The Marine Pokémon Laboratory was not exactly inspiring.
"...this is just a house on the edge of a small cliff," Misty said, after a moment.
"I don't know," Brock hedged, leaning out over the cliff. "I think that's a small pier down there too."
"Do you need much, for it to be a lab?" Ash asked.
"Not really, no," Misty admitted. "I guess I'd expect a bit more, though..."
"Professor Oak's lab isn't much bigger than this," Ash pointed out. "Though his ranch is huge. I guess Marine Pokémon don't need – hey, look!" he said, interrupting himself. "Out there!"
They squinted.
"What is it?" Latias asked, hovering invisibly at about head height. "Wait, I can see.. something. Very faint."
"It's Lapras!" Ash grinned. "He was busy during the Altomare thing, he's not met you yet... ah, here we go!"
He sent out Pidgeot, jumped off the cliff onto her back, and they shot off towards Lapras and his pod.
Latias blinked, unseen. "...should I follow him?"
Misty shrugged. "I honestly think it's your choice."
"Excuse me?" a voice called, and the two gym leaders turned to see a woman waving at them. "Hi? Do either of you know why that boy's going out to that Lapras pod? I've been trying to call them over for hours, he's going to ruin my work!"
"I doubt Ash is going to do that," Brock said. "One of his Pokémon is the pod leader."
"...really?" The researcher blinked. "How?"
"He sort of released his Lapras, back when we found them in the Orange Islands," Misty explained. "I say sort of because Lapras still gets called on for battles occasionally."
"Okay, well then." Shaking her head, the woman sighed – then blinked, looking closer at Brock. "Oh, I recognize you now!"
"Really?" Brock asked, a little surprised.
"Yes, Professor Ivy has a picture of you on her desk... oh, dear, where are my manners? I'm Naomi, I'm the head researcher here." Naomi shrugged. "Also the only researcher..."
"Low budget?" Brock asked.
"Pretty much," Naomi confirmed. "I'm researching communication between Water-type Pokémon, specifically Lapras and others who use ultrasound and infrasound."
She shrugged. "I put in a budget application for a month's worth of Wailord food, that's like asking to be allowed to open a restaurant. I got denied."
"Ouch," Brock winced. "Philena's mostly managed to succeed on her applications, but she's never very calm about them..."
"You research communication between Water-types?" Misty asked. "Interesting. I'm a Water specialist myself."
"You know, Misty..." Brock said, slowly. "We could help her a lot."
"Oh?" Naomi looked interested. "How could you help me?"
In reply, Misty sent out Golduck. "Hey, Golduck?"
What? Golduck asked, glancing down at the water below. You don't have another scheme to teach me to swim, do you?
"Not at the moment, no," Misty assured him. "It's mainly to see if you can help this lady with her research."
Ah, I see. Providing subtitles. Golduck nodded. I suppose I could.
Naomi stared for a moment, then sighed. "Well, I never considered a Psychic-type... well, Golduck isn't one, but you know what I mean."
"I'd suggest Slowking," Brock volunteered.
"Hey!" Ash called, as Pidgeot swept back over. "They're on the way over for a chat! Lapras is looking good – he said there's a Lanturn over here?"
"A Lanturn?" Misty asked, interested. "Maybe he and Chinchou could have a talk, too..."
"This looks like it'll be better than if I'd just got my grant in the first place," Naomi said with a chuckle.
"This all seems very peculiar," one of the Lapras said, as they floated just offshore.
"Well, you know how it is..." replied the pod leader, shrugging. "My trainer's not one to do things by halves."
"I still remember when he dropped you off," another admitted. "That was ridiculous and amazing."
Ash's Lapras tilted his head, shrugging. "Oh, well... thanks?"
"Uh..." his mother began, frowning. "Is there something invisible in the air just over there? Or is it just me?"
"Now you mention it..." Lapras admitted, frowning. "It does look like there's something."
"Ash?" Latias asked, quietly. "Can I-"
"Lapras and his pod are good," Ash assured her, just as quietly. "The researcher I'm less sure of, but it should be fine."
"Okay," she said, trusting him. She took a deep breath, and slowly shimmered into existence.
"Cool!" several of the Lapras chorused.
"You're pretty," one of the younger ones added. "Are you one of my brother's friends?"
"We've not met yet," Latias told her. "Speaking of which – hello!"
"Hello to you too! Latias, right... I see you got another Legendary, Ash," the pod leader said with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Latias. That's a neat trick you have there."
"Thanks," Latias replied, bobbing up and down a little.
"I've got some food," Naomi reported, coming out of her lab. "It's a thanks to everyone for helping out... oh, I've not seen that Pokémon before. What is it?"
"She's Latias," Ash explained. "She's from Altomare."
"Altomare... interesting," Naomi said. She looked closer. "Is she a water Pokémon?"
"No, Psychic and Dragon."
"Oh, okay." Naomi nodded to herself. "Now, I was wondering – I know that these Lapras are from the Orange Islands, mainly, but how far do they migrate?"
"We've been up to Sinnoh once before, my mother says," Ash's Lapras said. "We usually go down a little further south than the Orange Islands – once or twice to Oblivia – and west to the mouth of the Long River or east to the Deepest Trench."
Golduck translated helpfully, adjusting his rubber ring a bit.
"Ah, interesting!" Naomi nodded to herself. "And is that normal?"
"Fairly normal," one of the older Lapras spoke up this time. "Other pods have about the same range, some have longer if they have access to good currents. We're comfortable in just about any temperature so long as the sea's there."
"Wonderful!" the researcher said, taking notes. "There's so much to ask – oh, I must ask about how far you tend to travel in a day..."
Some hours later, Naomi finally ran out of questions.
"That was amazing," she said, putting down her third full notebook. "Just.. wonderful, to get that much first-hand information. Thank you so much for your time and effort."
"It's no problem," Lapras told her. "My sister enjoyed it, and you paid us well."
"Yes, though it took quite a lot of my supplies of..." Naomi shook her head. "Oh, who cares! I'm going to write this all up, and publish some papers about it, and then I should be able to get one of my more ambitious projects going!"
She turned to the friends, who had been discussing how Mawile could best use her jaw-horns in battle. "Oh, and thank you three as well for being so patient! Sorry about that, I got a bit-"
"It's no problem!" Ash said, grinning.
"It's nice of you to say so," Naomi smiled. "Oh – sorry, I nearly forgot! Elm said you'd be coming to pick up the egg!"
"Is there a reason he couldn't get it himself?" Brock asked, curious. "I mean – when we heard him on the phone he seemed a bit... preoccupied..."
"He said something about a trainer with a recently-evolved Typhlosion without much control of his flames," Naomi reported. "The lab seemed to be pretty much all either wet or smouldering."
"Ouch," Misty winced.
"Anyway, just give me a moment-" the scientist said, collecting her notebooks and hurrying up the stairs towards the lab doors.
"She's a bit excitable," her Lanturn said, by way of apology. "By the way, I hope I wasn't being a nuisance earlier."
"You mean the Supersonic?" Lapras asked. "No, it was okay. Bit off-tune, but not as bad as some of the other Pokémon we've met."
"I'll work on that, then," Lanturn said firmly. He glanced to one side. "So, what do you think?"
Misty's Chinchou shrugged. "I'm still deciding about whether I want to evolve. You're certainly a lot bigger than me!"
"That happens," Lanturn agreed.
"What's the back light for?"
The larger Pokémon blinked. "...good question."
"Here we are!" Naomi said, coming back down the stairs with an egg container. "The poor thing was stolen from the Pokémon preserve at Mount Silver by poachers, but they were forced to leave it behind in a police raid."
"Poor thing!" Latias said, wincing. "That can't have been pleasant..."
"We'll get him sorted out," Ash said, taking the container. "I guess we'd better get going, though, it's still mid-afternoon and there's plenty of time before nightfall."
"Right," Naomi agreed. "Well, thanks again for your help!"
"Oh, it's okay," Misty assured her. "Golduck needed some time getting used to the concept of water – even if he is still using that rubber ring..."
It makes me feel safe, Golduck said firmly.
A mile or so down the road, with Latias back to invisibility, the friends sat down in a clearing.
"Well, let's get this sorted out," Brock said. "You checked, right?"
"Yep," Ash confirmed. He unscrewed the top of the case, and took the egg out – then added the little touch of Aura which reminded the recipient.
Responding quickly, the greyish egg began to glow. It intensified, then – as the glow died down – a Larvitar, slightly curled up, stood there.
Larvitar blinked. "What just happened?" he asked, uncurling a little and looking around. "Last I remember I was – and now – what?"
"This could take a while to explain," Ash told him. "The basic version is – we're now back in time. It's a day or so before you hatched last time."
"That explains why Brock and Misty are there," Larvitar admitted. "Hi, Pikachu."
"Hi!" Pikachu grinned. "You're a lot more sociable than last time."
"Not much worse I could be," Larvitar admitted ruefully. He blinked. "Wait – if it's the past, that means... those poachers! My mother-"
"I was worried about that," Ash admitted. "We can sort that out now, if you want – or very soon, anyway."
"How soon?" Larvitar asked.
"Pidgeot flies really fast, so – today, probably," Ash said, trying to remember how far it was to Mount Silver. "If we find them, anyway."
"Ash, you're not thinking of heading off and leaving us again, are you?" Misty asked.
"Kind of?" Ash tried. "Uh – who do we have... Charizard said he'd be busy for the next few days... maybe Suicune and Entei again?"
"I'm not riding Entei again," Brock said quickly. "Not until he learns a way to keep the wind out of my eyes."
Larvitar did a double take. "Wait. Entei? Suicune? Those are available to you?"
Pikachu chuckled. "Ash has Legendaries. Plural."
Hearing a good cue, Latias switched to visible. "Hi!" she said brightly, then started giggling at the expression on Larvitar's face.
"We're getting off topic," Togekiss said. "I might be able to carry Misty, but I'll be a lot slower than Pidgeot is... I don't think I could keep up with Suicune, either."
Latias cleared her throat. "I could try," she said.
"What?" Ash asked, blinking. "I mean, I know you can lift me, but... you're sure?"
"It solves this problem," Latias said, more firmly. "And – well, I think it might be a good time to try out the – what did you call it? Latias...ite?"
"Oh, right, the Mega Stone," Ash nodded. "Yeah, I guess that might be a good thing."
"What's a Mega Stone?" Larvitar asked.
Pikachu chuckled. "Oh, you've got so much to catch up on..."
Ash unlimbered the staff, reaching around in his bag. "We've got to get you something to keep this on," he said, retrieving the Latiasite – then frowned. "Actually, that might mess with your stealth. Tricky one..."
He passed it to Latias, who took it, and adjusted his grip on the staff.
Latias.
Ash's mind couldn't help but remember the two parallel approaches to the museum, from different timelines – once when he was racing to rescue Latios with Latias' help, and once the reverse.
There was a flash of orange light, and he blinked.
"Huh."
"What?" Mega Latias asked, as her transformation finished.
"That took a lot less time than usual to trigger... strange." Ash shrugged. "Oh well..."
"What just happened?" Larvitar asked plaintively. "Is that a Form change?"
"No, something else," Pikachu told him. "It's kind of... yeah, we were surprised too."
"Right," Mega Latias nodded. "Let's see how fast I can fly like this. Climb on!"
Ash had a moment of uncertainty, looking for the best place to use as a grip, but ultimately used her upper 'arms' to help him climb on. Her back was broad enough to fit him quite easily, and she bobbed there for a moment before rotating her arms to face backwards.
"So... how are we going to do this?" Ash asked, crouching down a bit.
"Give me a few minutes to see how I fly, okay?" Mega Latias asked. "If you fall off, it's better if you have Pidgeot to catch you."
Ash winced. "Good point..."
Mega Latias took a breath, then-
"Whoa!" Ash called, startled, as she shot forwards. Almost as soon as she had, though, she braked again – and Ash was glad he was using Aura to hold on tight, because otherwise he'd have gone flying forwards off her back and ended up in the sea.
"It's okay!" Mega Latias said, arms coming back to a more normal angle. "It's okay, I just wasn't expecting to be that fast..."
She frowned. "Okay, I should probably be really careful not to break the sound barrier, that might be quite a bad idea with someone on my back..."
"I agree!" Ash said ruefully. "Pidgeot uses wind shaping to make that easier, though, I think it means that we're in a kind of air bubble?"
"Maybe I could try that with psychic... hm," Mega Latias frowned. "I'll certainly try that later... let's see if I can go slower this time."
She zoomed forwards again – still accelerating too hard, but less so than before this time.
"Okay, I'm pretty sure we've got the hang of it now," Mega Latias said, drifting back down to the others some minutes later. "And we only lost your hat twice."
Ash winced, remembering the dives to catch his hat. "I'm keeping it in my bag for now."
"Probably a good idea," she agreed. "Okay, who's going with who?"
Pidgeot flashed out of her Pokéball, wings spreading, and came down to land the other side of the small clearing. "You know, if Togekiss can lift Misty, then I can probably use Tailwind to keep her at the same speed as the rest of us."
"...that makes sense," Misty admitted. "Whoops..."
"Let's go, then!" Larvitar said. "I want to help my mother!"
"Right!" Brock nodded. He glanced over at Pidgeot. "I guess I'm riding her?"
"If you ask nicely, yes," Pidgeot twitted him.
Ash got down off Mega Latias, hoisted up Pikachu to his shoulder, then lifted Larvitar and started to get back on.
"Okay, that's even more ridiculous than Noctowl!" Mega Latias said, head curved around a little to watch. "Larvitar weigh as much as a full grown human!"
"Really?" Ash asked, glancing down at Larvitar. "Huh."
The Dragon-type didn't really have a sensible reply to that.
"How's that feeling?" Misty called, the slight windrush pulling at her words as she spoke.
"It's okay..." Togekiss replied. "It's a lot faster than I've ever gone before, but at least keeping you in the air isn't too hard."
Misty looked down, seeing the land unfolding beneath them. Then to her side, where Pidgeot flew with lazy-looking flaps of her huge white wings of air, incidentally sustaining a tailwind blowing the two Flying-types along at three hundred miles an hour.
She was shielding them from the wind, too. Special bonus.
A few hundred metres ahead, Ash's staff shone a bright orange-gold as it sustained Mega Latias' transformation.
The Psychic-type seemed to be enjoying herself, if the occasional whoop was anything to go by.
"Hey, look – there's Mount Silver in the distance," Misty said, squinting, as they climbed a little to clear a ridge. "Just there!"
"I see it," Togekiss agreed. "We're really covering the distance fast!"
"Hey, Misty!" Brock called.
She looked over. "Yeah?"
"Below us!"
Misty leaned as gently as she could to look over the edge of Togekiss' wing, and frowned. "Hey, you're right – that looks like a Flying-type climbing up to meet us!"
For several seconds, they watched as the Pokémon approached. It fairly soon became clear it was a Pidgeot, and one with a rider at that.
"I hope we're not about to have trouble with Rangers like Ash did!" Misty called over to Brock. "Are we in the Silver reserve yet?"
"Don't think so!" Brock called back. "We could be, though!"
With surprising suddenness, the Pidgeot grew from a stick-figure shape to a large, obviously real Pokémon. It approached, slowing slightly as it levelled off, and then came alongside.
"Oh, it's Casey!" Brock said, smiling. "Hi!"
"Hi yourselves!" Casey replied, waving from the back of her Flying-type. "What brings you here?"
"We're helping a Pokémon – a Larvitar," Misty explained. "Ash has got him – he's just ahead!"
"I wondered whether that was him," Casey admitted. "Especially after seeing who it was on his Pidgeot. What are you helping the Larvitar with?"
"He was stolen as an egg from his mother by poachers," Brock told her, and the usually easygoing Casey scowled.
"Poachers... yeah, we had trouble with some yesterday. Bunch of idiots with a giant robot, they nearly got Riolu. Pichu and Elekid together managed to drive their robot off, though – watch out, it's tougher than it looks."
"Oh, you got an Elekid?" Misty asked. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks!" Casey replied, grinning. She glanced ahead, and saw Mega Latias turning into a broad descending spiral. "Guess this is where we head down, right?"
"Suppose so," Brock nodded.
"Well spotted," Mega Latias said, as she descended. "I can see it more clearly now – that's a Tyranitar alright."
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Even if it's not the right one, we can ask whether they know Larvitar's mother."
Larvitar peered down. "I can't see the- wait, there we go! It's her!"
"Lucky us," Ash smiled. "Latias, can you land a little way clear of her? We don't want to startle her."
"Got it."
Arms up so her fins were perpendicular to their direction of travel, Mega Latias bled off the rest of her speed. She hovered down to about two feet off the ground, some distance from the curious Rock-type, and Ash slid off her back before lifting Larvitar down.
"Remember, she's not gone back," Ash reminded Larvitar in a low voice. He put the young Rock/Ground type down, and stepped back to let her see him.
"Mother?" Larvitar asked, raising his voice.
The Tyranitar looked thoroughly shocked. "What did you just say?"
"Mother," Larvitar repeated. "I'm your son – from the egg that got stolen."
"Oh, right," she said, nodding. "I see what you mean. I'd thought you wouldn't..."
She trailed off, looking up. "What was that? I heard wings!"
"They're just my friends," Ash said. He squinted into the sky, and frowned. "Oh, hey, two Pidgeot. That's unusual – hey, is that Casey?"
The trio of Flying-types swept over the branches of a low tree, and alighted near the still-transformed Mega Latias.
"Ash," Larvitar said slowly. "Did you just answer my mother's... wait, why am I-"
He paused.
"Would you believe I was so startled by everything else that I didn't notice you speak Pokémon now?"
"I'd believe it," Pikachu said. "Mainly because everyone else seems so surprised by it."
Brock strode over. "Thanks for the ride, Pidgeot!" he called behind him, getting a smile and a wing-wave in reply, and turned to face Tyranitar. "She's a big one."
"I may be a little bit lost, here," Tyranitar said. "Who are all these other people?"
"They're Ash's friends," her son told her. "Ash helped me get back to you after I hatched."
"About half an hour ago," Pikachu supplied helpfully.
"Yes, it was all a bit quick..."
"Excuse me?" Casey asked. "I was wondering – do you have any idea where the poachers are? We had a run in with them yesterday, and I want to make sure they don't steal any more Pokémon!"
"I don't know," the Tyranitar admitted. "Sorry."
Ash translated, looking a bit downcast. "That could be a problem..."
"Sounds like we're quite popular!" a voice said, distorted by the loudspeaker it was being said through.
Everyone turned. "What was that?" Misty asked.
A loud stomping began to echo through the forest. It got closer and closer, until the source came into view as it pushed a tree over.
Casey blinked. "...that's a giant robot Tyranitar."
"Could do with being a bit bigger," Pikachu said critically. "And the joints are kind of poorly made."
"It's very good of you to bring that Larvitar!" another voice said through the loudspeaker. "We can use this to catch it - and Tyranitar!"
"...you're a moron," Brock said, sighing. "Didn't you notice the four Pokémon trainers?"
"They're the morons, Braggo!" said the third voice. "Look, there's only three trainers!"
Brock glanced to his side, and blinked. "Uh, three?"
Tyranitar blinked. "Actually, now you – where did my son go? Where did the other trainer go?"
There was a shimmer over the Tyranitar-bot.
"Here goes," Ash said. "Now, Noctowl!"
The Flying-type flapped his wings, dispelling the cloaking illusion. As he did, Ash jumped off Mega Latias' back, landing with a thud on the big robot's head.
"Thanks for the lift," Larvitar said, clinging on with one arm and using the other to volley blows in on the saurian machine's head.
"Ash!" Brock called up at him. "What the heck are you doing?"
"Breaking the robot?" Ash replied, puzzled. "Why?"
"Oh, whatever..."
"Hey!" the loudspeaker blared. "Stop that! That's expensive armour up there!"
A flash down below heralded the materialization of Casey's Riolu. The young Pokémon took in the situation, drew back a foot, and formed a sphere of glowing energy between her palms.
"Look, guys!" the third voice – Blurt, that was it – said. "Boss, they're trying to break our robot from the front too!"
There was a crackle from where Larvitar was steadily hammering his way into the machine.
"Quick!" said the second voice, firmly. "Get the brat! Squash them both flat!"
One of the machine's arms reached up to swat at Ash and Larvitar, up on the head of the machine. The other reached for Riolu, aiming to knock both her and Casey out of the fight.
Ash saw the big metal arm coming, and summoned Aura into his palms. They flashed blue, and he drove a palm-strike into the artificial claws with a splintering crash.
The other arm didn't have much better luck either. Casey sent out her Meganium, who used her big, powerful Vines to snarl the arm mechanism up before it reached Riolu.
Tyranitar blinked. "Who exactly has my son made friends with!?"
"Ash, for starters," Brock told her, focusing on the fight. "Okay, Steelix, stop it from moving!"
His Iron Snake burst into existence, charged forwards – evading the kicking of a metal foot – and twined around the mecha-Tyranitar, weighing it down and trapping its feet.
About at that point, Riolu's Aura Sphere finished charging. She threw it at the metallic machine, blowing a hole in the armour at about chest height and revealing a maze of circuitry.
"Zap the hole in the armour!" Misty said as she opened a Lure Ball, aiming her instruction at both Pikachu and her just-released Chinchou.
"Got it!" Pikachu said, grinning, and electricity snapped and crackled around him before lancing forwards in a Thunder. Chinchou gave him a slightly disgruntled look, then added a much-less-impressive Shock Wave.
The whole robot lit up like a Christmas tree, and there was the sound of an argument over the loudspeakers.
"...told you, it can't take any more than this!" Chico snapped. "Get them to stop!"
"That sounds good to me!" Casey grinned. "Elekid, Pichu, zap it!"
The two Electric-types joined hands and lanced forwards a Thunderbolt, and then the whole machine exploded.
"Larvitar!" Tyranitar called, as smoke hid the wreckage. "Did he-"
Ash landed about halfway between her and the ex-robot, one arm down to break his fall and the other firmly clutching Larvitar to his side.
"Whoo!" Casey grinned. "That was awesome!"
Latias transitioned back down from Mega with a bright orange flash, catching her Latiasite as it fell, and drifted back down with Noctowl.
"I guess we should tie these guys up or something," Brock said, nodding towards the thoroughly unconscious Poachers.
"Good idea," Misty agreed. "Brock, can you send Crobat to look for a Ranger?"
Fortunately, there was a Pokémon Ranger not too far away.
Once the situation had been explained and the criminal brothers had been carted away, there were still a few discussions to be held.
"So, how have you been?" Ash asked Casey, who shrugged.
"Good – catching Elekid was great, he and Pichu work well together. And... yeah, we've been doing what you'd expect, pretty much. Just got our eighth badge recently – Clair. Strange thing, she was holding it in a field..."
"Yeah, I think that was Raikou's fault," Ash said with a wince.
"Raikou?" Casey repeated. "I met someone who... oh, don't tell me you caught Raikou too..."
"Well, yeah... but that was after he broke the Blackthorn gym," Ash protested. "Not my fault this time."
"Sure it wasn't," Casey laughed. "Anyway, I saw you on the news, at Altomare. It wasn't a great picture, but it was you – I recognized Keldeo, too."
Ash rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, this kind of stuff just happens... oh, I guess Riolu's doing well. And your Bayleef evolved to Meganium, too."
"Yeah, that was recent," the baseball fan said. "She was keeping Riolu safe, actually."
"It's a good reason," Ash nodded. "Oh, I guess you're going to be at the Silver Conference? Don't lose to anyone who isn't me, now!"
"I'm not going to lose to anyone!" Casey told him. "That way, when I beat you, at least you'll have been beaten by the champion!"
"Excuse me?" the Tyranitar said, looking to Latias. "Can I ask you a question?"
Latias blinked. "Sure, I guess," she said, nodding.
"You are a Legendary Pokémon. Why is it that you travel with this boy, Ash?"
"Good question, actually... Larvitar muttered. "We didn't get around to discussing that."
"Well... for myself, it's partly because I wanted to see the world. Partly because he's a good trainer, and making me stronger. And partly because... partly because he's able to keep me safe – his Pokémon are very strong," Latias said, thinking carefully as she did so.
Tyranitar nodded, and glanced down at her son for a moment. She considered her next question carefully.
"I had heard that Latias and Latios were guardians of a great city."
"That's right – Altomare," Latias nodded. "My brother and I take turns being with Ash or being there, because that way we keep Altomare safe and also learn how to fight."
"Interesting." Tyranitar nodded again. She turned to her son. "Larvitar, my son – what do you think of this human?"
"He kept me safe both before and after I hatched, and helped me find you," Larvitar said simply.
"Right." Tyranitar considered that a moment longer, then thumped her tail on the forest floor – not hard, just enough to make a soft noise."Trainer?"
Three of the humans looked up. "Yes?" Brock said. "Who do you mean?"
"The one who aided my child."
Ash stepped forwards. "Me?"
"Yes." The female paused. "What do you plan to do now?"
"Well, uh – get ready for the Silver Conference, really, we're nearly there..." Ash said, shrugging. "Contact all my Pokémon, make sure they're ready, that kind of thing."
"Contact? Ready?" she asked. "You speak as if they are not all at your command."
"Of course they're not!" Ash said with a nod. "They're my friends – and some of them might not want to fight, or they might be busy with their family or with something else. So I ask them, to make sure."
"Interesting..." Tyranitar frowned. "How do you contact them, then?"
"Mother, what are you-" Larvitar began, and trailed off at a quelling look.
"There's some transceivers that I have, which work with the Pokémon Transfer System," Ash explained. "So my Butterfree's with his family most of the time, but I can contact him and bring him over – that sort of thing, it's so I don't have to abandon them when I release them."
Tyranitar nodded, in understanding. She fixed Ash with a stare. "If my son wishes it, then he may travel with you."
"Wha?" Misty said, blinking.
"That's kind of sudden..." Brock managed.
"I like what I've seen. I would not wish to be apart from my son for long, but if you can make him strong and give him happiness then he should travel with you – if he wishes it." Tyranitar looked down at the little Rock-type. "Do you wish it?"
Larvitar gaped. "I – well, yeah, I guess..."
Tyranitar smiled. "Then that seems settled."
She gave Ash an intimidating glare. "Provided, of course, that you do right by him."
"Of course I will!" Ash said, stung.
"Excellent." Tyranitar nudged her son forwards, and he took a few steps before looking up at Ash – who swept him up in a hug.
"Nice to have you around," Ash said, grinning.
One of the Pokéballs on his belt opened.
"Yay!" Mawile said, beaming. "I've got a little brother!"
Larvitar blinked. "But..."
"You hatched after me, you're a little brother!" Mawile said firmly. "That's maths!"
"I'm not even going to ask how long that battle took," Sir Aaron said, sighing. "Because the answer would worry me."
Yeah, it was a while, Arceus admitted. You could probably tell that from where you're standing, though.
Sir Aaron had to admit, Arceus had a point. They'd started this particular battle on the high clifftop of Avia, and ended it in a smoking crater which was so deep water was seeping in through the sides. Salt water.
The three Dragons came over, chuckling to one another.
"Did you see that bit where Yveltal came up behind me?" Giratina asked. "I just Shadow Forced my way out of the attack zone of Oblivion Wing, appeared behind him, and knocked him into your Roar of Time!"
Dialga nodded, his back-plates shifting slightly. "Pity Lugia hit you with an Aeroblast, though."
"That was pretty funny," Palkia nodded, sniggering at Giratina's expression. "What? It was! Completely hilarious."
"Hey!" Giratina snapped. "It wasn't funny, it was painful!"
"Funny from here," Palkia said.
"Guys!" Sir Aaron said, and they subsided. "Thanks. Now, where are we going next?"
Ah, this is where it gets interesting, Arceus said. I really want to show off the Fairy type one, so you get teleported straight there.
"Fairy!?" the three dragons chorused.
"I'm not ready!" Giratina said, blanching. (It looked strange.) "That's not fair, dad!"
"You think you have problems, my special move's Dragon-type!" Palkia shot back. "They're immune to that!"
"Now, which of you is going to manage to come up with something I want first..." Dialga mused.
Sir Aaron was about to speak, but then there was a wrenching discontinuity-
-and they were on an island.
"Welcome to my lands!" said... someone wearing a fuku.
"Arceus, what the-" Sir Aaron began.
The reference was obvious, Arceus told him. That's Tsuruhime.
"Oh, great..."
"I'm afraid you're going to have to be battled with all my strength!" Tsuruhime said brightly. "Xerneas, let's go!"
All three Creation Dragons looked nervously at the deer-like Legendary as it strode forwards.
"What's that on his horns?" Sir Aaron asked, looking closer. "Wait. That's a Power Herb. Oh, this isn't going to go well..."
Xerneas used Geomancy. The Power Herb flashed into fire as it was consumed, meaning that Geomancy's charge time was reduced from considerable to seconds. A huge pulse of green energy spread out across the whole battlefield, before rushing back into Xerneas and crackling on the ends of his horns.
Then he used Moonblast. Eight times. At once.
Giratina phased out of existence before the attack wave arrived. Palkia summoned a colossal wave of water, dampening the effects of the attack, and managed to endure the worst of it.
Dialga fired a Flash Cannon back at the shots headed for him, resulting in a large explosion.
"Yeah, I'll handle this," he said, fins extending. "Stand back!"
Sir Aaron stood back.
AN:
Golduck is, at least, putting the effort in.
Of course I had to have Soaring in the Sky some time. And Togekiss are, in the manga, able to carry people – though speed is an issue.
Casey's been improving, too – incidentally, the Pichu-and-Elekid-working-together thing is somewhat inspired by Pikachu's Rescue Advenure.
Yep, Larvitar's part of the team – those transceivers really allow for the option of part-time team members, which helps justify including Pokémon like this who would otherwise make more sense with their family.
And, finally, Sir Aaron and co. They've been busy. Mostly with explosions. (Incidentally, Power Herb plus Geomancy equals horrible pain for dragons - unless they also happen to be, say, Steel-type...)
