"Not long to go until I get Corsola back," Misty sighed. "That'll be nice – I never could speak to her before."
Ash nodded. "It's always nice to meet an old Pokémon again – I'm looking forwards to when we find Donphan, he's next."
"He was fun," Pikachu admitted. "Quite childish at first, but he grew up a lot."
"I guess he would," Brock said. "You hatched him, right, Ash?"
"Yep," Ash confirmed. He blinked. "Hey, wait... look up there!"
The others followed his gaze.
"Isn't that..." Brock tailed off, and got his binoculars out of his backpack. Twiddling the focus wheel, he zoomed in. "Yep – there it is. That's a Pidgey... but he's a lot higher than I'd have expected."
"That must be that high-flying Pidgey!" Ash said, snapping his fingers.
The others blinked.
"...well, sure, it sounds obvious now," Misty chuckled. "You're right."
"Guys," Brock said urgently, still looking through the binoculars. "I think there's a Fearow going after him."
Ash's hand immediately went to his waist, and he sent out Pidgeot. "Make sure that Pidgey's safe, Pidgeot!"
"Got it!" she called back, already accelerating with powerful wing-sweeps.
Orville pumped his wings steadily, with eyes only for the sky. Every flap brought him further into the sky, and closer to the sun.
He'd trained for this for years. He would be the highest-flying Pidgey ever!
A sudden caw from below broke into his single-minded concentration.
His rate of ascent slowed as he recognized the noise – that was the cry of a Fearow.
Was one of the locals-
Then the Fearow shot past him, tumbling backwards and quite confused.
Orville blinked, not sure what to make of it.
"Hi," a female voice chirped. "How are you doing, little guy?"
Orville's beak gaped. "You're a Pidgeot!"
"I know," she said. "Don't worry, that Fearow won't get you. What are you doing, by the way?"
"I'm trying to fly higher than any Pidgey ever has!" Orville said, resuming his upwards climb. "I'm trying to fly to the sun!"
"The sun might be a bit too hard," the Pidgeot said, with a warm lilt to her voice. "But aiming high is good. Tell you what – I'll follow you up, to make sure you're safe."
"As long as you don't help me directly," Orville asked firmly. "I want to do this for myself."
"Wow, that's a long way up," Ash said, as they watched through Dexter's air-lenses. "How high are they?"
Lasing.
Dexter's eyes flashed, and then flashed a second time.
"What was that second one for?" Misty asked. "The Pidgey? Can you still see him? We're only able to see Pidgeot, even with the-"
No, it was not. It was checking my result. Dexter paused. Pidgeot is currently in the stratosphere.
"She's what?" Ash asked.
"That's... really ridiculously high," Brock said, blinking.
"Wait!" Ash pointed. "Look!"
As they watched, Pidgeot's wings beat once more, and then she dropped back down.
"I guess that's it, then," Ash said. "Whoa... look at how long she's diving for. That Pidgey must have got really high!"
Pidgeot descended for some time, going from a near-dot to a recognizably Pidgeot shape through the air telescope.
At that point, though, she stopped diving, and began to circle.
"Huh," Ash frowned. "Not sure what that means."
Some minutes later, Pidgeot accelerated out of her holding pattern and dove a little, then began to head rapidly back to the group.
As she alighted, Ash jogged over. "Welcome back, Pidgeot – what kept you?"
Pidgeot waved a wing at Ash, still a little tired. "I was waiting for Orville to come back down."
Misty blinked. "But – wait, if you were waiting for him, that means... you didn't follow him all the way up?"
"No, I did not," Pidgeot confirmed. "My wings iced up too much for me to feel confident following him all the way up. He seemed to cope better with it."
"And was he okay?" Ash asked her. "I mean, I guess he must be..."
"He was fine," Pidgeot assured him. "He passed out on the way down, but I caught him down in the denser air and he recovered nicely."
"Wow," Ash said, contemplating that. "That is one tough Pidgey."
"No argument here," Pidgeot agreed firmly.
"Well, I guess it's off to Yellow Rock Isle now," Brock said, looking at the map. "That right, Dexter?"
Yes, it is. That's most of the way to the Whirl Cup, and it is also where Misty will find Corsola.
"Not so fast," Misty said.
Ash, Pikachu, Brock and Lucario turned to her in surprise.
"Pardon?" Ash asked for all of them. "I thought you were looking forward to-"
"I am!" Misty interrupted. "Of corsola I am!"
There was a stunned silence, then the faint clang of Lucario facepalming.
"Anyway," she went on, blushing slightly at how horrible her own pun had been, "What I was saying was that I wanted to see if I could catch a Chinchou, since I remember there's some on this island."
Brock blinked. "Don't you have a Chinchou?"
"I remember her alright," Pikachu muttered. "That was a very, very annoying fight."
Misty thought about bringing up the destruction of her gym again, but – remembering how casually Chuck had taken it – let it go, though not without some effort. "She was the gym's Chinchou," she said instead. "She belongs to the Cerulean Gym, part of the high-level challenge team – and one of the ones who keeps herself fit, which is what made her so useful. Anyway, I kind of want one for myself."
"Huh," Ash said, and shrugged. "Go ahead, then, we've got time."
Misty cleared her throat, and several dozen of the migrating Chinchou turned to look at her.
"Hi!" she said, brightly. "Would any of you like to become one of my Pokémon?"
"...I have to admit," one of them said, turning to the others. "This is refreshing. Humans normally aren't polite enough to ask."
"Thanks," Misty replied.
The Chinchou blinked.
"Did... did I just imagine that?"
"No," Misty said.
"Oh." The Chinchou seemed a little nonplussed. "Okay then."
A younger one spoke up. "What other Pokémon do you have?"
Misty smiled. "Staryu and Starmie, Seaking and Kingdra, Psyduck, Politoed, Gyarados, Togekiss and Kabutops."
"What's a Kabutops?"
Misty demonstrated by sending him out.
"Hello," Kabutops said, bowing. "I am a reanimated fossil."
"That's something you don't hear every day..."one Chinchou said.
"Talk about understatement," another quipped.
The younger one flashed his lights twice. "I'll go with you!"
Misty smiled, pleased. "Thanks! I have to admit, that was easier than I was expecting..."
The Chinchou shrugged. "You seem nice!"
"Well?" Brock asked.
She flashed him a grin. "Piece of cake! Didn't even have to battle for him!"
"Hey, Misty?" Ash asked. "Remember when you said all my captures were pity-captures?"
Misty shot him a look. "Quiet, you!"
"Right, here we are," Misty said. "Megi City."
Ash looked around. "How is this a city? It barely looks like a town."
The others shrugged.
"Hey – wait." Pikachu's ears twitched. "Did you hear that?"
Ash frowned. "Hear what?"
"I heard someone crying out – there it was again!"
Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder. "This way!"
A few minutes took them to a beach, where they saw a house slowly floating out to sea – with a girl on the roof, calling for help.
"Right!" Misty said, snapping her fingers. "I remember this!"
Frowning, she considered how to help. "Okay – Gyarados!"
She sent out her largest Pokémon, and turned to Ash as he formed. "Can you have Meganium and Ivysaur help to tow the house back to shore?"
"Sure!" Ash replied promptly, climbing on Gyarados' back and releasing the Grass-types.
With the powerful Gyarados providing power, they were able to pull the house away from danger in minutes, and from there Ivysaur and Meganium could switch to reeling it in from the shore and pull it the rest of the way to the beach.
Barely had they started that second phase, though, when Misty went diving off Gyarados' back into the water.
"Uh..." Ash said, looking at where she'd just vanished from. "Misty?"
There were a couple of flashes visible through the water.
Then Misty came splashing back to shore – with her hair frizzed out, despite the seawater.
"I caught Corsola," she said, holding up one of her Lure balls. "Might have been a mistake for Chinchou to use Thundershock underwater, though..."
"That was quick," Ash blinked.
Sorting out the placement of the house – and reuniting the girl with her family – occupied some considerable time, and it was nearly lunch by the time they had everything sorted out and could afford to bring Corsola up to speed.
When she emerged from her Pokéball, the Coral seemed a bit miffed at being caught so easily. Ash gave her the usual treatment, and she blinked – then blinked again. "Misty?"
"That's right," Misty smiled. "Sorry about that..."
Corsola shrugged, which was quite a feat for an animate scleractinian. "I suppose it's fine. I suppose."
"Glad to have met your high expectations," Misty said, a little tartly.
The Pokémon blinked. "Okay, I knew you knew what I called you, but that's new. You speak Pokémon?"
"I taught her!" Ash said proudly.
"Ash Ketchum taught you how to speak to Pokémon," Corsola repeated. She shook her head. "Now I've heard everything. Uh... why are we in the past?"
She did a double take. "And where's Togepi? If this is the past-"
Togekiss emerged from her Pokéball, and waved. "Hi!"
"...I must admit, I had expected you to at most be a Togetic," Corsola admitted. "Okay, so what else is new?"
Misty frowned. "Okay. You know Staryu, Starmie and Politoed?"
"Yes?" Corsola said warily. "Why?"
"They're the same," Misty clarified. "Just about everything else is different."
"Define everything." Corsola took a deep breath, preparing herself for this.
Misty cleared her throat. "Right. Horsea is now Kingdra, Goldeen evolved, I have a Kabutops, you've already met Chinchou, Psyduck is now coherent, Gyarados has been around for a while already, I'm on the Elite Four shortlist, and that's not even getting into what Ash has done."
Ash waved.
"...okay, I wasn't ready for that," Corsola admitted. "It was a lot crazier than I was expecting. How long have you been back?"
"Closer to two years than one," Misty said. "They've been busy."
"She's fought Raikou, and then had a draw with Entei!" Ash contributed. "That last one was just late last week!"
Misty held in a giggle. "Poor Entei... I used Rain Dance every chance I got. The poor Beast..."
"I can see I have a lot to catch up to," Corsola admitted.
"Oh, don't worry," Misty replied. "You'll pick it up in no time!"
She winked. "At least you don't have to get up to speed with what Ash's team is like now."
"I'm afraid to ask..."
That night, as they cruised towards Redrock Isle, Ash gazed out over the stern of the ship.
"Man, but it's kind of nice to be going among islands again," he mused to Pikachu. "The smell of the sea... kind of reminds me of home."
Pikachu nodded. "I can see why it would."
"Plus it means less time walking," Ash added, grinning. "I mean, walking is fine, but it's sometimes a welcome break to get around by boat."
Pikachu smiled. "I can agree with that."
"You mostly ride on my shoulder anyway," Ash chuckled.
"Guilty as charged."
They enjoyed the sound of the ship's wake for a few minutes.
"Ash?" Pikachu asked. "What's the plan for the Whirl Cup? Who are you going to use?"
"Whoever wants to," Ash decided. "I'll try to use everyone who does – but I'll try to be careful with the Legendaries, if they do."
The boy sighed. "I – yeah, I had this discussion already, but I don't want to be like Tobias was."
Pikachu's cheeks sparked a little. "Tobias... yeah, I know what you mean. Fighting his Latios was great fun, but it all felt a bit hollow."
Ash reached up to the railing where Pikachu was standing, and gave him a gentle scratch. "Just let me know if I'm being a jerk, okay?"
"Sure thing," Pikachu agreed. "But I can be bribed with ketchup to overlook the odd mildly jerkish moment..."
They shared a chuckle.
Then Pikachu frowned, looking out to sea. "Eh?"
"What?" Ash asked, becoming alert. "Do you see something?"
"Not see, no... hear."
Ash listened, hard. Ignoring the faint splashing of the waves against the ship, and the disturbed water from the screw propeller...
There.
He looked up. "Wait – that's... Lugia? Pikachu, didn't we see that-"
"Ash, this isn't the local one. Voice is too deep – I can tell the difference. In fact..."
With surprisingly little fanfare, a white-and-blue head emerged from the water. Hello, Ash.
Ash's hand came up and he waved, largely on reflex. Then he did a double take. "Wait – you're the Lugia from-"
From Shamouti, yes. In one sense, yours. Lugia nodded, and beneath the surface they saw his wide wings beating to keep him moving at the right distance from the ferry. I came to ask a favour.
"Sure!" Ash said immediately. "What is it?"
Thank you, Ash. I would like for you to carry me – in my Pokéball – for the next week or two, and for Pidgeot to handle my duties in Shamouti.
Ash frowned. "Uh – sorry, but – why?"
Do you recall how, around this time last timeline, my mate and child were abducted? I believe you were there.
"We were, yeah," Ash confirmed.
I was not there at the time, of course, Lugia elaborated. I don't know much about what happened – it seemed unimportant to find out. And now, when it does matter... I can't ask anyone, and I don't want to risk them killing Silver – whereas if I stay with them to keep them safe, whoever did it will be ready for me. So, all I can do is try to help rescue them.
He fixed Ash with his gaze. Last time, you saved them. And this time, I want to help you do it again.
Ash nodded. "Right. Of course I will, that's fine – hold on a sec."
He released Pidgeot. "You heard?"
"Only the bit you said," Pidgeot replied. "What do you need me to do?"
Pidgeot, would you be willing to handle my duties at Shamouti for now? Lugia asked. I understand if you are reluctant.
"No, I'm – well, flattered, but if you think I'm ready then I'll try to live up to your recommendation." Pidgeot flapped her wings. "I'll keep an eye on them."
Good. Thank you. Now, Ash, if you don't mind-"
"Sure," Ash said. He gave Pidgeot her Pokéball, and she set off south towards the open sea on silent wings.
When she was well clear, he rummaged for the 'ball keyed to Lugia, and returned him.
"I'm glad of your trust," he said, smiling. "And that Doctor Namco won't know what hit him..."
"Welcome to the preliminary rounds of the Whirl Cup!" the announcer said. "Now, remember, these rounds are held under sudden death conditions – both competitors send out one Water-type, last one standing is the winner! There will be two sudden death rounds today."
Ash grinned. "All right!"
He glanced down at his set of Pokéballs for the week – aside from Lugia's Pokéball, which was safely in his bag, everyone was a Water-type.
They'd discussed it last night, who he would send out and in what order.
Predictably, Squirtle wanted to go first.
"Okay, listen up!" Squirtle announced, as Ash duly sent him out onto the first battlefield. "You may be a Seel, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you!"
Raising his arm, he pointed to the sky. "If you want to be a great Water Pokémon, you have to understand what it means to be a Water-type! Water is strong, and powerful, and it moves around the whole world! That means it has the force of a tidal wave, the power of a storm! Waterspout!"
The Seel facing him had just enough time to do a double-take before Squirtle finished charging his attack. The high-throughput stream of water smashed into him, sending him skidding backwards across the floor of the arena and into the retaining wall at speed.
When the Waterspout faded, he was out for the count.
"...huh," Squirtle said, blinking. "I kind of expected that to take longer."
"I'll be honest, so did I," Ash admitted.
His erstwhile opponent was muttering something unprintable about the matching-up system, which had put him – a hobbyist with one badge – up against the most recent Indigo league winner.
Misty was having it just about as easy. She stuck to using Corsola for the first match, to help re-familizarize herself with the Coral Pokémon, and her opponent had never heard of Mirror Coat – worse luck for him.
The second was even quicker, as she sent out Chinchou against what turned out to be a Magikarp.
"Is it me," Ash said, that night, "or is the challenge a bit lower than we're used to?"
Misty shrugged. "I'm sure there's some other good Water-type trainers taking part."
The second day of the tournament, they moved to the Whirl Cup Colosseum itself.
As Ash prepared for his next match, one of the orderlies approached him. "Mister Ketchum?"
Ash nodded. "That's me – why?"
"Oh – well. You have a reputation," the orderly began. He cleared his throat. "So don't break the colosseum, we're going to need it for the whole tournament and we've only got so many replacement arena floors – and no replacement arena walls."
Surprised, Ash blinked. "Am I really that bad?"
"Yes," the orderly said, bluntly. "We've all seen what you did to Cianwood gym."
"That was partly Chuck..." Ash muttered, hurt.
"Doesn't matter," the man told him. "Be careful!"
Fortunately for the Whirl Cup Colosseum, Ash stuck to using Totodile and Kingler for the next few matches. While both were powerful Pokémon, they – unlike Squirtle – could resist the urge to overdo it.
The quarter final, however, was another matter.
"I can't believe we've been drawn against one another!" Ash sighed.
"Yeah," Misty agreed. "This is really inconvenient."
Brock cleared his throat. "Well, it was going to happen. Unless one of you was planning on losing to someone else-"
"Yeah, but it could at least have been the semi-finals or something." Ash shrugged. "Well, I guess you're right... hey, Misty? How do you want to do this?"
Misty looked at him suspiciously. "Explain?"
"Well... I mean, I could use Suicune and Keldeo, but that would be..." Ah rubbed the back of his head. "Silly..."
"And unfair," Pikachu contributed.
Misty frowned, tapping her fingers. "How are you doing teaching Suicune more moves?"
"Huh?" Ash thought. "Pretty well – she's got several more Water moves, but Freeze-Dry is still giving her problems."
"Right." Misty nodded. "Okay. Can you use just her, please?"
Ash smiled. "Sure thing, Misty."
Suicune burst out of her 'ball, and gave Misty a curious look. "You're planning something, aren't you?"
"Of course I am," Misty replied with a shrug.
"And welcome!" announced Maya, the Sea Priestess. "Now, this match, the second match of the quarter-finals, is unusual – because one of our contestants, Ash Ketchum, has announced his intent to use just one Pokémon!"
Ash stepped up to the stand, and waved. Then he took the Fast Ball from his belt, and threw it.
Gasps ran around the stadium. "Is that-"
"That's Suicune!"
"I heard about-"
A smirk playing about her features, Suicune paced around in a circle before coming back to stand just before Ash.
"...right," the normally unflappable Maya said, recovering. "And his opponent, Misty Waterflower of Cerulean."
Misty sent out Politoed. "Okay, Politoed! Ready?"
Politoed clapped his hands. "Yep!"
Maya cleared her throat. "Begin!"
Suicune pounced forwards, aiming directly for Politoed.
The froglike Pokémon hopped from right leg to left, and then Bounced high into the air, evading Suicune's first rush.
Suicune skidded to a halt and looked up, aiming for the flying Politoed. She inhaled, and fired a Bubblebeam – gauging it carefully to compensate for Politoed's movement.
For his part, Politoed endured the bubbles bursting around him with little trouble. He landed on one side of the pool, legs coiling to take the impact, then kicked off again as Suicune approached.
"This could get annoying," Suicune muttered.
"Can you cover the surfaces in ice?" Ash asked. "Make it so he can't get the leverage?"
"Good plan," Suicune said. She switched tacks and began to use Rime – supercooled water – to plaster the side of the pool, remaining on the move all the time by walking in circles on the central pool.
Politoed was able to keep bouncing around for a while by aiming for the places where the ice hadn't reached yet, but sooner or later that ran out.
At this point, Politoed landed instead in the water.
"...hm," Suicune said, looking down into the water. "Any ideas?"
Ash frowned. "Not really... guess you could try to freeze the whole pool?"
Suicune began to nod, then jumped backwards and opened fire with a Bubblebeam. The reason became immediately clear, as Politoed burst out of the water where Suicune had been standing.
Politoed was hit head-on by the stream of bubbles, but shook it off and disappeared into the water again.
Suicune let off the attack, and switched to Ice Beam again. Hopping up onto the icy poolside, she began moving with deliberate care on the layers of ice while freezing over the surface of the pool.
Ash watched carefully, trying to figure out what Misty was planning. As seconds passed into minutes, the icy crust joined up and thickened.
"...come on," he said, frowning. "What's going on?"
He closed his eyes, to see Politoed under the water. He sat there, seemingly content with his situation, for several seconds – then burst upwards.
"Whoa!" Ash snapped, eyes opening. "Look-"
The icy coating shattered into thousands of pieces as Politoed punched through it, engulfed in a red glow. He followed up by picking one of the largest pieces of ice and punching it directly at Suicune with a Mega Punch.
Suicune blurred into motion to dodge, skidding back to a halt on the other side of the battlefield – extending the claws normally hidden in her paws to brake on the icy surface.
"How's he so-" Ash began, then overrode himself. "That must be Belly Drum! Look out!"
"Got it!" Suicune replied. The North Wind coiled around her, and she used it to dart out of the way as Politoed came down for a devastating Body Slam which shook the stadium. Skating around in a curve, she volleyed in more Bubblebeam at Politoed, before adding an Air Cutter to it with her summoned wind.
Unlike all the previous attacks, that had a visible effect. Politoed winced, and stumbled a bit.
"How come none of the-" Ash blinked. He pointed accusingly at Misty. "I didn't know Politoed had Water Absorb!"
Misty shrugged. "You never asked."
"That explains a lot..." Suicune muttered. She coiled her body, claws finding purchase on the ice, and sprang forwards for a physical attack.
Politoed's reply was to Bounce into the air again – using the shattered section of ice he'd landed on before for purchase – and Suicune growled as she skidded to a halt again.
"This could become annoying." Streamers flapping in the wind, Suicune pulled together another Air Cutter and sent it knifing out at Politoed.
Politoed went backwards slightly from the attack, and recovered with a grimace. Folding his arms, he gave Suicune a glare.
"...is that supposed to... I mean... what?" Suicune asked, blinking.
As she frowned in confusion, Politoed jumped back up – and vanished into his Pokéball.
"What was that in aid of?" Suicune turned to Ash, seeking some kind of explanation.
Ash had one. "Look out!"
Well, it wasn't really an explanation, per se.
Suicune turned in the direction he was pointing, yelped, and got a green-glowing blade to the face.
Misty smirked.
It hadn't been easy to set this up – teaching Kabutops Leaf Blade had been almost as much effort as teaching Politoed Baton Pass – but it had certainly paid off, as her Fossil Pokémon was waving around supercharged Grass-cloaked scythes running off a huge amount of extra energy from Politoed.
Suicune finally got Kabutops out of her face with a high-pressure blast of water, and in reply the eurypterid-of-doom plunged into the pool.
The water churned from strokes of his powerful swimming muscles, and he burst out of the water again moments later and half the pool away. Scythes held ready, he darted forwards with his clawed feet finding easy purchase on the ice.
Suicune went skidding backwards from the next impact, one she wasn't able to fully block, and she grunted from the impact of the blow after that. She tried to pounce forwards in a counterattack, and Kabutops backed away from it with ease.
"I think we outsmarted ourselves," she muttered, paws scrabbling and barely able to gain traction on the icy surface of the poolside – especially with all the larger chunks everywhere.
Ash nodded, wincing. All the ice made it harder for Suicune to use her greatest advantage – her blurring speed – and the water pool meant that Kabutops could actually come close to matching her on that front at the moment.
Kabutops slammed in another dual-scythe blow, staggering Suicune and sending her skidding backwards – onto the section of ice Politoed had previously broken up.
As soon as she reached it, she felt the change in the character of the surface and broke into a grin. "There we go!"
Raising her forepaws, she rammed them into the splintered ice – shattering it completely and finding her way through to the stone underneath.
Looking up, she locked onto Kabutops' position. "Bulldoze!"
"Jump!" Misty shouted.
The stadium shook as Suicune pulsed out the powerful Earth shockwave, shattering the ice coating every surface – and doing minor, mostly cosmetic damage to the stone beneath.
Kabutops had managed to jump in time, however, and was mostly unaffected by the Bulldoze. He came down on Suicune like an avalanche, just as she recovered her footing again.
Twin Leaf-Blade cloaked scythes slashed down on a sudden spherical eruption of water as Suicune used Hydro Pump.
That blunted the initial impact of the scythes, but Kabutops promptly crossed his arms and then uncrossed them again – delivering two pairs of scissoring blows through the curtain of water as it collapsed.
Suicune managed to endure those blows, too, but was left panting and exhausted. Growling, she inhaled, and surged forwards into a horizontal Waterfall just as Kabutops raised his scythes for one more blow.
Water fountained everywhere, raining down on the spectators.
When it faded, neither Pokémon was conscious.
Misty stared for a moment, before glancing up at Ash.
He looked just as surprised as she was. Then, with a sigh and a grin, he nodded to her. "Nice work, Misty!"
Ash stepped back from the stand, returning Suicune, and walked back down the steps.
"...whoa," Bruno said, finally.
Lorelei rubbed her eyes. "That was-"
"Yeah," Lance confirmed.
"And he was using-"
"Exactly."
"And she still-"
Lance grinned.
"I think I hate battling people who know what I've been working on," Ash said to Brock, as they sat in the crowd the next day.
Brock made a sympathetic noise.
"Especially when they've been working on things behind my back," Ash added. "I didn't even know Kabutops could learn Leaf Blade..."
"Well, you know now," Brock pointed out. "And I bet you're not going to forget about Water Absorb again for a while..."
"Too right," Ash agreed.
"But what strikes me most is how she used your tendency to plan on the fly," Brock added.
Ash blinked. "She did?"
"Yeah," Brock nodded. "She baited you into doing something to ruin the poolside as a viable fighting platform... and then used the water to her advantage."
Ash turned thoughtful after that.
A moment later, there was a loud bang from the arena. They looked up just in time to see a thoroughly zapped Gyarados collapsing to the side of the pool.
"Good one, Chinchou!" Misty called. "Now, use Brine!"
Misty's opponent sent out her Golduck, who was splashed by the Brine attack and then hit by a blast of electricity. Undeterred, the Golduck advanced behind a psionic shield, and managed to knock Chinchou out of the fight.
"This is going to be close," Ash said, leaning forwards, as Misty sent out her own Psyduck.
Maya tapped the staff on the floor. "And congratulations to our winner, Misty Waterflower!"
Applause ran around the stand.
Maya smiled, and handed Misty the pendant. "Here is your prize – a Mystic Water. Congratulations, Sea Heroine."
At Misty's surprise, she chuckled. "It's the official term for the winner – well, when they're a girl. Well done!"
Raikou's tail lashed.
"You seem annoyed," his double pointed out.
"I AM!" Raikou rumbled. "I was an idiot, tried to throw the match with Ash-"
Suicune's shiny copy blinked. "You actually did that?"
The Beast of Thunder rolled his eyes. "Yes, I did. More fool me... now I have to make amends. And I think I might just know how..."
He stood. "Who do you know who understands Pokémon and speaks human?"
Blank looks.
"Right!" Raikou's voice was full of conviction. "Sign language it is, then!"
With that, he pelted off.
The remaining beasts exchanged confused looks.
Falkner was enjoying a quiet evening, so far.
There'd only been one challenger, a new kid who'd had the forethought to bring a Geodude. Those weren't the most enjoyable matches, since Falkner's first-timer lineup was almost comically unprepared for Rock Throw, but – well, using type advantage well was quite enough to earn the first badge.
Then there was a knock at the door.
Rising, Falkner called Hoothoot to his shoulder and walked over to the gym door. "Come in!" he called.
There was a pause, then the knocking again.
"I told you, it's unlocked!"
More knocking.
Confused, Falkner pulled the handle down and opened the door. "I told you, it's – what?"
A large yellow-purple quadruped stood there – one of the Beasts of Ecruteak!? - looking levelly at him with red eyes.
Then it reached down to the floor, picked something up delicately between saber-like fangs, and held it up.
Falkner was surprised to discover it was a sign. A wooden sign, painted white, with words in slightly shaky black lettering.
I WOULD LIKE TO CHALLENGE
After several seconds of staring, Raikou adjusted his grip on the shaft of the sign and twirled it around to show the other side.
YOU FOR A BADGE
Falkner gaped.
His Hoothoot tapped his head with a beak.
"Oh! Sorry – uh... I guess... why?"
Raikou rolled his eyes. He put the sign down, took a paintbrush from his mane, and started to write on a sign blank that had been behind him.
Falkner watched as a succinct explanation took shape.
Briefly put, Raikou felt like it.
"...okay," Falkner said, absorbing that. He massaged his temples, and sighed. "Right. Right. Uh... do you have any badges already?"
Head shake.
"Right. Please don't hurt my no-badge team..."
"I told you!" Zapdos cawed. "Neither of you is ready to-"
"Say what?" Moltres snapped, wings flaring. "If you're going to make that kind of claim-"
"You're both morons," Articuno sighed. "Clearly I'm the only one sensible enough to be in charge!"
"Ahem," a quiet voice coughed.
"Sensible? Sensible?" Moltres laughed. "Don't, please, you've got worse impulse control than-"
"And which of us was it who-"
"Ahem," the quiet voice said, more loudly this time.
"At least I didn't start it!" Moltres said hotly. "In fact, if I recall correctly-"
A red beam of light speared out from overhead, wove delicately between the three birds and blew a zigzag-shaped series of waterspouts out of the sea below.
"Right," Pidgeot said, now that the Birds were listening. "None of you is in charge. I am. And that's for two reasons. First, Lugia specifically recruited me to keep you three in line."
The Birds reacted to that with dubious looks.
"Secondly, and more importantly, I know Aeroblast and I have a sustained speed in level flight three times greater than what any of you can achieve. I can reach out and touch you from miles off, and you can't stop me."
Zapdos charged a bolt of electricity and snapped it off at her, quick as a flash.
When the rumbling had faded, all that was there was a cloud of featherdown drifting towards Shamouti Sound miles below.
Then the beam came again. It was blue, not red, a purposefully underpowered Aeroblast, but it traced right up Zapdos' spine before terminating at the base of his neck – the whole knocking him tumbling through the sky, until he righted himself substantially lower down.
Pidgeot drifted closer to them again, shedding altitude. "Any questions?"
None were forthcoming.
Professor Oak looked up as the doorbell rang.
"Oh! Ah – Tracey, can you get that, please?"
Tracey Sketchit duly stood. "Sure thing, Professor."
He walked over to the lab door, and opened it. "Oh, hello Molly!"
"Hi!" Molly said, waving. "Want to buy some cookies?"
Tracey's eyes widened. "Don't say that word! Not when-"
There was a glutinous noise.
"Cookies?" Muk asked, oozing into view.
Tracey sighed. "Oh, well..."
Eevee chuckled.
"Don't worry, mister Sketchit!" Molly said earnestly. "We made a special one for Muk!"
Muk's smile widened.
It congealed slightly when Molly waved a finger at him. "And you're not allowed to have any of the others, okay? Only your special one."
Disappointed, Muk nodded.
Molly rummaged in her bag, and took out a wide, thick cookie with Muk drawn on it in icing. "Here you go!"
Muk beamed, and she unwrapped it from the cellophane before throwing it to him.
His jaws closed on it with a slam, and he oozed off chewing happily.
"Good plan," Tracey said with a smile.
"Thanks!" Molly replied. "It's Curse!"
There was a sound of shattering plastic.
Tracey blinked. "You mean... you gave him a TM in a cookie?"
"Yep!" Molly nodded. "He likes them!"
"You've got that right," the boy admitted.
"You're kidding," James said, with a sigh. "She found us again."
"Ta be honest, I'm surprised dat it took dis long," Meowth said with a shrug. "Remember, we were kinda on da news for a bit."
"True," Jessie agreed, as they watched the helicopters sweep in. "Seriously, if she has this much money, why does she even want to marry you?"
"Beats me," James said, with a shake of his head. "Okay, guys, how do you want to play this?"
"We could just run away again," Jessie suggested. "Go take another holiday."
"True," James nodded.
"Or we could send Meowth in to leave a Ponyta on her pillow," she went on.
Both the others blinked, giving her a confused look.
"What?" she asked, defensively. "It would burn her bed down and then escape out the window, damaging that too. It would be a way of making her back off."
"Yeah, but where we gonna get the Ponyta?" Meowth asked. "I mean, it ain't like da Laramie Ranch is gonna give 'em out without expectin 'em back, even ta James."
Jessie shrugged. "Well, it was an idea..."
She took the Pokéballs belonging to Cubone and Wobbuffet. "Right, let's just do this the old fashioned way. Think you're going to get more of them, or am I?"
Meowth raised his paws, coins glittering between them. "Ya know, a helicopter engine's kinda vulnerable to being hit very hard by a lump a' metal..."
All three looked up at a sudden roar of flame, followed by an explosion.
"There they are!" Jessiebelle said, a grin spreading across her face. "Remember, I want James alive and preferably unharmed... but, in a pinch, having one ring finger left will do."
"Roger that, ma'am – gah!"
"Gah?" Jessiebelle repeated, grin of triumph replaced by a frown. "What could-"
Her command helicopter rocked in the wash from an explosion.
She glanced out the side, looking for the source, and saw four helicopters were already plunging towards the plain below. Parachutes blossomed as the crews bailed out, and then the cause of their loss swept past.
Jessiebelle gaped. "...what the heck is a Moltres doing here?"
"Ya know," Meowth said, as the Legendary swept through Jessiebelle's private army and turned it into a public rabble, "Any time about two years ago or so, it'd be us on dem helicopters."
James nodded. "Times have changed."
The final rotary aircraft went down in a ball of flame, parachute canopies indicating that the crew there had survived too, and the Moltres turned – cutting a spectacular figure against the billowing smoke – before vanishing into the distance once more.
"...that probably means nothing," Jessie said, eventually.
"Yeah, probably not."
AN:
That Pidgey is kind of strange... almost Pidgey Baumgartner. Dedicated, though.
Lugia... well, you'd be surprised.
As for the Whirl Cup...
Misty is very good with Water-types. She's also now fought all three of the Beasts, and the one she did the best against was the one where she saw exactly what moves she had and hadn't mastered yet.
And a quick look in on several other people. Incidentally, once he recovers Falkner is probably going to give Raikou a bit more of a fight than that.
