This is the fourth of four chapters today.


"Sorry," Gary said, helping Umbreon to towel Furfrou off. "But – well, you did volunteer."

"That is right, I did," Furfrou agreed, looking marginally less bedraggled as her fur dried. "But it does not mean I have to like the decision."

She sneezed. "Ugh... well, it is time to remedy the situation. How long is it before I can be learning the elemental Fang attacks?"

Gary blinked. "Can you learn those?"

Umbreon chuckled. "Like that's ever stopped any of Ash's Pokémon."

"Fair point," Gary agreed. "Okay, I'll see what we can do."

He raised a hand. "Are you okay to keep this up for a bit, Umbreon?"

Umbreon nodded.

"Good." Gary went over to Lucario – now untransformed – and retrieved the Lucarionite. "Okay, Alakazam!"

There was a blur, and he vanished.

"Well, you can take it," Umbreon mused. "But you still have a little problem dishing it out. Perhaps you should learn Giga Impact, as well?"

"Worth a try," Furfrou agreed. "Ugh. I demand a proper fur restyle as soon as possible..."

Are you done?

Furfrou looked up. "Who was that?"

"Who was what?" Umbreon asked, puzzled.

Miracle Eye. Sorry, I was asking if you were done.

"Oh, Mewtwo," Umbreon said, now much clearer on what was meant. "I think we're pretty close to being done."

Good. Lunch is about ready, and fortunately we prepared enough for everyone.


It was a very nice lunch.


Over the bamboo shoots and dumplings, Mewtwo elected to broach a topic he had been wondering about.

Excuse me – Cobalion, is it?

"Yes?" Cobalion asked, swallowing. "What is it?"

I was wondering. While I am aware you travelled across half the world to speak to me – and to the clones under my care – I find myself at a loss as to why. I do not believe we ever got onto the topic.

"I see." Cobalion glanced over at Keldeo, who was discussing something with Riolutwo, Pikachu and Lucario. "Well... our reasons for travelling were twofold. Firstly, there was to see whether you had any ongoing problems with which we could help – we have often saved Pokémon from humans, and vice versa, as well as Pokémon from one another. Since you are the youngest of the Legendaries, we thought you might still have outstanding issues."

Not really, Mewtwo said with a shrug. Things have gone remarkably well, actually – humans do not notice us here, and even if they did I have some small fame. I am, to put it simply, known to humans... and not as an antagonist.

"One of the best defences a Legendary can have," Cobalion agreed. "Very well, then. The second reason is the obverse – we sought to understand how you and yours had such impressive serenity, given your beginnings."

Cobalion coughed. "Specifically, to see whether it could aid our young charge Keldeo in attaining his own inner peace."

Which all seems rather unnecessary now, Mewtwo observed with a small smile.

He had, of course, recognized Keldeo's sudden shift in confidence and ability and realized that that meant Keldeo had been 'reminded' - much like himself.

The genetically-engineered Pokémon then shrugged. But – well, ask away. Discuss what you will. If I or mine can help, we will be sure to offer.


"Man," Ash said, sitting back with a sigh. "I couldn't eat another bite."

"I'm sure you could if you really tried," Pikachu teased. "Mind you, I kind of feel that full too..."

"I think we all do," Lucario muttered.

"Is everyone else finished?"

"Sure," Pikachu said. He then blinked. "Wait, who said that?"

Ash glanced round, and did a double take.

"This really is very nice," Entei said, chewing through one of the mostly-intact curries. "Who cooked it?"

"Eh?" Meowthtwo loped over, and gave Entei an interested look. "Glad you like it! That's one of mine."

"Marvellous. Now..." Entei turned, and faced Ash squarely. "My sister has given you your first chance at her... now, I do the same. Catch me if you can, Chosen."

"Wait," Ash said, raising a hand. "Sorry, but... can you give us a few minutes?"

Entei's head tilted.

"We just finished lunch..." Ash explained, somewhat embarrassed. "We're all a bit full, and no-one is in their Pokéballs... sorry."

"...oh. I see." Entei pursed his lips. "I must admit I did not consider that. Very well, take time to prepare as you require."

"Thanks." Ash nodded to him, then turned to his Pokémon. "Okay, who's coming?"

He looked over at Totodile and Kingler. "A Water type would be ideal, but you two both seem pretty tired."

"I could come!" Totodile said. "No problem!"

"Thanks, Totodile," Ash said. "That's one... Pikachu, you're fresh, right?"

Pikachu nodded.

"Lucario... sorry, but you're weak to fire. It might be a bad idea. Pidgeot, are you-?"

"You need someone fast," Pidgeot chuckled. "I'm alright for a while."

"Thanks," Ash said. He looked over at Bayleef and Ivysaur, and winced.

They winced too. "Yeah, leave us out of it," Ivysaur said. "Suicune was bad enough!"

"What's going on?" Houndour asked. "That's... Entei. Why is that Entei?"

"Oh, right. Uh... Suicune told me that the Legendary Beasts were going to give me the chance to catch them – though I've got to catch them, they're not making it easy." He shrugged. "That's about it."

"I... see." Houndour blinked. "I should really be surprised, I should... but I'm within eyesight of no less than seven Legendary Pokémon, so..."

He shrugged. "Oh, whatever. Bring me along, I've got Flash Fire."

"That's right, isn't it..." Ash nodded. "Most of Entei's attacks are Fire type. Good idea."

Trace activated. Copying Flash Fire.

Dexter materialized, with his regular highlights replaced by bright orange-red. Most convenient. Very well, who else is coming?

Quilava raised a paw. "I may not be completely immune to Fire attacks, but I'm fast..."

Ash winced. "I don't think you have anything that can really hurt him, though."

She thought for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. "I should really learn Rollout... but yes, you're right."

"Right." Ash returned Totodile, picked up Houndour and Pikachu, and jumped aboard Pidgeot. "Let's go!"

Entei looked around, then broke into a loping, bounding sprint. He reached the shore in seconds, and kept going – moving fast enough with his Extremespeed that he had no time to sink into the water.

Pidgeot spread her wings, took two steps forwards, and sprang into the air. She accelerated hard, Dexter floating alongside in a low air resistance configuration, and quickly started closing the gap.


Virizion jumped, and looked out into the lake in the direction of a loud explosion. "What was that!?"

That was Ash's Pidgeot, Mewtwo informed the Swords of Justice. It appears that Entei has taken his turn to give Ash a race.

"Pardon?" Keldeo asked, frowning. "What do you mean?"

I was informed of this by Ho-Oh, a while ago, Mewtwo stated. Ash already carries the Pokéballs of a few Legendary Pokémon – as expression of trust and of approval in one – but the three Beasts of Johto offered him the chance to catch them. For good, and as official Pokémon, if he can but catch them.

"That's... quite remarkable," Cobalion said.

Indeed. Mewtwo smiled. He is a remarkable individual, after all.

"Wait," Keldeo said, raising a hoof. "By official Pokémon, you mean... as much his as Pikachu is? Or his Pidgeot?"

Essentially, Mewtwo agreed. Of course, he's precisely the kind of person to not abuse that trust... which is the point.

Keldeo absorbed that, looking contemplative.


Pidgeot flapped her wings, coming down low enough to produce a rippling wake on the water. "Okay, matching speeds in three, two-"

Entei jinked to the right, cutting across her path with a huge spray-fan of water going out from the point of his turn.

Pikachu reacted nearly instantly, flinging a Thunderbolt out to intersect Entei's new path. It produced a bang which was barely audible in the rolling sonic boom of Pidgeot's passage, and Entei flinched slightly before continuing on his new path.

Ash clung on as Pidgeot turned – at the speed they were going, it involved considerable force, and she heeled over so her wings were almost vertical for a moment before settling down to follow Entei again.

"Don't press him too closely," the trainer called, as Pidgeot began making up ground again – kissing the sound barrier once more. "You're faster, but he's more agile at these kinds of speeds – he can use the water to kick off to turn."

Pidgeot nodded. "Got it."

"Dexter?" Ash went on. "Can you manage some Tri Attacks at this speed?"

Yes. Dexter reformed to an attack configuration, and started to spin up.


Entei growled as the three beams of a Tri Attack hit the water just ahead of him. His momentum carried him forwards into the attack before he could dodge, and it scored across his fur.

A Thunderbolt came next, which he dodged (if barely) and a Shock Wave curved into his flank while he was recovering from that.

The conclusion was obvious – staying on the water was making it too hard to carry on. He was effectively unprotected on the open expanse, and had to keep moving to avoid sinking to boot.

Making his decision, Entei ran for the shore.


"Okay, I'm not sure if that makes it easier or harder," Ash admitted. "Let's go!"

Pidgeot nodded, and turned to her right – away from Entei's new path. Her wings hammered the air, great air-control wings stretching out ten metres and more from them, and the sound barrier burst once more with a thunderous slam.

She completed a nearly three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn, peaked at half a kilometre up, and stooped on the flashing orange-brown shape which was Entei flitting through the trees.

As she dove, air built in front of her beak.

"Aeroblast!"


"Whoa!" James said, as the line of red energy blasted a scar in the forests inside the crater rim.

"...this is why we never managed to capture Pikachu, isn't it..." Jessie muttered.

"Eh, dis is better," Meowth said. "Dey're awful people to have as enemies, but they ain't half bad friends."

"Agreed," Cubone nodded.


Entei skidded to a halt as the instant wall of rock blocked his path.

Aeroblast...

No mistaking it. The Pidgeot clearly used it well, too – trying to hit him would have been easy, but to use it to create a barricade was much more creative.

Entei fought down a smirk. Suicune was right.

He turned, and launched out a Fire Blast.


Pidgeot didn't bother to dodge as the Fire attack roared forwards.

Got it! Dexter reported, speeding forwards and shifting to a planar format. His Traced ability absorbed the incoming fire, and Pidgeot went unmolested.

Dismissing her wings of air, the big Flying-type landed on the opposite side of the clearing.

"Impressive," Entei conceded. "What now?"

Ash and Pikachu jumped off, and Pidgeot took to the sky again. She left with another teeth-rattling BANG, and started to build a Razor Wind overhead.

Dexter fired down a Hyper Beam from overhead.

Entei dodged it with a blurring movement, taking a Thunder from Pikachu in response, and leaped skywards with Extremespeed to attack Dexter.

Just as he got there, the Razor Wind arrived and knocked him off course. It got Dexter as well, Pidgeot being unable to aim precisely enough to prevent the Porygon being hit, and both Pokémon hit the ground hard.

Entei recovered first, launching another Fire Blast up at Pidgeot even as he rolled to his feet. She swerved, but the attack detonated close enough to singe her feathers and she wobbled slightly as she made another circuit to attack again.

The big Fire-type rounded on Pikachu, and Flamethrowered him.

"Not when I'm around!" Houndour barked, leaping over Pikachu and absorbing the attack in his own Flash-fire.

Entei let the attack end, and snorted. "A little small, aren't you?"

Houndour nodded. He glanced back at Pikachu, who was already building another attack, and then loped forwards.

Halfway there, a Hydro Pump went overhead, and flashed into steam as Entei launched a Heat Wave right back down it. Then a second Thunder from Pikachu, which Entei dodged with a grace which belied his size, and after that Houndour reached him.

The young Dark-type grinned, and pounced on Entei's tail as it whipped towards him – not deliberately, just from Entei's constant need to dodge other attacks. Clinging on with both forepaws, he bit down hard.

As he'd hoped, that enraged Entei. The Fire-type abandoned his barrage of Fire attacks at Pikachu and Totodile to try and kick off this irritating little canine, and lashed out with his paw.

Houndour wasn't there anymore.

He darted out from between Entei's hind legs, kicking out at his back right knee as he did so, and the Legendary unceremoniously fell over.

"Foul Play," Houndour announced.

Pikachu capitalized on the stationary target with another Thunder. Totodile, for his part, panted and then launched into another Hydro Pump.

At about the same time, Pidgeot's next Razor Wind arrived.

"Did that-" Houndour began.

"Eruption!"

There was a very big bang.


Ash shook his head, trying to regain his hearing. "What just..."

Blinking away the flash-blindness, he tried to see into the roiling column of smoke where Entei had been.

"Houndour!" he called. "Are you okay?"

A black-and-white shape paced out of the smoke cloud, heading for him. "Here, Ash."

"Good," Ash breathed. "Dexter?"

Same as usual. My projection was smashed and my projector is buried.

The smoke suddenly whipped as if in a high wind. A torrent of fire lashed out and slammed into Pidgeot, who wobbled in the air and began to glide downwards.

Ash returned her. "I guess we didn't get you, Entei?"

"Correct," Entei's voice rumbled through the plume of lava. "But a very close match, nevertheless. My sister was right about you, Ash Ketchum – I will certainly try my luck again."

With that, the attack ended. As the smoke cleared, Entei was nowhere to be seen.


About twenty minutes later, Ash finally stepped back onto the island's beach.

"Why did none of you send a Pokémon to get me?" he grumbled, good-naturedly.

"Oops," Misty said, wincing. "Sorry, should have realized..."

"Nah, it's fine." Ash sat down, brushing at his clothes. Only a little ash came off – most of it had already been removed during the walk back over the lake – but it made him feel better. "Hey, Mewtwo?"

Yes? Mewtwo replied politely.

"Can we use the lake? If I'm tired, I can't imagine how my Pokémon feel..."

By all means. I take it you know where it is.

"Yeah, thanks." Ash stood again, and started trudging for Lake Clarity.


"Well..." Cobalion said, looking between the other Swords. "I believe we have what we came here for."

He nodded to Keldeo. "Yourself, especially."

Keldeo nodded, a little distracted. "Yeah, I guess."

"Keldeo?" Virizion said. "You seem a little distracted."

"I-" Keldeo stopped, and then nodded. "Yeah. Uh... Cobalion?"

The Steel-type turned to him. "What is it?"

"I... I kind of feel like I owe Ash a debt." Keldeo swallowed. "I... I want to travel with him for a bit."

Three pairs of eyes blinked.

"Not for ever!" Keldeo hastened to add. "Just... well, for about a year I guess? I like him, and I want to pay him back, and-"

"Keldeo!" Cobalion said sharply, cutting off the Colt Pokémon as he started to babble.

"Cobalion-" Virizion began, concerned, and stopped at a look from Cobalion.

Terrakion was not so easily silenced. "Seriously, Cobalion, lighten the heck up! The kid's done much better than we were expecting – hey, he's not a kid any more – and it's his choice! Way I see it-"

"Silence!" Cobalion thundered. He then turned back to Keldeo, and – to the surprise of all three other Swords – smiled.

"Clearly my reputation is doing me no favours," he said. "If you're all so ready to assume what I'm going to say. Do so with my blessing, Keldeo – you will always be a Sword of Justice, no matter where you go, and you will certainly be righting wrongs with this trainer!"

Keldeo gaped for a moment, then shut his mouth and nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you, Cobalion!"

Cobalion nodded to his – former – charge. "Do us proud, Keldeo."

"I will. Cobalion – Virizion, Terrakion – I'll always remember you, and I'll be back." He managed a chuckle. "So don't sell any of my stuff, okay?"

Virizion and Terrakion chuckled in return, and even Cobalion had to put a hoof over his mouth.

With that, Keldeo spun on his rear hooves and cantered off. "See you later!" he called back.

Cobalion's smile broadened. "Well, he's going to enjoy himself. Now – where's that trainer with the Alakazam? He promised us a lift, if I recall?"


Ash sighed, towelling off his hair. "That spring is the best cure ever."

"No argument here," Pikachu said from his shoulder. He blinked. "Wait – look, Keldeo's on the way."

His trainer looked up. "Oh, hi, Keldeo. What is it?"

Keldeo skidded to a halt. "Ash," he said. "I want to come with you!"

Ash blinked. "Za?"

"Mewtwo told me what the three Beasts were doing – why you were fighting Entei. Well, I owe you."Keldeo looked Ash in the eye. "I owe you twice over. And – I want to travel with you. I want to repay that debt, and... I want to see what it's like, I guess. Working with a trainer."

Keldeo shrugged, suddenly nervous. "And there's no-one I'd rather work with than you."

"Sure!" Ash said, having gotten over his surprise. "I'd love to have you."

"Besides," he continued with a grin,"I've been trying to get Sacred Sword to work for over a year, now, and no luck. Since you do know, maybe you could help Lucario and I?"

The Water-type Legendary nodded. "I'd be honoured."

Ash rummaged in his bag. "Oh – any preferences for what kind of Pokéball you'd prefer?"

"I didn't even know there were different types," Keldeo admitted.

"We can discuss it on the way," Ash decided. "Oh – yeah, that reminds me. I've been preparing this speech for a while... kind of expected to give it to one of the Beasts first."

He fidgeted a bit, and took a deep breath. "Keldeo – I understand Legendaries have responsibilities. And that – you're not like other Pokémon... so if you need to leave in a hurry, go. Don't ask for permission if it wastes too much time. I'd obviously prefer to know, but I won't mind if you let me know after the fact."

Keldeo nodded his understanding. It was almost more like a bow of fealty. "Got it, Ash. Thank you for being so clear."

He straightened up. "Right! So, where are we going first?"

"Back down Mount Quena," Ash told him. There was a flash in the distance as Gary and his Alakazam teleported the Swords back to Unova. "Actually, that could be a problem, Pidgeot can only easily take one person at a time – two in a pinch..."

"And I've not got a Pokéball yet, right." Keldeo grinned. "Not a problem, Ash! Remember my Hydro Pump?"

"...actually, that would be pretty cool," Ash agreed.

Gary materialized again in another flash of light. "Hey, Ash?"

"Yeah?" Ash replied, turning to Gary.

"I'm off back to Kalos now," he explained. "Just thought I'd let you know – I'm going to help research mega stones and key stones and stuff. Can I borrow that staff and those feathers of yours?"

Seeing Ash's less than enthusiastic reaction, Gary shook his head. "Not for long! Just so I can see if we can turn it into a proper Key Stone."

"Actually, I prefer it how it is, kind of," Ash decided. "I'll put the feathers in a bag on the staff or something."

"Okay, 's your choice." Gary clapped Ash on the shoulder. "Stupid though it is."

"Hey!" Ash laughed.

"Anyway, I'm going to keep an eye out for more mega stones," Gary resumed. "I'll let you know if I pick up a useful one."

"Cool." Ash held out his hand, and Gary shook it. "Don't be a stranger, Gary."

"Fat chance of that, Ashy-boy," Gary said. "Smell you later!"

bink

"Sorry about that, Keldeo," Ash said, turning back to him.

"No, it's fine." Keldeo shrugged. "Right, let's go!"


AN:

That was surprisingly long given I completely removed the main conflict of the film this is based off.

Once more, a film includes a major shift in the friends' team composition. Yes, this is going to be a thing – Keldeo's around and a team member.