"...told you, there's no such thing as Squirtilite!"

"You don't know that for sure," Squirtle said, waving his hand. "Gary said he found a new kind of Mega Stone!"

"Yeah, but it's a new kind of evolutionary energy," Ash rejoined. "It's something which is, fundamentally, like an evolution. And fully-evolved Pokémon are the only ones who seem to have it."

Squirtle shrugged. "Whatever. I'll prove you wrong and show how awesome I am."

He frowned, thinking it over. "Right! I need an Everstone, an expended Water Stone, a chisel, and an indeterminate amount of development time!"

"...who keeps expended Water Stones around?" Misty asked.


Professor Oak looked up. "Oh, Damos, can you answer that call please?"

Answering.

There was a click, and Ash's voice came out of the speaker. "Professor? Uh, this might sound a little weird, but... do you have an Everstone?"

"I've got several, Ash," the Professor said, smiling. "Does one of your Pokémon not want to evolve? Who is it?"

"It's not quite for that, Professor," Ash replied. "And – do you have a spent Water Stone?"

"A spent Water Stone?" Oak repeated. "I'm not sure, actually..."

Damos cut in on the conversation. Gary Oak left one here after evolving his Shellder to Cloyster.

"Ah! Well, there you are," Oak smiled. "What are they for?"

"Well, you see..." Ash sighed. "Squirtle found out about Gary's Blastoisinite."

Samuel winced. "Ouch."

"And now he wants to make his own Squirtilite," Ash went on. "By the way, can I switch him for Quilava?"

Oak put his head in his hands. "Ash... you know he's going to blow holes in the south paddock..."

"It's that or he does it to random towns," Ash said, apologetically. "Hey, Squirtle? Can you at least make sure you practice at the beach? The water's harder to break."

Oak heard Squirtle's voice, and Damos flashed up a translation on the monitor. Squirtle was okay with that plan.

"...okay, then," Oak said, eventually. "But I'm going to regret this."

"Great!" Ash said happily. "I'll-"

"Hold on a moment, Ash," the Professor interrupted, frowning. "I have a question. Have you done all that paperwork for getting Max officially registered as your student?"

"...no," Ash admitted.

"I ask because Professor Birch told me yesterday that Max passed his oral exams with flying colours – and that there's a pending investigation into the people responsible for the exam flashcards," Oak went on. "So I really think you should get that done."

Ash sighed. "I guess you're right. Can you send me Pidgeot instead, then? I'll fly over."

"Of course," Oak smiled.


"Okay, guys, looks like I'm spending the day at Oak's Lab doing paperwork," Ash sighed. "Be back later this evening, or maybe tomorrow, depending on how much there is."

Misty looked at the sky, then at her watch. "Ash... it's morning."

"It's paperwork," Ash replied, deadpan. "It'll take forever."

"Fair point," Brock agreed.

Dexter pinged, and produced Pidgeot's Pokéball. Here you go.

"Thanks," Ash said, taking it and returning Squirtle. As Dexter transmitted that one in turn, Ash sent the Flying-type out. "Hey, Pidgeot."

"Hello, Ash. We're going for a flight, I understand it?"

"Yeah, back to Pallet. I'll visit my mother while I get the chance, I think-"

"Actually, Ash," Misty interjected. "Can I borrow Suicune?"

"Ask her," Ash said, sending the Water-type out.

"What for, Misty?" Suicune asked.

"Well..." Misty shrugged. "I think about now is when my sisters start thinking of just up and leaving me the gym to manage. If we're just going to spend today doing not much, I thought I'd let them know of my candidacy – and take the time to make sure they're running the gym properly, too."

"Sounds like a good idea," Brock agreed.

"It'll be my pleasure," Suicune told her. "You live in Cerulean, right?"

"That's right," Misty confirmed.

"Good. I know the way. Climb on!"

"Thanks for the favour, Suicune," Misty said. "I really do appreciate this."

Once she was on, Suicune loped off east in a blue blur – slightly ahead of Ash and Pidgeot, who shot off southeast towards Pallet.

Brock looked around the clearing. "Guess we're camping here tonight. Hey, guys, looks like we've got a chance for a full day's training!"


A little after lunch, Brock lay back on a hummock and watched his Pokémon with a smile.

Geodude was still working on that altered form of Stone Edge he'd been working on for months. It always seemed to be one more breakthrough away, but Brock didn't mind – with Ash around, there was rarely a need for more firepower.

Besides, it was just a cool concept.

Some distance away was Steelix. He was focusing on something else entirely – dealing with fast, manoeuvrable opponents. Brock had suggested it, based on the simple observation that a slow opponent could simply be hit very hard by all thirty feet of metal snake until they gave up or were driven like a tent-peg into the ground.

As such, Steelix was lunging around and snapping away at a fast-moving, four-winged bat. That would be, of course, Crobat, who was in turn working on his aim with Venom Drench.

Drenching Steelix with Venom was of course completely ineffectual, so it was much safer than practicing with someone else.

Shooting spikes at Crobat in turn was Forretress. She had some good Bug moves and some good Steel moves, but the better her aim the better she would be at using them – and she had even less chance of chasing her opponent down than Steelix did, so it all worked out nicely.

She could even try out her Zap Cannon on Steelix.

As the other end of the clearing, Ninetales and Stantler were playing around and experimenting with Stantler's ability to maintain illusions while also making other attacks. Ninetales felt it would be helpful if he could perfect Me First, in particular, since it had the potential to be quite disconcerting if a Pokémon was suddenly hit from an unexpected direction by its own attack.

As Ninetales had reminded him, her Fire-attacks wouldn't actually harm her, and so Stantler could work on pre-empting them safely.

The wind sighed, and Brock stretched with a languorous pleasure. Sometimes it really was just nice to have a quiet day.

There was an explosion as Zap Cannon crashed into Steelix' flank. Well, maybe quiet was a relative term.


Some time later, Brock startled awake. "Eh?"

Master.

He turned, seeing a familiar shape next to him. "Ninetales?"

Master, come this way, please.

"Something you want to show me?" he asked, with a yawn. "Sure. Just give me a minute."

She waited patiently, as he got up and stretched, and then turned and padded into the trees – pausing halfway, to look back.

Something seemed a bit off, to Brock. He considered glancing back to check on everyone else, but almost immediately dismissed the idea.

Steelix could take care of them...

Come, Master. It is important.


Flames swirled around nine long tails. "Okay, ready? Emb-"

The Stantler she was aiming at vanished in a flash of light, and her teammate materialized at her shoulder. "Me First!" he said quickly.

His antlers seemed to shimmer, the view through the space around them distorting slightly. Then there was a flash of fire-

And the attack fizzled.

Ninetales' Ember attack went off, shooting off across the clearing, and then fizzled too as Ninetales used Extrasensory to quench the flames.

"Awww..." Stantler muttered, shaking his head. The bell on the antlers jingled, and he sighed. "I thought I had it that time..."

"Well, you're certainly doing well with your illusions," Ninetales told him. "I couldn't even hear the bell – but it did still collapse when you tried to use Me First."

Stantler nodded seriously, taking the advice in. "Again?" he asked.

"Sure," Ninetales agreed.

"Oh, look!" Stantler added, nodding, as she began to pace around in a half-circle for another go. "Brock's up."

Ninetales glanced around. "Looks like he's off to stretch his legs! I'm not surprised, after that nap."

She turned back to Stantler, and didn't find him. "You cheeky little fawn!" the Fire-type said, with a chuckle. "Right, where are you... aha!"

Her tails flickered. "Ember!"

Stantler jumped aside, illusion wavering for a moment, then cloaked again. Ninetales sniffed the air, tails lashing, with a grin across her muzzle.

This was fun.


Brock walked through the woods, following the sleek vulpine shape.

Something about this seemed... wrong, somehow. It was... almost like-

Ninetales glanced back, red eyes flashing. Come, master. We are late.

"Okay," he said, the niggling worry fading into the background.

It probably wasn't anything important anyway.

Ahead of him, the Fox was picking her way along an old path. It seemed to be overgrown, with moss and even tree roots across it, but Brock could still tell where it was and Ninetales seemed familiar enough with it.

But... Brock frowned. Ninetales had never been here before...

Had she?

Master, it is not much further.

Rubbing his temples with one hand to stave off a mild headache, Brock followed her along the path. He nearly stubbed his toe at one point, but cream-coloured tails eased his foot gently over the root.

After a walk of some minutes, they came to a house. It seemed momentarily strange to Brock that there was such a well-kept house in the middle of a forest, but Ninetales glanced back and beckoned him on, and... it seemed to be less of a problem.

As he approached the scrubbed and glistening front door, Ninetales barked softly. There was a pause, and then the door opened.

"Master, you're back!" a woman in a kimono said, bowing lightly. "It is good to see you here again."

"Right," Brock said, a little confused. "Uh – what's going on?"

His head ached.

Ninetales glanced back at him, eyes flashing, and the dizziness increased slightly.

"Brock?" a familiar voice asked. "Are you alright?"

Brock looked up, and saw Professor Ivy coming out of a door adjoining the entry room.

"Philena?" he asked, frowning. That made his headache twinge, and he winced – the question of what she was doing here in northern Johto slipping his mind.

"Oh, you look exhausted!" Philena said, wincing. "Come on, you'll feel better after a sit down."

That made sense to Brock. He followed Ninetales into the building, and the door clicked shut behind him.


"Come on!"

Stantler's illusions flickered and vanished, revealing to Ninetales that he was actually right up against her side. Her Ember attack collapsed, and they both looked towards Geodude.

His rocky arms worked frantically as he used Stone Edge. "Come on, come on... work this time!"

Slowly, with a grinding noise, the ground in front of him mounded up. Grass and earth cascaded away, and a large, earth-and-stone clenched fist rose out of the ground.

The others stopped their own sparring, turning as well to watch Geodude's attempt.

"Right," he said, when the fist was out of the ground to the wrist. He clenched his own right arm into a fist, then made a sweeping gesture.

With a screeching of rock moving against rock, the fist moved too. It tilted, fingers opening in a copy of Geodude's hand, and then slowly shifted back.

Then it fell apart.

"Aaaargh!" Geodude sighed. "It was so close that time!"

"Don't worry," Steelix said, kindly. "I'm sure you'll get it eventually. You're making progress!"

"Yeah, but it takes a long time. It's really not cool." Geodude shrugged. "Hey, where's the Brockster?"

Crobat shrugged, rolling in mid-air. "Probably just having a walk-"

"I don't think so," Ninetales interrupted. "He's been gone for nearly an hour, now. He'd have said something."

"...you're right," Geodude agreed. "This is serious."

He slammed one fist into the other. "Right. Where do we start looking?"

"I'll look from overhead," Crobat suggested.

"Good," Ninetales agreed. She paced over to where Brock had been, and took a deep sniff. "There's something..."

Sniffing occasionally, she followed the trail towards the edge of the clearing. About halfway there, she blinked.

"What!?"

Stantler eyed her warily as her hackles raised and she began to growl faintly. "Uh... Ninetales?"

"Someone else was here. Another Ninetales."

Geodude blinked, then slammed his fist into his forehead. "Stupid! I can't believe we forgot about this!"

He pointed at Steelix. "You remember? That Ninetales who thought Brock was her old master?"

"I do!" Steelix thumped the ground with his tail, making the ground shake and both quadrupeds stagger slightly. "Uh, sorry. But – what do we do?"

Ninetales sniffed again. "I have Brock's scent. Follow me!"


Brock was led into a lounge room, with a high-backed armchair and a roaring fire in the grate.

He sank gratefully into the armchair. "Oh, I feel so much better, now..."

The headache receded a little, and he looked around – blinking rapidly.

Where was he, actually? Ninetales had led him... here, and it seemed familiar, but it also seemed... wrong. Like the time he'd been here last hadn't been good...

"Philena?" he asked. "Where are we?"

"That doesn't matter, Brock," she said calmly. "What's important is that you're here, and you're not well. You need to get better."

That... made sense.

Didn't it?

For whatever reason, Brock wasn't quite sure...

Master, you need to relax, Ninetales said, pacing around to lie down across his feet. Her tails flirted slowly, back and forth in a complicated pattern, and she looked up at him with glowing red eyes. You need to relax.

Brock listened, and relaxed.

It wasn't really that big of a problem anyway. This was quite a nice place...


"Anything?" Geodude asked.

"Nothing!" Ninetales replied, scowling. "The scent just – stops. Right here."

She paced up to where the trail ended, then turned right and took a wide circle through the trees – sniffing all the way. "Nothing. Nothing. Nothing!"

Forretress looked up anxiously. "Was he carried off?"

"No, if he was I'd smell metal, or a Flying-type, or something... and there's no sign of a struggle." Ninetales completed her circuit, coming back to them. "If any of you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them..."

Stantler frowned, tilting his head on one side.

"Grah!" Steelix swung his tail in an arc through the part of the forest they'd walked through, smashing big gouges out of the trunks and sending a couple of smaller ones toppling with a dry crash. "What's happened? How could Brock just vanish?"

"Wait a minute," Stantler said, still frowning. He looked up. "Crobat!"

Crobat left off quartering the nearby forest and skimmed down to hover. "What is it?"

"You saw the path we took?" Stantler asked, and got a nod. "Right. Now – fly along it, and keep going. Just a hundred metres or so."

"Uh... sure," the Flying-type agreed. He skimmed off through the trees, back the way they'd come, then performed a low wingover and came gliding through the trees along a faint path.

Just as he passed the others, he pulled up, and kept going at about twenty feet high.

"There!" Stantler said, triumphantly. "Did you see that?"

Geodude shrugged. "See what?"

"Crobat pulled up. And Ninetales walked around... I think there's something here." The adolescent Stantler advanced slowly, frowning. His legs trembled, wanting to step aside, but he kept his concentration and pushed forwards in a ruler-straight line. "Something... right... about... here!"

There was a tink as his horn struck... air.


Brock leaned back in his chair. The smell of incense in the air was relaxing, making his headache feel better.

It smelled familiar, though he knew... knew? He thought he hadn't used it much before.

Brock wondered about that, but then sighed and shook his head. It wasn't important, he was just woolgathering.

The servant who'd greeted him at the door – Lokoko, that was her name – opened the door with a faint creak. "I brought tea, master."

"Oh, thank you," Brock said, smiling at her. "It's nice to not have to cook for once."

Then he blinked. She had called him master? But-

I see it is your favourite, master, Ninetales said, raising her head to follow the servant as she brought in the cup of hot tea. Peppermint, with a little sugar.

"My... favourite?" Brock repeated, getting that weird sense of distortion again. Something was very wrong, here, and he couldn't work out what it was. He just had to focus-

Surely you remember, master. Ninetales' eyes flashed, and she inclined her head towards the tea as it was placed on the small table. It is your favourite.

"But-" Brock frowned, trying to think. "My favourite is... it's...

Nothing seemed to come to mind.

"I... I guess I'll have the tea," he said, picking it up and taking a sip.

It is good to see you enjoying your favourite again, master, Ninetales stated.


"What..." Geodude floated forwards, blinking. "What the heck are you doing?"

Stantler demonstrated by clicking his horns against the air again. "There's something here, something that's trying not to be noticed."

He frowned. "But... I think I can break it. I just need to show very clearly that there's something there."

Coming to a decision, he reared up and took a step forwards. His forehooves came down on the invisible something, hitting with a light clack.

"That's giving me a headache," Ninetales said, wincing. "There's something there – but – ow. That's a good illusion, even with you doing that I'm not convinced there's anything there..."

Stantler thought for a moment, balancing on air at an impossible angle.

"Okay," he said, pushing off and coming back down. He took four steps back.

"Ninetales?" he asked, blinking. "How many steps did I take back?"

Ninetales found herself drawing a blank.

"Four," Crobat supplied. "Your bell rang four times."

"Thanks," Stantler said, trusting the Flying-type. He crouched, then sprang forwards. "Jump Kick!"

His right foreleg came back, then shot forwards at thin air. There was a frozen moment when he wasn't sure if he'd gotten the count right, then a loud crack of impact.

Stantler bounced off, landed on his side, and scrambled up. "There!" he said, pointing with one hoof.

A small chunk of lacquered wood lay on the forest floor.

As the others stared at it, Stantler stepped forwards again. He tilted his head, manipulating his left antler into the hole the wood had come from, and concentrated.

A whole section of the forest started to waver, as the slight space-distortion around Stantler's antlers intensified from his unfinished Me First. Then, with a kind of crisp mental snap-

There was a house there.

"Wow," Ninetales said, blinking. "I didn't realize it was this big-"

"That was pretty awesome, kid," Geodude said, floating over and punching him lightly in the shoulder. "Great work."

"Thanks," Stantler panted. "That was – hard."

Steelix reared back. "Our trainer's in there!" he said, whipping his steely tail back. "Let's get him out!"

With a loud crash, an Iron Tail smashed into the side wall, cracking it open and making the whole side wall heave and shift. A few chunks of the facing fell off in a shower of splinters, and the nearby section of roof buckled slightly.


Brock saw Ninetales' head snap up, and she frowned.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, concerned.

She shook her head. It is nothing important, master.

As she said that, her eyes began to glow faintly again. Nothing important at all.


"Careful!" Geodude said, as Steelix withdrew his tail from the small crater. "You'll bring the whole thing down – Brock's in there!"

He gestured. "Stone Edge!"

A small section of the wall trembled, then fell. The nearby roof sagged alarmingly.

"Steelix – hold it up, okay?" the Rock-type added. "Right. Crobat, we need to find out where Brock is – map the place. Everyone else, come with me."

Steelix shifted, putting his tail tip under the sagging roof section, and the other Pokémon proceeded through into the house.


Crobat's wings sliced the air as he flew down the corridors. They were large, but not extravagant, and he was having to be careful with his flight angle to avoid hitting the walls on the turns.

Coming around in a sharp banking turn, he blinked. Another dead end?

Shaking his head, he dropped down to hover, and shook his head. There had to be doors somewhere. It wasn't as if whoever took Brock – that old Ninetales, wasn't it? - could pass through walls.

Pass through walls...

Maybe not, but she could certainly hide an entire mansion – couldn't she hide doors too?

Cursing, Crobat flew back into the air and started to scan the corridors with his sonar. Almost immediately, he found an opening – an open door to boot, not a closed one.

Flying through by briefly turning on his side, he continued mapping the building – using his auditory senses, rather than his visual ones, this time.


"Good," Geodude said a few minutes later, nodding to Crobat. "We know a lot about how this place is laid out now. Thanks, Crobat."

"My pleasure," Crobat replied, hovering near the ceiling. "What now?"

Geodude snapped his rocky fingers. "Where's the centre?"

Crobat indicated. "Go along that way for a couple of dozen-"

"No," Geodude interrupted. "That's not what I mean. Which way's the centre, directly?"

Ninetales blinked. "Pardon?"

"What do you mean, then?" Stantler asked.

Crobat's eyes widened, and he pointed his left forewing. "That way." That said, he flew back a little.

Geodude grinned. "Forretress? Blow us a path."

Forretress wobbled slightly in concurrence, rolled forwards, and Selfdestructed. The explosion blasted a chunk out of the light wood of the internal wall, and Geodude jumped forwards to punch the hole wider.

"Follow me!" he beckoned.


As the explosions continued, Crobat hovered over Geodude's head giving occasional instructions on direction. The two quadrupeds hung back a little, Stantler keeping his eyes open for any further signs of illusions.

"What happened here – last time, I mean?" Stantler asked.

"I don't know," Ninetales replied with a sigh. "Last time, I went back to Suzy around when we last met her. And-" she shook her head. "Suzy's lovely, don't get me wrong. But I missed adventure."

A faint, almost inaudible growl. "Except when it's like this."

Another explosion rocked the mansion, and was followed almost immediately by a blast of flame from ahead.


Brock half-stood in shock as the wall collapsed in, and a Forretress rolled in.

Before she (and how did he know it was she?) could do anything much, Ninetales roared a blast of flame forwards and sent the Bug/Steel type out of the room smouldering and soot-blackened.

"Ninetales, what's-" Brock began, startled.

Stay there, Master! Ninetales instructed, fire curling around her tails. I will keep you safe.

Another blast of flame crackled forwards, towards a Crobat hovering in the hole, which swooped out of the way of the Flamethrower attack and was forced to pull back. "Brock!"

Brock's hand went to his temples as another headache rolled in. "What..."

Then a blur of fur and tails and snarling teeth came leaping clear over the Forretress, slamming both forepaws into Ninetales' side and knocking her over.

"Mine!" a second Ninetales snarled, teeth bared. "Not yours!"

A tail slap sent her sprawling, and she rolled to her feet to face down the older Ninetales. There was a frozen instant of stillness, then both pounced forwards again.


Ninetales ducked as her older counterpart came in, rolling to try to get under her belly. The canny vixen's response was to leap, instead – taking her clear over the paws swiping at her, and letting her tuck into a roll as she landed halfway across the room.

The corner table trembled, then came flying at Brock's Ninetales. She smashed it to pieces with a blast of intense flame, but the distraction cost her – her elder's fangs clashed closed near her throat, and she yelped and used her tails to give her some distance.

Leave us alone! The older Ninetales called, fangs clashing with fire enshrouding them. I lost him for so long, let me have this!

"No!" the younger replied, baring her own fangs. "He's not yours, and never has been! Your trainer was someone else!"

The reply to that was an enraged snarl, and flames burst around the elder Ninetales – an eerie, purplish blue fire.

Ninetales recognized it – a Ghost attack, not a Fire one, and a potent Ghost attack at that – much more powerful than Ninetales normally learned. She inhaled, sweeping her tails out of the way of the first shot, and fired a Dark Pulse.

The elder hissed as her foxfire was extinguished by the pulse of darkness, and Brock's Pokémon had just time enough to feel triumph before the Night-Shade born flame she'd missed struck her on the small of the back.

Yelping, she used Fire Spin, forming a cloak of flame around herself. It wouldn't damage either combatant, but it gave her the chance to try to break away.

It almost worked. Fangs clashed closed on one of her tails, and she was pulled to the floor mid-jump. The canny elder Ninetales released her before she could try to turn the grip into an advantage, and threw the armchair at her with another burst of psychic energy.

This time, rather than simply blow it to bits, Ninetales jumped towards it. She struck the item of furniture paws-first, on her own terms, and pushed off with a powerful shove.

The elder Pokémon was forced to blow the chair apart herself with a Flamethrower, and Ninetales used the moment of distraction ruthlessly. She swept her tails around, all nine in one thick bundle, and batted the aged Ninetales' forelegs out from underneath her.

Ninetales followed that up with a lunge and a blast of psychic force, more hammer-blow than her opponent preferred-

And hit air.

Realizing her opponent had started using illusions again, Ninetales glanced around frantically to make sure Brock was out of the room. Seeing he was, she turned back and nearly had her ear bitten off as the enraged old Fire-type appeared out of emptiness.

Right.

Brock was clear. Ninetales had a solution for this.

She let fire curl around her for a fraction of a second, remembering Growlie coaching her on this, then slammed out an intense Heat Wave.

The whole room burst into flame, soft furnishings crumbling in the heat. There were several small flashes as illusions collapsed, revealing the true state of the old Ninetales' house – somewhat dilapidated, despite all her efforts.

Why!? Howled the old fox, pain in her eyes. Why remind me of how long it has been? I was happy!

Ninetales winced. There wasn't going to be an easy way to resolve this...

She sighed, and then lunged forwards once more.


"Brock!" a Geodude called, as the two Ninetales pounced at one another and one went sprawling. "We've got to get you out of here!"

"A Geodude?" Brock asked, feeling sure there was something he should remember here. It was on the tip of his tongue...

The Geodude sighed. "Okay, you're coming with me."

Grabbing his hand, the Rock-type hauled him bodily out through the door. He plucked a Pokéball off Brock's belt as they moved, returning the Forretress, and an anxious-looking Stantler and Crobat met them outside.

"How is he?" Crobat asked.

"Not well," Geodude said grimly. "Can't recognize me..."

"Please feel better!" Stantler said, and Brock heard a faint, familiar jingle. His eyes flicked up to the bell, sure he should remember it.

"Okay, we need to leave – fast!" Geodude said. "Steelix can't hold the place up forever, and by the sounds of it those two back there are trying to burn the place down!"

Brock was dragged through another hole, and then caught sight of the Steelix supporting the roof-

"Steelix?"

His Starter. How had he forgotten his-

And then it all came back in a rush, as the web of illusions and suggestions collapsed.

Brock's first action was to sweep up Geodude in one hand and Crobat in the other, and hug them – irrespective of how much they weighed.

"Thanks for coming to find me," he whispered.

"You think we'd have done anything else?" Geodude quipped, grinning. "Good to have you back, boss."

"It's felt like ages," Crobat agreed. Steelix rumbled his concordance, and Stantler gave a firm nod.

"Right." Brock took a breath, and gave a firm nod. "We have to go back in."

"What?" Crobat asked, astonished. The reaction of the others was more or less the same – total incredulity.

"You alright, boss?" Geodude asked.

"Yeah, but-" Brock shook his head. "That Ninetales... she's trapped here. Her Pokéball is here somewhere, we just have to break it and she's free."

Geodude sighed. "You're the boss. Crobat, any ideas?"

"I think so -follow me!"


Steelix shifted, adjusting his weight to delay the collapse of the house.

It couldn't be held off forever, but so long as Brock and the others were in there he'd do his best to delay it.

Even though it now seemed to be on fire. Where was a Water-type when you needed them?


Crobat stopped in front of a painting, hovering there with steady wingbeats. "I think this is it."

"Why?" Geodude asked, examining the painting. "Huh, you really are the spitting image of this guy..."

Brock ran his fingers over the names. "Takeshi and Kyoko. I guess Takeshi must be who she thinks I am... so the Ninetales must be Kyoko."

"And look at the date," Geodude added. "An'ei 6. Over two hundred years ago."

Brock winced. "She's been here for over two centuries..."

"I think this is it," Crobat repeated. "There's a desk here – it's hidden by an illusion, and there's something on it."

Stantler nodded, leaning down. There was a flicker, and the desk appeared.

Brock snatched up the Pokéball, and ran back through the house towards the room the two Fire-types were fighting.


Kyoko panted, one paw coming up to rub a split lip.

Her opponent wasn't much better off. They'd been going at it hammer-and-tongs for several minutes, and both were tiring fast.

Why? She called, again. Why do you get him and not me? I waited for two hundred years!

"It's not the same person!" the other Ninetales replied, breathing deeply. "Brock's not your master!"

But he's so close – he- Kyoko's mental voice wavered, as she fought to control her emotions. It's not fair!

"No, it's not."

Both Fire-types' heads snapped around.

Brock stood in the ruins of the doorway, holding Kyoko's ancient Pokéball – much less sophisticated than the ones at his belt.

"But you deserve to be free, Kyoko," Brock added, shifting his grip on the 'ball. "And I'm going to-"

NO! Kyoko howled, tails standing on end. Don't take this from me! You don't know what it's like, to lose someone and then have them back!

Brock was silent for a moment at that.

"I do," he said, quietly, and Kyoko got a momentary flash of sensation from his thoughts. Shoulder-length purple hair, knowing brown eyes, the smell of a powerful perfume applied purely to cover up lingering smells from the lab...

The woman he loved? But – how could he have...

"I do," Brock repeated. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that this house has turned into a prison, Kyoko."

Then, suddenly, he threw the 'ball at the floor. Made of old, brittle materials for all its fine craftsmanship, it exploded into a thousand pieces.


There was a series of blue flashes, as all the illusions collapsed. The true state of the house was finally revealed – a shell, maintained for so long by an obsessive Pokémon after the servants had all left or died, now smouldering as the fires burned what was left.

After a moment, Brock noticed Kyoko was crying.

"What am I to do now?" she asked, her voice sounding rusty and pained as if it had not been used in decades. "Takeshi is dead, and his legacy crumbles... I have lost everything."

"I don't know," Brock said, sighing. "But – it wouldn't have been right to take me, anyway."

Ninetales nodded, baring her teeth tiredly. "Brock is Brock, not Takeshi. He has other loved ones, other Pokémon... other things to do."

"But... he wouldn't have wanted you to-"

"You realize," Kyoko interrupted, facing Ninetales directly. "You will feel this pain too. One day, he will leave you, just as Takeshi left me."

"Yes!" Ninetales agreed, pain in her voice. "But I know that, and I accept that."

She licked Brock's palm. "One day. Not today, but one day, I will lose him. And I will mourn, and remember him, and I will carry on. With others, and – I hope, one day – children. Mine, his, both, I don't know. But... I will adapt."

That said, Ninetales turned her gaze on her counterpart. "Would your master – would Takeshi – have wanted you to live nine lifetimes in lonely grief? Or did he think better of you than that?"

Kyoko seemed to slump, tails drooping. "I... don't know. He never told me..."

After a moment, Brock spoke up again. "I can tell you what to do. One order, if you think Takeshi would have given it."

She looked up.

"Live," Brock explained. "Go and walk the fields of Almia. Travel to Mt. Pyre in Hoenn, and teach young Vulpix about your old master. Visit Pallet town, and talk to Professor Oak. Find another you think Takeshi would approve of! But... more than anything else, live."

Kyoko looked down, hiding her eyes. "I... think that Takeshi would have told me that. Thank you."

She turned, and loped off into the dark forest all around.

There was a long silence.

"Can I get out from under this roof now?" Steelix asked. "Not to interrupt the moment, but it is starting to itch..."


"Oh, you're gorgeous!" Daisy said, beaming.

Suicune shrugged gracefully, her long blue streamers rippling as the shrug passed down her body. "Oh, you're too kind..."

She stepped out onto the water of the pool, producing a number of tiny ripples which spread out until they touched the far side.

All three of Misty's sisters gasped.

"That's beautiful!" Violet said, beaming. "I mean, I knew Suicune could walk on water, but that's just lovely!"

"Thank you," Suicune said, smiling. She looked down, frowning suddenly. "Was this supposed to smell?"

Blank looks all around.

Suicune coughed. "Psyduck?"

Psyduck emerged from his Pokéball with a flash, landed in the water with a splash, and immediately spread his flippers and started floating very carefully.

"Why did Misty have to leave my Pokéball right by the water's edge? Psyduck asked, plaintively.

Suicune stepped over and lifted him out of the water. "There you go."

"Thanks," he quacked.

Suicune tossed her head. "My pleasure. Now – I have a question for my hosts. If you would translate?"

Psyduck nodded.

The Legendary Pokémon cleared her throat. "I seem to have removed some rather smelly dissolved chlorine from this pool. Was that supposed to be there?"


Misty paused the latest tape for a moment.

No doubt about it, that was a genuinely good move on Lily's part. The kind of thing she'd do herself, though not as fast as Misty felt she could make the switch herself.

Using Chinchou against the Grass-type at first, then switching to Dewgong when it used a powerful Grass-type attack... good, by itself. But the impressive bit was when she went back from Dewgong to Chinchou when an unexpected Electric-type attack came in.

Chinchou had healed nicely, and that had really made the other trainer work for his badge.

It was unusual – not quite unique, in the couple of dozen tapes she'd skimmed so far – but it was pretty close.

She sighed, sitting back in the chair.

It would be nice to say her sisters were incompetent layabouts. But... they weren't, not quite.

They did really prefer the dancing stuff to fighting, but... they were improving, no doubt about it.

In the considered opinion of Misty Waterflower, who'd seen Ash fight something approaching two dozen high level gym challenges counting both timelines, her sisters were... good.

Not great. They couldn't manage to fight quite on the level of someone who was after their seventh or eighth badges, but they could manage anything less.

Which honestly wasn't too bad. And if worse came to worst, they could just have Vaporeon dissolve into the water system and impose a time limit on the battle.

She shook her head, and got back to reviewing the tapes. This time, she went after the ones specifically for people on their final gym badge – to see what they were like.


"How's it going, Ash?" Tracey asked. "Man, that's a lot of paperwork..."

"I know," Ash agreed. He looked up as Tracey put a glass of lemonade on the side table, a few feet from the desk he was using. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Ash went back to the latest form. "Some of this makes no sense!"

"Really?" Tracey asked. "What kind of stuff is it?"

"Well... I mean, this is fine," Ash said. As he spoke, he filled out Pikachu's basic information on a form labelled Tutor Starter. "Let's see... caught as a Pikachu... quirks, capable of form change... egg moves? No idea."

He put the form on the finished pile, and moved on to the next. "But this one asks where my grandmother's hometown was! I don't even know that!"

Dexter bleeped. Viridian.

"Oh, thanks."

It is a law dating to pre-Meiji times, as well. I do not know why it is still on the list.

Ash filled it out anyway, and took a gulp of drink. "I'd much rather be outside with my Pokémon..."


"Right!" Squirtle said, grinning. "Ivysaur! You ready?"

"Reluctantly," Ivysaur said with a nod, holding up Ash's staff in one vine. The small bag holding the pair of Legendary feathers swung slightly from the base of the crystal, and he adjusted the angle.

"Good!" Squirtle judged, rummaging in his shell and bringing out the bluish object he'd been working on.

"You're seriously going to use that?" Ivysaur asked, not for the first time.

It was not very impressive.

It was, basically, an Everstone crammed into a hole in the side of an expended Waterstone.

"Yeah!" Squirtle nodded. "It's the S-stone! It has Squirtle energy! Now, start that key stone up!"

Ivysaur rolled his eyes, and started concentrating.


Tracey's head sent up and he looked out the window. "What was that bang?"

Ash barely noticed. "What's the airspeed velocity of an unladen Swellow? They don't even say what kind of Swellow... I mean, my one..."


Ivysaur shook his head. "That did not work."

"I know what went wrong!" Squirtle announced, as the water splattered down all around them and down the hill. "Just give me five minutes, and-"

"I'm taking this back to Ash," Ivysaur interrupted. "I don't want to be responsible for breaking it. Or you."

"Spoilsport."

"You ended up inside a giant Vaporeon made of water, which exploded," Ivysaur reminded him. "This is not how you use any of the things you're using. Including me."

Squirtle muttered something about science.


AN:

Ah, this episode. One of the more memorable ones.

I tweaked it, just a bit. Hope it works – I know some fanon is that the Ninetales is called Lokoko, but I assumed that was the servant instead.