Johanna watched the news while sitting down for a solitary cup of coffee.

"...And you'll see here, folks, an unseasonal blizzard has begun north of Mt. Coronet," the weatherman pointed at an air pressure map, more specifically at an abnormality south of Snowpoint. "Some Trainers in the area report sightings of Regice, though these are sparse and unconfirmed. High caution advised, as the Rangers are too busy dealing with loose school children to help you when you get lost."

A Mid-Sinnoh Night's Dream - XVIII

Finally, thank Arceus, they were on their way to Johto, and then to Sinnoh. Rowan said he'd be done with what Hilbert asked for in a week, so they easily had enough time. It was getting close to the end of June, and only getting hotter.

They landed near Goldenrod City, the hub of the region, and went off into the forests, to get away from prying eyes.

Hilbert let out the three Legendary Birds in a clearing, tossing the Pokeballs to their feet and mock-saluting.

"See you guys later. I guess I should say it was an honor?"

"Feeling's mutual, mate. I owe ya one."

"We all do, really," Moltres said, agreeing with Articuno without argument.

"Thanks for the help, humans. Hold onto your machines, they prevent capture, don't they?"

Hilbert nodded, as did Lucas, acting like Zapdos was talking to him.

"Then I'd prefer someone like you hold onto it rather than someone else." Zapdos held up its wing, matching his salute, and the other two birds followed suit.

"Sure thing. And hey, if you ever want me to break 'em, you know where to find me."

"Make sure you call us up for that conference, why don't you?" Articuno chirped.

"He doesn't need an Ice-type."

"Doesn't need a Fire-type either!"

"Shut up, both of you! That's it, if Lugia doesn't sort you out, I'm using Zap Cannon, and that's that!"

The other two birds trilled, sounding remarkably like they were groaning.

Zapdos shook its beak and glanced at him. "Though, the idea sounds entertaining."

"If the situation calls for it, sure. If someone else brings Legendaries, well, that's on them," he waved at them as they nodded and shot off into the sky, shooting through the gathering storm clouds.

There was a brief silence between the seven teenagers.

"...That's the end of that arc, huh?"

Shut up, Barry.

They left soon after. Briefly hearing about sightings of the birds on the news, they passed through the airport terminal and headed back home.

"Man, this took way longer than I expected it to," he mumbled, slumping in his seat. He felt someone lean over his seat, and looked up to find Candice looking down at him, confused.

"Why'd you just let them go? I mean, yeah, you're not supposed to use Legendaries, but you could've used them against Team Galactic."

Hilbert gave her a very low effort shrug. "They've got better stuff to do," he replied simply, eyeing Shaymin, "And we can probably take on Team Galactic without them. If the birds want to live in Johto, that's their choice, and they have such an influence on the weather, it'd be kinda wrong to take them away from there. There's probably more than one Shaymin in Sinnoh, so it's alright for them to come with me, but if there wasn't, I'd probably have to say no."

"Black… You're weird."

"I get that a lot."

At what was probably some sort of Legendary meet-up, the birds flew to an undisclosed location, recognizing a few familiar faces. Ho-oh, as always, was leading the meeting. Lugia stood to the side, a smaller Lugia trying to walk and falling repeatedly. The three beasts were there, and a few others they didn't recognize. One was a Cresselia, they were decently sure.

They landed uniformly near the center of the snowy plateau, in everyone's view.

Ho-oh gathered its wings and nearly tented them in front of its face, defying its anatomy. That was fairly common with Legendaries, making less and less sense as they matured.

"Articuno. Zapdos. Moltres. Fantastic to see you all, where have you been the last few months?"

"Got kidnapped, Lugia probably filled you in."

"They only remembered an attack and the three of you disappeared. Continue."

"Right. This may take a while." Zapdos took a deep breath. "This is a story all about how our lives got flip-turned upside-down…"

It was the middle of the night when they arrived back in Sinnoh, leaving the plane on the coast of Sandgem. They walked back to Twinleaf, jet-lagged to all hell, and went to Hilbert's house. After unlocking and shambling through the front door, he promptly collapsed and passed out before he hit the couch.

Hilbert groggily woke up the next day on the floor under a pile of bodies and pillows, and stared at the ceiling. It seemed like everyone had originally spread out, but inevitably gravitated towards the same spot. Insert joke about 'Black Hole Sue' here, it's surprisingly fitting.

It wasn't a pleasant feeling, considering the weight, but he was made of tougher stuff. Dawn was sideways across his torso, head in the nook between his ribs and the couch, Cheryl was somewhere over there with a stray arm on his shoulder, and he was fairly certain it was Barry whose legs were tangled up with his. He couldn't quite see the other three, but figured they were similarly situated.

"...What am I gonna do now that I'm back?"

He had new Pokemon, and he was pretty sure they'd be heading to Snowpoint for his official battle, or Canalave, even, all things considered, but he was really set on fighting Fantina and felt a little lost. Maybe check up on everyone? Floaroma didn't sound too bad, considering the season. Oh, and he probably ought to check up on the Lucario Kingdom. Hey, he could stop by on his way north.

Canalave did seem to be a lot closer though…

After about an hour of half-dreamt thought, the others stirred awake one at a time, barely moving. Jet lag can take a lot out of you, he guessed. He finally noticed the sticky note taped to his forehead. Feeling like an idiot, he reached up with his unobstructed hand and plucked it off.

'Good morning! Thanks for letting me hang, it was a lot of fun. I'm heading back to Snowpoint, got some business to take care of. Good luck with Byron! Well, I'm guessing he's who you're going for, since Snowpoint's pretty far, Fantina's not back yet, and Sunyshore's still dealing with that blackout. Later! -Candice 3'

He looked at the note, barely flinched, and put it back down on his head before nodding to nothing in particular.

Whoever's running the show must really like keeping the team balanced… What is it about the Pokemon world and the number six?

Johanna looked over her kids while leaning on the kitchen counter and sipping her coffee.

The six of them unanimously decided that heading back to work immediately wouldn't be good for their health, and that they should spend the day relaxing.
Naturally, in their extensive maturity, they built a massive pillow fort in the living room, moving blankets out of storage and into use.

Barry held up a flashlight, only illuminating his face under the low blanketed roof. It was a little after noon by then.

"It's time for… Barry's! Believe it… or don't!"

Hilbert leaned back against the couch, throwing an arm on the cushion. Deciding to humor the boy, he asked, "What have you got for us, Barry?"

A crooked grin snuck onto the blond's face. "I'm glad you asked, Hilby. Our terrifying story begins in the Kanto region, in a dark and dusky town called Lavender. It's a place where people bury their Pokemon when they grow too old, and is said to be haunted by spirits of all kinds."

"There's only Gastly in Kanto, though…"

"Not important, Lucas! Anyway, one day… spooooooky music started playing in the town. At first, it was quiet, and only the Pokemon could hear it, but slowly, day by day, people started hearing it. But only the children, see. They started disappearing from the town. The adults looked as much as they could, but didn't find anything… Until one day…" Barry leaned forward, trying his best to force tension. "The adults found out that they all jumped off the Pokemon Tower!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Cool, right?"

"Lame."

Barry demonstrated immense flexibility by falling forward and smacking his face straight into the rug.

"I mean, we've all heard that before, man. Except maybe Cheryl, country bumpkin."

"You're correct, but that's uncalled for," she muttered.

Hilbert continued, "And I know that's based on something that supposedly happened, but like, there's never been any proof. Some idiot will bring it up on the GTS, ask 'Why is no one talking about this?', and then get two-hundred other idiots in the comments calling them an idiot. That's just basic science," he finished, shrugging his free shoulder.

"It's supposed to be scary, not realistic! That's like saying Christmas isn't real because you can't prove the Pokemon pulling his sleigh can fly!"

Hilbert raised his eyebrow, "Since when can you use logic?"

"Lucas doesn't believe in Santa Claus."

Lucas shook his head, pinching his nose, "Barry, it's your parents leaving the boxes under the tree; We saw them do it last year!"

"That's just because Santa was in a hurry and had to leave them somewhere else!"

"How did we get here?" Dawn asked, watching the two throttle each other over the existence of Santa Claus.

"Let them have their fun."

After some chocolate milk and some lame spooky stories, they settled in for the rest of the night, telling the dumbest stories and jokes they could think of, all coming together as a wholesome group bonding experience.

"Ah, greetings!" Rowan swiveled towards them with surprising speed as they entered his labs, "Great to see you all back."

"How's your summer been, old man?" He dodged a smack from Dawn, ducking her arm.

"I've gotten much of my work done, including your project," he replied, reaching for a drawer. He withdrew a crystalline drill on a chain.

Lucas looked at him in horror. "You didn't!"

"I did." Hilbert took the drill, nodding, and reaching for the Key Stone in his bag. He unscrewed the black handle of the drill and slipped the Key Stone in, and replaced the cover. He held it up to the ceiling light, watching it filter through the golden glass and colorful bluish stone. "I've got myself the key to Mega Evolution! It's time to kick some ass!"

Abra had the good grace to Teleport them to Jubilife after their meeting, and they quickly encountered a wild Looker.

"Black," he nodded to Hilbert, "How did your business go?"

Hilbert flashed a thumbs-up, "The birds are all good, back in Johto. They let me hold onto their Pokeballs though."

"Sounds fascinating. We were getting calls about the sighting in Unova, I'm assuming that was you."

"Interpol gets involved with stuff as small as that?"

"No, definitely not. We're too busy to deal with every Trainer that catches a Legendary, considering how many there are. It comes down to people thinking we're only one step up from normal police."

"Must get annoying."

"You wouldn't believe how many calls we've gotten about Skitty in trees."

They stopped by Oreburgh, to see if Roark had any cool rocks for them.

"You mean Mega Stones?"

"No, I mean cool rocks."

When they asked him in the gym, Roark stopped in thought, sitting on his throne.

"I don't know… We find plenty of them in the mines, but they're pretty valuable. Cynthia's got a Garchomp herself, and after she started using Mega Evolution, a lot more people started looking for them."

"I wish Garchomp and Tyranitar still had their stones, the studio took them before the police confiscated them."

Roark shrugged, "What can you do?"

"Buy some new ones, what've you got for me?"

"I've got a Roseradite that Gardenia didn't need, a Kangaskhanite and a few Steelixites. You've got any of those?"

"Damn… Wait, Lucas, you've got a Roserade, right? And Cheryl, you caught a Kangaskhan in the Great Marsh back in May, didn't you?"

They both nodded, and Hilbert turned back to Roark, eyebrow raised.

"...Yeah, go ahead."

"Hell yeah!"

Dawn was the first to hop off Golurk and run over to the McKonelly house in Floaroma Town. It was by her demand that they stop by on the way to the Lucario Kingdom.

A black-haired little girl answered the door, who then shot into Dawn's arms in a flying hug.

"Big sis!"

"Whoa, hey, Annette! How've you been?" She patted the little girl's back, laughing.

"I missed you!"

"Well, I've been traveling like a grown-up…"

"But why'd you have to travel with boys?" She made a face at them over Dawn's shoulder.

"They'd get in a lot of trouble without someone to straighten them out."

"..."

"I said-"

"Don't act like we're going to deny it, you're right."

Annette invited the girls to a tea party, and as confident in their masculinity as they were, the boys still chose to abstain and go do something else.

On a hillside next to a creek, Hilbert laid with his head towards the water and looked at the cloudy sky.

"That one looks like you, Lucario," he said, pointing up at a short humanoid cloud.

The Fighting-type was similarly oriented a few feet away, with the three boys spreading out and letting out their Pokemon for a break. Abra and Shaymin stuck around, sleeping while Golurk stood guard, and Tyranitar went off into the woods with Garchomp for something he was sure he didn't want to know about. Honedge was lying on its side, soaking in the sunlight, and Whirlipede was doing the same with a singular sunglass.

"Does not. It looks like Abra."

"I do still know Psychic."

"Whatever, pipsqueak."

"I care little for height when I can invert yours."

"Lucario, since when do you get to call other people short?"

"Shut up! I'm a few feet taller now!"

"Four isn't much to brag about."

"That's what she said."

"Who said that? Dawn?"

"...My wit is wasted on you idiots."

Lucas was doing something similar, laying on the grass, but without the blood rushing to his head. "Hilbert, isn't it weird to call your Pokemon people? I mean, everyone's friends, but… there is a difference."

Hilbert did an upside-down shrug. "Well, yeah, but the way I see it, every Pokemon is different. You know how we still eat fish?"

"But that's alright, because their bones get returned to the water."

"Exactly, now, I dunno exactly how smart they are, but I imagine they aren't on the same level as land Pokemon. You wouldn't compare a Roserade to a Goldeen, even though Roserade's a plant and Goldeen's a fish."

"I guess not. Most scientists can't tell, because you can train every Pokemon, theoretically. What would happen if you tried talking to a Goldeen?"

"Dunno. It'd probably be like walking into a SpEd class at trainer school."

"Are you allowed to make that analogy? I don't think it's politically correct."

"Eh, it's 2009, we'll be fine until someone on the GTS digs it up in a decade. My point is, every Pokemon is different, and I'll treat them like people until proven otherwise."

There was an odd factory on the outskirts, Fuego Ironworks. Abandoned and filled to the brim with Magnemite. Oddly, Dawn caught one.

"That doesn't really fit your theme," he couldn't help but remark.

"I want a Magnezone," she said, shrugging, "They can do some interesting things in contests."

"Can't fault that logic."

They needed Lucario to give them directions back to the Lucario Kingdom, as it was hidden from prying eyes by… not magic, but something the Lucario did to stay isolated.

Ugh, try saying that five times fast.

"Your left. No, no, your other left. No! You know what? Golurk, let me in there, I'll drive."

Hilbert, about to chime in that it probably wouldn't work, until a hole opened in Golurk's back mid-flight and Lucario dissolved inside. Looking at Dawn and shrugging, he hopped in too, bringing Shaymin with him.

It was as disorienting of an experience as he'd remembered.

"I must say, this is rather crowded," he heard Golurk echo. Shaymin and Lucario were floating around in the void somewhere, though he couldn't quite tell where.

"So that's what this is like," Lucario murmured in their thoughts. "Weird."

"Again, we're not dead," he reminded them, not wanting to explain it again, "Golurk, let Lucario take control."

"Nobody enjoys having a backseat driver…"

After Lucario got used to flying with some assistance from Golurk, and flying over the ninety-degree cliffs, they arrived at the plateau of the Lucario Kingdom.

Lucario was the first to leave, jumping out and over before she could hit the ground, to greet the Lucario. Hilbert slid out of Golurk's arm while he crouched, landing on his knees and replacing Shaymin on his shoulder.

He waved at the few dozen Lucario, who clearly weren't used to visitors from the air. "So," he led, "Would you guys happen to have a stock of weird rocks anywhere?"

Lucario split off from the group for some business she had with the council.

She walked through the massive archway, surprised by how small it seemed since she evolved. The five elders sat at their table as always, watching her approach.

She kneeled, again disoriented by how different it felt.

"I will continue my journey, but I felt that visiting could do little harm, elders." She spoke in a proper manner, very unlike her, because she believed respect was proper when in the presence of superiors.

That would say a lot about her relationships with everyone outside the kingdom.

"Stand, young one."

She did, as White Claw continued speaking.

"I see you have evolved. I take it that you expect to receive your name?"

Her breathing paused. Names were only bestowed after evolution, a rite of passage, and often chosen with the valor of the Lucario in mind.

"I would be honored, master."

"I am no longer your master, young one. When a Lucario begins their journey, the world becomes their master, do you understand?"

She nodded, letting the wisdom soak into her bones.

"What are your greatest accomplishments?"

"Humility is a virtue, elder."

The old Lucario barked out a laugh, quite literally, "That is true, that is true. I will ask this way, what are your feats of battle?"

"I… successfully utilized one of your techniques and took victory for my allies, later evolved after comforting an ally after a humiliating loss, and defeated a Mega-Lucario in single combat."

"What is a Mega-Lucario?" White Claw asked.

"The humans have discovered special stones in the past few years that increase the capabilities of Pokemon through a temporary process called Mega Evolution. In a battle, I defeated one of these Pokemon."

"I see… I believe it would be pertinent to commune with the young humans on this matter. Where are they currently?"

"I believe they are visiting the mines in search of Mega Stones."

Hilbert kneeled down to get a better look at the vault filled with crystalline spheres.

"Alright… Geode Surge, was it? How did the Lucario Kingdom come across so many of these stones?"

The middle-aged Lucario (At least in relative years) tilted their head in thought. "When the Kingdom was first settled, centuries ago, the Old Ones felt an energy within this mountain, which is why they settled here. I've been mining as long as I can remember, and we find one of these stones every month or so. They have odd aura, but the elders describe it as incomplete. I can see it, of course, but I don't know what they're seeing that I don't."

"Interesting… I thought it was just a trick of the light, but I guess Mega Stones would have it too." He picked up a marble and blinked, watching it filter through his eyes anyway. "Porygon, show me a list of discovered Mega Stones."

From there it was a sorting game. There were fewer Key Stones than he expected, and Geode Surge told him they were only found once a year. Most of them were amber, with swirls of red and blue within. Porygon quickly found that they were Lucarionite, and he set them within a box for safe-keeping.

That box was quickly overfilled, as there were more stones than there were Lucario within the Kingdom. His mind was spinning with how cool it would be to storm Team Galactic's base with an army of Lucario, but he quickly acknowledged how unlikely that was.

Oh, you poor fool.

He went through some scattered stones, a few being Key Stones, but most being kinds Porygon couldn't recognize. He figured those stones just weren't common enough to be in any database.

"Okay, Geode Surge, does the Lucario Kingdom have a military of any kind?"

They shook their head, "Not in the way you humans organize. Every Lucario is ready for battle and trained in the basic uses of their abilities, though not all fight regularly."

"That makes sense," he thought.

"I'm thinking that you should distribute these, one to every Lucario. They enable Mega Evolution."

"Mega… Evolution?"

"This could take a while. Okay, so- You know what? I'll talk with the council, I think they'd like to hear about it."

They met somewhere in the middle, his Lucario retrieving him to talk to the council. Everyone else was doing the same as they did on their first visit, Lucas sparring with his Fire Lance while everyone else explored or worked with their Pokemon.

"Elders," he greeted simply, "Or, great masters of the Lucario Kingdom, order of the-"

His Lucario hit him with a light Aura Sphere, knocking him over.

"Just joking!"

"The aura is strong with this one," one of the elders hummed.

"Oh, so this really is a Jedi Temple?"

"Pay some respect!"

"Yeah, yeah, back to the topic; You have a lot of Mega Stones in the kingdom's vault."

"The young one has informed us of the effects of these stones. Are you sure human interaction is necessary?"

Hilbert actually felt embarrassed at the question. "Yeah, see… Probably? I mean, we're the ones researching it, there's a bias there but I'm not sure what the name for it is. I mean, because humans and Pokemon are different on a biological level, it's probably just coincidence that we can and you can't."

"I see. And what is the trigger?"

"As far as I know, trust and-or friendship. I mean, it's usually that, and I don't know if it's emotion or not, but you really can't measure that kind of thing…"

"It's still a mystery, is what you're saying, young one."

"Yeah. Oh, before I leave, I put all of the Lucario Mega Stones in a box for you all to use."

"What use would we have?"

"Call it a… precaution. Just in case."

Hilbert tossed an anklet with an embedded Lucarionite over to his Lucario. "Geode Surge had a spare item holder, so I used it. Happy birthday."

"It's not my birthday…"

"Joking, obviously."

White Claw coughed before their argument could get going. "Regardless, we are thankful for this information. I am glad to see both of my students doing well."

Hilbert felt a deep sense of gratitude tugging in his chest. "You too."

"I think it is time you receive your name." He looked over the two aura users. "Hilbert is an odd name for a Lucario. I believe a change is in order. Besides what you have done for us, what are your greatest feats?"

"I get to be a Lucario? That's hella. Uh… I punched a Zapdos in the face at some point, I think. Might have that wrong. Oh, also a few Drapion. And a few Galactic grunts, but that's nothing crazy… I solve a lot of problems with aura, now that I think about it. Also, I learned how to merge into Golurk. A few others have done it too, but that's more him than me."

"Interesting. Zapdos, you say?"

"I was out of the region for the last few weeks."

"Interesting. Your aura burns like the sun, young man. It's wild and temperamental, and it isn't consistent. It's flared up and dissipated multiple times during this conversation. It isn't only your life force, it's something else."

"Man, I feel so special," he droned sarcastically, acknowledging how Lucas's protagonist theory was growing more accurate.

"You bring the world into orbit around you. You blaze the way and carve your way through the world."

"Pretty in-depth for just energy."

"When you get to my age, you can sense more about a being than what you can see. You force the world to follow your Truth through your belief in your Ideals."

"Your name, young man, shall be…"

The Lucario Kingdom, being in the mountains, was home to a hot spring. You thought Team Black was done with tropey bullshit? Think again!

Luckily, being an order parallel to monks, the baths were separated by gender, and the three boys slowly walked in as to not surprise the Lucario already inside. It was sparsely populated, but only when compared to the massive size of the cave. It could easily fit all of their Pokemon a few times over. Well, the male ones at least, even if the concept of nudity didn't really exist to Pokemon. It was the principle of the thing.

Barry did a cannonball into the water, splashing them, because he was such a mature young man. They had towels on, and luckily Barry snatched his back before it could float away.

"Are we just going to relax for the entire chapter?" Lucas asked, sliding into the water

"I mean, I can't imagine there's going to be any fighting while we're here. And what do you mean 'chapter'?"

"I… don't know, I forgot."

AN:

Mid-Sinnoh World Tour arc is over folks, hope you enjoyed it. Things are only going to get crazier from here.