"Yeah, sure." The waiter arrived with their food, placing it on the table. "You think I'd trust you over Max?"

"No," May said instantly. That caused a raised eyebrow at least. "You don't know me. You saved your region with my brother. I can't beat that."

There was no response as both of them started to eat their food. The omelette was good, though May wasn't too hungry after what they'd talked about. She pushed past the unease. Not eating enough breakfast meant she'd be off her game if she was up early in the first round.

They finished at nearly the same time, Serena one bite behind May and with less of her tea drunk. "So. You want to talk about Max."

"I just want to know if you've heard of him recently."

"I haven't received a single letter or call in two months."

Of course she hadn't. Her brother was too like Ash. Couldn't stay away even if it was safer to do that. Which meant not writing and staying silent. Below the radar. "And that doesn't bother you?"

"They have their reasons. Maybe they did write to Professor Oak last week, but because I'm in Hoenn, that letter won't get sent on." The Kalosian teenager shrugged smoothly before taking a sip of her tea. "I don't understand why you're trying to get back in Max's good graces anyway. He doesn't see you as family, you know."

Even now, that still stung. "Because he's still my brother, and… And I need to apologise."

"For what?"

"A bunch of stuff." She made a show of looking around. "Can you help me?"

There was a short pause, but May thought that Serena wasn't too surprised. "You're better off calling Professor Oak and asking or begging that he doesn't toss your letter into the fire. Or maybe just going there outright and explaining why you did what you did."

"I…" Why was this so hard? "I guess that'd work…"

"Good. Now that that's over with… What are you going to do for your first round?"

~~§~~§~~

Serena was convinced of one thing after the first day of the Hoenn Grand Festival, she mused as xatu took her back out of town, vanishing from an alleyway Max had told her about the day before. That was that whoever was responsible for the seating in the Grand Festival stadium really needed to get some better materials. Her butt felt wooden and she'd even made sure to take walks before sitting down somewhere else. Every single seat had been the same downright bad quality.

Everywhere else was better. Heck, the ground was probably better if you didn't sit on a rock or a branch.

Max lookeda little bit tired when she saw him, which meant he'd probably just tried Mega Evolution for the second time half an hour ago. "No progress?"

"A bit. Not in the way you think, though."

"Oh?" Serena said, sitting down against a tree. Much more comfortable, and also right in the breeze that came from the sea. The fire sparked a little as the breeze picked up, but braixen had come out the moment that xatu dropped her off. "Finally able to dodge a weak Shadow Ball without feeling like you're fifty?"

"That too," Max admitted with a grin. He'd been pretty happy that he was on the mend – clefairy doing two Healing Wishes on two different nights didn't hurt, probably – but there were limits to how much she could do. It made Serena suspect that there'd been more injuries than he let on or maybe even knew. "I tried using anger again, but… Manectric straight up didn't go along. That's progress. Better no Mega Evolution at all than have both of us tired, if we're caught in an attack again."

That did sound at least a bit useful. "Anything else? Apart from you clearly trying some other emotion. Wouldn't be the way you are if you hadn't."

"Got tempted to catch a Pokémon, but he got away before poliwhirl reached it." Max rose, walking steadily, not a sign of nearly falling over, and handed her his Pokédex. "This one."

Frillish. Water and Ghost-type. Mainly Unovan, but could live everywhere with sufficiently deep water. "Looks like something you'd use. Or Danny," Serena added as she saw the Abilities they could have. Weird Pokémon. "Planning a trip to Unova now?"

The boy chuckled as he took his Pokédex back. "Hell no. With my luck, I'll end up fighting Team Plasma when they try to make a comeback or something. Danny would have my head if that happened. A bit of peace and… What."

She tried to keep a straight face at the thought that had just occurred to her. "You. Peace and quiet? Re-really?" she said as she lost the fight. "You – haha – you've got to be kidding."

She laughed for a good minute or so, and when she finally came down from her high, she saw Max look at her with the widest smile she'd seen all week. "Okay, yeah, point," he said, before grabbing something. It turned out to be a stick, and he tossed it onto the fire. Tried to anyway. Xatu snapped in half and slowed it first. "Does it bother you?"

"Does what?"

"That I…" The smile vanished. Fast. "That gardevoir and I want to find the one who kidnapped his mother and me and…"

Oh, that. "No. A little, maybe," Serena said when Max snorted in suddenly angry disbelief. "But if I learned anything last year, it's that trying to convince you doesn't always work." A thought occurred to her, and after a moment, she chose to voice it. "Why didn't you just go to him anyway. He's a politician. Should be easy to find him, right?"

"He's a former spy. Danny and Reginald were prepared to get me out with a distraction and everything, and they still nearly… nearly failed." Max gulped loudly, and xatu was suddenly at his side. As was clefairy. "It… I'm not sure how long I…"

"What did he do to you?" Serena spoke slowly, torn if she should go over and hug him. He definitely looked like he could use one.

"Didn't Danny tell you?"

"I want to hear it from you." She ignored the voice that told her she sounded like her mother. "I know you told him, and he told me, but… It's different, hearing it from you."

"I don't see the difference," Max said, before shaking his head. "But I promised."

The story wasn't long. There wasn't much you could tell about being stuck inside a basement for several days, being fed and tortured a few times a day. Max was right: Serena had heard it from Danny before, except for some details near the end. "Not the first time you were drawing strength from the bond, right?"

"Huh?"

"Mega Evolution. Didn't you say—"

"Oh, yeah. It's not the same, but I guess?" Max said, sounding a bit confused.

"Of course it's not the same. You never got to the point where you had to lean on manectric just to stay awake," Serena said. "But didn't you tell us that you had that one moment when facing yveltal? I think that counts."

A cloud passed overhead, obscuring the waxing moon. It made it harder to see Max's reaction, but the chuckle told Serena enough, and a bit of relief and glee flooded into her. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. How come you remember that."

"Maybe I'm just smarter than you," Serena shot back, as arrogantly as she could.

She didn't even make it to three before both of them burst into peals of laughter, echoing around the island and lifting their spirits. "Oh man," Max said at length, half-wheezing. Serena felt that in her own chest. "I needed that. It..." He stopped to take a deep breath. "I missed this."

"Reminds you of a simpler time, does it, old man?" Serena said teasingly.

"Heh. Duh, "Max replied. "And funnily, I think I could've said the same last year. And the year before. And maybe even the year before that." He leant back, putting his head on a root and out of Serena's vision – the fire just blocked it. "Never really thought about it that way, but I've seen a lot of strange things, and they all feel worse than the next. Most of them. Kind of have to separate my own travelling from travelling with Ash, though."

"Because of the Tree? First time, I guess."

"In one." A sigh. "I guess that's why May's so negative about Ash now. Her loss."

"I met her today."

"Today already?" Max got back up. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Got lucky," Serena said with a shrug before trying for her best stern look. It felt awkward. She'd used up all her snootiness dealing with May that morning. "Are you certain you want to do this?"

"I think I do," Max said, but even he didn't sound certain. He hadn't either when he'd put the plan forward a day or so ago. "Need to put it behind me. Properly. One last time."

That, too, matched what he had said. It reminded Serena that she needed to ask xatu a few questions. The Mystic Pokémon often might not give answers in a way she could understand, but that just meant she needed to ask very specific questions. "And your request is for a week from now?"

"No sense in having her distracted too much during the Grand Festival. She'll be able to set this aside for long enough. Her seeing me… Not so much." A stretch. "It'd be suspicio-ooouuus. Excuse me."

"You know she'll suspect it's you anyway," Serena said, feeling like she was pointing out the blatantly obvious. "Unless she's got a boyfriend who writes her secret love notes."

To her surprise, Max did not make a gagging sound. It was probably close, though. "Yeah, thanks for that image," he said without heat. "That's why I had you write it. Maybe she'll think it's from one of her Coordinator friends or something. Girl handwriting is a lot different."

"She'll be surprised then." They shared a chuckle. "So. What do you want to do?"

~~§~~§~~

Ash sat down, Lance somehow making him feel like he was the one visiting despite this being his Battle Palace home. "I can guess why you asked me to come over," the Grand Champion and leader of the Pokémon G-men said." He held up a hand. "Your request is granted."

That was… "I'm not going to have to say why?"

"No real need for that after what happened last week and with what Brock and Misty told us," Lance replied, taking an envelope from a pocket. "Of course, you being wanted makes things a bit more difficult, but that's never stopped you before and the Pokémon Centers are neutral."

Which they hadn't always been in Unova. Most of them, yes, but there had been that one time near Mistralton… "Don't tell me I have to leave pikachu behind this time."

"Will I remain unshocked if I tell him to stay in Kanto?" Lance replied, before smiling, and Ash felt pikachu's tail settle on his shoulder. "Unlike Unova, you've got Pokémon that can transport you quickly without standing out. Tropius are common after all. We also have allies who can shelter you." The Grand Champion leant forward, and Ash accepted the envelope. "And if I may be frank, our enemies might suspect you of going there regardless. I would disguise myself and have pikachu stay hidden if you have to traverse a larger city, but I would not go out of my way."

"Hair dye and different hat, then?"

"That's the current fashion, yes," Lance replied. "If it were summer, I would also suggest sunglasses, but those would be out of place this time of year."

"Never did like them anyway." Ash slid a finger under the envelope's flap, flipping it up and seeing several sheets of paper inside. "Not a lot in here."

A smile from the Grand Champion. "The usual analysis of the situation on the ground has been removed, and there is only one person of interest in there. Most of those pages are known contacts or people we know to be friendly."

"Want me to meet up with anyone in particular?"

"That is a good question." Lance sunk into thought, and Ash fished out one sheet of paper, seeing addresses in and near Lilycove, with names and notes. One of them caught his eye in particular, and he shook his head before deciding he'd rather not go there. From what Max had said, his aunt wasn't too hot on Dark-types, and Ash had given her son one. "Perhaps Tate and Liza, if you can arrange a meeting while shaking their tails. Otherwise, there would be meetings that are beneficial, but most of those are unlikely to be in a fixed place."

Once, Ash would've asked for clarification, but after working with Lance for well over two years, he could make good guesses who Lance thought would be worthwhile to meet. "Which Gym Leaders are opposed again?"

"With Roxanne likely convinced, only Dragon, Ice, and Bug are hostile, as well as Glacia. If it wasn't more expedient for you to go to the east of Hoenn first, I would recommend contacting Brawly to get a lay of the land."

"Brawly?" Laid-back, would-rather-surf Brawly? "Why him?"

"If he is alarmed, then matters are worse than anticipated."

That made sense, Ash decided after a moment. "Okay. Got it. When do you want me to leave?"

"Whenever is expedient for you." That answer was not what Ash was expecting, and apparently, it showed on his face. "You are the Palace Maven. You are out of the way, with not many coming here, but you do have some responsibilities. It is up to you to best navigate them. It is likely better to leave a few days later if it will allow you time to slip into Hoenn unnoticed because nobody is slated to meet you, but I do not know your schedule on that front." Lance rose. "However, I do have one request of you."

The Grand Champion's hand near his belt was noticed. "A battle? To hide the real reason you were here."

"That is one reason, albeit a secondary one. I started this habit of occasionally battling the Frontier Brains before I rose to my position in the G-men, because though our organisations – League and Battle Frontier – are separate entirely, strong Trainers are strong Trainers." Lance smirked. "That this habit occasionally allows me to talk other matters with people without raising undue suspicion is a useful bonus. So, Ash Ketchum, shall we?"

Like he was ever going to say no.

~~§~~§~~

Manectric and xatu clashed, Thundershock – Serena thought, there wasn't much power to it – meeting a new kind of Air Slash that Max had come up with a day or two ago apparently. Instead of a straight slash, this one was more of a curve. A concave one, Max had said, and she'd had to check the dictionary for that, but it fit.

It was also pretty bad at overpowering because the electricity spread too easily, even she could tell that from the distance they were at. "Doesn't do a lot against electricity then."

"Yeah," Max agreed before whistling on his fingers, shrill and sharp. At once, the attack stopped. "Maybe it's better as a blocking attack? Even when it works out better, it doesn't cut as much as a straight line."

"Looks nicer, though. Bet you can make a great contest move out of this," Serena replied. "Bit like jaws biting down on something, right?"

"Yeah, sounds right. And that's a good codeword. Jaws, I mean."

"You rarely use them anyway."

"I know, I know, and I swear xatu knows what I'm thinking half the time."

"Just half the time?" Serena did not buy that. With how long they'd been together, and how much Max interacted with all of his Pokémon, including the newest member of his team… "Max. Be real. You can probably hold a conversation and do battle at the same time. You and your Pokémon are on that level of knowing each other."

"Oh, alright, fine," Max replied, exaggerating a whine. "More than most of my Pokémon then." He sighed, for some reason. "I'd kind of… Forgotten how useful he was? No… Not forgotten…" The teen sunk into thought, and try as he might, it soon became clear to Serena that he couldn't find the right word. "Been relying on gardevoir a bit too much."

She saw his point immediately. Hard not to, after that one time the boys had told her about Max seemingly forgetting about ninjask. "Yeah, you do that. And now it's being fixed, and you're still able to go everywhere." She paused to look him dead in the eye. "Can you imagine if you didn't have xatu? No Teleports?" A tap released meowth. "Speaking of, can you have xatu Teleport circles around him? Could use the practice before I go to Slateport, and it's not like it'll do too much to xatu."

"Sure, snap teleport practice. What's your reason?"

"Thunderbolt practice. You're to blame, of course."

"Better Tyson's meowth than that other one." They shared a chuckle, and both Pokémon got to work.

Serena could see it was simple for xatu, but knowing Max and his Pokémon… They'd come up with something to make it interesting.

"But… Yeah. No Teleports would've been bad in Kalos. Or ever since." Serena didn't need to look at her friend to know the look on his face. No chuckle or amusement stayed when Max used that tone. Instead, it'd be an empty stare that she didn't need to see more of. "Holly said that 'power comes in response to need'. When we got our Fey Badge. I'm not sure it's worth it," he told her as xatu Teleported away from meowth, reappearing about fifteen feet in front of them, back to meowth.

Her first instinct was to say that it had been, but at the same time, the talk of two nights ago rang very clear. "This coming…" A spark of inspiration; scarily sudden and weird, but it felt powerfully true. Like laws of nature true. "Is that why you can't Mega Evolve manectric?"

She turned to face him, and met a rare sight. A Max lost for words, mouth opening and closing in silence. Twice. She waited for him, and he soon started thinking. She counted three attempted shocks by meowth before he looked her in the eye again. "I… Maybe?" He sat down, and she did the same. "The hell did that come from, Serena?"

"Divine inspiration," she retorted after only a moment's thought. Felt as appropriate as anything. "And don't dodge the question."

It was a good few minutes before either of them spoke again, both thinking about what Serena had just said. She knew it was maybe some kind of thinking bias, of how your ideas always seemed good, but… She remembered something from over a year ago. Of when they'd successfully coaxed Max onto the right path to Mega Evolve manectric at will. He wasn't about protecting, he was about fighting to prevent.

"I… You're right. Maybe. I think. It's hard." A low groan came from her left. "If only gardevoir was here. I could show you."

"Show me?" She understood almost the second she said it. "Oh. Empath. Emotions."

"Yeah… Show you what it felt like."

"What what felt like?"

"The rage. The burning hot-and-cold. The desire to…" Serena looked over, seeing him finish a wringing movement with his hands. "And maybe I could get a Mega Evolution with manectric that way, too. In an emergency. She might go along if it's bad enough. But…"

"You don't want that. You've said that before. Never said why, though."

"Because anger poisons you," Max said at length, softly. "It feels great, powerful, you feel like you can do anything… And then, suddenly, it's not enough. You need… more. More anger. More rage. An endless cycle. Twisting you. And you… You become weaker for it, because you rely on that anger." He looked her in the eye. "I can't afford that weakness. Not if I want to, well." Another wringing motion. It looked slower, though. "You don't understand, do you."

She didn't. Could she even? "I mean… I've been angry before, but… I don't think we're talking the same kind."

That got a chuckle out of Max. "Not really, no. But maybe…" He fiddled with his belt. "Do you trust me, Serena?"

"Of course."

"I challenge you to a one on one battle. You have to use altaria and you have treat it as seriously as you can. No spar where you're holding back. No holds barred. Give me everything you have."

She wasn't sure where this was going except for her defeat, but sure. It wasn't like she couldn't drop altaria off at a Pokémon Centre before the Grand Festival anyway.

She returned meowth, because there was only so much room for a proper fight on the island, and then they took up positions on opposite ends of the field, like it was a real battle. She noticed xatu near her, for shielding purposes no doubt. "Ready!"

Max's response came in the form of his Pokémon. Sceptile.

Altaria led off, climbing to medium height before sending a normal strength Disarming Voice sceptile's way.

It got cut to pieces with a powerful Leaf Blade, Fairy-type energy dancing over the Grass-type's skin like it was nothing. "Okay. That's why he asked for no holding back," Serena said to herself. "Altaria! Air barrage!"

The Dragon-type flew up sharply, but slowed soon enough as she let gravity start to do work. A moment of halt, and then…

Three Dragon Pulses flew down in as many seconds, weaker, but made to force a reaction. A fourth, more powerful, was fired afterwards, flying ahead of the diving Dragon-type as she launched herself at the Grass-type.

It was absolutely useless. The first three dissipated on a Leaf Blade. The fourth was dodged, and then sceptile was on altaria, forcing her to veer hard right to just throw the Grass-type off, and even then he landed normally, shooting Bullet Seeds that barely missed before shooting off into a Quick Attack. "Perish block!"

Max's Pokémon got out of the way of the blast of negative song, instead easily spewing another spray of Bullet Seeds. A few hit, most missed, and altaria let out a noise of annoyance. They wouldn't do much except just impact damage – Grass on Dragon and Flying and all that – but altaria's dragonskin wasn't as thick as some others. "Okay, now try Mist!"

Two minutes later, Serena wasn't sure if altaria had landed a single attack on sceptile that the Pokémon hadn't walked into himself, on purpose for some goal. She was outmatched, and she knew it, and annoyance started to creep in. "Hey, Max!" she yelled as sceptile's X-Scissor batted a Dragon Pulse back, grazing altaria's right wing and prompting an angry, shrill, cry. "You said no holding back!"

There was no answer, except that sceptile lunged forward, this time with familiar green as blades. Not Grass-green, or even Bug-green… Dragon-type green.

Altaria tried to fly upwards, but with a mighty jump, the Grass-type vaulted over her, outstretched arms forcing the Dragon closer to the ground, even as he sprayed seeds all over her. A Dragon Pulse sent after him missed somehow despite the tracking being perfect, and then a Quick Attack knocked altaria back several feet in the air. And again. And again. And… "Perish wall!"

Finally, a hit, as the harsh burst of song forced the Grass-type to the ground, kneeling for a moment and nearly getting hit by a Dragon Pulse for it. Three more projectiles followed, and altaria headed in pursuit of the now-fleeing Grass-type.

A few Bullet Seeds were fired back, but they were weak, and every Dragon Pulse was getting closer and closer to hitting. Altaria took at least one spray, maybe two, but it was fine. She had to get the sceptile. There was only one goal; to defeat the sceptile. She had him on the ropes, he was fleeing too much for it not to be the case. Green passed her vision as the Pokémon sped past, xatu diverting a Dragon Pulse up to to avoid it coming near her. Altaria looked tired up close, especially the second time she passed by, but determined to get her target, to get at sceptile. She flew low, trying to not waste more than was needed to keep in the air. She was so...

"Frenzy Plant!" Max yelled.

Sceptile turned around in an instant, hands that glowed green – had been glowing green - plunging into the ground, and roots rumbled and erupted from underneath. Altaria was captured in an instant, firing Dragon Pulses everywhere as she tried to get out. She had to get out, she had to get to that sceptile and defeat it. He had been playing with her, and why had he been playing with her? They had agreed to go all out, hadn't they? Max kept promises, so why wouldn't he keep this prom…

Sceptile was returned, and Max appeared beside her. "Deep breath, Serena. Deep breath."

Wait, what? She felt confused, weird. Max took her wrist and pressed it to her chest. Heaving, moving, underneath her right hand.

Then xatu reappeared again, and a bottle of water floated in front of her. Why? "I… What?" She felt weird. Dazed. Where was altaria? Her throat was raw.

"I returned her," Max said. "And put her in stasis." He held up a ball. One of hers. She recognised the sticker. "Take a minute or two to calm down."

She sat down, her legs suddenly heavy. She opened the bottle of water, and it was half empty before she knew it. The heck? "I want answers."

Two times, Max didn't reply, smiling instead. The third time, however, he nodded. "Feeling a bit calmer now?"

"I… I guess?" What did that have to do with everything? "I still want answers, though."

"In time." Max also sat down, cross-legged. "When did you notice sceptile's hands were glowing?"

What now? "Eh… When you ordered Frenzy Plant?" Wait, that wasn't right. "Maybe before?"

"He ran past you with arms glowing like that twice, Serena. I think he might have waved the second time too," Max replied, sounding like he'd thought of something funny. "But you didn't really notice, did you? You were too caught up in the fight. Too caught up in the Dragon's bond."

That… Made sense. A lot of it, actually. She'd felt a bit of a tug with that before, Serena thought, but this… This had been so different. "This is you always had to watch out for with shelgon?"

"This is what I have to watch out for with shelgon." Max chuckled. "So, remember how you were so incredibly focused on getting sceptile down? And how focused altaria was at just chasing and firing Dragon Pulse after Dragon Pulse? Which was pretty impressive, by the way."

"Yeah?"

"That focus… It makes you miss things. Makes you myopic. It feels amazing in the moment, but it comes at a cost." He smiled at her, and she couldn't really deny it either. "If you're able to stop at the right point, you can get the best of both worlds."

That reminded Serena of something, but she couldn't recall exactly what Drasna had said. It didn't really matter either. "I should probably try to practice with that, huh."

"Maybe. I think there's a reason why there's a Dragon Clan in Johto, and a bunch of Dragon Tamers in Hoenn." Max shrugged. "Doesn't really matter now. Maybe keep in mind that it exists?"

That made sense. "You never had lasting side effects from this, right?"

"Nothing worse than you had." He rose, and extended a hand, pulling her up when she took it. "It's not really the same, but it's the closest I could get without, y'know. Implanting emotions or something. And you get to learn something about altaria, too. Just make sure you warn Nurse Joy about it."

"And how am I supposed to do that? Tell her that my genius friend put my nearly berserk altaria in stasis after testing some emotional bond stuff?" She blinked. "Wow… That's… A bit harsh. After-effects?"

"Probably." Max didn't sound too concerned. "Just say that you returned her mid-Frenzy Plant or something in a heated battle and put her in stasis out of safety, if they even ask it. Might have to fib a bit about not being too affected yourself, maybe."

"I'll make it work." She stretched her arms, and muscles she hadn't known were tense protested a bit. "Anything else you want me to do, oh great and powerful future Champion?"

"Just buy the bitter Pokémon snacks that xatu likes, but he'd remind you himself if he thought you'd forget," Max replied, not missing a beat. "And tell me who won, of course."

~~§~~§~~§~~§~~

SLATEPORT – An all-Hoenn final awaits the Hoenn Grand Festival tonight, as perennial high-finishing top Coordinator May Maple fights off a challenge from someone younger than her: Lisia Lutia, of Sootopolis City. Maple, after a below-average start in the initial round by her standards, fought her way through the field with stunning force, employing her trademark on-the-fly tactics and a newly evolved venusaur. Lutia made excellent use of her altaria's Perish Song to disrupt her opponents in conjunction with a Soundproof bastiodon and exploud in the quarter and semi-finals respectively.

Author's Note: Been a hot minute, huh. Long story short... gestures at the state of the world.

Five year anniversary seemed like a good day to upload a monster of a chapter, though, checking in on everyone, pretty much. Don't have a date on the next chapter, but, well... It's time for some familiar (familial) reunions. See you then!