Author's note: Heyo!

Okay, so, for today's chapter, we're going to explore some lore from canon! Yay! But in much more detail than the actual episode! Yay!

Hey, I did all the research, so I might as well put it to use, right? XP Maybe it'll even teach people some things they may not have known about Sinnoh. I mean, be honest... how many of you actually know what happened in the Team Galactic arc?

Heh, regardless... I hope you enjoy the chapter!


Chapter Eleven: Checking Facts

Once the sandwiches had been cleared away - and Pikachu had eaten the rest of Buneary's lettuce and tomatoes, which had gotten a few more embarrassing chuckles from everyone - all pokémon that weren't Pikachu and Piplup had been recalled into their pokéballs. Then the humans had made their way to the library.

Maybe if she'd been less busy, Nurse Joy could have joined them, but, with the festival happening soon, and lots of people milling around, she was a little swamped at the moment. It was a shame, but it couldn't be helped.

Book after book was searched, the three humans looking for something, anything, to help them better understand just what kind of pokémon Mesprit, Azelf and Uxie were. They knew they were legendaries who patrolled the three largest lakes in Sinnoh, but not much more than that. They didn't know their type, their purpose, or their connection to the Sinnoh space-time legend. The very same legend that had been explained by Gardenia - the Eterna City gym leader - and expanded upon by Nando the wandering minstrel.

Well, if they even had a connection at all. The humans talked about it as they continued to research.

"Honestly, it was like Azelf was floating," Ash said, "like it had wings..." He paused. "Except I don't remember seeing any wings."

"Me neither," Dawn added. "When I saw Mesprit, that is."

"No, I don't think Uxie had any wings, either," Brock replied. He paused for thought. "Hmmm... and I don't think there were any on the mural in Celestic Town... or the statues in Eterna City's museum... so then maybe they're psychic-type?"

"Could be," Ash said. "We've seen plenty of flying psychic-types before. Like Celebi... Jirachi... Oh, and Mew."

"Wow, cool!" Dawn replied, smiling. "Wish I could've been there to see them!"

Atop Ash's shoulder - and still covered in bandages - Pikachu smiled to himself in vague amusement. Well, it wasn't as if Dawn hadn't seen any other legendaries on her travels with Ash and Brock. She'd seen Shaymin, Giratina, Darkrai... and even the Dialga and Palkia from the Sinnoh space-time legend.

Just not that mysterious 'original one' that Nando had mentioned. Was that a legendary, too? Or something else entirely?

... Either way, if the lake guardians really were connected to the legend, did that mean that Pikachu and his friends might end up seeing Dialga and Palkia again?

He felt his smile drop as his face paled. If that was the case, he hoped they wouldn't have another incident where a random fight between the duo ended up dissolving a town...

Hopefully, either Ash, Dawn or Brock had remembered the tune to that song they'd used to calm Dialga and Palkia down, just in case.

... On another note, Team Galactic had been very busy lately, hadn't they? Stealing the Adamant Orb and Lustrous Orb, which were said to be able to magnify the legendaries' power... stealing most of the Veilstone City meteorites... and then fashioning those meteorites into a machine with a radar, which they'd used to find the legendary Iron Ruins. All in the name of their 'new world', whatever that meant.

It was all very complicated, and Pikachu had no idea what they could be doing. It didn't sound good, either way.

... He just hoped that the thing Cynthia's grandmother, Carolina, had mentioned - about the Iron Ruins being needed to find a place called Spear Pillar, which could summon Dialga and Palkia to this world - wasn't true.

If it was, then... maybe he'd need to remember that song, after all...


Sometime later, Ash - with Pikachu still on his shoulder - was browsing the library's computer for information, while Brock was continuing to search through the books. Piles and piles of them now littered the floor. Dawn, who had gotten bored of reading, had joined Ash over by the computer, Piplup sitting on her head.

"... I think I found it!" Brock suddenly called out.

Everyone turned in his direction. He was holding open a large, old and worn book for the others to see. On one of its yellowed pages were three sketches of similar-looking pokémon. Small and skinny, with two tails each. He pointed to the one on the left.

"It's definitely this pokémon that I saw," he said.

"That's Uxie, right?" Dawn asked in awe. "And the middle one is Mesprit..."

"Yeah," Ash added in a serious tone, "and the one on the right is Azelf."

"So we really did see one each..." Brock murmured to himself, as he turned the book around again to look at it. "... But, now that I think about it, it looked more like a shadow than the pokémon itself..."

"Just like Mesprit!" Dawn said in surprise.

"And Azelf..." Ash added.

"Mmm," Brock confirmed with a nod. He began to look over the page.

"(Wow...)" Pikachu muttered. He glanced up at Piplup. "(Quite a coincidence, huh, Piplup?)"

"(Jeez, you're telling me!)" Piplup replied.

"... According to this book," Brock said, "all three lake guardians might have come from the same egg."

Pikachu's eyes widened. So they were triplets? That wasn't common at all among pokémon, from what he'd heard. It was more of a human thing.

Well, except for the eggs part.

Brock continued reading. "It says that Uxie is referred to as the being of knowledge... and from it comes 'the wisdom to solve problems'."

"Just like Cynthia said..." Dawn said in awe. "And knowledge, huh?" Her tone became amused. "Figures you'd be the one to see that one, Brock."

Brock huffed a little in amusement, and possibly pride at being called smart, before continuing. "As for Mesprit, it's referred to as the being of emotion, and from it come 'the joys and pain of life'." He looked up. "It's fitting that that's the one you saw, because it suits you quite well, Dawn."

Dawn laughed awkwardly, probably thinking of her many ups and downs in mood. "Oh, well, you know...!"

Chuckling again, Brock looked back down. "Lastly is Azelf, the being of willpower. From it comes 'the resolve to accomplish whatever task may be at hand'."

"That definitely suits Ash!" Dawn turned to grin at Ash. "Right?"

"Heh," Ash replied. "Guess so."

Brock nodded. "Definitely," he added.

... Well, today had certainly tested Ash on his willpower, but Pikachu was sure he'd bounce back soon enough. He always did.

If there was one word to describe Ash, it was indeed 'willpower'. Hence his never-faltering dream of being a pokémon master, which... well, if Pikachu was honest, he had no idea what a pokémon master even was. But he'd help him with it, all the same!

"Hmm..." Brock continued, "it also says it's 'the power of these three that keeps the world in balance'..." He lowered the book, looking really thoughtful. "Could it have been an accident that each of us saw one? Or does it mean something? Especially since the ones we saw match us so well..." He looked up at the group. "The book also makes it sound like they might be connected to the Sinnoh space-time legend."

"You think so?" Dawn asked in surprise.

Brock nodded. "Yeah. These legendaries sound way too important. Plus, do you remember Nando mentioning an 'original one', and how it created three beings aside from Dialga and Palkia?"

"Oh yeah! I think so!"

"What about 'em?" Ash asked.

"Well," Brock replied, "he mentioned 'matter' and 'spirit'. Dialga and Palkia represent 'matter'... so what if the lake guardians represent 'spirit'?"

"Oh, wow..." Dawn replied in awe. "Just imagine..."

"(Whoa...)" Piplup said.

Pikachu was just as much in awe. Cynthia had already explained the stuff about 'emotion, willpower and knowledge', but it was still crazy to think how much it might connect to. Sinnoh was certainly a unique region, with all of its legends and deities, and the many shrines that had been built to honour them.

It was at this moment that Ash let out a loud laugh. "I'm not sure why, but this is starting to get kind of fun!" He pumped a fist, looking at Pikachu. "Right, Pikachu?"

Pikachu didn't really get the sudden burst of enthusiasm, but he was glad that Ash was returning to normal.

He gave a determined smile back. "(Right!)" he replied.

Behind him, he heard Dawn make a displeased noise.

"(Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Dawn?)" Piplup asked.

"... I'm worried Ash is trying to do too much..." she replied.

Ash turned to her. "What do you mean 'too much'?" he asked.

"(Too much, huh?)" Pikachu asked.

"IIIIt's nothing~!" Dawn replied, smiling smugly. On her head, Piplup was doing the same. "But there is something I wanna show you, though!"

"(It'll be great,)" Piplup added. "(Trust us.)"

"Hmm?" Ash asked.

"(Oh yeah?)" Pikachu asked curiously. "(What's that?)"

"No more questions, though!" Dawn said, gliding across the room and out the door. "Just follow me, everyone!"

"Oh, uh..." Brock replied, "sure, but can I put the books away first?" He indicated all the piles that were still on the floor.

Dawn paused, blinking in the doorway. Then she sighed. "Alright. Then follow me..."

"(Oy...)" Piplup groaned.


Now that Pikachu thought about it, maybe Dawn had a point. That laugh from Ash earlier had been very loud, and probably very forced. Well, maybe he'd take a little while before he actually did bounce back, but he was trying, bless him. Though maybe trying a bit too hard? He'd had a pretty rough day, after all. First, suffering a crushing defeat to Paul, and second, seeing his pokémon get horribly injured.

Currently, they were walking down a corridor, heading towards wherever Dawn was taking them. Some room that Nurse Joy had apparently let her borrow.

He could only imagine what she had in mind.


Seated on a green couch, in-between Ash's knees, Pikachu looked around himself. On his left, also on the couch, was Monferno. On the floor next to the monkey were Happiny and Gliscor.

Pikachu turned to his right, where he saw Buizel, also on the couch. On the floor next to the weasel were Croagunk, Grotle and Sudowoodo, with Staraptor standing on Grotle's back.

Pikachu twisted his head around, wincing slightly from the movement of his injured body. He saw Brock standing behind the couch, near Buizel. Twisting back again with another wince, Pikachu looked at the large, dark pink curtain in front of the group, with gold lining around it and a metal pokéball at the top.

... He still had no idea what was going on, or why Dawn had asked Ash and Brock to let out all of their pokémon for this. Were they about to watch some kind of theatre performance? He was even more confused as Dawn walked over to the curtain, wearing her contest dress, with her hair tied into a high ponytail.

She briefly bowed to her audience. "Warm greetings, ladies and gentlemen!" she said.

Well, there was only one lady here - and that was Happiny - but now Pikachu was splitting hairs.

Dawn continued. "I'd like to start off our proceedings by thanking you all very much for coming to see Dawn's Pokémon Circus!"

A circus, huh? Sounded fun enough!

"Wonder what Dawn's up to this time," Ash said in amusement.

"I heard from Nurse Joy that she's been hard at work practicing, just to cheer up you and your team," Brock explained.

Ash's tone turned surprised. "This is for us?"

Pikachu's eyes widened. "(Oh, really?)" He smiled. "(Sounds awesome!)"

Then he paused. Wait. He quickly glanced around him again. Dawn's team weren't sitting here. Plus, Dawn herself was at the front, talking about a circus. Did that mean...?

"Now, keep your eyes open!" Dawn said dramatically. "We will begin Dawn's Circus with a feat of pure acrobatic skill!" She moved off to the side, pulling open the curtain.

Behind it was Mamoswine, standing on a stage, in front of a backdrop filled with hills, trees, and the night sky. On his head sat a pink pom-pom. Down by his feet were Pachirisu, who was dressed in a cheerleader outfit and... Buneary, who was wearing her orange vest.

Pikachu couldn't help but smile at her, his insides buzzing with warmth. So she and her team were going to be their entertainment?

He watched in fascination as Buneary ran behind Mamoswine. After a moment, she came twirling above the mammoth, before landing on his head, with her back to the audience. Then she turned around and was... stretching her face?

He blinked, continuing to watch as she ran in circles with Pachirisu. Then she leapt towards the squirrel to stretch his face, too, while getting hers stretched at the same time.

Pikachu stared, befuzzled. After a moment, it hit him how ridiculous this was, and he laughed. Oh, that Buneary. She always managed to cheer him up in the strangest of ways.

He watched as she slid down Mamoswine's face like it was a slide, flying off the end of his tusk and going airborne. Whilst falling back down, she stretched her face again. Ha. So this was Dawn's plan. Having her pokémon pull ridiculous faces while performing on-stage.

Buneary landed on the side of Mamoswine's face, stretching the mask shape around his eyes.

Dawn slid back onto the stage. "Great!" she said. "Everyone, pose!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Pikachu caught sight of Mamoswine making some sort of movement, looking like he was even sticking out his tongue, as Buneary beamed at the audience.

"Tadaaaa!" Dawn said.

Pikachu continued to laugh, as did everyone else around him. It was such a cute performance, and was really keeping his spirits high. As well as Ash's, it sounded like.

Again out of the corner of his eye, Pikachu saw Piplup in some orange outfit walking across the stage. He watched as Buneary let go of Mamoswine's eye mask to climb back up onto his head. She waited there.

"(I bet I can outperform both of them, easy!)" Piplup said.

"Well!" Dawn replied dramatically. "So you say you can really do it, Piplup?"

"(Of course! Watch and learn!)"

The next thing Pikachu knew, Piplup had leapt so high that he'd smashed his head into the ceiling. For a moment, Pikachu wondered if that was intentional, and if he was okay.

When the penguin fell down and landed on Mamoswine's head, though, Buneary lifted him up and began juggling him on her ears, so Pikachu supposed it was just part of the act. She then threw the penguin high a few times, making him dizzy, before letting him down and stretching his face.

Pikachu laughed again.

"Kay!" Dawn said. "Again, pose!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Pikachu noticed Mamoswine moving and sticking out his tongue again.

... It was then that Pikachu realised something. Wait. Had he been watching the other three at all?

The whole time, he'd acknowledged that Pachirisu had been spinning, sliding, juggling and pulling faces, too, but... Pikachu hadn't been watching him. He hadn't been watching Mamoswine pulling faces, and he hadn't been watching Piplup's entrance.

The whole time, he'd been watching Buneary.

He felt his face heat up in embarrassment. Oh, man... if his friends ever found out, he just knew they'd never let him live it down...

But... she was just so cute that he couldn't help it...

... He'd really fallen for her these past couple of days, hadn't he? Though maybe the feeling had always been there, and he'd just never acknowledged it? Romance in general kind of scared him a little, anyway, so he'd just buried his head in the sand and ignored the issue for a long time. Maybe hoping it would go away, or something? Or maybe that it would just... resolve itself somehow?

But now that he'd actually acknowledged it... just what was he going to do about it? He didn't really know, honestly...