About a mile outside Arborville, Brock cleared his throat.
"Yeah?" Ash asked.
"Guys, I think we should stop for today," Brock suggested. "We've been through a lot today, and we should probably get an early stop and... well, decompress, I guess."
Misty nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."
"Yeah, sounds good," Ash agreed.
Brock smiled. "Then it's unanimous." So saying, he walked off to the side of the path and began unpacking their tents.
Misty frowned uncertainly. "So... new type, I guess?"
"Yes," Togekiss confirmed. "My memory about it is... a bit jumbled. I kind of remember being Fairy-type, but most of how I think has me as Normal instead."
"That's... bizarre," Misty said, then flushed. "Sorry – I didn't mean to be-"
"No, it's fine, really." Togekiss shrugged her wings. "I understand. It's all very confusing. But... I seem to have a couple of new attacks."
"Really?" Misty glanced over towards the tree line, looking for a spot that was clear of Pokémon or people to be hit. "Let's see."
Togekiss nodded, and rose into the air. Drifting effortlessly on the air currents, she flew up to about five feet above Misty's head, and then drew her wings back.
Blue sparkles began to appear around her wings, and Misty felt an odd thrill – a feeling that this was almost familiar.
"Fairy wind!"
The sparkles whipped forwards, accompanied by a strong gust of wind. They hit with a succession of tiny flashes, damaging the grass in their area of impact.
"Okay," Misty said, nodding. "It's fairly directly named."
"Yeah, it's kind of like Gust, I guess, but with Fairy element to it," Togekiss agreed. "There's another one, though."
Togekiss began to charge this second attack, more of the same particles from before forming around her and gathering on the leading edges of her wings.
"I'm still... well, kind of unpracticed with this," Togekiss admitted, as the attack built. "That's why it's taking so long to charge... anyway," she added, as the particles seemed to reach a critical density. "Dazzling gleam!"
The layer of sparkling particles crackled briefly, then blasted out in a conical spread pattern.
"Do all of the attacks do that sparkling thing?" Misty asked.
"Probably," Togekiss agreed. "I don't know, though, I only have those two attacks." She frowned. "I think I'm also immune to Dragon attacks now. Should we test that?"
Misty nodded. "I think so, just to be sure. Later, though, we should relax for a bit first."
"Ash?" Pikachu asked. "I wanted to-"
He paused.
"Are you alright, Ash?"
Ash looked up. "Oh – yeah, sorry Pikachu. I'm just... I think it actually sunk in."
"What did?"
"All of it," Ash replied, waving a hand. "Everything that happened on this crazy day."
He sighed. "I mean – I'm trying not to think about the... you know." He shook his head, and quickly moved on to another topic. "But... I mean, I caught Suicune."
Pikachu gratefully accepted the change of subject. "I know – when I think about it, I'm surprised... it sort of just... happened, almost too fast for me to really take it in when it was happening. And then after that..."
They fell silent again.
"Where is she?" Pikachu asked, after a few seconds.
"Went to visit her brothers – let them know what happened," Ash supplied.
"Right."
The awkward silence returned for a three-in-a-row.
"Pikachu-" Ash tried. "I... I don't blame you."
"But I should have resisted it!"Pikachu burst out. "All it took for you to help me was to remind me what we meant to each other – does that mean I was just not thinking about it? I hurt you, Ash – if I-"
"Slow down," Ash said, holding up his hand. "I mean what I said – I don't blame you."
He looked at Pikachu, then on impulse reached out and picked him up.
Startled, Pikachu struggled.
"Sssh," Ash said, drawing him close. "Listen to me, Pikachu – I will never blame you. Not for this, not for anything, because I know you would never hurt me or my friends if you had a choice."
Pikachu tried to squirm out of Ash's grip for a moment longer, then sighed and went limp.
"I'm still – I-"
Another sigh.
"Okay, Ash. You win. You trust me."
Ash smiled, brushing away a tear. "That's what I've been trying to tell you."
Pikachu's mouth quirked in a smile. Then he shook his head. "But – I don't trust me. And I can't help but think I might hurt you again."
Ignoring Ash's renewed reassurance, he concentrated. After a few seconds, a faint current flowed over his body and into his hands, before coalescing into a small yellow sphere holding a caged lightning bolt.
"Here," he said. "I... don't feel I deserve it at the moment."
Ash caught the Light Ball as Pikachu dropped it. "But – you've had this for more than a year! It's-" he stopped.
"What happened to your cheeks?"
"My-" Pikachu blinked. "I can't see them," he pointed out.
Ash stared at him for a moment, then sniggered.
"Sorry!" he said straight away. "But – you're right, and I didn't even think of – hold on. Dexter?"
No reply.
Ash took the Pokédex out of his pocket and pressed the power button. "That's enough sleep mode from you, we need your help."
Booting... sorry, I thought you were having a private discussion.
"We were... are... kind of," Ash said hesitantly. "But we need your help. Can you show Pikachu a picture of himself?"
He chuckled. "I've... not got a mirror."
Interesting. So, you're using a self aware computer capable of scanning any Pokémon and even fighting independently... as a mirror.
"Yes?" Ash agreed. "Why?"
I swear, sometimes I wonder about my design parameters. Dexter beeped, and the camera light lit up. Here.
Pikachu examined it.
"My cheeks are red. That's – why are my cheeks red?"
He looked at Ash. "And why couldn't you just tell me my cheeks were red without all that song-and-dance with the mirror thing?"
"I thought you should see yourself," Ash shrugged. "So – you don't know either?"
"No. Wait – did the time travel thing undo that?"
Ash frowned. "I... I don't think so, I'm starting to spot the places where my memories are different and..."
He tailed off.
"Pikachu!" he said. "Catch!"
Confused, Pikachu caught the Light Ball. It dissolved back into his skin, crackling in little lightning bolts all over it.
"Your cheeks went orange again," Ash said. "I just realized – I only spotted your cheeks changing in Vermilion after you got the Light Ball. It was before last time."
Pikachu stared at Ash for a moment. "That is a stupid form difference."
Ash shrugged. "Would you rather not have the cheeks at all?"
At that, the Electric-type looked contemplative.
"I'm not sure," he said eventually. "I'm actually not sure. I'm kind of used to them now."
"Well, you've got the choice, I suppose," Ash said.
"Yeah," Pikachu agreed.
After a few seconds, he took a deep breath. "Ash – I'm sorry, but I might need a few moments to think about... all this. Can we talk about something safe? Like... if I had that much trouble with Suicune, how do you plan to catch Raikou?"
Ash shrugged. "Lightningrod, Grass-types, guesswork and Houndour."
"Should work," Pikachu judged, then chuckled. "We'll do our best."
"She's back!" Entei hissed.
Beast of Thunder, Backup Beast of Fire, Backup Beast of Water and Backup Beast of Thunder looked up.
"She is?" Raikou repeated. A grin formed on his face. "Well, that's absolutely wonderful! Right, right, everyone ready..."
When Suicune loped into their clearing about half a minute later, the five other Beasts were lounging around in apparent indifference.
She smiled – she knew how this went. "I'm back," she announced. "Did any of you miss me?"
"Not really, dear Sister," Raikou yawned, rolling over on his back. "I mean, we do hang on your every word no matter what when you say anything, but when you're gone it's just a good chance to get some sleep for once!"
"Oh, really?" Suicune's eyes glittered for a moment. "Well, since you're all so eager for your much-needed beauty sleep, I won't bore you with the details."
"That sounds perfectly acceptable – oh, who are we kidding!" Raikou bounced upright. "What happened?"
Suicune's lip curled up in a smirk, and she reached under her flowing purple mane.
There was a slight clink noise, and a Fast Ball clattered to the floor.
"He won," she announced. "I am, as of this morning, a caught Pokémon."
Entei shrugged. "Should have guessed, it was your idea. Of course you'd be first."
As Suicune picked it up again and replaced it in the bag Brock had provided, her double spoke up. "So... how did he get you?"
"First there was a chase. That Pidgeot of his is pretty amazing," she said, then nodded to Entei. "You know that, of course."
"So do we," the shiny Raikou admitted. "She gave us a lot of trouble at Greenfield."
"So I heard," Suicune acknowledged. "Our chase went as far as Shikoku, and took something like an hour over the oceans. Then there was a big battle with..." Suicune counted under her breath. "His Lucario, Bayleef, Ivysaur, Pikachu – of course – and Quilava."
Entei frowned. "Isn't that last a Fire-type?"
"She's the one who finished me off," Suicune confided.
That comment elicited some rather confused frowns.
"But – there's another problem," Suicune added. "What does the Fairy type mean to you?"
"That's... rather a simple question, isn't it?" Entei said, puzzled. "It's a Type, one of the eighteen, I'm resistant to it, and it's most effective against Fighting types, Dark types and Dragons. Why?"
Suicune shook her head. "See – I know that, but at the same time... right. Remember Molly's Eevee?"
"Of course we do," the shiny Entei said.
Suicune paused for a moment, then dropped her bombshell. "In her form as Sylveon, she was the first Fairy-type in existence."
"Pardon?" Raikou frowned. "How is that even possible?"
"Isn't Xerneas the original-"
"Ash Ketchum broke time," Suicune interrupted. "Eevee was along, as Sylveon, when the time bubble we were in went back to the Creation. Arceus was... I think he was creating the Plates, and... Sylveon was there, so the Fairy type was created."
The shiny Entei raised a paw. "Isn't that an ontological paradox?"
"How does this make any sense, sister?" the regular one added.
Suicune sighed. "Look – I have no idea, okay? I was only inside the time bubble when it reconfigured all of history since the creation of the basic Types of Pokémon..."
She shook her head. "I'm going to explain in more detail, okay? I have had one hell of a day..."
"Ash?"
"Keldeo?" Ash looked up, smiled, and patted the grass next to him. "How can I help?"
"Ash..." Keldeo frowned, trying to come up with a good approach, and knelt down on the grass. "Have I ever talked to you about my family?"
"...no, actually," Ash admitted.
"Right. Well – my parents died when I was young. Cobalion..." Keldeo sniffed. "Sorry, I'm-"
"Don't worry!" Ash reassured him immediately. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."
"Thanks." Keldeo sniffed again, then resumed. "Cobalion, Virizion and Terrakion saved me – got me out of danger. But my mother and father both died, in a Fire-type attack by... some Legendary, I guess."
Ash nodded along. "I know the feeling, kind of. About all I know about my dad is that he died at Pacifidlog. It was his first time using Aura, Ho-Oh said, and... he saved the town, but died doing it."
Keldeo managed a chuckle. "Guess you do know. Because my father... Cobalion told me this at Quena, when I showed him Resolute Form, and in that time jump... thing... I saw it. He died alongside my mother, using Secret Sword in Resolute Form."
"You saw him-" Ash stopped. "Oh, Keldeo – that must have been..."
"Yeah," Keldeo said softly. "But – at the same time, it's nice to know."
Ash nodded, and reached over to rest a hand on Keldeo's neck.
They sat there for a few minutes, taking in the smells of the grass.
"Ash?" Keldeo asked, tone more curious. "Where's Pacifidlog?"
"It's in Hoenn," Ash supplied. "Guess this time when I visit I'll pay more attention. It's a set of small islands, and a lot of the buildings there are on rafts – they float around a lot. No Gym, but there's a contest hall on one of the solid bits, so we went there for May."
Keldeo nodded, then stopped. "Rafts?"
"Yeah," Ash agreed.
"Ash – how exactly did your father die?" Keldeo pressed. He winced. "Sorry if that sounds rude, but-"
Ash frowned. "I – all I know is what Ho-Oh said. He broke the wave which swept down on the town."
Keldeo considered that. "But – shouldn't you – no, wait... if that's right, you were fighting Vicious at that point. When I got up there, you were already fighting him."
"What do you-" Ash began.
"I didn't just see my father die, Ash," Keldeo explained. "I saw – I think I saw – yours."
Ash went silent at that.
"What happened?" he said, after about half a minute without speaking.
Keldeo took a breath, and tried to sum up what he'd seen.
"He looked – well, a bit like you. If you were older, I guess... but not all that fit. I mean, fit like most Trainers, but not like you are."
Ash nodded.
"His hair was pretty much the same – I didn't see the eyes, though. And – no belt, so I don't know if he had no Pokémon or if he'd already lost them somehow. His hands were flashing with Aura as the wave came in, and he looked – brave, I guess. He knew he was in danger, but he... knew what he had to do."
Keldeo shook his head. "No, that's a stupid thing to say, sorry. He knew what he should do. He didn't have to, but he did it anyway. And then there was a huge flash of Aura, and the wave hit, and... didn't destroy the town. And he was nowhere to be seen."
Ash made a little noise, like he was pulling back a sob, and then rubbed at his eyes for a moment. "Sorry, Keldeo-"
Keldeo bent his head down, and smiled at Ash. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. Someone who I respect a lot told me that."
That won a chuckle. "Heh. Thanks – yeah, thanks, Keldeo. I – it's better to know, I think."
The Legendary nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."
Lucario sat seiza, meditating.
He did not like what had happened the last couple of times Ash and his friends had gotten into serious trouble.
Both times... he – Lucario – had been knocked out, relatively early in the clash.
And that left him feeling that Ash was not getting the support he needed.
Lucario were... Lucario. They were strong, and powerful, and... well, essentially knights, in a sense.
In his case, he was Ash's Pokémon, and should have been keeping him safe. But he wasn't.
That was... annoying.
Well, then, he would simply need to get stronger.
"Lucario?" Pikachu's tentative voice said.
Lucario cracked an eyelid, confirming that Pikachu stood a few feet back – hesitant to come any closer.
"I'm not asleep," Lucario informed him blandly.
"Oh, sorry I – wait... uh... sorry generally, I guess." Pikachu winced. "And – sorry especially for the whole... shocking you... thing."
Lucario was silent for a moment.
"It's not your fault, not really," he said, eventually. "Any more than the other things which happened are Celebi's fault."
"I'll try-"
"Try to use that much power in training," Lucario overrode him. "I want to learn a way to ensure that I am not brought down by even attacks as powerful as that – and as fast as that."
He fixed Pikachu with a look. "If your response to this is to conclude you're not to be trusted, that you're too powerful – that is the wrong response. It is simply wrong."
Pikachu blinked, taken aback by Lucario's forceful tone.
"Why do we train? It is to become more powerful, more skilful, and – ultimately – to win battles. If you don't let yourself use your potential, you are wasting it and also making our own training go worse – since we can't fight you at full power." Lucario unclenched his fists. "It is... important, to be prepared. That does not mean spending every waking moment training – that's not healthy – but it does mean that what training you do should be as focused and as valuable as possible."
Pikachu considered that.
"I guess," he said eventually. "I... yeah, okay, I can see what you mean. I – right."
Lucario held out a paw, and Pikachu walked over and touched it.
"I've known you as long as Ash," Lucario reminded him. "For my part, I feel I failed to protect you."
Pikachu blinked. "But – it wasn't your responsibility, you couldn't have known-" he stopped himself. "Oh. I... I see."
"And that's how we feel when you talk like that," Lucario noted.
He paused.
"I heard that time... broke," he said. "What, exactly, did you see?"
"All kinds of things," Pikachu said. "I'm pretty sure we saw Groudon and Kyogre fighting, but they were... different. Bigger, more powerful, much louder. And we saw the creation of the world... but most of the stuff that happened outside was... kind of to do with us. I saw my evolution, and that time I nearly-"
"Wait." Lucario blinked. "What happened to your cheeks?"
"As far as Ash and I can tell," Pikachu said, "They go orange when I have the Light Ball. No change in how I feel, though... well, not compared to the normal result of taking the Light Ball off. I think it's just my fur colour, that's all."
"That's... that's right, now I think about it," Lucario agreed. He winced. "And I thought time travel was confusing before..."
"Try teaching the people who taught you to do what you're now teaching them to do," Pikachu rattled off. "That was strange."
Lucario chuckled.
"So," he said, after a moment. "Feel better?"
Pikachu considered. "A little."
Ash glanced up. "Hey, is that-"
A moment later, Suicune cleared the tree line at a lope.
"Neat," Ash said, as she approached. "I managed to spot your Aura that time."
"I wasn't exactly hiding it, but a useful skill nevertheless." Suicune stopped in front of him. "Are you well?"
"Better," Ash admitted. "I think I've had time to kind of... process what happened."
He shrugged. "Did you manage to sort things out?"
"Oh, yes," Suicune assured him. "I let Molly's friend know she would have to take over my duties for Lord Ho-Oh, I showed off my nice new ball – the Fast Ball was a nice touch, how long have you been planning that?"
"Since we visited Azalea town," Ash told her. "We each got one, and I traded around to get three because I knew I'd be going for you three."
"Commendable." Suicune retrieved her ball and tossed it to Ash, who caught it. "I'm interested – how, aside from the scale, did my own capture compare to others you've done?"
Ash blinked. "Actually, now you mention it... my capturing a Pokémon, even in a pre-scheduled fight, is unusual compared to one wanting to come with me. Hold on a sec..."
He started counting. "Swellow, Sceptile, Corphish, Glalie, Staraptor, Snivy, Unfezant, Boldore, Palpitoad... Ambipom, too... oh, and the first time around Primeape, Butterfree, Ivysaur, Pidgeot, Snorlax, Muk, Ba – Meganium, and Noctowl. Guess that's more than I was expecting," he admitted. "Probably because of the ones who just came with me this time."
"That's quite a lot of Pokémon," Suicune said. "Do you catch so many fully evolved Pokémon?"
"No, I just call them by their fully evolved names," Ash clarified. "It's how I remember them, even if I've not met them yet."
"Ah." Suicune nodded.
She stepped a little closer as Ash sat down. "I was wondering – how does it work? Being a caught Pokémon, I mean?"
Ash shook his head, chuckling. "I've got no idea how we're going to work this, to be honest – I mean, the training thing is fine, Keldeo and I have been doing some work on that, but as for using you in battles?"
He winced. "Uh – there was someone in Sinnoh. The guy who beat me in the semi-finals of the Sinnoh League. I don't know how, but he had a Darkrai and a Latios. And – I know he must be a pretty special person, to have the trust of those two Legendaries, but..." Ash shrugged. "What I heard about him was that he was kind of a jerk."
"A Darkrai?" Suicune repeated, then shook her head. "Interesting indeed. And how was he a jerk?"
"It's how he used his Pokémon," Ash said, frowning. "He sent out his Darkrai and used that to beat... well, every gym in Sinnoh, and everyone in the entire League. Didn't use any other Pokémon."
"I see – wait." Suicune frowned, and raised a paw. "How do you know he has – well, had? Will have? The Latios – if he didn't use anyone else, I mean."
Ash blushed. "I beat the Darkrai. And the Latios – though Pikachu knocked himself out doing it, and I lost."
Suicune seemed honestly offended by that.
"Right. Well, I can assure you that your league challenge won't do that again!"
She paused. "Oh. Wait, sorry, I see your point – you don't want to be like this-?"
"Tobias," Ash filled in. "And yeah. I mean – I feel really honoured that Keldeo's adventuring with me, and Lugia's said in the past I can call on him if I really want, and you're... well, amazing... but I don't want to be Tobias."
"There seems, to me, to be an easy answer," Suicune said, when he paused.
"Yeah?"
She shrugged. "Use just one of those Legendaries who you bear the Pokéball of in any fight, and not as the first Pokémon – if you want to use more, check first."
Ash thought it over.
"Remember, Ash – you have earned our allegiance. Lord Ho-Oh spoke very highly of you indeed, those times the topic has come up over the last year or two..." Suicune shook her head. "Anyway. You earned us. Don't feel you have to leave us out altogether – it's no more cheating than using that ludicrous Charizard of yours."
The trainer stifled a laugh. "Okay, thanks. I guess – yeah, I was worried about being too..." he shook his head.
Suicune smiled. "Ash – how do you feel about your battle with Tobias? He defeated your six Pokémon with just two – do you feel you did poorly?"
"I guess... no," Ash admitted. "I mean, I wish I did better, much better, but I still... yeah, I feel proud that I beat two Legendaries."
"It took two Legendary Pokémon to stop you beating the Sinnoh League, then," Suicune summarized. "That's not a terrible record."
Ash swallowed, a silly smile on his face for a moment. "Thanks, Suicune. And – yeah, thanks."
He chuckled. "I guess we should have dinner now, then – Brock just took the food off the heat, that means he's about done. And once we have, we can discuss how to train you up."
Suicune frowned. "I must admit, I'm not aware how I could be trained up... I mean, I am a Legendary, no offence, and I think I know a lot of moves."
Ash shrugged. "I can think of a couple of ways. One is that you don't have any attacks which home in – you could use those while moving at full speed, in our actual battle you were kind of vulnerable mainly when you stopped moving. But – like I say, after dinner we can talk about it."
"Right," Ash resumed, crossing his legs. "Thanks for coming, guys. I know some of you have loved ones waiting for you, so I'll try to be quick."
He indicated the blue Water-type sat next to him. "This is Suicune."
"Hello, Suicune," the Pokémon chorused.
"Hello, everyone," Suicune replied. "It's nice to meet those of you I haven't already."
"I'd like to get your input on what moves to work on with her," Ash continued. He turned to Suicune. "During both battles, but especially the one I caught you in, I noticed you've got two major weak points."
Suicune inclined her head.
"First – you're not great at attacking on the move. Every time you fired an attack, you weren't moving very much – and the less you were moving, the better, it seemed."
The Legendary considered that, and then nodded. "I'll admit to that – especially against multiple targets. But yes, targeting a stationary opponent is much harder when I'm not stationary."
"That sounds like..." Ash frowned. "Okay, that sounds like you have trouble when your enemy's moving differently to you. Is that correct?"
Suicune frowned, then agreed.
Pidgeot chirped. "Most of us have had that problem, too. I've got my ways of handling it, but you're a bit... well, not-airborne to use them."
"We can discuss it in a bit," Ash said. "Now – the other one was moves. You've got quite good Ice moves, and you've got great Water and even a bit of Wind, but there's a lot of room for improvement. I mentioned Aura Sphere – any other suggestions?"
Squirtle leapt to his feet. "If she has not managed before to combine her icy calm and flowing water into the magnificence of Rime, a move born of rivalry by two great friends who always advance into the future, then that is the first thing we must correct!"
Suicune glanced at Ash, a little uncertain. "Is he-"
"Yes!" about half the Pokémon chorused.
"That's Squirtle for you," Ash confirmed. "It works, but I'm not entirely sure how. Anyway, Rime is a good one – it's kind of like the cold version of Scald."
"Scald, that's one I never managed to learn," Suicune admitted. "Never had the time."
"Right, that's another one for the list." Ash nodded. "This is good stuff... oh, yeah, what's your most powerful water attack?"
"Hydro Pump." Suicune shrugged. "It's always been quite enough."
Squirtle sniggered. "That's nowhere near enough! You need to learn either Waterspout or Hydro Cannon! They're much better!"
Striking a pose, he continued. "The Hydro Cannon is the best move any Water Pokémon can hope to aspire to! A true compaction of all the water there is into a single potent blast! Unmatched! Uncontested! As powerful as the raging sea, and filled with as much purpose as true companionship!"
"Care to demonstrate?" Ash interrupted.
"I most certainly do!" Squirtle went on almost without pause. Water bubbled up around him, and began to compress in front of his mouth. "Erupting! Bursting! Hydro Cannon!"
Suicune blinked at the tiny blue sphere that resulted. Her head turned whip-fast to follow as it shot across the clearing, then she came halfway to her feet in astonishment as it went right through a tree, detonated inside a second one, and knocked that second one over to the accompaniment of an entire swimming pool coming out of nowhere.
"I... see," she said, frowning. "Interesting."
"And that's not all!" Squirtle went on doggedly, hands on knees. "The true power of a Water Pokémon can also be focused into a Waterspout! A-"
Ash cut him off. "Okay, Squirtle, we don't have all night."
Squirtle looked briefly indignant, then shrugged. "Gotcha! I still need to get back to my other work anyway!"
Tracey opened the barn door, and was knocked over by a huge wave of water.
With a series of quiet splashing sounds, a Tauros walked out. "Well, thanks for nothing. I'd almost worked out how to stand on top of that."
"The other thing is basically to be able to cope with Electric types," Ash resumed. "And Water types, I guess, especially with Water Absorb – you've got Ice moves, which should handle Grass, but nothing for Water types."
"What do you suggest?" Suicune asked.
"Well... can you do Brine? Muddy Water?" Ash frowned. "Hm... might not be so easy, unless you can turn the purification ability off-"
"I can," Suicune confirmed.
"There's those, then," Ash said. "Misty worked that one out – Brine makes it much harder for Electric-types to attack."
"I see. Oh, I should ask Misty about the other means of handling Electricity."
"I know something you could try to learn for Water," Lapras suggested. "It's a move I learned from one of my uncles over the last few months. It's an Ice-type move, but it's a very dry Ice-type move – it hurts Water-types."
Suicune blinked. "That actually makes me feel a little uncomfortable... but yes, it does sound useful."
"I suggest Surf," Kingler volunteered. "It's less powerful, but it's helpful to set up a battlefield."
"I can see I've got a lot to do over the next while!" Suicune smiled. She directed a look at Ash. "I see what you mean – I do, indeed, have much to learn."
Ash shrugged. "Normally this happens a bit more... organically, I guess... but I thought we should sit down and have a think about it."
"An excellent idea," she confirmed. "And perhaps I might be able to give a little help in return myself... how many of you know Roar?"
Ash blinked. "Isn't that the move that-"
Suicune demonstrated.
When she finished, she blinked with some confusion at the Pokéballs where Ash's Pokémon had been. "What just-"
Ash took his hands off his ears. "That was far too loud!"
"I'll say!" Brock yelled from the other side of the clearing.
That night, as they were going to bed, Pikachu dropped his Light Ball by Ash's side.
"Like I said," he told Ash, yawning. "I only want it back when I'm safe with it."
Ash took the ball. "Sure."
The next morning, Pikachu found it on his pillow.
"You're safe," Ash said, noticing him waking up. "I think you always were. But if you'd been given it while you were sleepy, you might just have found it harder to get to sleep last night."
He pointed. "But no more of this! It's yours, mister, and I'm not carrying it!"
Pikachu chuckled. "Okay, okay, I get the idea..."
"Excuse me?" Ash said. "You're a Water-type specialist, right?"
Nurse Joy winced. "Oh, dear... yes, I'm a Water-type specialist. I'm afraid I don't much like handling them, but duty comes first."
Ash nodded, and put a 'ball on the counter. "Can you give her a quick look over? She had quite a hectic day yesterday."
"Certainly," Joy said. She opened the Pokéball with some trepidation – and gasped.
"That's a Suicune!"
Suicune looked down at herself in a curious fashion. "So I am."
"She's a Water Pokémon, right?" Ash asked. "I don't see the problem here."
"How did you-" Joy stopped, took a deep breath, and started again. "What the-"
She stopped again, as this didn't seem to be working.
"Okay," she said, after several seconds. "I... would like to know how you came to have a Suicune, but... I'll get on with it now."
"Thanks!" Ash said brightly. "Oh, can you look Keldeo over too?"
He plucked a second Pokéball from his belt and opened it.
"Hello!" Keldeo smiled. "I'm a Water type too!"
Joy seemed too shocked to be nervous.
"That was cruel, Ash," Misty accused.
Ash shrugged. "You have to admit, they're both Water types."
"Flying Press!" Korrina ordered.
Her Hawlucha nodded, running forwards and leaping into the air. Her wings flapped once, driving her as high as the roof, and she prepared to come crashing down.
"There is nothing you can do that will dry out my torrent of devotion!" announced Gary's starter. "Ultimate Rime Crasher!"
The floor cracked under him as hundreds of gallons of water erupted skywards, hitting Hawlucha at the apex of her jump.
Blastoise followed that up with a Flash Cannon, and there was a thunderous explosion.
"Nice work," Korrina said, handing Gary the badge. "Guess I should have expected nothing less from the number two trainer at last year's Indigo Conference!"
Gary shrugged. "Thanks, I guess – Ash beat me, though."
"Yeah, I've seen him on the news..." Korrina snapped her fingers. "That's what I was forgetting! Gramps was looking for you – said he had something for you."
The Kanto trainer blinked. "Really? Huh. Okay, I'll head over there."
Gary knocked on the door. "Uh – Gurkinn?"
"Who's there?" Gurkinn asked.
"It's Gary Oak," Gary said. "Your granddaughter said you wanted to speak to me?"
Gary was, in all honesty, a bit muddled. He could remember two almost-the-same versions of his first meetings with Gurkinn, and neither of them was quite clear or dominant over the other.
Had Gurkinn told him about something which was completely new and secret, or something he'd learned from a mentor and which was being studied – albeit clandestinely – by a number of researchers? Had Gurkinn's reaction to seeing Ash's Charizard unmistakeably Mega Evolving on the news been delighted surprise or coloured by resignation?
He couldn't always keep track.
Fortunately, Gurkinn filled in the gaps. "Ah, good. Come in!"
The door clicked open, and Gary pushed it ajar.
"Well, this is all very secretive," Umbreon commented, as they walked through the hall and into the main rooms, following the striding guru.
"Very prompt of you, mister Oak," Gurkinn was saying. "Lucen, do you – good."
One of the two Lucario Gurkinn trained nodded from the door, and brought in some tea. Gary already knew it to be a little strong for him, and added one sugar cube to compensate before taking a sip.
"Right," Gurkinn resumed, after a drink himself. "I've managed to get hold of something very important."
He picked up a small box on the same tray as the tea, and opened it – revealing a small ring.
"What's -" Gary blinked, looking closer. "Is that a Key Stone?"
Gurkinn smiled. "Good eye – yes, it is! Professor Sycamore managed to cut two from one particularly well charged stone, and I thought of you of course. You've done sterling work searching for Mega Stones."
"I have?" Gary repeated. "But – I've only found two!"
"Believe you me, that's fast work," Gurkinn smiled. "This one's also got one of our newest improvements. It has a way of resonating a little with even those Mega Stones without the appropriate Pokémon available to them. Allow me to demonstrate."
He stood, and walked to the door to the main chamber of the Tower of Mastery. "Lucie – ah, thank you."
Both Lucario nodded, and left the room.
"That's well past the resonance range between a stone and the Pokémon," Gurkinn added, as he set the Lucarionite armband down on the table. "But watch."
He put his finger on the ring, and frowned.
The Lucarionite began to pulse, and the ring emitted a gentle hum. The longer he held his finger down, the more intense it got.
When he took his finger off, the hum remained, slowly diminishing – and became a little stronger when he moved it towards the Lucarionite, a little weaker when it was further away.
When the ring touched the Lucarionite, there was a brief flash in the core. Very faint, almost unnoticeable.
"What was that?" Gary asked.
"Try it," Gurkinn told him. "Just make sure it's humming – you need to press it and concentrate on it, think about the stone – and then touch it to the Lucarionite."
Gary took the ring, and did as Gurkinn told him. It took him about a minute to get the keystone humming, and he then pressed it to the surface of the stone-
Lucario.
"Wha-?" he said, shaking his head. "What just-"
Gurkinn smiled. "It's strange, isn't it? But I'm sure that will speed your work up substantially."
Umbreon gasped.
"My work?" Gary repeated. "What about your-"
"No, Gary, it's yours," Gurkinn told him. "A token of my thanks for your work. Just – keep it safe."
Gary nodded an affirmative, a bit shocked.
After a moment, he realized what to do next. He took the Mega Stones from his bag, and proceeded to identify them.
Lopunny.
"Oh, great..." he winced. "Who do I know who has a Lopunny?"
No-one, Dee supplied.
"Thanks..."
Absol.
"Don't think I know anyone with an Absol either," he mused, then caught Gurkinn's eye. "What?"
"Well, Lopunny – Lopunnite, I suppose – is a new one on me as well," Gurkinn informed him. "You've discovered a new kind of Mega Stone, Gary Oak."
Gary couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Wow."
Gurkinn nodded, and then raised his voice. "Thank you, you two. Back in you come."
The two Lucario moved back into the room, taking up their positions flanking Gurkinn's chair
As Gary turned to go, Gurkinn stopped him. "Oh – and this is from Professor Sycamore as well."
A small, glowing marble of stone was placed in Gary's palm.
"It's a cut Mega Stone," Gurkinn informed him, as Gary contemplated the blue-brown-blue fleck in the centre of the stone.
"Thanks," Gary said, touched, and used his new ring to identify it.
Blastoise.
AN:
This is the bit where they come to terms with what happened.
To answer one of the most common questions I got asked – this is what's happened to Pikachu's cheeks. They're still there, just – only when he has the Light Ball active. Otherwise they're normal-Pikachu red.
Basically it's a really subtle form difference. No actual change in his output.
The other major timeline changes from last time were that the date Mega Evolutions were rediscovered got pushed back a few decades, Fairy Types became a thing, and that's about it. Basically only Eevee/Sylveon/Jolteon/whatever-she-was was interacting with the outside of the bubble. And that does indeed mean Molly invented the Fairy type and then persuaded Arceus to do it...
Pikachu's self-confidence hit here is, I hope, sensible. Don't worry, the fic hasn't changed course, it's still going to get silly. It's just that things don't vanish when the movie credits roll.
As for Suicune – handling her is tricky. Handling any Legendaries is tricky. But the anime set a really low bar in Tobias, so as long as I don't get as ridiculous as him it should be fine.
And, finally, Gary Gets A Break. In Kalos.
Enjoy, Blastoise, you crazy otaku-turtle you.
(As usual - let me know what you think. This fic has a Trope page, too.)
