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 43: Intuiting The Path

It had been four days since they had discovered registeel missing, and Danny and Sidney had been making decent time to head to Fortree until a weather system moved overhead, forcing them into hiding to avoid getting pneumonia. Sidney had located, or knew of, a cave, and that was where they had been for the past twenty or so hours as rain poured down.

The teenager both liked and hated it. Liked, because Sidney was great to talk to: he'd picked up at least six tricks to try and teach houndoom, on top of dozen of other miscellaneous things. Hated, because they weren't moving to Fortree, and that was important. For multiple reasons.

Danny wondered if Max was as bogged down as they were. Probably not. Best guess, he'd reached the facility days ago. He hadn't gone to Mauville, probably, because Sidney would've heard on a private Pokénav that only Steven, Glacia, and Terry had the number to, but that left the rest of Hoenn.

Hopefully, they would be able to pick up the trail in Fortree. They'd have to get lucky, but there were ways for that. Either contacts, if Max hadn't gone and done the same thing as they had – a definite possibility – or just going to places they suspected he would have been and try to pick it up from there. Heck, knowing his luck, he could blunder into an attack and do something heroic like try to protect a school.

It was both an amusing and a sobering thought. It'd make it easy to figure out where to go, though.

For now, however, they were stuck. The rain was projected to stop by midnight, meaning they could move again in the morning.

His temporary uncle returned at that moment from deeper inside the cave, with umbreon trotting beside him. "A surprisingly deep complex, but lacking Pokémon. Likely an exit elsewhere, enabling flight."

"You did use hydreigon to protect us from that side," Danny pointed out as the Dark-type Master sat down, umbreon jumping into his lap. "Sweet and cuddly, they're not."

"Neither are swampert, and a more appropriate protecting Pokémon I do not have in this weather." They both looked towards the outside, where the warm rain was still steadily falling. "Not even in my full roster."

A moment's thought. "No greninja?" Sharpedo were water-bound, and crawdaunt highly preferred water as well, and Sidney probably had at least one of those two. A shake was the answer. "Seems like a Pokémon that fits you."

"Not the first to mention, and before recent events, Kalos was foreign to Hoenn in more than just location." Sidney smiled wryly. "Now, official relations are decidedly hostile."

It was Danny's turn to smile wryly. "Turns out saving a region makes them love you."

"Human nature does that," the Dark-type Master replied, sounding, for a moment, more like Gary than anyone else. "Perhaps this question is too much; like reports of what friends do with their partners in the dark, but what is your experience when using Mega Evolution?"

A blush threatened to overtake his cheeks as Keith and Jane's public behaviour and Danny's inferences from that shot across his mind, but he had practice at shoving stuff out of his mind. Max was better at it, but he was no slouch either. "In which way? Can mean a few things..."

"Your demeanour changes when it is done, a cold veneer settling. It is unlike any I have seen."

Oh, that. That was easy enough. "How much..." Danny said, before suddenly realising he was setting in to lecture a member of the Elite Four. "What do you know about the process?"

"That it requires a bond of absolute trust and faith, as Steven said," Sidney replied. "My boss he might be, but mystery is his standard; like a vault locked tight. Other sources were similarly reticent." He seemed apologetic. "It was not something I could chase: demands on my time were myriad."

"Well, that's true, but… It's not everything. As you might expect," the teenager added, to a knowing grin. "There's the bond, yeah, and then there's the emotion behind it. The reason you're doing it." He struggled to figure out a good comparison, looking around and seeing the remains of last night's fire. "The bond is the campfire. The emotion is what you use to set it alight. And emotion goes both ways."

"Meaning?"

"Aggron is fiercely protective, right? Says so in the Pokédex. His protectiveness is a part of that bond as well, and then I've also got a more defensive style and I want to look out for people..." He stopped, aware he was rambling slightly. "We use that as our trigger for it."

"And the demeanour?"

"Steel-type stoicism," Danny replied. "Least, that's my guess. Max says he feels soothing static electricity in his bond, making him feel alive, more energetic. I think Ash thinks ahead a tiny bit more whenever he's Mega Evolved absol, but that's… Hard to figure out."

"I see..." Sidney replied, visibly thinking through something, fingers beating a pattern on his knee. "Are there other benefits?"

That was not a hard question for him. For Max, on the other hand… "It's easier to ignore discomfort, and they, or mine at least, help ground me." He raised his arm, knowing that Sidney had seen the scar, though he hadn't asked about it. "Aggron kept me from freaking out too much and going into shock. I also don't notice heat and sweat as much."

"A wild scyther cut you?"

"No, that was the first time someone tried to kidnap us. The..."

"Hurt one of you to incite someone to talk," Sidney interrupted cold as ice. "They are dealt with?"

"Trial was upcoming… Haven't kept track for a bit." And the less said about Paul, the better. Too complicated. "Max's bond is… Probably the same, and a bit more. It..." Realisation struck him like lightning, clarity instantaneous. "Shit."

"Huh?"

Of course Sidney didn't know anything. This hadn't come up. "Max has a Psychic-type's sensitivity. Long story," Danny added, waving his hand to show that he wanted to skip it for now. "Back when we rescued him, the man who captured him activated a small machine that's designed to hinder Psychic Pokémon at maximum power. Doesn't last long, but it caused gardevoir to start losing control of his powers, and Max was clearly affected as well." He looked Sidney straight in the eye. "That Mega Evolution was fuelled by rage. What if he runs into a real attack where Psychic-types do actual harm?"

The swearing that followed was inventive, and very impossible to do. Probably. Danny was in full agreement, though. "So, he joins in on attacking everything in sight."

"Either that, or… If gardevoir is out, they might get another Mega Evolution off." There was no doubt in his mind that they had been practising, but they might not have succeeded yet. "On Izabe, they didn't fall into mindless rage, arceus knows how. But real attacks have a more powerful signal behind it. Even if they don't get overwhelmed… It'll affect them deeply."

"Meaning destruction."

"Meaning gardevoir will not hold back one inch. And he has power to spare, Sidney. Before the Mega Evolution."

Silence fell as both of them worked through what this meant. For Danny, it cemented that they needed to find Max as soon as possible, and as he thought that, the rain outside seemed just a little louder than before. It also made him angry at himself again that he hadn't seen the signs.

"I have questions, myriad and likely intrusive. Will you answer them for me?"

~~§~~§~~

Half a day more, and they'd bypass Mauville entirely, and it had been his fault that they hadn't done so last night, but… Max really thought they'd gotten the Mega Evolution down, especially with what had happened three days ago.

They hadn't, and Teleporting after two failed Mega Evolutions was probably too much for gardevoir.

It was fine. He could wait around for another day, here in the forests east of Mauville. He'd be surprised if there were other humans within a mile of him, and he had woken up to a bunch of taillow hopping around the clearing he was just outside of. Vulpix had let them, it seemed, and one of the birds had even been friendly or daring enough to stay around while Max had stumbled out towards the small pond that was at the far end.

It was nine, according to the cheap watch Max was wearing, and he'd just had his Pokémon practice some attacks they were struggling with. Manectric was helping doublade with learning Shock Wave, which could work in some aerial battles as a surprise. Shelgon was trying to get Iron Defence down, and sceptile had been his taskmaster, switching from X-Scissors to Dual Chops after shelgon had got it at least once, but then couldn't whenever Max was watching.

It had worked, and Max had also thanked his starter afterwards for realising that sometimes, shelgon worked best by the stick half of the carrot-and-stick approach.

Vulpix had been asleep, as was her due after a night of guarding, and gardevoir was making surprising headway on Moonblast.

Somehow, that had been coming a lot better after the second time he'd Mega Evolved. Max's leading guess was that it was some kind of mental block being unlocked somehow, but he hadn't thought into it too deeply. All he knew was that the Psychic-type was happy at being able to use the other half of his typing more efficiently.

Which probably was a direct result from the Imprison loss in the Silver Conference. He was like that.

Only sceptile and gardevoir were out now: the former because the sun hit the clearing just right and the latter because he often was anyway. He'd asked sceptile once if his starter was jealous of the bond that Max shared with the Psychic-type, but the response had been the Grass-type rolling his eyes. The words afterwards hadn't been needed: Max was just stupid to think that was ever an option.

Psionic power tugged at his neck, and a moment later, Danny's necklace and the Key Stone attached came out from under his shirt. "Hm?"

"We should try again. There will be plenty of time to recover for tonight."

That was true. And he'd thought about it last night as well, precisely because it had felt so close. He had a good idea of what he could do to make up that tiny bit of difference.

They sat down next to each other, and started to focus.

As with the last attempts, Max's mind went to the times he'd used Mega Evolution with gardevoir, focusing on the emotions he felt then. But this time, whenever he felt the bone-tiredness and exhaustion of the first time, he leaned into the memory of rage. Rage that gardevoir had felt, attacked by the disruptor. Rage they both had felt, destroying the lorry.

Rage that flared. Rage that soared. Rage that settled.

It was pitifully easy, and Max mentally scoffed that he'd not realised sooner what the right path had been. The bond was comforting, equal parts psionic and fey, with an undercurrent of warmth.

"What did you do?"

"Didn't dwell on the first time," Max replied as sceptile walked up. The Grass-type tilted his head a bit at something. "Still me, sceptile."

"Tile. Scep?"

"He's asking why you look angry," gardevoir relayed.

Max took a moment to mentally feel out his expression, and realised that his starter was right. Side-effect, then. He knew he grinned a lot whenever he Mega Evolved manectric. "Just the bond. Still all me in here." He cracked a smile, before impulsively hugging his starter. "I know you're just looking out for me." And he liked that. Protecting each other was what they did, and sceptile did that better than most.

They were a family. Not one of blood, but one of choice. And family protected each other, were there for each other, supported each other.

Anyone who got in their way would pay. Dearly.

~~§~~§~~

Fortree City was as nice as Danny remembered it being, though a lot greyer this time around. That was just the weather, though, and not the inhabitants, who were as friendly as they'd ever been to strangers who had been there before.

Heck, he even interacted with a woman whose twin toddlers had nearly run into the two of them, two years ago. This time, the toddlers were cheeky four year olds – or so – and only interested in the candy aisle of the corner store they were going to go to, instead of the graceful show that Winona was putting on in the skies – a regular occurrence, Danny remembered and Sidney had mentioned. It was the reason they'd delayed one day in the wilds, because it would make no real difference to talking to the Gym Leader and it would give a valid excuse to go into town as obvious travellers.

Neither of them thought they were suspected of being who they really were, even if Danny found himself still a bit unused to reacting to Ken: the alias he was technically travelling under.

Ken, after Kenai. The middle name his father had saddled him with, citing family tradition. Sure, Danny knew why he'd done it and so on, but that hadn't stopped him from not liking the name because it was so stupid.

Naming your kids after trees once – his surname – was fine, but then doubling down and going for a specific kind? If ever he had children, he was going to take his mother's stance as a start: no saddling the child with a weird-as-heck name.

He would've preferred a regular middle name, like his Dad's or something. Max had that, and he knew that Keith was going to legally remove his middle name the moment he was 16 to get rid of his father's name, after he had already started going by his mother's surname back in school.

As he thought about names, the show came to an end, and Sidney, also known as Damien, waited for him at a corner. "Lost in thought, were you?"

"Thinking about names," Danny answered as he just kept walking. "Hope you have a place for lunch in mind. Been a long time since I was here, and..."

"You did everything in the Pokémon Center, frugal and everything."

"You know too much for someone who hasn't travelled in decades." A lie, but teasing helped Danny keep up the pretence, and Sidney was okay with it.

As it turned out, the Dark-type Master did know a place: a nice café about half a mile from the Gym, where they had a quick lunch, heavy on the fruit that was in season, with rice balls off to the side, of which Danny ate most. Then, they went on to the building that towered over the rest of the city itself.

Neither of them were out of breath too much by the time they reached the top, and they were met by one of the assistants. "Winona isn't taking any challengers today," he said.

"She will see us," Sidney said, producing a piece of paper from his pocket and handing it to the man, who read it. "Let us in, will you?"

"Of course," was the reply, and a glance went towards Danny. A shrewd glance. "A protégé?"

"No, though he could be; skilled and tenacious as he is."

Danny blushed slightly as they entered the building, but he resisted the urge to ask if Sidney was telling the truth. There were better times to do that.

To their surprise, Winona wasn't alone in what looked like a sun room, except it was also clearly a living room. Flying-type, figures. With her was a dark-haired, heavily-tanned woman, a few years younger than Danny's parents and the next Gym Leader they were going to visit.

Umbra, of Nightwind Town.

Who immediately recognised Sidney, disguise or not. "Sidney, my old friend. I was expecting to see you at my Gym soon, and not here," she said warmly, walking up and shaking his hand pretty strongly. "And who might this young man be?"

"Someone you fought before; when times were simpler and the region was yet unsplit," Sidney said as he walked to a surprised Winona. "Apologies for the surprise. Secrecy was crucial."

"No. No, it's fine," Winona said, recovering. "Should've realised today was a good day, no battles and all." Still don't get why you're going around."

"That's a long story, and it starts long before today." Sidney took a seat without being asked. "Oh, and Umbra, Winona, re-meet Danny Birch."

Sometimes, the flippant attitude of the Dark-type Master made Danny want to roll his eyes. Most of the times, he used the practice from Max's exploits to restrain himself. This was not one of them. When they refocused, Umbra was pretty close to him. "Well. Not who I was expecting. When did you return to these shores?"

From the corner of his eye, Danny saw Sidney nod and grin… Mischievously or evilly. He still hadn't decided which. He took it as permission. "When someone tortured my best friend right here in Hoenn."

"WHAT?"

He stuck a finger in his right ear, and it was needed. "Yeah. Then we rescued him and destroyed a house," he added. Darn, moving his finger to get rid of the slight ring really made his voice sound strange.

Umbra recovered first. "Okay. Story later, facts first. Was this destroyed house on Izabe?"

"The very one."

"For the love of..." she said, turning around rapidly on her soles and taking a step or two in the direction of Sidney, who was lounging in the chair like he belonged in it. "If you knew, why have you not told anyone?"

"Claims without proof; noise when I am unloved. The feint is important, and this must come up, not trickle down." He sat up straight. "Are you okay, Winona?"

"I didn't expect to be thrown into a conspiracy, by rayquaza and tornadus," the Flying-type leader muttered. "Okay, tell your story."

And so they did. It didn't take long, mostly because Umbra seemed to be writing her questions down, and Winona, after the first one she asked, took a glance at the paper every so often. Sidney did most of the talking, with Danny chiming in on occasion, like describing the state Max had been in after rescue. The rest of the time, he kept quiet for a reason, and it allowed him to look around a bit.

As Umbra fired off a first question, a predictable "How long have you known?" he saw a newspaper on the table. It was a few days old, but the picture on the front page was… Something he'd never seen before.

A burning heap of metal, underneath a headline about a Pokémon attack, now six days ago.

He picked it up, and started reading.

By the third paragraph, he felt something was up as they described a Psychic-type psychosis that was uncharacteristically cut short. He paused reading to answer Winona's question about how they'd gotten away from Izabe, ignoring May's presence entirely, but then he went back, and by paragraph six of eight, alarm bells were definitely ringing.

He didn't know why he thought it specifically, but it reeked of Max being involved, but as powerful as gardevoir was… He couldn't do that.

Unless... "Shit."

That brought the conversation to a halt, and he felt six eyes on him as he folded the newspaper. "Excuse me?"

He ignored Umbra, tossing the newspaper over to Sidney. "Attack article."

"We talked about that. It's strange," Winona said, and Danny turned to the Gym Leaders. "Do you know more?"

He waited a few seconds for the fast-reading Sidney to get some information. "I think Max is behind that."

"Mega?"

"Mega," he confirmed. "When Max left, he took my Key Stone and the gardevoirite that Sidney told you about. He couldn't use it then, but… The bond between him and gardevoir runs deep, and Max gets affected by stuff fairly easily." Pretty true, if not the whole truth. Shelgon was enough of an example. "And he's got a huge grudge against that politician."

"Who, incidentally, is controlling a gardevoir of his own; forced and related to the one Max has," Sidney dropped with all the subtlety of a crashing dragonite. "And that is the least of our problems." He shifted in his chair. "Tell me Winona, Umbra. Have you ever wondered why none of the Golems are ever seen in Hoenn?"

Contrary to what Danny expected, the Flying-type Leader got it first. "Oh no. This has got to be false. You're not… You're not kidding, are you?" she said, slumping when she got the confirmation. "Great Sky above… Is it… It can't be."

"Potentially, it is," Sidney replied. "But for logical reasons, we cannot tip our hand. Knowledge is our friend: knowledge that we know what they want. We can arm ourselves, and arm others. Disseminate this truth ahead of the protests."

"Protests?"

"Protests," Umbra said, smiling at Danny. "Every wave of restrictions has been met with protests. A new round is scheduled to start soon, ending in Mauville in two weeks." She seemed proud, and he figured that she was involved. Logical, what with who she was, but wasn't that illegal? "Sidney, if there's a chance of those being unleashed on..."

"The time will come when we must choose, and it is soon."

"Right," Winona said, and when Danny looked back, he saw steely resolve. "Skyla told me too much about Unova. I won't let that happen to Hoenn. It's just… A surprise."

Umbra snorted. "By which you mean that you never thought you'd be in this situation, girl. Interesting times, as people say." Then, she turned to Sidney. "You have plans. Tell us."

That was the rest of the afternoon. By the time they were done, darkness had fallen, and they agreed to leave by flying Pokémon at first light. Umbra would head back east, towards Mt. Pyre, to inform those Gym Leaders. Sidney and Danny would head east, towards Coral Cape first, and possibly to Petalburg after if they didn't have any leads on Max.

~~§~~§~~

Logically, it was only a slogan or something, Max knew, but the fact remained that the air in Verdanturf was blessedly clean and clear. He took a deep breath as he walked into the small town, feeling refreshed as he went in to replenish his pack for the next part of the journey.

The trip to the facility.

He had the plan all figured out. Teleport somewhat nearby: about two miles out, early in the morning, move closer and wait for night to fall before striking in the darkness, hopefully catching them out when there weren't as many guards or people in general.

Of course, he didn't know if the facility was in use again. They had thrashed it pretty decently, and it was a known location, but being prepared usually paid off. He'd rather have a plan and not have to use it, than have to figure one out on the fly. He could do that, but it was annoying.

Plus, a good part of him wanted to meet opposition.

He walked past the Grimm Mansion – inhabitants not in sight, not that it was hard given how bloody huge it was – and headed towards a corner shop that he'd visited with Brock the last time he'd been here when there was a cold hand on his shoulder all of a sudden.

When he jumped around, hand going for his belt and manectric, there was nothing there visibly, but something emitted a flare of cold energy from a nearby alleyway. A Ghost-type Pokémon. That wanted his attention, probably.

Max had a shrewd idea of who was responsible, if only because of the way it had gone, and when he entered the alley and turned into what looked to be a place out back from a theatre, with a cloaked figure standing by the emergency exit; a dusknoir beside her.

Danny would have dragged him into the alley. Phoebe was the only other one who would do this, and she gestured for him to come closer, fully opening the door she was right next to and revealing she'd been keeping it from slamming shut.

He followed her inside, into dim lighting and a musky atmosphere. The former member of the Elite Four undid her hood. "Good to see you too."

"How did you find me?" Max asked in return. "I only..."

He fell silent as Phoebe sent out a golurk; one that immediately opened a portal twice as high as he was without an issue. It was an eerie bright purple, and without hesitation, the golurk stepped in; the oval closing behind it.

Max wasn't expecting the counterpart to appear above his head, but he saw the flash regardless. "Phantom Force," the Ghost-type Master explained, needlessly. "Thought to be derived from giratina's ability to cross over from its world into ours. People believe its range to be limited to the direct surroundings."

"They aren't. Clearly."

"Not quite, no," Phoebe agreed, returning the golurk. "Mystic talk side, even my best Pokémon can only get a single portal up to move themselves about ten miles. Enough to post scouts around here, not enough to find you wherever. But I had a feeling you'd come here."

"Why?"

"Because I know who to talk to. And I'm good with clues, especially when they're like this," she replied cryptically, before patting a nearby box. "Take a seat. We'll be here for a bit."

He hesitated, mostly because they were in a theatre and those had people moving in and out. He should know from Danny's experiences. "Eh…"

"Mismagius is guarding the other entrance. We'll be warned, and you can take us out."

That was enough for him, and he sat down, still a little uneasy. "Okay. How on earth..."

"There is a spot near here," Phoebe interrupted softly as she sat down on the edge of a cart used to carry props around. "And since two months ago, no Ghost-type dare go there any longer. An area with a radius of about three miles. Small enough to hide, large enough to be noticed by local Pokémon. It is right in the Aso Mountains." She fixed him with a look. "You and Danny are going there, aren't you?"

Max bit his lip and ran his hand through his hair – which still felt weirdly short, even about two weeks after he'd had it cut. "I am, but… Danny's not with me."

He was barely in time to stop Phoebe from falling off of the cart, and dusknoir held the cart in place with some attack, he noticed – weak psionic powers, since he couldn't feel anything typically Ghost or Dark from it. "Thanks, but… What the hell, Max?" the woman said, standing up. "You… You're best friends. He… You need each other. Just… Why?"

"If I didn't… He…" Max swallowed to get around the lump in his throat. "He'd die."

"E… Excuse me?"

"There… There was a vision," Max said, and thankfully, Phoebe let him explain it in one attempt. Mostly. "What is it?"

Phoebe ran her hand through her hair. Several times. "Look, Max. I'm not saying it's false, but… The ninetales on Mt. Pyre are… There's multiple stories of them asking for help in my family, and there's always a catch or something they didn't tell you."

"Like what?"

"The vision… You said it was what would happen if Danny didn't let you practice and you went together." She hopped off the cart she'd sat back down on earlier. "But what if he did?"

"But… Danny said the Mega Evolution was scary," Max replied, and even to himself, it felt hollow for some reason.

Phoebe, meanwhile, laughed, equally hollow. "Scary? I saw what happened to that house. Scary is well-deserved. But scary doesn't mean scared." She snapped her fingers, and a well of Ghost-type energy was opened nearby. Max looked over to see the dusknoir gather a Shadow Ball, pointed away from them. "This is scary." The Ghost-type turned around faster than it had any right to, launching the Shadow Ball directly at Max, who hurled himself onto the floor, but as he did, he saw the attack halt and evaporate with iron control. "That is scared. Only a fool wouldn't be if something as powerful as those two Pokémon that just came out was aimed in your direction."

A flash of memory in front of Max's eyes as he got up. "Why did you do that?"

"Would you hurt Danny?"

"Never," they said in unison, and manectric barked agreement.

"Does he know that? Max?"

"Yes."

"And do you think that someone who's stuck by you through thick and thin, through the loss of a loved one, three regions, a Greater Legendary being unleashed, and giratina only knows what else, is going to abandon you over something as trivial as this? Because if you do, even now, you're really proof that teenage boys are stupid by definition."She walked up to Max as he stood there in silence. "He'd let you. Because that is what friends do. If you had just asked, you'd know."

"But the ninetales's vision..."

"Was likely a possible future. They do have some measure of foresight. But that doesn't mean they don't have an agenda of their own, and they would not hesitate to sacrifice your well-being for it." Phoebe put a hand on Max's shoulder. "I need you to send out vulpix, and let me do something for two minutes. Promise you'll do that?"

"Why?"

"Can't tell you. Yet. And I'd like your promise as well."

Where was she going with this? He had no idea at all, and any attempt at thinking just went… Poof. Like he didn't know what to do.

He hated that. But he could use those two minutes to maybe get a grip of himself again, and she was helping him: that much was clear… "I promise."

"So do I," gardevoir added, and the Electric-type on the ground let out a short yap, not to be excluded.

"Then send out vulpix."

Max did so, making sure she appeared a bit away from him. He wasn't sure why.

Immediately, the air thickened as dusknoir summoned energy that coalesced into the cold chains of Mean Look, passing Max by and grabbing hold of vulpix. It followed that up with a threatening, looming, Shadow Ball hovering right underneath the Fire-type's chin, daring her to open her mouth. "Answer one question, vulpix, and know that I'll be able to tell if you're being truthful," Phoebe said, catching everyone's attention as she moved forward slowly, every inch one of the most powerful Trainers in the region. "Vulpix and ninetales are adjacent to Ghost-types, and the realm of dreams is their domain. Have you ever manipulated Max's dreams?"

Max's eyes shot to vulpix, even as he picked up gardevoir's wave of surprise, and then condemnation. It answered the question before she did. "Pix," she squeaked, opening her mouth just enough to not be hit, and the tone was affirmative.

A soft pressure against his mind, and Max reflexively let gardevoir in. Flashes of memory shot through his head: flashes of nightmares past. Ever Grande burning, he remembered that. A flash of indistinct fire, from over a year and a half ago. Danny and his friends, trapped and dying. Danny again, buried under rubble, gardevoir lifting debris in the dream and always coming too late.

"What did you do?"

The words could freeze a blizzard and burn a firestorm simultaneously, and Max steeled himself against the urge to give in to that same rage gardevoir now felt.

The Psychic-type was relying on him to hold, and he would not fail. There would be better outlets tomorrow.

Vulpix, meanwhile, had shrunk in on herself. The Shadow Ball was gone, the Mean Look remained, and gardevoir was projecting impatient anger, flaring as the silence stretched.

She broke, a short series of yips and yelps only serving aggravate the anger Max could feel.

"She nudged your mind at times. Never where one of us could notice, never too much. She says she is sorry," gardevoir relayed venomously. "She thought it was for the best."

A hand swiped at Max's, taking the pokéball and returning vulpix. He heard the deliberate press that put her in stasis, and only then did he react to Phoebe doing that, by taking the capsule back. "Calm yourself," she demanded, but it wasn't aimed at him. "What is done is done. You have more important things to do."

"Such as?"

"Continuing on your quest." Surprise, both his own and gardevoir's, flooded Max. "Regardless of the ninetales deceiving you, that place needs to go. I was going to ask Flannery for help, but… You should be the one."

"You ca… Don't have any non-Ghost-types, then?" he asked in return. "Or just not enough?"

"The latter. They could get the job done, but you should be the one," Phoebe repeated herself. "You've got every right to. Call it catharsis, call it committing the crime you are hunted for, call it whatever you want. This has been your fight longer than it has been mine, and you are so, so capable."

Manectric rubbed her nose against his left leg, sparks working their way through the fabric to comfort him. "I want to, but..."

"Danny?" Phoebe finished, and Max nodded, even if he wasn't certain if it had been the word he'd been going for himself. "I have my suspicions who he's with, and you couldn't find a finer partner in the world."

"Who?"

"Did you see any news recently?" she asked them, and both shook their head. "There were two nights on which Mt. Pyre lit up with Pokémon attacks, and judging by your look, you weren't responsible for any of them. My guess is that one of those was Reginald and Danny fighting, and Reginald… He won't want Danny underfoot for what he's doing, so he'll lean on someone else to babysit." She smiled softly as Max scoffed. "Yeah. I know. But Reginald is a bit old-fashioned that way, and as much as your actions in Kalos made him realise you are good Trainers… Seeing the region he has served for most of his life like this caused him to revert a bit." She shrugged, and Max got the feeling she didn't care much for that. "So he'll contact someone he trusts in this matter, and someone who's got a reason to stay out of the public eye for a bit. Someone… Dark."

That wasn't hinting as much as it was taking a Hyper Beam and shoving it right into your face. "Isn't Sidney… Going around for Gym inspections or something?"

"And travelling the region for it, yep. And as long as they stay away from Mauville or hide the most obvious things like you did… Danny won't be noticed. He'll be another face in the crowd. And if they're discovered…" Phoebe trailed off with a gesture towards dusknoir, who took that moment to theatrically flare some energy. "It won't be pretty."

~~§~~§~~§~~§~~

Ash,

I recently received the attached letter, and after a bit of deliberation, I have decided I am not the one who should tell her. Could you head to Johto and talk to Serena? In person, for obvious reasons: the same ones why I'm sending this by overnight courier post.

She will be in New Bark for the Contest, this coming Saturday.

Professor Oak

Author's Note: I did seed vulpix into the nightmare scenes a couple of times for a reason, you know.