"Huh," Ash said, reading the flyer. "Pokémon sumo wrestling. Any of you want to get involved?"

"What's the rules?" Misty asked.

"Uh..." Ash read on. "No attacks, just pure Pokémon bulk and pushing. And Pokémon have to weigh more than eighty kilos."

"Hmm." Misty frowned. "I guess Gyarados must be at least that heavy."

"So is Steelix," Brock agreed. "But I think Snorlax is the heaviest of the lot."

"Yeah!" Ash agreed. "This should be easy for Snorlax!"


The friends winced as Snorlax was picked up, shaken back and forth, and then thrown out of the arena.

"...didn't expect that," Ash admitted. Aiming carefully, he returned Snorlax before the big bear landed and broke something.

"Who'd have guessed someone would have a Metagross here?" Brock sighed. "Well, so much for that."

"Couldn't Steelix give it a try?" Ash asked.

"Ash, that Metagross just threw Snorlax. Snorlax weighs more than Steelix does."

Ash blinked. "How? Steelix is made of, uh, steel."

Brock shrugged. "Personally, I'm kind of glad Steelix weighs that much – it means he's less likely to smash through floors."


In the next match, Steelix fared no better against his opponent. The big Feraligatr used Steelix' finlike metal protrusions as grips, hunched down, and slowly forced Steelix out of the ring.

Brock shrugged. "Oh well. Nice work, Steelix, this just isn't something we trained for."

The ground shook slightly.

"My go next!" a man wearing hiking gear said. "I'm in the semifinal against that Metagross!"

"Oh – well, good luck," Brock said, nodding. "You're the one with the Aggron, right?"

"That's correct." The hiker drew out his Pokéball. "He's an especially heavy one – 'bout double the normal weight of an Aggron."

Brock did some calculations in his head, and winced. Then ran off to find the contest organizer.


"Excuse me?" Brock asked. "I was wondering – how much weight is this stadium rated to take?"

"Don't worry," the organizer waved. "It's rated for a full ton of weight, so no worries there."

Metagross and Aggron stomped onto the stage, faced one another, and moved forward to grapple.

Then there was an earsplitting crash, and the whole thing collapsed. Both Pokémon had just enough time to look surprised before dropping through the arena floor and landing in a cellar with a crunch.

"...yeah," Brock said. "That Aggron weighed over seven hundred kilos, and the Metagross was half a tonne itself."

"Our arena!"


"It's rare we do that much worse than the first time around," Ash commented, as they left Rikishii town. "At least we didn't need anything from there – Misty's already evolved her Pokémon."

"True," Misty agreed. "I just wish the arena had been... well, larger. Gyarados and Steelix were too close to the edge when the match started."

Brock shrugged. "Their match, their rules, I guess."


"I hate this place," Pikachu muttered, the next morning. "This is draining my electrical charge..."

"Why is that, actually?" Ash asked, hoisting Pikachu up onto his shoulder. "What's so special about this place?"

Brock spoke up. "The rocks here are high in piezolectric materials, which means they use electricity to shift their shape. I guess they're drawing it out as we go past."

"Right." Ash winced. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"I'll manage," Pikachu said, forcing a smile. "I wouldn't say no to a top-up, though..."

Ash thought, then smiled. "I know! Houndour?"

The canine Pokémon emerged from his Pokéball. "What is it?"

"Do you know Thunder Fang?"

Houndour nodded. "I do. Do we have a fight on the way?"

"Not so much." Ash indicated Pikachu. "Think you can give him a top up?"

Houndour glanced at Pikachu, then his eyes widened slightly in understanding. "Oh, right. Got it! Sure, I can try that."

He opened his mouth, lightning crackling over his canine canines, and Pikachu hopped down from Ash's shoulder to get closer.

"Shouldn't we be doing this in a circus?" Pikachu quipped, reaching into Houndour's mouth and touching the fangs one at a time. Electricity transferred in a crackling stream, and Houndour waited until Pikachu was clear before closing his mouth again.

"That do you?" he asked.

"Yes, thanks!" Pikachu beamed. "I feel much better."

He hopped back up on Ash's shoulder. "Probably better if I stay up here, though."

"Any excuse for a carry..." Ash smiled.

Houndour looked up, sniffing. "Someone's coming."

The humans and other Pokémon looked as well, just as a man came over the nearby hill.

"Oh, good afternoon!" he said, waving. "Everything all right?"

He approached the travellers. "I'm Simon. I run a rest stop a little way down the path. Everything all right? I know Electric-types can have a little trouble on the hike."

Pikachu shrugged. "Fine, thanks."

"Oh, well, that's all right then." As Pikachu did a double take, Simon blinked at the sight of Keldeo. "I've never seen a Pokémon like that before."

"I'm Keldeo!" Keldeo said, smiling. "Nice to meet you."

Simon's jaw dropped. "I... I never thought that..."

"Oh, that's right," Ash said, grinning. "Keldeo can use Aura to make sure humans understand what he says. Lucario can do it too!"

That seemed to make Simon very sad. "Oh. Sorry, I thought..."

"Wait a second!" Pikachu said, drawing all eyes to him. "He – I'm pretty sure he understood me, too, just then!"

Simon frowned, concentrating. "I think... surprise, confusion... oh, I see. Yes, I can sort of understand what Pokémon mean, even if I'm not quite able to get the exact words."

Keldeo cocked his head on one side. When he next spoke, his voice was devoid of the usual Aura tricks. "Can you understand this?"

Simon's hand went to his chin. "I... I almost had that."

This time, the Colt Pokémon pushed just a little Aura into it – less than normal, not enough to translate his voice alone. "What about now?"

"Yes!" Simon's face lit up. "I got that! Clear as day, clearer than I've ever heard it before!"

Ash and Keldeo exchanged glances.

"I think I know what's going on," Ash said. "You've got a natural talent with Aura – a kind of life energy that all humans and Pokémon have at least a little of. With enough of it, humans can understand what Pokémon say, or Pokémon can make their speech understood by humans."

Simon nodded, rapt.

"By the sounds of it, you've not had any formal training, but you've clearly got a lot of natural skill..." Ash frowned. "Dexter? Do we have any basic guides to how to use Aura?"

Not available at this time. I could try and put one together from the more basic material.

"Do that, please," Ash requested. He shrugged. "I think we can give you a bit of training – Lucario, Keldeo and I – and we do need a bit of a rest anyway."

"That would be wonderful," Simon said, tears starting in his eyes, and he shook Ash's hand. "Thank you so much."


The next morning, as they were getting up, there was a rap on the door.

Simon walked over, blinking sleep from his eyes – it had been a late night with the Fighting-types and Ash for him, though he begrudged not a moment. "Who is it?"

He opened the door, revealing the local Jenny. "Oh – what is it, officer?"

"Simon, I am taking you in as a suspect for a crime," Jenny informed him. "There's been reports of fake Pokémon interpreters running a scam in the area."

"I'm-" Simon shook his head. "But I'm a real interpreter – and this is no scam! I've always had some talent, and recently I've made a breakthrough with help from some-"

"Tell it to the judge," Jenny said, shaking her head. "You're not going to sweet-talk me. No humans can understand Pokémon, and no Pokémon can understand humans."

Ash Pokéd his head around the door. "Excuse me?"

"Sir, please stand back, this is an arrest in progress," Jenny informed him.

"Uh... Officer?" Ash pressed. When the policewoman looked at him, he went on. "Officer, I could have sworn you just said Pokémon couldn't understand humans..."

Jenny shrugged. "Yes. So?"

"Have you ever seen a Pokémon battle"?

Jenny shrugged. "I don't like sports."

Ash rubbed his temples. "Oh, for... do you have a Pokémon?"

"Of course I do! Growlithe!"

Her Growlithe duly formed, taking up a position at her heel.

"You can understand me, right?" Ash asked the Growlithe.

It nodded, wagging its tail.

"Do you prefer tea or coffee?"

"Ooh, tea please! Black, one sugar."

Ash nodded. "If you don't mind, Simon?"

"Oh, not at all," Simon assured him.

Jenny looked a bit nonplussed. "As entertaining as this is, you're still a suspect. Unless you can prove that you, personally, can talk to Pokémon..."

Lucario stuck his head around the door where Ash had been. "If I might offer a suggestion?"


"Okay," Ash said. "This is what we were using to test whether Simon was getting it right. There's five cards on the other side of that screen. You pick one, show it to your Growlithe, and then Growlithe goes to Simon and tells him what it was."

Jenny looked dubious, but nodded. "Okay, let's give this a go."

She picked up a card, and showed it to her Fire-type. He looked at it briefly, nodded, and padded around the side of the screen.

Jenny heard a quiet bark from her Growlithe.

"Star," Simon said promptly.

She looked down at the card. Star.

"Again," she said, picking another card.

"Cross."

"Again."

"Star."

"Again."

"Circle."

"Ag-" she stopped herself, and took a deep breath.

"Right." She nodded. "Okay, I'm convinced. That's pretty impressive."

"Thank this young man here," Simon told her. "He gave me the help I needed."

Ash grinned, waving.

"Incidentally, your Growlithe feels like he'd like to evolve," Simon went on. "But he wouldn't mind staying a Growlithe if that's what you'd prefer."

Jenny looked down at her Fire-type, who wagged his tail and nodded.

"I see. Well... thanks, I suppose."

"Any time." Simon waved.


"That was interesting," Ash said, as they headed onwards under a bright morning sun. "It's nice helping someone like that."

"Yeah," Keldeo agreed. "I've never had much of a problem with speaking to humans or Pokémon – the Swords – the other Swords of Justice helped teach me the aura trick." He shrugged. "But I can see it would be frustrating to not quite be properly understood."

Ash nodded. "You're right – I can hardly imagine life before I became able to talk to Pikachu, now. And..." he frowned. "Actually, that reminds me – you knew Iris and Cilan, but I don't think you ever met N. He lived in Unova too, and he could talk to Pokémon."

"That's nice," Keldeo said. "Maybe when I go back there I can meet him..."


"This is pretty cool," Ash said, looking around. "It's a street fair?"

"I think so," Brock confirmed. "Lots of attractions – hey, look, a test your strength!"

"Can I-"

"No," Ash said.

"But-"

"No, Lucario. You'd break it, you know that."

Lucario grumbled, but had to admit that it was true.

"What happened when we were here..." Misty mused, frowning. "I'm sure there was something."

Ash shrugged. "If it's still something we need to do, it'll come right up to us. Things have a way of doing that."

On cue, Misty pointed. "Hey, look, fortune telling!"


"So, uh..." the boy swallowed nervously. "Ready, Naughty?"

His Natu gave a chirp.

"Right. Uh..."

Ash spoke up. "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" the boy said, and took a couple of deep breaths. He glanced at his father, standing patiently by the stage, and swallowed again.

"You know," Ash said quietly, "I heard a good way to avoid stage fright is to wear a mask."

The boy blinked, then looked up at his father. "Uh..."

After thinking it over, the man decided to take pity on his son. "Go ahead, McKenzie. I'll do them, and we'll practice later."

"Thanks." McKenzie collected his Natu, and shrank back behind the stage.

"Perhaps we could help train his Natu, too," Ash suggested. "One of Misty's Pokémon had trouble using psychic powers at first."

"Could you?" the father asked, grateful. "Thank you. Now, I'll read yours."

He went through the full routine, complete with all the elaborate steps and incantations, and his Natu followed suit – the token, the washing of the wings, the rocks, the bell, and the box.

Picking it out of the air, the man opened it. "Huh. That's unusual."

"What is it?" Ash took the fortune. "What does 'tilt' mean?"

The showman exchanged a look with his Natu, who shrugged and chirped quietly.

"Oh. He says he can see about four days, for you, then everything gets very complicated. Perhaps you're not the best person for my son to practice on..."

"Oh well." Ash shrugged. "I'm sure we can help with training his Natu, at least."


"Hey, uh... McKenzie?"

"What?" the boy asked, looking up. "Oh – sorry. Hi, I guess..."

"It's okay," Ash shrugged. "I know kind of what it feels like, and it's really uncomfortable."

"It's not just that!" McKenzie shook his head. "I just realized now – you're the most recent Indigo Champion, aren't you?"

He sighed. "Now I feel stupid..."

"Aw, come on!" Ash said, sitting down next to him. "I may have won the League, but that doesn't make me any more scary, right?"

Misty waved a hand. "Eh, I think it does."

"That's cold, Misty..." Ash shrugged it off. "Anyway..."

He rummaged in his bag. "Where was it... aha!"

Retrieving the CD, he held it out. "Here – you can borrow it if you want. It's a Calm Mind TM."

"A TM?" McKenzie repeated. "These are really expensive! Would you really-"

Ash coughed. "We worked out how to make them multi-use."

"Yeah," Misty smiled, sitting down next to them. "My Psyduck's already used it. It really helped."

McKenzie looked between them, then broke into a smile. "Thanks! Come on, Naughty!"

The little Natu chirped enthusiastically.

"Uh..." after that, McKenzie looked a bit embarrassed. "How do you use these?"

Misty chuckled. "Just put it on his forehead! I know, it's strange, but it works."

"Right." McKenzie took the TM, and placed it against the feathery forehead of his Natu.

Several seconds passed.

"Wow, I feel much better now!" Naughty said, flapping into the air. "McKenzie, can we try it now?"

McKenzie beamed, holding out his hand for Naughty to alight on. "Thanks – can I call you Ash?"

"Sure," Ash nodded. "And it's a pleasure, really."

"Can you do mine, please?" Misty asked.

McKenzie nodded. "Right."


"What did you get, Brock?" Ash asked.

"Tilt," Brock said, holding it out.

"Huh," Misty said, glancing at Ash. "Same as... both of us got. That might not be a good sign."

Lucario was too busy eating some candyfloss to comment.


Ash blinked. "Okay, Misty... you're the Water-type expert. Explain this."

They watched the surfing Rhydon.

"I... actually can't," Misty admitted.

"Actually, Rhydon are surprisingly light for their size," Brock explained. "And it's not the only Rock-type that can swim – as well as all the Rock/Water types, there's also Tyranitar and Rampardos."

He shrugged. "I learned that here last time..."

"Yeah, but you're talking about swimming," Ash rejoined. "That is surfing."

With a huge splash of water, the Rhydon landed on the shoreline of a nearby island. He placed his board in the sand, and walked up to an apple tree to start eating.

"I see you've seen him too," said a girl. "Hi, I'm Pietra."

"Nice to meet you," Brock said, nodding to her. "Do you have any idea why he's using that surfboard?"

Pietra shrugged. "I don't know. I've been trying to catch him for weeks – perhaps he overheard when I mentioned it was called Surf."

She sighed. "I keep trying to challenge him to a battle, but he never listens long enough to fight me."

Ash thought about that. "Hold on, I'll give it a go."

Setting his shoulders, he strode out across the lake.

Pietra blinked. "...is... this...?"

"Yeah, basically," Brock said. Misty nodded.


"Hey!" Ash called. "Rhydon!"

The Rock-type growled, dropping an apple and turning to him. "What?"

"Just wanted a talk, that's all," Ash said, sitting down.

Rhydon seemed a little taken aback by that. "A talk? But..."

"Yeah, I can understand you," Ash clarified. "Anyway, there's a girl over there on the shore who wants to battle you."

"Yes, I'm aware," the Rhydon said. "Why should I give her the time?"

"Well..." Ash shrugged. "I guess you don't have to. But – I know she's only got one Pokémon with her, her Marill, but I think she's a pretty honest trainer."

There was a silence for a moment.

"She wants to catch you, you know," Ash said. "And – of course, you don't have to let yourself be caught. But there's two reasons she wants to catch you. One is to help her with digging a tunnel through a mountain, and the other... the other is that she thinks you're magnificent." Ash smiled. "After all, who ever saw a swimming Rhydon?"

Rhydon nodded to himself. "I suppose..."

"By the way," Ash asked, curious. "What's with the surfboard?"

The big Rock-type shrugged. "It's funny."

As Ash got up and turned to leave, Rhydon looked past him. Then asked a question. "Is that Pokémon on the lakeshore yours?"

"You mean Lucario?" Ash checked. "Yeah."

"Interesting..." Rhydon thumped his tail on the floor. "You have a Pokémon who could, most likely, defeat me – but you nevertheless use talk instead. Very honourable of you. Very well – I will consider it."

"Thanks," Ash said, and walked back across the lake.

Since he was facing the wrong way, he missed the Rhydon's jaw dropping.


"Right," Misty was saying. "Bubblebeam is like bubble, but the bubbles are packed with more energy and fired faster. It's also more tightly focused, so they all strike one point. I can demonstrate if you want."

Marill nodded. "Sure!"

"Oh, hey, Ash!" Brock said, waving. "How'd it go?"

"Nothing certain," Ash called back. "But he seemed interested, I guess."

There was a splashing sound behind him, and a horn emerged from the lake. This was followed by the rest of Rhydon. "Did you just walk across the lake?"

"Yeah," Ash confirmed.

"Oh."Rhydon frowned. "Okay then. And – let the girl know. If she catches me, she should know I may want to evolve to Rhyperior at some future date."

With that, he dropped back underwater.


Pietra panted, feeling every bit as drained as her Marill. "Nice work, Marill..." she said.

She looked down at the Pokéball in her hand. "We... we did it."

"You sure did!" Misty said. "Your Marill picked up Bubblebeam quick, too – which is great!"

Marill smiled tiredly.

"Well." Pietra sat down. "I guess I'm buying a Protector sometime soon..."


"Welcome," Giovanni said, indicating the chairs. "Do sit down."

"Thanks, boss," Meowth said, taking his seat. "Don't mind if we do!"

"Indeed," Giovanni said cryptically.

After the two humans were also seated, Giovanni gave them a forthright look. "I'm afraid there is some bad news."

"Did ya waste money on ya car insurance?" Meowth asked, and got a quelling look for his pains. "Yipe! Guess not..."

Giovanni looked at Meowth for a moment longer, then sighed. "Sometimes I wish all my agents were as competent as you."

To the time-displaced Rocket cell, this was... not exactly on their list of top ten most likely phrases for The Boss to say.

"What happened?" James asked.

In reply, Giovanni brought up an image on the monitor. It was a grainy shot of a thickset man, with dark brown hair and a tufted beard.

"This is the only confirmed unmasked shot of Vicious, the Iron-Masked Marauder," Giovanni informed them. "He doesn't know I have this – which is as it should be, of course... in any case. Following your tip-off, I sent a number of Rockets led by one of our middle-ranked Admins to... teach him the error of his ways."

Jessie and James nodded, knowing what that meant. Either a beating, or something worse, depending on how defiant the man was.

"I guess it didn't work," Jessie ventured.

"You presume correctly," Giovanni confirmed. "He easily subdued the team sent after him, including stealing half of their Pokémon with his Dark Balls – one Houndoom, one Skarmory, and one Venomoth. Purely based on the typing, this confirms your estimate of his intentions."

He paused. "Good work, though it's a pity the team didn't take countermeasures such as a Psychic-type. In any case, he has officially gone rogue. As of now, your assignment is simple – stop him from obtaining Celebi, at all costs."

"Right!" the trio said in unison, standing and saluting.

"You can count on us, boss!" Meowth added.

"Oh, I certainly hope so," Giovanni said, almost too quiet to hear.

When they had gone, he tapped the side of his chair for a moment.

"Persian?" he said, raising his voice slightly.

The panther-like Pokémon slinked out from behind a sofa, purring softly.

"If they don't manage this, it's entirely possible we will never have met," he informed Persian. "For that reason, irrespective of any other, I hope they succeed."

Giovanni's most loyal – and skilled – Pokémon locked eyes with him, and briefly closed them with a small nod.

Giovanni also closed his eyes, and when he opened them he was all business again.

"Send in Petrel, please," he requested.

Without any need for orders, Persian prowled around the back of a different sofa and out of sight. Giovanni knew that the classy cat was poised, ready to intervene in a flash if his visitor turned nasty.

It was, of course, a paranoid habit. But paranoid habits like that were why Giovanni was still the boss of Team Rocket.


"Ugh." Gary swung up on one hand, and drove in the next piton with his other.

The rock face about three yards to the right of him shifted, then collapsed, and Furfrou peered out – fur in a Heart trim as it had been since yesterday. "This seems overly complicated."

Her trainer hauled himself up again on the set of ropes. "It's... the principle of the thing."

"Seriously, you have a Psychic-type. Can he not simply levitate you up the cliff?"

Gary hissed through his teeth, and unhooked the hammer from his belt. "Like I said."

Reversing the standard geological hammer, he dug into the layer of softer rock with the pick-like head and hauled some poorly consolidated sand out.

"I could just get that for you, you know..."

"Where's the fun in tha-whoa!"

Gary's hands went to his rope as he swayed backwards, panting, and hung there until the gust of wind subsided.

I caught you the hammer, Alakazam reported, levitating it back up to Gary.

"Thanks," Gary nodded. "Right."

Gritting his teeth, he swung the hammer again.

"That is not going to work," Furfrou informed him.

"Why-" Gary sighed, and slipped the hammer back into its holder. "Why not?"

"Because I got bored, and retrieved the stone while you were holding on." Furfrou held up a large lump of pale blue crystal.

Gary gaped, then sighed. "Of course you did."

"Are you coming down now?" Umbreon asked. "I know I can't come up because Alakazam can't catch me, but this is quite nerve wracking."


"Okay," Gary said, now firmly on solid ground, as he inspected the crystal. "Well, this is certainly a mega stone..."

Turning it, he examined the multicoloured fleck within. "Dark blue edge, with white in the middle and a little bit of lighter blue above it. And the crystal as a whole is pretty pale blue itself. Any ideas?"

Shrugs.

"One of these days, I'm going to find out how to identify these," Gary resolved. "Right, I mentioned the gym challenge, and it's looking like that might be required given how much it'll cost to cut and set these. Who should we do first?"

Umbreon raised a paw. "The psychic one, please!"


"Please tell me this one's got a challenge?" Aaron asked, giving 'his' Pokémon a look. "This lot are getting unruly."

Oh, there's a challenge all right, Arceus informed him. Good news – you're going to face multiple legendary-grade challenges.

"Right." Sir Aaron nodded. "That'll help."


"Are we going to get a turn?" asked Palkia, as Giratina blasted Gallade repeatedly with Shadow Force.

Yes, you'll get your damn turn! Arceus snapped. Honestly...

"See what I mean?" Aaron asked.

There was a loud thud, and Gallade plowed a furrow in the ground.

"Well done!" Kenshin called. "I see that you are a mighty warrior. As such, I will face you and yours in triple battle!"

Dialga and Palkia perked up, and lumbered forwards to stand beside their brother.

"Mewtwo!" Kenshin called.

Three Mewtwo flashed onto the field, and walked forwards. They came to a halt opposite the Creation Trio, levitating so their feet were barely touching the ground.

"Uh..." Dialga frowned. "This seems a bit samey."

Hold on, still writing the dialogue... there we go!

Kenshin held up a glowing crystal. "Now, face the might of the God of War! Mewtwo, Mewtwo, show them your power!"

The two Mewtwo on either end of the line held up stones themselves, and power crackled across them. Then, one flashed with orange energy and floated entirely into the air, a large tail-like appendage forming from the back of its head, while the other bulked up and set its feet firmly on the ground.

"Mega Mewtwo, times two!" Kenshin pronounced. "Go forth, my warriors!"

Sir Aaron blinked. "This is a thing now?"

This is a thing now, Arceus confirmed. Well, the mega evolutions are natural, but since you lot were complaining... anyway, you know the whole strongest Pokémon in the world thing?

Aaron nodded. "Yes?"

Not hyperbole. I'm fairly sure that these could give me a run for my money.

"Ah." Aaron looked around. "I'll be hiding now."

Probably best, yeah.

Putting action to words, Aaron threw all three orbs at their respective Pokémon, and looked for a convenient hill to hide behind.


AN:

Right. Now it's basically time for the movie.

The Pokémon Sumo tournament was interesting to research – Keldeo is something like a quarter the weight or less of the other Swords of Justice, and Heavy Metal Aggron is actually heavier than any non-legendary-or-Mega Pokémon. (Wierdly, because it loses the ability on mega evolving, a Heavy Metal Aggron is lighter when it becomes Mega Aggron.)

Simon, meanwhile... his episode doesn't quite jibe well with the rest of the canon. There's a Jenny insisting that Pokémon can't understand human... which does rather beg a few questions.

Incidentally, this whole region of the anime is a bit filler-y. I've tried to pick the more interesting ones.