With Korrina heading back to Shalour, now human again – though with a small amount of Mew's potion supply tucked into her bag, just in case – Ash said that it'd be silly to go straight there and challenge Korrina now when she'd only just got the hang of Mega Evolving her Lucario.

"I'd much rather have a trickier battle than one sooner," he said. "That's the best way to make sure your team's building up properly!"

"I'm not really sure I follow quite how your team builds up," Serena admitted. "But that's just because you're a legendary Legendary trainer and I'm still working on my team."

She frowned. "Hmm… I wonder if there's some kind of spell that can lead you to a Pokémon that would make a good fit to be a member of my team?"

"In my experience, there actually is," Pikachu supplied. "How it works is, you stand next to Ash for long enough, and then it just happens."

"You've never not been with Ash, though, right?" Fennekin checked. "In fact, now I think about it, your longest time apart from him was probably that Rhyhorn race?"

"Well, before I met Ash, I'd never seen a Pokémon matched perfectly with their trainer," Pikachu replied. "Then I joined Ash, and it was happening all the time. Iris went from two Pokémon to a full team, Cilan got more Pokémon… Clemont's got more Pokémon now, so has Bonnie… and Brock, Misty, Tracey and Whitney all picked up good Pokémon to go with their team."

"What about Dawn, May and Max?" Ash asked, then corrected himself. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that, they didn't have any Pokémon before we met. So it's not strictly correlation."

"I should probably work on a machine to do that," Clemont pondered. "Maybe this could be a good avenue to use machine learning!"

"I have used machine learning to assess how Pokémon meet good trainers," Arc provided. "What I have learned is: Cilan is quite good at it. But mostly this sort of thing just works itself out."

"Machine learning doesn't just mean learning when you're shaped like a machine," Clemont said. "It means, um… wait, no… something about using a machine to mimic how biological brains learn things."

"In that case, I have used transcendent telephone-shaped entity learning," Arc amended.

"That's comforting, at least," Serena admitted, as Clemont tried to work out a way to defend his own idea without accusing Arc of phoning it in. "So, I don't need to go looking?"

She shook her head. "No, that's not quite right. I should keep an eye out, and keep looking, but so long as I do that I shouldn't be worried that I'll miss out on the right Pokémon. Right?"

"That seems reasonable enough," Fennekin said. "I wonder who it'll be?"

"I hope it's a fluffy Pokémon!" Bonnie said. "So many of the Pokémon that travel with us are cute in different ways, but fluffy ones are some of the best. You could have a whole fluffy team!"

Serena laughed, then gasped.

"I just saw something!" she said. "I'm not really familiar with the Pokémon, but they looked like they might be in trouble… sort of, that way."

She waved.

"That is to the: north," Arc said. "Did you have any idea of the distance?"

"No, sorry," Serena replied. "Just, trouble in that direction. They had a leg stuck in a hole."

"That sounds like a problem we can help with," Ash decided. "We should go and help, once we know where they are."

"I might have a better idea if we're closer?" Serena said. "I still have a vague idea where the Pokémon is… I don't know for sure about that, though."

Ash frowned. "Hmm… Ibid, can you get Dragonite, Dragonite, Dragonite and… Dragonite? Unless one of them's unavailable, then check on Dragonite instead."

"Do not forget Zacian or Articuno," Zygarde recommended. "That direction is north and if we are heading north then we may require a Galarian expert. Or possibly translator."

"Processing complete," the Translation Gear said. "Did you mean: Lance's display team?"


"You don't recognize the Pokémon," Articuno said. "That's a bit of a bugger."

She rolled upside down, still cruising alongside the foursome of Dragonite. "What can you tell me about how it looks?"

"She wants to know how it looks," Fennekin supplied.

"Well, it was very fluffy?" Serena tried. "Green and purple, I think?"

"That helps," Articuno replied. "Except we're dealing with events in the vicinity of Ash, so who bloody knows. Could be a Wooloo who's really into wool dye. Could be a Mareep."

Fennekin pondered how to translate that.

"I don't know how a shiny Whimsicott looks," Articuno added. "Could be one of them."

"Not sure," Fennekin eventually summarized.

"Well, we'll find out when we get there," Serena decided, then blinked. "Wait, stop!"

Dragonite stopped in mid-air.

"I just felt it change to down," Serena explained. "I think we're over the Pokémon now!"

The other three Dragonite circled around, and Articuno looked down to assess the Galarian landscape.

Which was a bit difficult.

"I have no idea where we are," she admitted. "It's raining, which, in hindsight, what did I expect, it's Galar."


Once through the cloud layer, Articuno twisted and swished her wing up into the air.

The rain stopped, or at least it stopped over them, though it kept falling everywhere else.

"What did you just do?" Pikachu asked. "That's neat. I didn't know you could cut the rain."

"Zapdos throwing Rain Dances around was all the reason I needed to learn," Articuno replied. "And given the weather here it's quite useful…"

Serena's Dragonite mount had already touched down, and she hurried over to a little thicket.

"They're here!" she reported.

Ash sent out Lokoko with a flash, and Articuno leaned over to see.

"Oh, a Ponyta," she said. "Well, makes sense."

"Oh!" Ponyta realized, brightening as Serena helped to extract her hoof from a hole. "You're that person I made contact with! I didn't know if it worked."

"It only worked for a moment," Serena replied. "But I'm here now, so that seems to have gone well."

With Ponyta freed, Serena stepped back a bit. "And, uh, you should keep an eye where you're walking?"

"I do my best!" Ponyta said. "However, my best isn't very good, because I have terrible short-sightedness."

She sighed, kicking the ground. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find prescription glasses as a Pokémon?"

"I know how hard it is to find prescription glasses as a human?" Clemont volunteered.

"Well, I don't know how hard it is to find prescription glasses as a Pokémon," Ponyta replied. "I once got far enough to get to the bit where I was being put in the chair, but then I couldn't work out how to answer the questions."

She blinked. "Wait. You can understand me? That's fascinating, it must be some kind of psychic resonance… hmm, no, it can't be that, because the human in the blue jumpsuit understood me as well… do you understand Pokémon?"

"I'm getting pretty good at understanding Fennekin, but the actual translation is from Lokoko," Serena supplied. "Ash does understand all Pokémon, though… I'm hoping I work out how eventually, it's probably going to help me learn magic."

"Magic?" Ponyta repeated. "That sounds very interesting. Is it something that can be reproduced with consistent effects, or is it fundamentally chaotic?"

"It depends on who's casting it, actually," Serena said. "I know for humans they need a familiar, which is what Fennekin is for me, but I'm mostly learning myself at this point…"


Two and a half hours of talking about magic later, Clemont had finished his Auto-Adjusting Glasses Gear.

Properly.

"I tested it this time," he said. "Now it adjusts the glasses, the glasses detach, and the glasses stop changing."

Serena took them and put them onto Ponyta, who gasped.

"Oh, thank you! They work!" she said. "Wow, so that's what the top of a tree looks like!"

Then she sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Fennekin asked.

"Talking was nice," Ponyta told her. "I'm glad you helped, but I'll miss you both."

"Demandez lui de devenir sa Ponyta," Clefairy suggested.

"Pardon?" Ponyta asked.

"That sounds like a good idea!" Serena brightened. "If you're interested, anyway?"

"Interested in what?" Ponyta inquired. "I have no idea what she just said."


After they'd explained what Clefairy meant, and Ponyta had agreed quite happily to join Serena's team, they went back to where they'd started.

This was thanks to Arc, who just moved them there straight off.

"I'd as why we don't normally do that, but it'd be obvious," Clemont said. "The journey's as interesting as actually getting somewhere."

"Right!" Ash confirmed. "That kind of thing is for when we're in a hurry, but we're usually not… now, what's the long route to Shalour?"

"Searching," Arc replied. "Route identified. Route visits a very nice town, among other points of interest."

"So, how did that work?" Ponyta said. "We were in Galar, and then we weren't any more?"

"It's called fast travel, I think," Ash replied, checking Arc's screen and then pointing. "That way. And, um, Arc picks us up, then puts us down again?"

"Then how does Arc get there?" Ponyta frowned. "I'm sure I'm missing something."

"It's the principle of sympathy, I think," Fennekin piped up. "Right, Serena?"

"I think I see what you mean," Serena agreed. "So Arc picks us up, which means that we're being carried, but the things that are carried include Arc. So he puts us down again at the destination, and we moved because he moved, and he moved because he moved himself?"

"Almost," Arc said. "However, I wish to clarify that I am not strictly he. I understand your use of the term but request you avoid using it if possible."

"Oh!" Serena gasped. "Sorry about that…"

"That's fascinating," Ponyta decided. "It sounds like a paradox, but then I realized that moving because you move yourself is how walking works."


On their way through a forest, that afternoon, the friends met a group of Pokémon gathering berries.

Then, in short order, they met an Ursaring (who tried to steal the berries) and a Hawlucha (who tried to stop the Ursaring stealing the berries), which was followed up in turn by a Conkeldurr jumping in in the middle of the battle and trying to beat Hawlucha up with its pillars.

"Foul villains!" Hawlucha declared, dodging away from a pillar strike into the ground, and leapt up onto a tree branch before striking a pose. "Have you no honour?"

"Well, no?" Ursaring replied. "I'm an Ursaring. Honour isn't something that wild Pokémon concern themselves with."

"You did hire me to come and hit Hawlucha," Conkeldurr pointed out. "You specifically said to get him from behind because, quote, 'it would be funny'. I don't know about you but that sounds like it's actively playing up the villain thing."

"Shut up!" Ursaring snapped. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

"Yours?" Conkeldurr replied. "I'm totally okay with beating up this Hawlucha and taking the berries from the Pokémon he's protecting, I just don't think that there should be any kind of illusions about that."

"Hawlucha will stop you both!" Hawlucha said. "With one move, that strikes you both equally!"

"Oh, yeah, I heard about this!" Ash announced. "That's Flying Press, right, the move that's Flying and Fighting type at the same time?"

Hawlucha, Ursaring and Conkeldurr all looked over at Ash.

"What are you doing here?" Ursaring growled, waving his arms in an intimidating way. "Go away, silly human, there's a wild Pokémon fight going on!"

"How did you understand what he said?" Conkeldurr inquired. "He hasn't started doing Flying Press yet, so you must have understood it."

"Do you need help?" Ash added, glancing at Hawlucha.

"Hawlucha needs no help!" Hawlucha insisted. "Hawlucha will defeat his foes! Flying Press!"

He jumped high into the air, then came plummeting down on the two bullies.

Who stepped to the side, letting Hawlucha go wham into the ground.

"...you know, in hindsight we could have done that a while ago," Conkeldurr said, then shrugged and raised his pillar.

One of Ash's Pokéballs opened, and Froakie came out with a blur of blue movement before standing over Hawlucha with his arms folded.

"I know it's not right to interfere in honourable battle, but I'm a ninja so what can you do," Froakie announced. "Consider this a win if you want, but don't beat up a Pokémon who can't fight back. Leave."

"And what can you do, pipsqueak?" Ursaring asked.


Among the things that Froakie could do was Feint Attack.


"Hawlucha needs no help," Hawlucha insisted, once he'd been pried up and the Royal Chirurgeon had given him a once-over with Heal Pulse. "I thank you for your kindness, but Hawlucha must defend his title."

"That's interesting," Ash said. "I don't remember meeting a Hawlucha before, but it sounds like you and Hawlucha are different?"

"Hawlucha is the masked wrestler, the wings of justice!" Hawlucha replied. "Hawlucha is the forest champion! I am a Pokémon."

"That could get confusing quite quickly," Chespin said, scratching her head. "It already has, for me."

Hawlucha drew up his wings like a cloak. "I must go. Hawlucha must be ready for his next battle."

"Then we can help!" Ash offered. "You looked like you had trouble doing Flying Press on a moving target, which is really hard to train when you're using a target that's not moving… actually, maybe a good place to start is with Aerial Ace? Fletchinder's working on that, so you could train together."

Hawlucha looked contemplative.

"Nothing says Hawlucha cannot get help from friends outside honourable battle," he admitted. "And I'd appreciate it."

Bonnie looked up from where she was brushing Ponyta's tail. "What about a way to keep fighting after you go into the ground?" she asked. "I know not going into the ground would be better though."

"In my medical opinion, that would be a good idea," said the Royal Chirurgeon, flapping his wings for emphasis. "Slamming into the ground may be a thing in wrestling, but I don't think it can be healthy to do it over and over again."

"Hmm," Ash frowned. "I guess there's Roost? You could do that when you pose."

"Hawlucha could not do that!" Hawlucha gasped. "Hawlucha would be exploiting the expectations of his opponents to gain an unfair advantage!"

Ash nodded. "I get that… hmm…"

As he thought, Fletchinder came out of his Pokéball.

"Who am I training with?" he asked. "Sorry, I was half asleep."

"Hawlucha!" Hawlucha said.

Fletchinder looked cross-eyed. "Did I suddenly stop understanding Pokémon?"

"Hawlucha is me," Hawlucha clarified. "But I am not always Hawlucha."

"Hey, that's a point!" Ash said. "Weren't you wearing a mask before? Over the mask that's part of your beak, I mean."

"That is part of the Masked Hero Hawlucha's mystique," Hawlucha confirmed. "Hawlucha travels around in secret! In fact, I'm impressed you recognized that it was me."

"We did see you take the mask off," Pikachu pointed out.

"Well, if wearing the mask makes it so you're not the Masked Hero Hawlucha, but you're still you, what if you're wearing a different mask?" Ash checked.

Hawlucha went very still for a moment.

"Do you have any paper?" he asked. "I need to design as many masks and personas as possible."


"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Pokémon?"

Ursaring and Conkeldurr looked around. "What?"

"Who said that?" Ursaring asked.

"I know," Hawlucha announced, swooping down and landing with a flourish. "The Shadow, Hawlucha!"

Both Pokémon stared.

"You've just made a purple and black mask for yourself as if you're shiny," Conkeldurr pointed out, shrugged, then lifted one of his pillars. "Oh well."

He brought it down with a slam, but Hawlucha wasn't there any more. He darted off to the side, kicked off a tree, and used Karate Chop to smash the pillar to bits.

"You can't fight without your weapons," he said, kicking off and alighting in a tree.

"Hey!" Conkeldurr complained. "It took ages to get that right! How's that honourable?"

"The Shadow, Hawlucha, does not fight fair," Hawlucha replied, posing, then jumped into the air. "Flying Press!"

Conkeldurr stepped to the side, only to discover that it was actually Aerial Ace.


"So, is Ash your trainer or your tour manager?" Pikachu asked, as they left the forest. "And, as a much more important question, am I going to need to keep all those masks straight?"

"Hawlucha will announce himself to his allies and foes alike," Hawlucha replied. "And I'm not sure I'm going to be able to keep them all straight… I may need to keep a reference guide handy…"


AN:


If you're reading this on fanfiction dot net within a fairly short time of publication (28 July 2022) I was informed that I forgot a chapter back in Unova. It's been added to chapter 193 (to avoid having to remove and re-add over forty chapters).

This fic was begun at the start of August 2021. It's come quite a long way in a year, it seems, and it's not the end of July yet.

Oh, yeah, the actual chapter. Well, it's canon that Galarian Ponyta can send psychic distress messages across whole regions…