"Ash!"
Ash blinked. "Wait, is that – oh, hi Molly!"
"Hi!" Molly repeated, running over with her Eevee at her heels. "Nice to see you, Ash!"
Ash chuckled as Molly arrived. "Nice to see you too, Molly."
"How are you doing?" Molly asked. "Oh, can I see you win your next gym badge?"
Ash winced. "Sorry, just got it – the Beasts watched, though. I'll try and remember to call you before the fifth one, so Pidgeot can bring you over."
Molly's father had walked over while they were talking. He winced at the suggestion. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea..."
"Why not?" Ash asked, puzzled. "Pidgeot's perfectly safe."
"I'm just a little uneasy about letting a Pokémon carry my daughter around, alone, at supersonic speed."
"Oh, right." Ash shrugged. "I don't know, then... perhaps you could ride Pidgeot as well? I think she can take that much weight."
"Can we, papa?" Molly asked.
"...I'll think about it," Spencer hedged. He noticed Keldeo, and blinked. "Who's this?"
"That's Keldeo, papa!" Molly said, shaking her head. "Ash mentioned him last night! He's Ash's newest Pokémon!"
"Nice to meet you," Keldeo said, offering his hoof for Molly to shake.
She took it, beaming. "You're nice!"
"Thank you. Ash told me a bit about you."
Spencer shook his head. "I should really learn to stop being surprised."
"Oh!" Molly clapped her hands. "Can we go and see the Kimono sisters?"
"Sure," Spencer agreed. "Ash, want to come?"
"Sounds like a good idea," he nodded. "Guys?"
Misty smiled. "That sounds nice, yeah."
"This is a pretty impressive place," Ash said, looking around the hall – hung with traditional scrolls and heavy with the scent of cherrywood and green tea. "I wonder how old it is."
"It dates from the tenth century."
"Whoa!" Ash jumped, as a voice spoke from just behind him. Whirling, he saw a girl wearing an elaborate kimono.
Ash noticed that it seemed to be styled... a little like Entei, actually.
The girl bowed to him. "Welcome."
"Uh... hi, I guess..." Ash said. "How did you do that?"
The girl smiled, a little mysteriously. "Please, come. Bring your friends."
She bowed again, and turned to walk towards the back. Bemused, Ash followed.
As he did, he noticed a Flareon regarding him with placid eyes, before turning to follow his trainer.
"So, uh..." Ash said, as tea was poured. "What is it?"
The five girls, all dressed in differently-structured kimonos, sat down at the table opposite Ash and his friends.
The one wearing the Ho-Oh kimono spoke first. "Welcome, chosen one."
"You – you know?" Ash asked, startled.
Nods.
"There are many bells in the tower," answered one dressed in a flowing blue kimono. "They do not merely ring in the presence of Ho-Oh."
"Though that one hardly shuts up these days," added the one wearing a Raikou kimono.
"Satsuki," rebuked the girl wearing the Ho-Oh kimono. "But, yes. One of the bells rings when a trainer who Ho-Oh trusts is near. We determined it was likely to be you."
The girl in the Lugia kimono, who Ash recognized as being the youngest – Sakura – nodded to him. "Do you have any idea why this might be?" she asked, absently stroking her Eevee's fur.
"Yeah, actually..." Ash said. He glanced at the Hales, then nodded. "I caught him last year."
All five sisters blinked.
"That's... anticlimactic," said the sister wearing the Suicune kimono, losing her previous poise. "How does that work?"
Ash shrugged helplessly. "Ho-Oh swooped down on me, told me I was one of the Chosen, and then let himself be caught."
"Right." The leader, the one in the Ho-Oh kimono, shook her head. "I... I don't know what to say, now. We were expecting to ease you into the idea that Ho-Oh might at some future time deign to challenge you."
"Tamao?" Sakura asked. "What about the others?"
"Oh, that's right." Tamao straightened her rainbow-fringed kimono. "If you truly have the trust of Ho-Oh, then it may be that you will also encounter the other tower bird, Lugia-"
"Caught him too," Ash forestalled. "I was at Shamouti and helped him save the world, we get on quite well."
Several jaws dropped.
"...uh, Suicune?" asked one of the sisters, her Vaporeon hopping up onto her lap.
"She and Entei have already challenged me, and she's indicated that there'll be rematches and that Raikou will do the same."
"Can we help you with anything?" Tamao burst out.
Ash frowned. "I actually don't know..."
"Oh!" Molly raised a hand. "Can I ask a question?"
"I suppose," said the girl with the Flareon. Koume, that was it. "What do you wish to know?"
"Do you like my Eevee?" Molly asked, patting the table. With a yap, her Eevee jumped up onto the table and posed.
"Oh, a shiny one!" Sakura said. "That's nice!"
Molly's Eevee preened.
Tamao's Umbreon hopped up onto the table as well, threading his way around the tea cups, and sniffed at Molly's Pokémon – then jumped backwards with surprise as she shifted flawlessly to Umbreon.
"How long have we been talking?" asked the fifth sister – Sumomo. She moved some of the cups to the side. "Congratulations on-"
She was startled into silence as Molly's shapeshifting Pokémon reverted to Eevee, then went Vaporeon.
"My Eevee's special!" Molly announced proudly.
"There was this thing in Greenfield," Ash explained. "This Eevee was part of what resulted. That's also where the shiny Legendary Beasts came from?"
"Oh, that explains that," Koume said with a sigh of relief. "I though I was seeing double when I saw two Entei."
"I think-" Tamao shook her head. "Well, so much for what we were planning to do. I've never seen that eeveelution before, what is it?"
"Sylveon!" Molly and her Sylveon said at the same time. They shared a smile, and Molly stroked the blue-white-and-pink Pokémon. "She's stronger than a dragon!"
She smiled up at the astonished girls. "Oh – do you want to meet my friends the shiny Legendary Beasts? Ash said they were around here!"
"This is a great honour," Tamao said, bowing to Suicune. "To meet yourselves is a rare privilege."
Suicune returned the bow. "You have done your work well, you five of Ecruteak. May you continue to do so – we could ask no more."
Ash translated, and Tamao's eyes widened. "I – thank you, lady Suicune."
Suicune smiled.
On the other side of the clearing, all three shiny Beasts lay in a circle around Spencer, Molly and her Eevee as she talked about her last couple of months and her time at school.
"Professor Oak is giving me talks about how to study Pokémon! It's good fun – sometimes it's a bit boring, but he's funny."
"I am sure he is a great man," the Entei said, smiling. "I have heard he is a great artist, as well."
"Well, he does sketches. He's shown me some – and his assistant draws too! They drew Eevee in all of her shapes!"
Suddenly, all four beasts present – Suicune and the three shinies – looked up. Their heads turned towards the southwest.
A few seconds later, there was a crashing sound, and a man wearing a black Rocket uniform came through the brush.
"A-ha!" he announced. "Now I've got you! I'll steal that shiny Eevee, and –"
It was at this point he noticed the four legendary Pokémon facing him. Their gradually rising snarl didn't help, either.
"...oh, hell," he said faintly. "It doesn't matter! Koffing!"
Suicune blinked, her snarl faltering. "Seriously? You... you're still going along with this?"
"I'll fight you!" Sakura announced. "Eevee, go!"
"Sakura!" Tamao said. "Don't!"
"You want to play, little girl?" the Rocket grunt asked. "Fine, let's play! Koffing, Smokescreen!"
"Eevee, use your Swift!" Sakura called.
The shower of silvery stars punched through the gathering smoke, showing the area next to Koffing.
"Keep it up and aim a bit to the right!" Sakura ordered. "That's right – right there!"
The grunt scowled as his Koffing took a beating from the Swift stars. "Grrah! Right – use Sludge!"
"Quick Attack, Eevee!" Sakura said. "Get in too close for him to hit you!"
"Right!" her Eevee said, running forwards into the smoke. There was a moment of confusion, and then Eevee jumped up through the smoke to hit Koffing dead-on.
"You'll pay for that, girlie," the Rocket told her As her Eevee jumped in again, he pointed. "Koffing! Explosion!"
There was a frozen instant, too short for anyone to react, and then the Koffing exploded.
"Eevee!" Sakura called, heart in her mouth.
Before she'd finished the one-word cry, the Rocket grunt was bowled over by four hundred pounds of Legendary Pokémon.
Suicune growled at him, flashing her teeth right up to his face to make her displeasure clear.
"Eevee, are you okay?" Sakura shouted, running into the smoke.
The smoke rippled, then pulsed and expanded outwards in a spherical wave of force.
I think I am, her Pokémon informed her. I feel fine.
"Ee – Espeon?" Sakura corrected herself. "You evolved!"
For you, Sakura, Espeon said. He leaped into the arms of his trainer, and she stroked his soft fur with a smile.
"I'm so glad you're okay..."
Molly's Eevee turned into an Espeon, for solidarity, and added her congratulations.
"Ash?" Suicune asked, one paw still on the chest of the Rocket grunt. "What should be done with him?"
Ash thought about that for a moment. "Tamao? Can you take him to the police station?"
"I most certainly can," the girl confirmed. "Despicable person!"
Jessie sighed, tapping the projector screen. "We're going to keep having these talks until you idiots listen. This boy is bad news! Quite apart from his team, Legendary Pokémon seem to appear out of the woodwork when he's around."
"Yeah," Meowth agreed. "An 'dat's why Joseph ain't getting' broken out of prison. Da team ain't gonna spring morons!"
"Far too expensive," James agreed.
"Okay," Misty said, addressing all her Pokémon. "You heard about the letter?"
Nods.
"Right. That means I'm going to need to choose which of you should be on the team." She shot an apologetic glance at Togekiss. "Sorry, love, you're disqualified."
"I don't mind," the Normal/Flying type said with a smile. "I was expecting it."
"Thanks." Misty smiled back. "Now, let's see... what do I know about how the Elite Four work..."
She snapped her fingers. "Oh, that's right – they need to have a counter for everything that would normally be a way to easily beat their type. Like how... I saw a match where Flint from Sinnoh was doing a demonstration battle against Steven Stone, and Flint's first move was to use Sunny Day."
"Oh, I get it," Psyduck nodded. "So Water type moves weren't as useful."
"More than that – half his team can Solarbeam," Misty clarified. "It was a pretty intense match."
"Ah." Psyduck winced.
Misty looked along the row. "Staryu, you're my primary way of stopping Electric-types."
Staryu nodded. "Got it!"
"As for Grass-types... who knows Ice Beam or something else Ice-type?"
Several fins, flippers or hands went up.
"I know Flamethrower, too!" Gyarados volunteered. "Bet that would surprise Grass-type users!"
"That's great!" Misty smiled. "Now... okay, do any of you know Hydro Pump? That's a good, powerful Water move to start with."
"I do," Gyarados said.
There was the sound of hooves.
"I do as well," Keldeo said. "Sort of. I'm not very good at it."
"Okay." Misty frowned. "I know – you can learn how to use it with the rest of us. Can you show me what your Hydro Pump is like?"
Keldeo nodded. He stepped back a little, took a calming breath, and – used Hydro Pump.
The result was, for Misty, a little surprising.
Water sprayed in all directions as four focused jets of high-pressure water went straight down – coming from Keldeo's hooves, of all places. The force of the jets was such that Keldeo rocketed up into the sky, wobbling erratically as his legs trembled with the effort to stay straight.
"That's... bizarre," Politoed said. "How does that work, exactly?"
Keldeo landed in a huge splash of water, some way across the clearing.
"Actually, the strangest thing is where the water's coming from," Misty said, scrutinizing the results and thinking them over. "He's got a lot of output on that, though."
Keldeo cantered back over, a little unsteady. "There – is that alright?"
"Yes, actually," Misty said. "I think I've got an idea. Can you balance on your two right legs?"
The Water-type legendary gave her a confused look. "I... I guess I might be able to..."
"Okay," Misty said. "The important thing about Water-type moves which use large amounts of water, like Hydro Pump, is – recoil. They've got a lot of it."
She frowned. "Let's try just one, first. Can you raise your foreleg and aim at that tree over there, then use Hydro Pump with just that leg?"
"I'll try." Keldeo braced himself, and then pointed the hoof in question. "Here goes!"
A jet of high-velocity water very briefly connected with the tree, and then Keldeo fell over.
"Thought so," Misty said. "You're having recoil problems."
She looked around at the rest of her team. "Everyone else paying attention?"
Psyduck raised a flipper.
"Yes?"
"How are you producing that much water?"
"It's not that hard," Gyarados cut in. "Just do Water Gun, but... more."
"You're the size of a building!" Psyduck retorted. "Of course you can do more water than I can."
Gyarados hrumphed. "How does Keldeo do it, then?"
"He's a Legendary!"
"Both of you, quiet!" Misty said.
They turned to look at her.
"Anyway, Totodile can do it," Misty pointed out. "We'll have to practice, but I think you can all try at least."
She turned back to Keldeo. "Okay, I'll catch you if this goes wrong. Raise your right foreleg and point it at the target... good... now, when I say, raise your right hind leg, point it behind you, and use hydro pump on both those legs. Understand?"
Keldeo nodded. "Got it."
"Now!"
This time, the burst of water hit the target and stayed there. Keldeo's other raised leg produced a similar blast of high-pressure water, stabilizing him and preventing the recoil from blasting him over.
"Good!" Misty shouted over the roar of rushing water. "Now, reduce how much water's coming out of your rear leg until you feel a bit unsteady, then reduce your foreleg a bit and repeat that!"
Keldeo's face screwed up with the effort, and he stepped down his power output in careful stages.
Eventually, his rear leg was producing barely a trickle, and his foreleg was firing a still powerful but much lesser stream.
"Now put your rear leg down," Misty continued.
Keldeo duly did so, and then finally stopped his Hydro Pump and started panting.
"I... thanks, Misty!" he said. "Now I know how much I can use without falling over."
"That's right," Misty agreed. "Don't forget to practice, though, maybe you can increase it with training."
"I will. Thanks again." Keldeo bowed to her. "I'll leave you to what you were discussing."
"Right." Misty nodded.
When Keldeo was gone, she looked along the line of her team. "Staryu, you're in... so is Gyarados, because he's probably the strongest Pokémon I've got in terms of pure strength."
Gyarados gave a very happy roar.
"Kingdra, you're part Dragon, which is great news for avoiding trouble with Electric types as well. You're in."
Kingdra bobbed his head. "I'll try to do you proud."
"As for the other two slots..." Misty shrugged. "If I had to decide today I'd say Politoed and Psyduck, but that's subject to change once I get a strong part-Rock type."
Kabuto clicked something morose.
"Oh, don't think I've forgotten you," Misty assured him. "I'm looking forward to when you're a Kabutops, to see how strong you are, but you're already a good Pokémon."
A happier click.
"That's alright." Misty clapped her hands. "Now, who wants to learn Hydro Pump?"
Recording completed, Dexter reported quietly.
"Thanks, Dexter," Ash said. "And thanks, Keldeo."
"Was that alright?" Keldeo asked. "She certainly helped me, but was that enough to count?"
"I hope it'll do," Ash told him. "And yes, that was fine. I'm looking forward to using you in a gym battle!"
"That sounds fun!" Keldeo agreed. "I wonder how I'll do..."
"Hey!" Ash shouted up at the sky. "Give that back!"
The murder of Murkrow chuckled amongst themselves, and continued flying off.
"What did they steal?" Brock asked.
"Three of my Kanto badges, my Hive badge, and my Indigo badge!" Ash said, voice a little raw. He swallowed. "They're not getting away with that! Pikachu!"
Pikachu nodded, cheeks sparking. "All at once or one at a time?"
"Ash, don't!" Misty said, running past and rummaging at her belt. "You'll damage the badges!"
She plucked the first Pokéball, opening it with a flare of white light. "Politoed, try your Hydro Pump!"
Politoed nodded, face set in determination, and fired.
The thieving Murkrow was rather surprised to be hit by a high pressure stream of water, and stumbled in the air before falling – his soaked wings no longer able to successfully carry him.
"Psyduck! Catch the badges!" Misty went on. "Okay, Starmie, your go! Same as Politoed!"
Ash slowed to a walk, blinking, as Misty released Gyarados. She grabbed the Atrocious Pokémon by the fins and swung onto his back, Starmie hovering alongside and pumping huge amounts of water from its arms.
"...she's motivated," he said weakly.
Another Murkrow fell from the sky in a cloud of water and feathers.
"Thanks, Misty," Ash said, inspecting the (wet) badges. "Good thinking."
Misty smiled.
"Those Murkrow..." Ash added, shaking his head. "Right, from now on I'm keeping that case locked unless I need it open."
"Talk about closing the barn door after the Ponyta's bolted," Brock commented.
"Why would a barn door stop a Ponyta if it wanted to get out?" Ash asked, confused. "Couldn't they just burn their way through the door?"
Brock started to answer... and stopped, frowning. "Actually, now you mention it..."
"It's..." Misty shrugged. "It's just one of those sayings."
"Huh." Ash shrugged. "Well, I'm glad that didn't go as badly as it could have."
"Where's that, again?" Ash asked, pointing into the distance.
"That's Remoraid Mountain," Brock answered, looking at the map. "It's got Remoraid Lake on top of it, it's near the Remoraidian Ruins which used to be inhabited by the ancient people called the Remoraidians, and you'll never guess what Pokémon are up there."
"Octillery," Ash deadpanned.
"Probably," Brock agreed. "Misty? Should we go up there?"
Misty thought. "Nah," she said after a moment. "I'm pretty much fine with my team as it is, actually – well, if you count the ones we've not picked up again yet."
"Right, that's a miss..." Brock noted that down. "Next up, then, is the Sunflora Lodge – a couple of days away."
"Wait a second," Ash said, shading his eyes. "Is that... Todd! Hi, Todd!"
Todd Snap paused, looking back along the road. "Oh, hi Ash!"
"Great to see you!" Ash smiled, shaking his hand. "Where have you been?"
"Here and there," Todd told him. "I've been travelling far and wide in search of a chance to photograph a legendary Pokémon!"
Brock and Misty exchanged a glance, then started sniggering.
"Hey!" Todd said, hurt. "That's not very nice of you!"
"No, sorry," Misty assured him, taking a deep breath to regain her composure. "It's not..."
Ash shrugged a bit awkwardly. "What Legendary are you looking for?"
"Well, I've heard there's an Articuno around here," Todd told them. "So let me know if you see any sign of one – but any Legendary would do, really."
There was the faint sound of a Pokéball opening.
"Hi!" Keldeo said.
Todd blinked. "I've never seen that Pokémon before..."
"I'm Keldeo," Keldeo introduced himself, bowing briefly. "I'm travelling with Ash, because I owe him a debt I'd like to repay."
"He's also one of the Swords of Justice," Ash added, and Keldeo smiled at the words. "They're Legendary Pokémon from Unova."
Todd shook his head. "When I saw it was you, Ash, I told myself not to be surprised. I really did – I thought I was ready for whatever you were going to pull out of nowhere. And now..."
He sighed. "I don't think I really want to take a photo of Keldeo, though – it seems too easy. No challenge in it."
"I can understand that," Ash agreed.
Keldeo frowned. "Awww... a photo would have been nice."
"Well..." Todd thought. "I guess I could take a photo of you, just not treat it like a Legendary one."
Keldeo perked up. "That'd be nice. I'd like to have something to send back to Cobalion and the others."
"That sounds fine," Todd agreed. "What do you want to be doing in the photo?"
"...hmmm... what about having everyone's teams in it?" Keldeo suggested. "Everyone Ash has, and also all the Pokémon Brock and Misty have!"
He shrugged. "I'd like to have Iris and Cilan in, too, but that's... pretty much impossible."
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "That sounds like a great idea!"
He took Dexter out of his pocket. "Can you call the Professor, please?"
Some time later, Todd put down his camera.
"Well, that was a productive half hour or so," he said with a happy sigh. "I appreciate you getting hold of your Charizard and Lapras as well, Lapras especially are hard Pokémon types to photograph."
"Really, it's not a problem," Ash assured him. "They wanted their photos taken too!"
Behind them, Keldeo extended a hoof to Lapras to shake. "Thanks for helping us get to Kanto, Lapras. I didn't make the connection until now."
Lapras grinned, taking the hoof with his flipper. "Ash has a way of bringing people and Pokémon together, doesn't he? Even if you hadn't met him yet."
"He does," Keldeo agreed. "I can see that being with him isn't going to be boring, at any rate..."
There was a sudden blast of chill wind.
"What was that?" Keldeo asked, looking up.
With a thud, a Sunkern encased in ice landed a few feet from Ash.
"Whoa!" he said, wincing. "That could have been pretty dangerous... we should get him out."
"I'll handle that!" Squirtle volunteered. "Scald!"
"Wait!" Misty said. "Don't, it might hurt it!"
"Why?" Squirtle asked. "It's better than using a Fire attack!"
"He's right," Brock confirmed. "Sunkern are Grass type, so Scald is several times less dangerous to them than a Fire attack."
Misty blinked. "...right."
She turned to Squirtle. "I'm sorry, Squirtle, I'm so used to you suggesting over-the-top answers to things that I didn't consider that you might have a good reason for this one."
Squirtle winked at her. "Got to keep you guessing somehow, haven't I?"
He turned back to Sunkern. "Okay, let's get this seed thawed! Hey, swordface, get that pair of hooves of yours over here!"
Keldeo blinked. He turned to Lapras for advice. "Does... does he mean me?"
"Probably," Lapras agreed.
After confirming that, Keldeo cantered over. "What do you need me to do?"
"Simple!" Squirtle said. "Soak this Sunkern in water, so it heats up slower!"
"Okay," Keldeo said, raising his hoof, and fired a low-powered stream of water. "What now?"
"My burning spirit knows no bounds!" Squirtle announced. "This Scalding water has but a tiny facet of the heat I hold within!"
Steam hissed up from the resultant water jet, and began rapidly eroding the ice.
"What I'm still worried about is how the Sunkern got frozen," Ash said, fidgeting with the Sun Stone in his pocket. "I've got this ready for when we've solved the problem, but..."
He looked around, and came to a decision. "Charizard?"
"Yeah?" Charizard replied, a grin spreading across his face.
"Let's see if we can find where this cold snap is coming from!"
Charizard nodded. "You got it!"
Leaning over, one hand firmly on Charizard's neck for support, Ash scanned the area. "Any ideas?"
Charizard shrugged, rolling his wings as he circled.
"I think... gah, it's hard to remember this kind of thing," Ash said, frowning. "The big stuff is easier, but... what was it..."
He snapped his fingers. "Ah, got it! It was an Articuno messing with the climate!"
"What, again?" Charizard asked, a little startled. "How often does that happen?"
"All the time!"Ash said forcefully. "Strange thing is, other Ice-type legendaries seem to be better about it – Kyurem, say, he managed to go through a city without leaving any real trace the next morning."
"Huh." Charizard shrugged.
"Guess it – wait." Ash pointed. "There. That mountain's got a snow-cap, and it goes down much lower than the ones on the other mountains."
"Good spot." The big Fire-type trimmed his glide slightly, and they descended towards the peak.
"Why didn't he take anyone else?" Pikachu asked, squinting up into the blue. "He could at least have taken me!"
Misty shrugged. "It's Ash," she said, that being the best explanation she could come up with.
Charizard flared his wings, shedding speed, and hammered the air as he alighted.
Ash slid off his back and began to trudge forward through the snow. "You ready for this, Charizard?"
The big Fire-type nodded, his tail flame burning up a little, and he started to melt himself a path through the drifts.
A few minutes of walking took them to the mouth of an icy cave, which stretched away into the mountains.
"Articuno!" Ash called.
For several seconds, there was only the faint crackling of Charizard's tail flame and the fading echoes of Ash's shout. Then a voice came back up the tunnel.
"A human?"
The temperature dropped. Ash shivered, and Charizard spread his wing out to give the human a little shelter.
"Thanks, Charizard," Ash said quietly, then turned his attention to the cave. "I'm not here to fight you, or catch you!" he assured. "I just want to talk."
Several seconds more of silence.
Then, gliding almost effortlessly on glacier-blue wings, Articuno drifted into the open.
"Merely to talk?" Articuno confirmed. "How unusual."
"Ash is an unusual person," Charizard said proudly.
"I'm here because you're altering the weather," Ash went on. "It's driving Pokémon like Flying- and Grass-types away from the area."
"I see." Articuno considered that, drifting down to a landing, and leaned forward to peer at Ash.
Charizard growled warningly.
"Don't, Charizard," Ash said, touching his side. "We're not here for a fight."
"You seem surprisingly calm around a Legendary Pokémon," Articuno said, then blinked as both trainer and Pokémon laughed. "What is it?"
Charizard waved it off. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."
"I know you live here now," Ash said, resuming the argument. "But you're making it harder for other Pokémon to live here too. Can you try and control how much you affect the climate?"
Articuno frowned, rolling his neck. "Why?"
"To be a good neighbour," Ash informed him. "Even Legendary Pokémon can't live in isolation from everyone – Lugia has a mate and a child, and I know he regularly talks to a Slowking on Shamouti."
"I thought it was her mate who – oh, I see." Articuno nodded. "So, you've met a different Lugia to the one I was thinking of."
He shook his wings, producing a flurry of snow. "But how can I be safe, if the weather is not too cold for humans to reach me with ease?"
Ash shivered – Articuno wasn't exaggerating, and his toes were going a bit numb. He pulsed Aura into them to help strengthen them, and that pushed back the effects of frost a bit.
Before Articuno had time to properly realize what he'd just done, Ash was talking again. "If you know and talk with the other Pokémon in the area, they can help protect you instead – and anyone who wants to catch you will find it harder that way."
Articuno thought about that for some time, and Charizard blew hot air over Ash to keep him warm. Then the Blizzard Pokémon slowly nodded.
"Very well, then. I will give it a try."
"Thanks," Ash said. He moved back past Charizard's wing, and climbed aboard. "Sorry, but I've got to go before I freeze!"
"Well?" Todd asked, taking in the melting snow on Ash's trousers and the frost on his hat.
"I think I got Articuno to turn it down a bit," Ash replied. "Now – ah, there you are, Sunkern!"
The Sunkern looked at them.
"I think I know somewhere around here you're going to do great," Ash told the little seed-like Pokémon.
"It feels warmer already," Brock said, as the newly evolved Sunflora posed with hundreds of his fellow Sun Pokémon – and with the elderly couple who lived in the Sunflora Lodge.
Todd's camera whirred. "That's great! Just one more!"
"Everyone say Sunflora!" the old man joked, and his wife laughed.
That done, Todd approached Ash. "Uh – Ash, you said you spoke with... I can't believe I'm saying this... Articuno?"
"That's right," Ash confirmed. "Want a lift?"
"No!" Todd denied quickly. "No thanks. What I wanted to know is – where does it live? I want to travel there, and take a photograph, but I want to do it myself."
"Sure," Ash nodded. "See that mountain over there..."
AN:
The Kimono girls try, they really do. And Misty is taking this quite seriously.
Also: poor Todd Snap. He was really trying not to be overwhelmed by Ash, he was...
