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 8: Retreading Known Paths

The first thing Max noticed when they met up with Alice and Linda, a night's sleep after getting to Indigo Plateau, was that he was taller than Alice. Not much, but enough that it was noticeable, and after everyone around him had started hitting growth spurts and being taller, he was kind of paying attention to it.

The second thing was that Linda's hugs had only gained in strength, and her releasing him was both satisfying and a little painful. "It's been so long!" Linda enthused after she'd done the same to Danny. "There's letters and calls and stuff, but they only show a bit of how much you've changed since we last saw each other in person. How long was it again?"

"Thirteen months," Max replied, smiling at the typical rapid-fire words. "Two years ago, if you want to put it that way."

"Clever," Linda said with a smile, toying with her brown hair, about the length of Max's own. "'course, lots happened since then." A hint of curiosity crept into her voice, and Max repressed a silent sigh. It was understandable. "Why'd you do that when others just ran away?"

He shouldn't have been surprised that Linda was asking that question. Not after what she'd told them a week or two back, just after winning the Zephyr Badge. Alder, Unova's Champion when Team Plasma had taken over, had been forced to resign per the new year, and when doing so, he'd said that he'd only done nothing because he felt that the people of Unova should have taken their fates into their own hands instead of relying on Champions and Elite Four members and all to do everything for them. "Can we… Can we talk about this elsewhere?"

Alice and Linda both glanced around, seeing a good amount of people milling around. It was only nine in the morning, but the Indigo Plateau didn't really sleep while there was a League or a Grand Festival going on. "Sure thing," Linda told them. "Got any ideas?"

A rumble from Danny's stomach caused all of them to look at the tallest teenager present. "Didn't you get breakfast while I was in the shower?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow at his sheepish friend.

For some reason, Danny blushed. "Got distracted," he mumbled, not quite quiet enough that Max couldn't hear it. "Can we get breakfast first? Anything will do."

It was half an hour before they found a suitably quiet spot. Xatu wasn't with him, or Max would've just used her to Teleport them or throw up a barrier. He wasn't quite willing to subject them to gardevoir's teleportation.

Besides, it allowed them to catch back up a bit. Calls and letters only did so much.

He cleared his throat, and silence fell. That caused a ball of amusement in his stomach: just seeing people stop from that was amusing. "You both know the basics of why we were there?"

Alice nodded. "Yer Gym Leader friend sent you on to warn Geosenge. That's wha' it was, right?"

That was the public story. "The details are… Different. Clemont found a map with an estimate of what was going to happen to Geosenge. It was not good."

"Most of the town destroyed," Danny added softly. "Completely destroyed; not-a-wall-standing destroyed." The Gym Leader had had rotom show the map to them later, after all was over.

Both of the girls made horrified faces, Alice also gasping. "But, yveltal?" she asked. "Did you..."

"We didn't know," Max corrected with a shake of his head. "I didn't know until deep underground. I saw its cocoon and it was the scariest thing I'd ever seen, but I'd only realised it could be one of the Kalos Legendaries a couple minutes before."

"Didn'tcha want ta run from it?"

An echo of revulsion surged in Max's stomach as he relived the moment. "Yeah… But I couldn't. Not with that Team Flare was about to do," he answered Alice. "Danny and Jane were keeping others off my back. I couldn't go back for them, and I couldn't just leave. And..."

He caught Danny's eyes, raising his wrist ever so slightly. "And it's who Max is," his best friend finished for him, somehow making it not sound exasperated.

"How so?" Linda wondered. "What's that got to do with anythin'?"

Max uncovered his Key Stone from underneath two layers of clothing and the wristband cover. "Every Mega Evolution has requirements. It's not just the stones, it's also the bond with your Pokémon and your thoughts and feelings have to be in sync." He took the wristband off, handing it to Linda, who took it extremely carefully. "You need a… A reason? A cause?"

"Triggering the process is a lot about who you are," Danny took over. "I've tried to stop him, but Max is all about fighting and battling. It's wired into whatever passes for his brain." Max gave him a lazy middle finger. "He wants to stop everyone who's using Pokémon for evil."

Both girls were silent as they worked through all the information they'd just been given. "So… Ya just need to know yerself really well?" Alice asked eventually, glancing between the boys and the wristband now in her hands. "Plus, ya know, stones and the right Pokémon."

"I think it's mostly stones," Max opined. "It took Danny, what, two weeks and a bit? Daily attempts, but it wasn't like he spent most of his time thinking about it."

"More than you probably think, though," Danny added, and Max nodded, conceding the point. "Sure, we're good Trainers and yada and blah," he continued, "but it's not like the bond you need with your Pokémon is some kind of fairy tale thing. Just need to be honest with yourself. That's the most important, I think."

"What's it that helps you Mega Evolve aggron then? If I'm allowed to ask that, 'cause it sounds kinda private and all that," Linda asked, stopping herself abruptly. "It's fine if you don't want to answer..."

Danny shrugged. "It's about protecting for me," he said nonchalantly. "Protecting the ones I love. If Max is the sword, I'm the shield."

"Yer makin' it sound all poetic and stuff."

"Blame my Dad for that."

~~§~~§~~

It was the second day of the League when Danny found himself waiting for Max to come back with some early lunch. Ash's match wasn't too far off, but there was time for lunch to still be had, and so the two teenagers had left Ash for the moment, instead stepping out into a clear February day with only a hint of clouds up above and a ton of people on the streets of the Indigo Plateau.

Being a spectator was weird after staying in the entire tournament just a few months before. No need to find out who you were facing and looking them up, not a lot of talking strategy just yet because Ash probably didn't need that until later rounds anyway, and a ton of free time to watch all the matches they could ever want to watch. Linda was the only other they knew from before, though Max swore up and down that he'd seen one of his early opponents in Ever Grande.

It was also different from the May tournament in Kalos, because that often just was sitting in the stadium all day. No easy travel between the two locations and everything being available inside the stadium itself made that the right choice back then. Here, they could choose if they wanted to see beginners or veterans, Ice-field slipping and sliding or Water-field diving… It was great!

A hard tug on his sleeve half-swung Danny around, but before he could even think about anything, he saw someone he had not expected to see at all. Twelve years old, short light brown hair, thin face with grey eyes currently looking very mirthful… "Evan?!"

"The look on your face!" Max's cousin replied, snorting and closing his eyes. "You looked like an idiot! Are you one?"

"I'd hope not," Danny muttered automatically as he tried to make sense of everything. "What on Earth are you doing here? Thought your parents wanted you to start in Hoenn." Evan had told him that in the airport after the photos had been made.

That wasn't the right thing to say, Danny immediately realised. A scowl came over Evan's face for a moment, and when it vanished, the easy smile didn't return. "They wanted me to, I didn't want to. Kanto's tons better anyway."

Half a dozen questions – at least- ran through Danny's head, but he could ask none of them before he saw Evan's face turn into a smirk, followed by a "What the hell!" from behind him.

"Shorty," Evan told the newly arrived Max as Danny stepped to the side to create a triangle to talk in.

Max let it slide, instead handing Danny one of the small paper bags he was carrying. "Didn't start in Hoenn after all. You know poochyena aren't common in either Kanto or Johto, right?"

"Still found one just outside Pallet, so," Evan retorted, sticking his tongue out. "And no fucking rules eith… What? You're not going to tell me off for language, are you?"

Belatedly, Danny realised he was staring at Evan, his mouth slightly agape at the swearing. He closed it, before trying to say something and not really finding the words.

It repeated itself a few times, and then Max saved him. "I think he's not used to someone your age doing that. Or so casually." Max put a few patronising pats on Danny's back. "Nearly fourteen going on forty, he is." The blue-haired teenager leant forward. "He's even drinking coffee. He's really an old man."

"You try it one time," Danny replied, refraining from rolling his eyes. Barely. "Just wanted to see why people like it." And he still wasn't completely sure why. It wasn't bad with a lot of milk and sugar, but even through that, he had tasted the bitterness. "And you're really one to talk, Max."

"I am, aren't I?" Max replied, smirking, knowing he had won this little exchange. "Anyway, it's running close to quarter past. We should get going, Danny."

"Where're you going?" Evan asked as they started walking, the youngest of the lot falling in as Danny unwrapped his sandwich. A pidgeotto flew low overhead, and Danny saw Evan duck, while he and Max barely flinched. Angle wasn't right. "Why the hell didn't you duck?"

The answer had to wait for a moment as a blast of static heralded an announcement, but it was only one about a little boy looking for his parents. "Used to it," Max said as he lobbed a crumpled-up bag at a litter bin, but the ball bounced off the edge, and they seamlessly detoured to allow Max to put his rubbish away. "Catch a flying Pokémon. You'll be the same in no time."

"So metapod needs to evolve?"

"That'd do it. Probably."

~~§~~§~~

Not for the first time, Danny marvelled at how easy xatu made it to sneak away without people noticing. Having a room by themselves helped, but the only reason they had teleported into a cold Kanto night was because none of them had ever been inside the Kanto Grand Champion's residence. Xatu had flown over it, memorising the location and now putting them in a… Vegetable garden? What?

"Welcome," Lance said from the shadows, startling Danny. Max barely flinched, annoyingly. "Let's head in."

He hadn't been sure what he'd been expecting, but somehow, Danny felt the stuffy interior fit Lance. It wasn't as formal as the Battle Chateau had been, but everything inside was closer to that than it was to most places they'd been. Artwork on the walls, busts of past Grand Champions… If it weren't for the warm lights, it could've been a museum.

They were led to a living room that was at least a bit more homey, mostly thanks to the fire crackling in the hearth. A dragonair rose from a kind of hammock nearby, swiftly zooming over to them and taking a long look at what had come in. This was followed by a closer sniff; allowing Danny to smell the uniquely draconic scent through the start of a cold. "That's enough, dragonair," Lance said from the sitting area. "I assume hot chocolate is still as popular with the youth of today as it was when I was your age?"

Dragonair went back to its resting place as both of them took the surprisingly cool glasses. The contents were hot; Danny saw that, but somehow, it didn't transfer the heat. "Not going to say no," Max said from beside him before sitting down in a grey armchair, somehow managing to look both at ease and somewhat ridiculous. It wasn't made for someone as small as Max, obviously, but he didn't seem to care.

Danny's seat fit better, and it was every bit as comfortable as it looked. "I hope you've been enjoying the battles on show here," Lance said as he offered some marshmallows to sink into the drink. Danny took one, Max took two.

They dropped the sweets in. "It's been fun," Max said, and Danny agreed with a nod. "The different fields add a lot of thinking because you can bring a specialised team. Kind of have to, even."

A fourth round battle on the Ice-field earlier that day was the reason for Max's comment, Danny was sure of it. There'd been a nidoqueen, sent out to battle a magnemite, but she didn't really have anything to attack the magnemite with that wasn't dodged, and when she tried to dodge, the ice had gotten the better of her. "It's one reason we keep Ice around," Lance agreed, either knowing or guessing what Max was referring to. "Though some think it strange that we do not switch fields in the final rounds. Regardless," the Grand Champion said, "there's some things you should know."

"Bring it."

A mildly annoyed look communicated perfectly that Lance brooked no interruptions. "You may or may not have heard that you've not been officially wanted since the end of December," he started with something familiar. "And undoubtedly, you've wondered about that and if it meant you could go back." He shook his head. "It does not. Neither Reginald nor others are certain why the change occurred, but it is a safe assumption that they'd still like to capture you. I would suggest leaving the Plateau via Teleport at the end."

"It's too busy here, right?"

Lance gave Danny an appreciative nod. "Too many Trainers around, and any attempts at capturing would be done by a smaller group of four people maximum. More would draw undue attention, considering stealth is their chief weapon."

"Why's that?"

"They need to stop us from getting Pokémon out," Max told Danny. "Or block Teleport somehow., and there aren't a lot of tricks for that. So they want stealth and surprise."

"The intersection of Pokémon known to learn both Teleport and Imprison extends to two families, and Mean Look and its cousins are markedly less effective on both humans and trained Pokémon," Lance half-explained, half-said. "Just be careful if they have a gardevoir, gallade, or beyeehem. The others shouldn't have the power to restrain either of your Teleport-capable Pokémon."

Privately, Danny felt they'd probably need two to stop Max's gardevoir. "So they want to get us while we're sleeping or something."

"It is the most logical time, and so there are always a few G-men or sympathetic police in your hotel," Lance told them. "Nothing is impossible, of course, but it would be very hard to get past that and the Pokémon you're technically not allowed to have out at night."

Danny fought the blush, recognising that Lance was commending them for doing that. "Didn't even realise we weren't supposed to," he said, looking at the table between them. "Just been doing it so much that it's habit."

"A good habit to have in your situation."

"Er… Sorry if I'm rude, but… Why do you care so much?" Max asked, tensing in his chair when Lance turned a piercing gaze on him. "It just… Seems a bit too much."

Danny was certain Max had gone too far, but then, Lance's gaze turned softer. "I convinced Reginald to let you be our eyes and ears in Kalos last year. I told you this," the Dragon Trainer said, inclining his head towards Max. "More recently, I asked one of our risk analysts to take your actions out of the equation in Kalos. The first two events would be roughly the same – Professor Sycamore is a strong battler when pressed – but given how yveltal was awakened… I know it's been mentioned before, but you saved countless lives."

"But wasn't it my Mega Evolving manectric that awakened yveltal?"

"True," Lance agreed. "But that was only the final spark and it would have happened regardless that afternoon, even within an hour of it actually happening. The other attacks would not make sense otherwise." The man steepled his fingers, calmly looking at each of them in turn. "We actually think Durocor was more important than you might think at first glance. What happens if you're not there?" He gave them only a few seconds to think. "Twelve Mega Stones to siphon energy off of, instead of three. The machine was destroyed in the battle Diantha had with Lysandre, and its inner workings aren't known, but Ken – the analyst – and I agreed that quadrupling its potential output was probably not good."

"It could've exploded."

"Team Flare was a bit more meticulous and intelligent than the average Team Rocket member trying to stir up trouble here in Kanto, sadly. A hard drive survived, with descriptions of how they triple checked everything before hooking even a single Mega Stone up to the machine. Infinitely more competent than Magma and Aqua as well." Lance took a sip of his drink, reminding Danny that he had one as well. The marshmallow had vanished. "I don't know about you, but I prefer my world domination plotters incompetent."

The dry delivery was enough to make Danny crack a smile, and Max nearly snorted chocolate out of the glass. "So… What you're saying is that we did good?" Danny ventured after he'd found the liquid to be at the perfect drinking temperature.

"You did good in the same way I'm an above-average Trainer," Lance replied deadpan. "If you don't go into the café with the Kalos Gym Leader, we lose valuable time warning people in Geosenge. If you don't get the prophecy told to you, there wouldn't have been a plan in place. Internal moles made the police estimation of Team Flare's strength and progress off by a lot. And perhaps it was right place and right time, but when we're talking about Legendaries rampaging, I will gladly take any little advantage I can get."

Those were words Danny could very much get behind.

~~§~~§~~

After the day's practice was done, Max, Danny, and Ash went their own ways. Danny was going to help Linda and Alice with something cooking-related; Max hadn't caught what exactly, and Ash was off to get his Pokémon healed.

And Max was off to find Evan. His cousin occasionally showed up at the practice, just as a spectator, but he hadn't today, and Max did want to ask him something after Danny had said something the night before.

The hostel Evan was staying in was fairly close to their own hotel, just a bit further out from the stadiums. Apparently, he had a room to himself after his earlier room mate had left the day before yesterday; something that Max didn't understand. If you went to a tournament, why wouldn't you stay until the end and watch all of it? From what Evan had said, it hadn't been some kind of emergency.

The receptionist was fine with waiving Max through to his cousin's room after confirming that he was still inside. The door was ajar just a bit, but when Max walked in, there was no sign of his cousin whatsoever. There was a very messy bed, and a few things strewn across the room, but no sign of Evan whatsoever.

Before he started figuring out where Evan could be, the door creaked open again, and after swivelling around, Max and Evan looked at each other. His cousin looked surprised to see him, but it didn't last long. "Morning Max."

Max glanced over at the digital clock on the wall. 11:57. Technically correct. "Dare I ask how long you've been out of bed?" he said as Evan dropped a towel in the hamper.

The younger boy also glanced at the clock. "'bout half an hour." He shrugged as he went for his bag, fishing out a comb and a container of something. Wax? "Best fucking sleep I had in a week and a half. He snored and he got up at dawn."

Any further explanation wasn't forthcoming as Evan took a small mirror and started styling the front of his hair. Max waited for him to finish it. "All this time, you came to us because you were awake anyway, and not because I'm your cousin that you wanted to spend time with?" How did Gregory put it again? Oh, right. "I'm wounded, Evan."

"Sure you are," Evan shot back flatly. "Shorty."

After having the term thrown at him multiple times a day for the last week and a half, Max didn't even care any longer. It was who Evan was, and while it was worse than it had been in the airport, it never sounded like it was an insult.

And the constant swearing was good for getting Danny a bit riled up. That was always a good thing in Max's book.

"What did you think of your first ever League you've been to?" Max asked as they both sat down: he in a chair, Evan against the bed. "As good as you hoped?"

"I'm going to be in the next one," Evan replied confidently. "Shouldn't be a problem to get eight badges. Not with poochyena and tentacool and butterfree by my side."

Someone was confident. "I'd skip Pewter Gym for now," Max advised him. "Poochyena and butterfree are terrible against Rock-types. Cerulean is much better to start."

For a moment, Evan looked like he wanted to protest, but then he looked like he thought better of it. "Damn, you're right. Suppose I should listen to my elders." Poochyena came out, immediately looking at Max as the Dark-type picked up on the suppressed laugh. "You don't know anything that'd help him beat Brock?"

The Bite Pokémon's tail wagged as Evan's fingers buried themselves in fur. "iron Tail is a start. I think mightyena can learn Ice Fang too, but that's probably going to be a while." Max left his chair, sitting down on the ground instead and tapping the wooden floor. Poochyena, after one look at his Trainer, came over. "Danny said you found him just outside Pallet?"

"Yeah. He was..."

"Liar," Max interrupted Evan, and he felt poochyena tense under his fingers. A quick scratch hopefully reassured the canine. "There aren't any wild poochyena or mightyena around Pallet. I asked Ash's Mum, and she told me that. You got him in Hoenn." He sighed. "Please tell me you didn't go out onto Route 121 to capture him without a Pokémon of your own."

"I didn't do that, idiot," Evan replied. "I'm not stupid. I know what can happen to kids who do that. And you're one to talk."

Max ignored that. "So, who caught it for you? Can't be your parents..."

There was a stare-off, but Max was experienced after travelling with Danny for two years and Evan quickly gave in. "A friend, okay? Poochyena was his Pokémon first, and a couple days before I left, he gave him to me."

That was not what Max had expected. "Just outright gave? As a birthday gift?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Evan challenged, and poochyena gave a warning bark as well, though he did lean into the renewed scratches as well.

Max shrugged as best he could with one hand stuck on placating a canine Pokémon. "Nothing, really. You must be good friends. Poochyena are common, sure, but..."

Anything more he wanted to say was interrupted by the mother of all stomach growling from Evan. Poochyena shot out from under Max's hand, going to sniff at Evan and seemingly finding nothing. "You're cool with it?" Evan asked, sounding surprised, and blushing a tiny bit. "Even if..."

"I lied to my parents for years," Max replied, and that caused a mouth to fall open. "I'll tell ya a bit of it over lunch." He rose. "Put on some shoes and we'll go grab some."

Another rumble punctuated the fact that Evan probably hadn't eaten anything since the dinner the night before, and maybe a small snack. "I could eat a fucking ponyta, it feels like."

Judging by the way Evan devoured his food half an hour later, Max thought he really hadn't been lying about that.

~~§~~§~~

All around them, people were busy chattering about what they had just seen, and Max felt more than a bit smug at having been correct on all of the predictions he'd made earlier that day while doing the pre-battle preparation. Leon had progressed steadily, every time with a line-up that changed to match the opponent's strengths, which had told Max that he did a lot of research into his opponent.

As Danny was fond of pointing out, every pattern could be exploited.

Of course, pikachu and charizard had nearly revolted when Max had suggested not bringing them to the battle, but after seeing an Alolan golem, a jolteon, and a kommo-o over the course of the battle, pikachu had probably already agreed that it wasn't his fight: they all resisted electricity in some way or shape. There had also been a blindingly fast aegislash that had pushed absol to having to use a barrage of Future Sights at strange intervals; at one point having to take a Sacred Sword to the flank just to land the attack, and Max already knew he and Danny both would be re-watching that bit carefully at some point. He for what to do with aegislash should doublade want to evolve, and Danny to check out the balance between offence and defence.

Ash had won 6-4 in the end, though, with a set of Leech Seeds bulbasaur set up early proving to be too much for the kommo-o while it was off brawling with heracross later.

"How sure were ya that Ash'd win?" Alice asked from beside him, and Max saw Linda and Evan both look at him and Danny. "Coz it looked like he was never in trouble."

Max could see Evan wanting to disagree, but a shake shut his cousin up before starting. "Starting like that with weavile just taking that golem out against type… Pretty sure. Even after absol only took aegislash out." That Retaliate move packed a punch on a staraptor.

"I can't be the only one wonderin' how good you'd do against Leon," Linda said, and both Alice and Evan nodded as she continued. "I mean, you told us you had a good battle against Ash down there but lost, and Ash said it was 6-4 for him both times, so… You should be pretty good against Leon too, right?"

Max hadn't known Ash had told the girls. Still, he shook his head in the negative. "Nah. Leon's stronger I had the advantage of knowing how Ash thinks, so it made countering a lot easier for me." There was movement down on the field as a podium was brought out. "We'll talk details later, okay?"

About three quarters of an hour later, and a quick Teleport out to avoid the masses who wanted a picture with the new Indigo Champion, the six of them were in front of a restaurant they'd made reservations at for after the final. It was pretty expensive, Max knew, and wanting a private room made it a bit more expensive still, but if there ever was a time to go there, it was after a second title in under two years for Ash.

"Congratulations are in order, I see," the head waiter greeted the group as they entered. "This way."

The table had been set already for eight, which made Max realise he probably should've tried to find Delia or Professor Oak, who would also join them. He turned back around, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Mum and Professor Oak will come later," Ash said as the others looked at the two of them. "Mum said something about not wanting to listen to talk about the final, so they're walking here instead of going the fast way."

That worked, and all of them sat down at the table, two spots to Ash's left open for the missing adults. Some simple rolls were already present in a basket, and most of them grabbed one while they pored over the menu and talked about the final. Ash was more than happy to explain his strategies to a slightly starstruck Evan and a less starstruck-but-more-curious Linda.

Eventually, the talk turned to what everyone was going to do now that the tournament was over, and five teenagers all turned to look at Ash. "Why is it always me first?" he complained half-heartedly, to amusement from the others. "Like last time, a bit of a holiday. Mum's arranged for time off, and we're going to Alola. Apparently Professor Oak has a cousin there, and he's going to give us a tour."

A shared look between the two of them told Max that Ash was hoping that this time, his holiday didn't include having to storm a secret laboratory, but with Ash's luck, that was still an option.

Evan was staying in Kanto, sounding invigorated and just a bit boastful that he'd be able to do the Gym Challenge in the seven-and-a-half months left until the next version. It got him a few teases about being the little cousin looking to follow in Max's footsteps from Linda, and that had actually shut Evan up completely for a bit.

"We're goin' to Sinnoh," Linda told them after that had happened. "Been buyin' all sorts of winter gear for a bit already and it's supposed to have some really rare Ground-types too, so that's all fine for me." They laughed a bit at that. Over half of Linda's team now consisted of Ground-types, and she'd even traded for a strange Alolan Pokémon while she had been back home in Unova. A sandcastle Pokémon, of all things. "Alice is going to go for the Grand Festival there too, and that's February next year, so we'll be there for a while. I'm not sure which Conference I'm goin' ta end up in, though. One after next is a couple months before I turn 16."

Left unsaid was that Linda probably wasn't going to get an extension. She wasn't a bad Trainer by any stretch: she got to the round of 16 with a bit of luck here, but Unovan extensions were as bad as Kalosian ones were. It made sense, Max knew, because all of the money was needed to rebuild the country. Didn't mean any of them liked it.

"And you know where we're going. Any places in Johto really worth visiting?" Danny asked after Ash had told Linda a few things about Sinnoh. "Since you're doing tour guides apparent – hey!"

The shout was caused by pikachu, who jumped onto Ash's shoulder looking proud of what he'd done and pulling down one lower eyelid and sticking out his tongue. Laughter followed the mouse's antics, including Danny's own. "The Whirl Islands are pretty fun, but you told me you weren't going there, so… Don't have too much." A door opened. "Professor Oak? What are some places in Johto that Max and Danny should really visit?"

If the Professor was surprised at being asked a question the moment he walked in, he didn't show it. "Hm, I'd say the old imperial era buildings in Ecruteak and the forest north of there are memorable for me."

It took Max a moment to link the forest to one of Ash's other adventures, but he didn't really understand why the Professor liked the old district of Ecruteak so much, and he voiced that question.

"Well, it's personal, of course, but I did propose to my wife there."

Max had to admit, that reason to like a place was pretty good.

~~§~~§~~§~~§~~

Ketchum wins second League

In a scintillating final that had everyone on the edges of their seat, Ash Ketchum, 18 of Pallet Town, was able to take his second League title in under two years. His opponent, Leon Lua, 21 of Hau'oli City in Alola, seemingly came prepared to face Ketchum's well-known heavy hitters, bringing out several Pokémon strong against the pikachu and charizard that are Ketchum's trademark. The Mega Evolved absol was also countered heavily by Lua's aegislash and a staraptor avenging its fallen ally, but otherwise, Ketchum's line-up was devoid of some of his standard picks. This proved to be Lua's downfall as a surprisingly strong bulbasaur took down a jolteon before Leech Seeding the Alolan's last Pokémon: a kommo-o.

Author's Note: Oops, Ash did it again. Decided that writing a League without showing a single battle was a good way of cutting chaff. This was originally two chapters in earlier plans, but plans do change. Don't worry, there will be plenty of battling in the future.

If I don't reshuffle my plot again.