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 1: Long Overdue Repercussions

Norman Maple, recently forty-one, of Petalburg in Hoenn watched both of his adolescent children shuffle out of the living room. His daughter; the elder by two years and two months, headed towards the kitchen for a snack, while his younger son headed upwards to bed. Only a soft creak and Norman's chair being close to the door explicitly gave away that the thirteen year old had headed there, but it made sense. Despite the round-the-clock-length sleep the night before, and despite the nap that afternoon, and despite general teenage circadian rhythm shifts, Max had probably been dead on his feet after the interrogation that had lasted the better part of four hours. Norman himself was feeling a bit tired, though he had others to talk to.

After all, it hadn't been just the Maple family who were there. Gregory, Elizabeth, and Maxim Birch were quickly taking the youngest Birch home, not trusting him to make it all the way to his bed at the top of the house safely. In Danny's defence, he hadn't had the advantage of a nap, and the last thirty minutes had been him continuously nodding off to the point of Max having to field all of the questions everyone had about what had happened in Kalos on his own, with honestly surprising energy.

The Gym Leader looked up at his wife, spotting Caroline re-reading the letter that Max had produced at some point in the last hour and a half. Lance's letter. A letter from a Grand Champion, produced with almost casual aplomb. Norman was used to missives from important officials, but finding that such acceptance extended to someone a third his age was… Something he hadn't quite been able to find a name for. Disconcerting only covered half of the feeling. At that age, he'd been ecstatic just getting an autograph from a celebrity.

There was a notebook somewhere in storage that proved it.

He stood up, walking over to his wife, affectionately squeezing her hand as he leant on her chair, reading the letter along with her.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Maple, Mr. and Mrs. Birch, Professor Birch, May Maple,

By now, you will presumably have heard the tale of how the events of September 11th in Kalos unfolded. Between what Danny and Max told you and the known information out there, I suspect you are as much an expert on the day as anyone who wasn't in Kalos that day can be, given public information.

As you might expect, the public information isn't entirely correct. The notion that I was in Kalos by sheer luck is wrong, and that has to do with the teenagers telling the tale.

Following their Gym Battle with Anistar City's Olympia; the Kalos Psychic-type Gym Leader; they were told words of foresight. Olympia has extensive Psychic powers, and prophecy is amongst them. She gave each of the three teenagers, including their female companion, a message, and told them to heed it or "the world will pay the price." Given their experiences, both in Kalos and from Hoenn, they rightfully saw this as an attempt for Team Flare to incite something catastrophic.

And for reasons I do not myself know, since I didn't ask, they called me, and that made all the difference. You are aware that the Kalos Elite Four was compromised, and that any attempt to go through the League there would have been picked up. This direct contact allowed me to work in my capacity as leader of the Pokémon G-men and install operatives in the region. Not nearly as many as I would have liked, but the attack came sooner rather than later. I myself was there to confer with my Kalos counterpart on how to go about everything should the threat not materialise for a while.

This does not excuse their participating in the battle, but their presence, and their warning, saved innumerable lives, and the awards they received are extremely well-earned. They acted with the best of intentions, and though they did things that I, like you, would have preferred them to not do, I can't find it in myself to be anything but thankful for their help.

Yours sincerely,

The signature and sigil of the Kanto-Johto Grand Champion adorned the bottom of the page, the former in the same vaguely elegant script that the letter had been in, confirming that it was Lance who had written it, and not a secretary or something.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," came the voice of Gregory Birch from behind Norman, who failed to suppress his reflex to jolt up from the sudden sound. They had returned quicker than expected. "Otherwise, good letter, explains everything neatly."

The inflection in his friend's voice told Norman that the slightly older Birch thought more of it than just that, but he pushed that away as he heard Caroline take a deep breath. "That… That explains why they were so out of it. Remember, Norman, that call somewhere in August?"

He had to dig into his memory, but it came to him regardless, and yes, they had noticed that the teenagers were looking more than bit peaky. At the time, they'd accepted the assurances that it had been a rather noisy night from some nocturnal Pokémon, but in that new light, and knowing how their sons worked… "They probably spent the weeks between the prediction and the actual event sleeping fitfully at best. At least, until one of them broke down and got some help somewhere."

"Or using Serena's swablu to aid them in falling asleep," Professor Birch offered as he sat back down in the chair he had been sitting in all night. His brother and sister in law moved to the sofa as well, and Norman only stopped to refill his water from the carafe. "I'm amazed they came out with as few injuries as they did in the end. Even counting the ones sustained and healed in Geosenge, they went up against a criminal syndicate and came out essentially intact."

"One bruised ego," Elizabeth started as she read the notes she had made over the course of the evening. "Electricity-induced paralysis, a twisted ankle, a wrist sprain at most, a simple head wound. For three meetings with Team Flare, that is remarkable, given the fact that people have perished in regular attacks before." She ignored the glares sent her way. "And while Geosenge had injuries for all, though I doubt Max noticed in the adrenalin rush, they were far less severe than one would reasonably expect." She gave a mirthless smile. "The religious would call this proof that a deity exists and actively protects."

"What is your point, dear?"

"You suspect they haven't learned to stay away because they've been essentially unscathed," Professor Birch said, cutting across Elizabeth answering her husband's question. "Being honest with you, Elizabeth, that's bullshit. They are teenagers, and if there's one thing everyone agrees on..."

"It's that teenagers think more impulsively, yes," Elizabeth replied with a level gaze. "For once, you're wrong, Maxim. I think it's far more likely that they do know the risks of what they did, but that they think not intervening is worse. Something your son seems to confirm, Caroline, Norman," she added with a nod to them. "Didn't he say something about that last year? 'Couldn't not help Wattson' or something?"

"That's Max alright," Caroline said, fondly exasperated, mirroring Norman's own view of what he thought of his children growing up. "But there's a bigger problem." A moment of tantalising silence. "How will we show them – and May too – that we approve of the fact that they stood up for what they felt was right, but disapprove of actually putting themselves in danger?"

"And without keeping the boys here too long," the only non-parent in the room added. Norman and Gregory both raised an eyebrow. "They want to head out to Johto as soon as they can. They'd probably do it the day after tomorrow if they didn't want to be here for me next weekend, and to spend some time with you as well."

That, Norman had to admit, was probably accurate. Both of them had been eager to leave again, he thought. Neither had outright said that, but Max had asked May a lot about Johto at dinner the night before, and he'd also expressed interest in doing the promised full battle this week. Caroline had also said that Max's pack was essentially unopened apart from clothing that needed a wash and then sorting to see if it still fit well enough.

The question then was… What could they do that would be fast and appropriate. Norman's second instinct in September, after briefly thinking about ordering Max to come home and immediately throwing that away because there was no way Max was going to do that, had been to ground him. Caroline had shot that down as gently as she could, saying that it wouldn't do much and that the punishment didn't fit with what Max had done.

"Question: what are we actually looking for in our punishment?" Gregory wondered, breaking the silence. "The punishment must fit the crime, as they say, but what exactly is the 'crime' we want to punish?"

"That they put themselves in danger," Elizabeth answered slowly, well-aware that her husband tended to make strange jumps in logic at times. "And perhaps that they didn't really face the consequences of that?"

A gleam entered Gregory's eyes. "Exactly," he said, and as one, both women in the room let out small sounds of understanding. "So we should show them that Pokémon can be dangerous. I mean at the personal level, rather than the abstract level, Maxim."

The Professor closed his mouth, though Norman still had no idea what exactly everyone else had come up with. "And how are we going to do that?"

Gregory quickly explained, and the Gym Leader was on board from the second sentence onward. It was a simple punishment, and a short discussion made sure that all three of the teenagers were punished proportionally.

It would be a day until they could confirm that it could actually take place, but that was fine with all of them. As Elizabeth had put it: "Best that they wait for the hammer to fall. It amplifies the effect."

~~§~~§~~

The dimmed corner table lamp provided the extended Birch family with enough light to see by as alakazam dropped them off in the living room in the Petalburg home, and Gregory immediately turned on full lights with a blind twist of the knob behind him. "You want a birthday drink before going to Littleroot, brother?" he asked. Elizabeth had already headed for her laptop, booting it in order to read whatever had been sent her way during the hours they spent a mile away.

"I'll wait for next week," Maxim said, the tension in his face betraying the man's fatigue. "It's busy right now, and the near future isn't looking any better."

Gregory made to say something about his brother needing more help if his scientific work was stressful like that, but the torn, almost helpless, look cut that short before he could. Instead, he took one glance back and led his brother over to the kitchen, swiftly filling a glass with icy water with one hand. The other signalled for alakazam to erect a barrier that would block sound. "The last time I saw you like that, you'd just gotten news that LaRousse was being attacked," the elder brother said. "If it was that urgent, you could've begged off, remember?"

"Not that urgent," the younger brother replied shortly, quickly draining half the glass. "But I can't tell you, Gregory. You know that."

He did, not that it had stopped him from asking questions about obviously secret information before. The only reason he knew as much about the LaRousse incident as he did – and boy was it a surprise to find out that his son's best friend, his sister, and his mentor were involved in that – was because he had been in the room. The debriefing after the event had been something he wasn't keen on repeating, though it had given him great inspiration for a script he had been editing. "So it's not the meteor that is coming to wipe out Hoenn as we know it?"

He neatly side-stepped his brother's cough-spew of water, even as alakazam caught the droplets and deposited them in the sink. Gregory gave her a quick nod of thanks. "For the last time, that's only in the films."

"Is it going to affect us in any way?"

Gregory did not like the way his brother froze; like a deerling caught in a predator's gaze. It wasn't long, but it was enough. "It shouldn't," came a short reply, followed by a quarter-full glass being placed on the counter and an outstretched hand towards alakazam.

Elizabeth was still busy reading her mail, or perhaps formulating a reply, if he read his wife's face right, and instead, the dramatist and director went upstairs, not needing a light to find his way to his son's room. Once there, he flipped the light on, but the teenager didn't even stir as the lamp shone straight into his face.

It was probably just a trick or mere imagination, but Danny looked vulnerable and fragile as he was now, as if it was the first time in a long while that he could sleep and feel safe about it, coupled with a weight being lifted off his shoulders.

Unfair was what it was. The teenager was not even fourteen, yet to have his first shave, and probably his first proper kiss, and already he had ventured into situations few dared to. Still open to his parents emotionally, thank groudon. He'd shared more than Max had, and even if Gregory was certain both of them were downplaying things… Reading between the lines was a skill that he had honed for a long time already.

Tomorrow, he'd have to take his son to the side and try to pry a bit about what had happened. Without Max and Danny's habitual deference towards said best friend around, perhaps some quality father-son time could coax out more answers.

Gregory was fairly certain it wouldn't stop him or Elizabeth from worrying for their son, but that was the prerogative of parents: to worry for their children whenever they were out of view.

"Sleep well," he said, leaning in towards his son's ear, but no reply came, except for the even breathing of the fast asleep. A few steps back, and Gregory put his hand on the switch, pausing to look at the shelf over his son's desk. "Watch over my boy, klefki."

A soft jangle was all the answer he ever needed.

~~§~~§~~

Max waited for his friends at the pizza parlour two streets down from his old school, finding himself wishing that it was open before five in the afternoon. He wasn't hungry at that exact moment, having just eaten a healthy lunch over at the Pokémon Center before walking here, but just buying a pizza and sharing it with his three friends later sounded like a good plan already.

Any other thoughts of a mid-afternoon snack were chased from his mind as the others actually showed up. Keith was the one Max first noticed, but only because of the colour of his hair. "Am I the only one here who doesn't have his hair dyed now?" the blue-haired teenager asked, watching for reactions.

There were near-identical laughs, merry and exactly as Max had expected them to be. "Blame Jane, she talked me into it," Keith said, slinging an arm around his girlfriend. Since they'd last seen each other back in Kalos, the older boy's hair had been dyed a vibrant red. It stood out beside Jane's own jet-black hair, which was dyed from a dark brown. "And Danny helped me go for it and got his hair dyed himself."

"I had noticed," Max said as he exchanged a glance with Danny. His best friend's hair wasn't grey or silver this time. Instead, it was white as chalk. "Though I wouldn't put it past him to just dunk his hair in a bucket of paint."

There was something else about Danny that was different, but Max couldn't find it before the white-haired teenager replied. "I can do that to you, if ya want me to," he teased. Both of them knew it wouldn't happen, but it was fun banter. "I'll get you to dye your hair one day, Max."

"When hell freezes over," Max replied drily, to more amusement. "Guess that explains why you couldn't come over this morning. I called home, but Gregory said you'd already left."

"Dyeing hair takes time," Danny said with a shrug. "We got a few minutes before we're expected, so… How long you punished for?"

"Full week," Max replied as he turned towards Keith and Jane. "Punishment for—"

"We know," Jane interrupted, smiling kindly. "Your parents asked mine for their help, they told me last night. I'm doing one day as well."

"Voluntarily," Keith added with a shake of his head. "And I'm the idiot who said he'd go with her that day."

Max and Danny both laughed, and Max nearly felt his voice crack at Jane's quick kiss and comment that left Keith completely flustered, despite not being able to hear the comment itself. "You two are nauseatingly in love with each other, you know that."

"Don't knock it 'til you try it," Keith replied, not even trying to hide his blush. "What about you, Danny?"

"Two days, and just two days," the white-haired boy emphasised. "I'm on lab duty the other three days. Something about making it an actual punishment for you, Dad said," Danny told Max, a finger digging into the shorter teen's shoulder. It was enough to cause another round of laughter. "Enough about that. We need to head over."

Max hadn't been part of the discussion that had set this up, but Keith led them to the secondary entrance behind the school – the one pupils were never allowed to take. He and Danny hadn't either last year: they'd walked in the normal way, and it had caused a few children with window seats to see them, to the exasperation of the teachers trying to teach. Once granted access, they waited half a minute for the new principal to arrive.

The man turned out to be in his fifties, and just a tiny bit overweight, with visibly thinning black hair. He sank into a respectful bow once he saw the four. "It is an honour to meet you," he said after shaking all of their hands as well. "And my most sincerest thanks for taking the time to come back to your old school."

Just then, Mister Hillo stuck his head around the corner of a classroom down the hall, slipping out and joining them. "Good to see you again," the teacher said happily, shaking hands with all of them as well. "I don't remember such eclectic colours though," he added with a smirk. He took a pen and a miniature notepad from various pockets as the principal hovered nearby. "I hope you don't have stage fright. We're doing this for everyone who wants to attend, including lower years."

The idea of stage fright for some number maybe in the middle triple digits almost made Max lose it right there and then. "We're doing this outside, then? Podium and all?"

The deduction got him an approving nod. "Podium, microphone… Everything. I asked my class for some ideas yesterday." A folded-up note was taken from a shirt pocket. "We've probably got time for a few on here,"the teacher said as he held the note out.

Danny took the note, lowering it so everyone could read it.

Some of the ideas were never going to be allowed, like a Pokémon battle, or the attack demonstration, and some of the others were… "An autograph session?" Keith asked before Max could say the same. "Was that Tommy?"

"He was certainly the loudest," Mister Hillo shared with a grin, as Max remembered who they were talking about. Some boy the others had met and who wanted Max's autograph.

That idea still made his mind boggle, though, and he'd already had questions for autographs in Kalos. Hell, he didn't even have a real one. He'd just made up something with his initials.

"Don't think we can show Mega aggron. Not on the podium at least," Danny said as he skimmed the list faster than Max did. "It won't hold the weight. Manectric should be fine, if Max doesn't mind that."

Only the presence of the two adults made Max refrain from slugging Danny in the shoulder for the remark. Max didn't need any excuses to Mega Evolve manectric, even if he drew the line at doing it without reason. "If it's okay with you, sir," he said, addressing the principal.

The oldest one present seemed surprised to be drawn back into the conversation, Max thought. "I know little about it. It isn't dangerous?"

"Only to opposing Pokémon," Keith quipped, though it seemed to fall flat. "She's safe," he added, a bit more downcast. "Can you actually Mega Evolve without being in battle or in danger or anything?"

Sometimes, Max forgot that Keith, and Jane too, hadn't been in the loop as much as Danny and Serena had been, despite the amount of time they had spent together over the last month. "Not a problem," he said, shaking his head.

"It's a bit harder for me," Danny admitted softly. "Not impossible, just harder. Might be something to do with the thoughts I use to set it off."

As one, Keith, Jane, and Mister Hillo all made a confused sound. The two teenagers deferred to the teacher. "Can you elaborate, Danny?"

"Perhaps that could be done on the stage," Jane offered, softly, and adamantly at the same time. "And Keith and I could talk about starting out. For the older ones, mostly."

"Oh, yeah, the 'what-should-I-not-do' list," her boyfriend said, grinning in the knowledge that he'd filled most of that list. "I mean, we're taught a lot here, but you can't cover everything and it's been years since you travelled as a Trainer, right?"

"Yes, yes, we're a bunch of old geezers. No need to rub it in," Mister Hillo said, tone belying the words he used. "I like the idea. And I think both of you," he added, pointing at Keith and Jane in turn, "started out alone? Might be better to have that be your segment."

That confused Max a bit. "Why not tell them how good travelling in groups can be?"

"We teachers do that," came the flat response. "A lot. And we're still below the national average for that."

"Oh."

"Anyway… All of you have a topic to talk about… Would you be okay with answering some questions as well?" Mister Hillo asked. None of them had a problem with that. "I think that should cover it, then. Starting out, Mega Evolution, and questions, in that order. If you don't have any objections, of course," he asked the principal.

"Not at all. It sounds like you've got it all under control." The man sounded relieved. "I'll leave this in your capable hands. Should I keep an eye on your class?"

Mister Hillo waved him on, and the man vanished into the classroom, closing the door as he rapped his knuckles on it. "Proof positive that not every good teacher is a good principal..." the former teacher of all of them except Max muttered. "Right, is there anything you need before we start everything? Tea? Some food?"

All of them declined, on account of having had lunch already.

Several hours later, the four teenagers found themselves sitting in the pizza parlour after a long and active afternoon. It had been fun to explain, great to hear Keith and Jane explain things that Max had never really thought about twice, and the questions were surprisingly good. Better than Max was expecting for sure. Then, once all that was said and done, several pre-teens – most of them from Mister Hillo's class, but also some others – had sort of ambushed them and asked if they could see a Pokémon battle. Or two. Or five, as one of them put it, and the Trainers had delivered those. And autographs afterwards.

"You do that often?" Jane asked suddenly, just after they'd gotten their pizzas. "Just letting your Pokémon spar like that, with limits?"

She was referring to what must have been the 100th round of swampert and sceptile facing off, this time fully from range. Swampert had won out after freezing the ground and creating an ice rink that sceptile slipped on while dodging. "Have to. Those two know each other's moves by heart."

"Just like you two, then," Keith offered, before taking a bite. "Ah, just how I like it. Spicy."

Max looked at Danny, shrugging along with his best friend. "Guess so. We didn't battle together a lot in Kalos. No Team Double Battles anywhere, and we didn't for Team Flare."

"Except for the first time," Danny corrected, his mouth half full, but still managing to make himself heard with ease. "Johto probably has more. Maybe some people from Hoenn set something up. I'd be up for it."

"We'll expect the pictures of your new trophies in the mail then." Keith's statement made Max snort while sipping his drink through a straw, and some of it overflowed, dripping onto his plate. "Pizza with fizzy drink. Never tried that before."

Predictably, Danny was quick to jump on it, tag-team-teasing Max, but he didn't mind. It was all in good fun, and if you couldn't make fun of each other, were you even good friends in the first place?

~~§~~§~~

Finally, there he was. It was close to nine, for manaphy's sake, and May had wanted to talk to her brother for a few hours already. She'd expected to see him over dinner, but her Mom had mentioned that Max had gone to watch some kind of film – the kind only teenage boys really liked, May thought – and would be back later. Now, he was back, and that meant she could finally ask what she had been dying to ask.

She intercepted him before he could enter the living room, where her parents were watching some kind of drama May didn't really like, and without waiting for him to do anything, she took him by the arm and started dragging him along to the greenhouse, letting go after a moment and looking around to make sure he followed. He did, but he looked a bit confused, if not more clueless than normal. He did keep quiet until they reached the greenhouse. "What's this about?"

May didn't answer, instead going to lock the door. When that didn't work thanks to the key not wanting to turn, she moved back, making sure that she gave Max the look that said she wanted answers. A calm and almost closed gaze met hers. "You didn't hear the news today, right?"

"Not since this morning," Max answered, casually leaning against a tree, arms folded. He was wearing comfortable clothing; a dark green shirt May had seen before, and deep red trousers she hadn't. "What's so important about it?"

She had practised this a bit. "You met up with Ash in July last year, right? Near Forina, crossing north-west to Meteor Falls?" May started off with a few facts, and a slight tilt of Max's head was his only answer. "Why did Ash meet up with you?"

"He wanted a bit of a reunion before going to train with Drake," her brother said. "And I think you weren't in Hoenn right then. Wasn't that when you were on holiday to the Sevii Islands?"

Part of it was, May remembered that. "And that was everything there was to it? Nothing else?"

"Get to the point, May." Max sounded just a bit annoyed.

"Some government officials held a press conference today. There was a research facility hidden in the mountains, and in July last year, someone attacked it." She ignored Max's attempt at starting to speak. "They said there was a sceptile, a Water-type, a dark-coloured Ice-type, and a small rodent-like Electric-type involved. Sound like someone's Pokémon?"

The casual pose fell away, and not for the first time, May was faced with what looked like her brother trying to intimidate her. Unfortunately for him, she had a few inches on him still, and he was just too young to look the part. "And what else was said?"

"That there were no human casualties, but that one Pokémon died in the fighting." May let the words hang in the air for a few moments. "Did you know Ash had done that? Killed a Pokémon? A kirlia that had been with the scientists for about half a year?"

May knew Max caught the emphasis she placed, but his reaction was… Not expected. She'd expected surprise, shock, or anything that happened when someone's idol fell from grace. She was not expecting to be the target of a legitimately incensed glare – one that did manage intimidate her a tiny bit, not that she'd ever admit it. "Ash didn't do that," her brother bit out harshly.

"He's the only one that makes—"

"I don't know what kind of shit they spewed, but it's all lies," Max interrupted her brusquely. "Kirlia didn't die in the fighting. He was being used against his will, like jirachi was used to summon that fake groudon. He died from being tortured, broadcasting the same kind of signal that makes all those Psychic-types and Ghost-types and Dark-types go crazy. Like Petal Grove. Like Slateport. Like here," the younger teenager spat, and May had never heard his voice be that acidic. Ever. "Kirlia dying was a mercy."

"I'm sure Ash just told you that to protect your fe—"

"Shut up you—!" Max yelled, before suddenly stopping himself. "That is what you would do, May," he continued, softer, still demanding May's silence, the harsh comment also keeping her quiet. "Ash doesn't, but that doesn't matter." The youngest Birch took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, trepidation rising within his sister. She closed her own eyes for a second, taking a deep breath herself to not lash out at her baby brother. "I was there. Ash lent me sceptile, and we beat the bloody shitheads before they fled. Then Danny found kirlia, and he died after we freed him."

She really shouldn't have been surprised about Danny being there. He'd jump off a cliff for Max, and that much had been true even that far back. "Max..."

That was as far as she got, as she caught sight of her brother's face. There were tears threatening to slide down his cheeks, shocking her into silence once again. An urge rose to hug him, soothe him, but it warred with her annoyance.

Max broke the silence; his voice frigid, not hysterical. "You were right on Sunday, May. Ralts is dead. He died in my arms, in that arceus-forsaken hellhole under that mountain. I had seconds with him."

She was struck dumb by the cold words, only managing a spluttered "But you said," after ages before Max interrupted her again.

"Can't exactly tell everyone about it, now can I? I lied, May. I lied, and I'm damn good at it if you didn't even think that I knew the truth," he boasted darkly. "And you thought I was naive. Well, you're damn wrong about that, and about a lot of sodding things."

The scoff caused her to break out of her stupor. "What happened to my little brother?" she asked softly, both annoyed and truly curious.

"He grew up in ten seconds from having his heart torn out. Do you know how that feels, sis? You probably don't. The worst that ever happened to you was having to say goodbye to manaphy, wasn't it?" The watery glare he sent was lethal, quelling any outburst from her. "I would rather fight yveltal twenty times over, by myself, than ever go through anything like that ever again."

And then he left, turning around, opening the door in one fluid motion, before slamming it shut. Glass trembled in its panes, and a flock of nearby pidgey flew up from the shrill noise.

May stood frozen for several minutes before she could even think about what to do next.

~~§~~§~~§~~§~~

Hoenn Threat Level: SEVERE

Continued intermittent outbreaks of psychotic episodes for Psychic, Ghost, and Dark-type Pokémon remain hazards to public safety in Hoenn, with no apparent indicator of where they will strike next. Citizens are advised to use Pokémon of these types as little as possible, and to avoid gathering a group of them in one place without possessing appropriately powerful Pokémon to handle them in case of an attack. Evacuation plans should be regularly practised for public buildings such as schools or hospitals.

Last updated: November 12th.

Author's Note: And I'm back. Busy personal life, writer's block, and procrastination made for a rather delayed proper first chapter. Updates are every two weeks probably, just in case real life kicks back.

A reminder of the teams both boys have, in order of capture:
Danny: swampert, froslass, dusclops, gulpin, aggron, drapion, loudred, magnemite, masquerain, diggersby, spritzee, helioptile, ferroseed, klefki.
Max: sceptile, baltoy, manectric, ninjask, shelgon, clefairy, poliwhirl, vulpix, xatu, doublade, espurr, swinub.