Dexter rang.
"Who is it?" Ash asked, taking the Pokedex out of his pocket.
It's Gary, unless one of his Pokemon wants a word, Dexter supplied.
"Thanks. Hey, Gary!" Ash said, hitting the answer key.
"Ashy-boy," Gary replied. "How are you finding Hoenn?"
"It's nice," Ash said, stretching. "Warmer than Johto, which is nice. I do kinda miss Misty, but..." He shrugged.
"Right," Gary said. "I'm still in Kalos, it's more convenient for research to stick around where Gurrkin and Sycamore stay."
"Oh, yeah, the Mega thing," Ash agreed. "How's that going?"
"Pretty well," Gary said. "I do kind of need more Mega transformations to study first-hand, though, especially how it differs between different stones and Pokemon for the same trainer... anyway, I called for a reason."
"Go ahead," Ash said.
"Want to do a trade?"
Ash blinked. "Uh... wait, who were you thinking of?"
"No, you're not understanding," Gary informed him. "I wasn't thinking of trading a Pokemon you have – I was thinking, you catch a Pokemon or two from a short list, and I catch something vaguely cool over here in Kalos to swap with you."
"Uh... I guess I don't see the problem with that," Ash said, frowning. "So long as the Pokemon don't mind, I mean..."
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Gary waved off. "I'm charismatic! Anyway, what should I look at to catch for you?"
Ash gave that a thought. "Well... I guess something not from anywhere I've already been – Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh or Unova."
"Got it. And Ash?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks, this'll be a real help. Smell ya later!"
The call closed with a click.
"Huh," Max said, blinking. "That was kinda strange..."
"Gary's... Gary," Ash decided to say.
There was a ping from Dexter's speaker. He just texted a list of Pokemon he'd be fine with. I think we meet most of these.
Ash scanned through the list. "All of them, actually, one way or the other... okay, I guess I'll keep an eye out – wait, Houndoom has a Mega Stone? Neat..."
"I do?" Houndoom asked, interested.
"Not you specifically, Houndoom in general..."
"Hey, you!"
Jessie and James looked up. "Who's that?"
"Me," a green-haired man said, coming out of the trees. "Those Ekans are mine!"
Jessie looked down at the dozen or so Poison-types in her arms. "What, these Ekans? Sorry, you must be mistaken. These are another group of Ekans."
"Like hell... hey, stop that?"
Meowth didn't stop picking the lock on a cage full of Koffing. "Eh, you ain't da Boss of me."
"Those are mine as well!"
"Then I guess you can recall them?" James challenged. "If they're yours, I mean."
"No, they ain't Pokemon I caught," the man – Rico – said, in tones of exasperation. "They're mine because I'm going to sell them – now, hand them over!"
Jessie gave him an unimpressed look. "Whoops," she said, depositing the Ekans on the ground – the Poison-types wasting no time in slithering off into the bushes.
"Butterfingers!" Meowth added, chuckling, and then the cage clunked open. A cloud of Koffing headed skywards, also not particularly interested in sticking around.
"Right, that's it!" Rico said, eye twitching. "Fearow, catch those Koffing! Pupitar, you can handle these morons – then get the Ekans too!"
"Hey, Jessie?" James asked. "Did we do the motto?"
"We didn't do the motto," Jessie replied.
"Poor guy," James said. "He didn't get that chance to surrender."
"What's that?" Rico asked, as his Pokemon emerged. Fearow let out a caw and soared skywards, and Pupitar jetted into position to attack.
"You do know what these big R letters on our shirts mean, right?" James checked.
"I'm not impressed in small-timers who hide behind the symbol of Team Rocket," Rico chuckled.
"...he doesn't know what da big R letters mean," Meowth sighed.
James pointed. "Vine whip!"
Vines duly Whipped out from the bushes, reaching for Pupitar, as both Carnivine and Victreebel attacked at the same time.
"Wha-" Rico began, then shook his head. "Okay, no more games. Fearow! Back down here – cut those vines!"
"Let go!" James said quickly, and the vines from both his Grass-types went slack a moment before Fearow reached them with his long beak.
Pupitar looked a bit worse for wear... for a moment. Then he flashed a bright white, and began to evolve.
"Well, I guess Ash is nearby..." Jessie sighed quietly to herself.
"At last!" Rico chuckled. "Fearow, back after the Koffing! Tyranitar can handle this!"
Another harsh caw, and Fearow ascended back into the sky.
"Tyranitar!" Rico went on, clearly enjoying being able to use the word. "Hyper Beam!"
Jessie brought her Pokeball out from behind her back. "Mirror Coat!"
Wobbuffet materialized just as Tyranitar fired, and the enormous Rock/Dark Type then found itself on the receiving end of its own Hyper Beam.
Except this one was twice as strong as the one he'd fired in the first place.
Rico jumped out of the way as his Tyranitar came crashing back towards him, then did a double-take as a very determined-looking Cubone jumped on Tyranitar's chest and started hitting him with a club to keep him quiet.
Then there was an explosion of flame and smoke, and Fearow crashed to the ground.
"This is Rocket turf," James summed up, as Moltres flew down to hover overhead.
"You might want to try somewhere else," Jessie mused. "I hear it's nice in India this time of year."
Rico gaped, then returned both Pokemon and fled.
"Nice," Meowth said, once he was gone. "Now dat should scare 'im off for good."
Carnivine said something.
"Oh, good point," he added. "Carnivine just asked where Cacnea was..."
"How?" James asked.
"...good question," Jessie frowned.
Carnivine said something else.
"Oh, dat's convenient," Meowth said, relieved. "Carnivine already found him."
Demonstrating, Carnivine held up the Grass-type in question in his vines.
"You know," Jessie mused, as James gave the slightly confused cactus a hug. "Maybe we should just visit Ash in a week when we've got Seviper too..."
"It was around here, right?" Ash asked, glancing around. "I think we were near here..."
"I think so too," Pikachu agreed. "Wasn't there that big tree?"
"Right," Ash nodded. "Okay... hey, Swellow, can you look to see if there's a big tree around here?"
"Ash?" she said, blinking. "We're in a forest. It's trees everywhere."
"Yeah, but this one's really big," Ash clarified somewhat. "It should be the tallest tree in... well, the tallest tree nearby, anyway."
"Right," she chirped, and took off.
"Looking for Treecko?" Max asked, and got a nod. "Right, I thought it was around this place."
"It's kind of nice, seeing all these old friends turning up again," May said. "Can't wait for Beautifly... or anyone, really. Especially being able to talk to them."
"Found something," Swellow reported. "Well, I think it's the right thing... it's a tree, but it really isn't much of one. All dried up and sad-looking."
"That sounds about right," Ash agreed, looking up at her as she came down to land. "Which way is it?"
Swellow pointed her wing. "That way."
"Thanks! Come on, guys-"
Ash paused.
"Wait a moment... Dexter? Is Professor Oak available? I'd like to make a switch-out or two..."
"This is the tree you meant?" Larvitar asked, looking up. "It's certainly..."
He paused, looking for an appropriate word.
He didn't find one.
"Large."
On seeing Pikachu's unimpressed expression, he shrugged. "I eat rocks, do you want me to be impressed?"
Ash chuckled. "I think it's nice... I mean, it must be the oldest tree in the forest!"
A twig whistled out of the foliage of a nearby, smaller, tree and stuck in the ground in front of Ash.
"What was that?" Brock asked, then noticed Ash's smile and closed eyes. "Is it-"
"Yep," Ash agreed. "Hey, Treecko! Come down from there, okay? I just want to talk."
There was a pause for a moment, then the Treecko came jumping out of the leafy branches to land some distance away.
"Talk?" he asked. "What do you mean, talk?"
"Well..." Ash considered. "I'm pretty sure that I know a way to help that tree. I can't promise anything, but it might help... just hear me out, okay?"
Treecko tilted his head for a moment, toying with another sharp twig, then gave a nod.
Ash sat down. "First... I knew you in the future, and yes that sounds ridiculous. Second... I've got a Meganium, they can heal plants and I think she might be able to heal the tree. But... well, you were my Pokemon, which would probably mean coming with me even if the tree did get healed, so think it over."
Treecko considered. "I'm grateful for the help, but... how, exactly, do I know you're telling the truth about that first one?"
"I can show you, which would mean I use Aura to remind you of our time together," Ash said, demonstrating for a moment with a flicker of blue light that he did indeed have the ability to use Aura. "If you don't want to go with that... I guess one of my Pokemon could vouch for me."
"Would that impress me?" Treecko asked.
"It might," Suicune replied.
Treecko noticeably did not jump.
"...I will admit, that is impressive," he said. "Okay. You heal the tree, and I'll come with you."
He looked down for a moment. "I... would rather stay, in all honesty. But I have the suspicion that my birthplace died in this other time you mention, and if I went with you then I'll do it now. Having my family live there would be enough."
Ash smiled. "Thanks, Treecko – and, really, if you'd rather stay I'll let you. I'd miss you, but... I would."
"Thank you for giving me the choice," Treecko said.
Meganium took a deep breath, held it, and then let out a long, slow exhalation laced with golden pollen.
Under the hushed gaze of the clan of Treecko, Meganium's pollen spread out. Drifting slightly on the wind, it settled on the aged trunk and hung there.
"Meganium?" Ash asked. "Is it working?"
"A bit," Meganium reported, and did it again. This time, the pollen glowed a little brighter, and where it settled some colour began to come back into the lower reaches of the tree.
"This is a pretty tough tree... there's still something there, but it's taking a lot of effort to bring it back." Meganium shook her head, then used a third Heal Pulse. "It doesn't help it's so big..."
"Don't hurt yourself, Meganium," Ash said, keeping an eye on her. "If it's too hard-"
"No, I can do it," she insisted. "Just give me a moment... actually..."
Flower flaring, she left off healing for a moment. First she fired up a Sunny Day, greatly increasing the brightness of the sunlight falling around them.
The second thing she did was to use Growth. A lot.
With the solar-enhanced energy flowing through her she tried another healing pulse of energy. This one was bigger and brighter than before, reaching high up the trunk, and lingered there for a long time.
"Look!" one of the younger Grass-types said, pointing. "Is that a bud?"
"All right!" Ash smiled. "Just keep it up!"
Meganium got off three more deep healing breaths before she had to stop, flanks heaving, but by that point the process was starting to develop a life of its own.
One by one, buds unfurled at the tips of the tall branches before studding the sides. They trembled for a moment, then burst open, releasing leaves and flowers, and a great sigh went up from the watching Pokemon.
"That was amazing, Meganium," Ash said. "Really cool!"
"Thanks, Ash," she said, smiling back.
Turning to the Treecko elder, she nodded to him. "It's still going to be weak – make sure to take good care of it, make sure it gets the right amount of water and stuff like that. But it should be okay now."
"Thank you, Meganium," the elder said, bowing. "And thanks be to your trainer as well, for restoring our home."
A moment later, the one Ash knew stepped forwards.
"You fulfilled your end of the bargain," he said, and rubbed the back of his neck for a moment. "Though I would probably have considered trying enough... anyway, now it's time for me to fulfil mine."
"Glad to have you," Ash said, shaking his hand.
"Ash-" Brock began, but then it was too late.
The elder observed what happened for several seconds, then frowned. "Was he always a Sceptile?"
"I see," Sceptile said, as they walked along. "That is... troubling."
"I know," Ash admitted. "We've been looking for Cyrus, but no sign so far."
"Sensible," Sceptile agreed. "And... I wanted to thank you for giving me the option as you did, and both yourself and Meganium for healing the tree. I'm grateful of it – that tree was, and now is, important to me."
"I'm glad you think so," Ash said.
They walked along in silence for a moment.
"So... Suicune?" Sceptile asked.
"It's a long story," Ash told him, and the Water-type nodded in agreement. "The short version is, apparently being the one Arceus chooses to send back in time to save the world is considered a vote of confidence, and now Legendaries are impressed with me."
"That's the very short version indeed," Suicune said, a smile dancing over her muzzle. "Fairly accurate, though – and I can't say I regret a moment."
"Then I'm glad to have you on the team," Sceptile said seriously. "Perhaps we could spar some time?"
Suicune blinked. "Well... certainly."
"Sceptile's pretty tough," Ash informed her. "He's the one who beat Darkrai in Sinnoh."
"I see. Well, now, this might be a great deal of fun..."
"I'm really amazed by how tall that tree is," Ash said, shading his eyes. "I mean, I know we're on a hill, but I can still see it today!"
Brock squinted, not that anyone could tell. "Yeah, there it is. Is it me or does it look just a bit greener than when we saw it before?"
"Looks like," May said. "That's nice."
Ash let Meganium out so she could see her handiwork, and she smiled at the distant splash of green.
May frowned. "Wait a moment... hey, Ash, you know how you've only got Larvitar on alternating days?"
"Yeah?" Ash confirmed, one hand going to his belt for a moment – Larvitar's Pokeball wasn't there, as it happened, he was with his mother. "What of it?"
"Well..." May looked a little embarrassed. "One of us should have thought of it sooner... couldn't you have just left one of the transceivers back at the tree? Sceptile could have gone back if he wanted to..."
There was a silence for a few seconds.
"...whoops..." Ash said, weakly.
"Now you mention it," Meganium said, slowly, "that would have worked."
"I can't believe I forgot that!" Ash said, shaking his head. "Sceptile? Do you want to-"
Sceptile emerged.
"I'll certainly give the offer deep thought," he said. "I do wish I'd known about it before, but... well, what's done is done, and with Pokemon like your Pidgeot around then the problem can be handled at short notice."
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "But it shouldn't really have happened in the first place... ergh, sorry!"
Sceptile smiled faintly.
"I'm sorry, too..." Meganium admitted. "I mean, we all know Ash is a bit of an idiot-"
"Hey!"
"-but we should know better."
"I'll second that," Pikachu said. "I feel kind of guilty about that, Sceptile."
"Don't worry, really," Sceptile assured them. "Nothing's wrong that can't be fixed."
"What are they saying?" Max asked.
"Horrible, horrible things..." Ash sighed, trying to keep the smile off his face.
It was just inexplicably funny somehow.
"Is it me or is it really kind of a long way from Petalburg to Rustboro?" Max asked, as they toiled up another hill. "It's ridiculous!"
"Actually, it's not that bad for Hoenn," May said, huffing a little herself. "It's just that it's a long way on land – we usually get to sail most of the really long distances. That and it's hilly."
She glanced down at Ethan's map. "That said, yeah, we're not very much of the way at all."
"I'm kind of glad of the journey," Ash said. "It's a good chance to get reacquainted with friends – human and Pokemon both."
"I like that way of thinking of it," May agreed. "Especially getting reacquainted with Brock's cooking!"
Brock smiled at the compliment. "Thanks, May. I try to do the best I can."
"The best you can is really tasty!" Max chimed in.
"Wait," Ash said, raising a hand. "There's something..."
His hand crept towards his waist, then something exploded out of the bushes and he threw the Pokeball in a single flowing motion. "Bullet Punch!"
Lucario emerged from his Pokeball in mid-air, took in the situation at a glance, and punched the attacking Pokemon in the side of the head. A hissing roar turned into a startled yelp, and the Seviper crashed to the ground a few yards from the group.
His tail lashed out at Lucario, hitting with a clang, and Lucario pursed his lips in an attempt not to giggle as the Poison-type drew back a slightly dented Poison Jab.
"Lucario, that's another remindable one," Ash told him. "One of the Rockets'."
"Oh, yeah, this was about where we got attacked last time..." May agreed, nodding to herself. "I'd forgotten that."
Lucario nodded, and closed in to attack.
Thirty confusing seconds later, he had the somewhat stunned Seviper held by the neck and tail, with his midsection tied into a simple knot to reduce his length.
"I've never seen someone do an overhand knot with a snake before..." Brock said. "And that really shouldn't ever need to be said."
Ash shrugged, before moving forwards and tapping Seviper lightly on the side with a blue glowing hand.
Seviper shook his head, seeming to shake off some of the paralysis. "What just happened?"
He looked around. "Okay, I recognize you, you, you and you... wait, where's the... and... okay, did you somehow steal me from Rocket HQ? Where's Jessie? James?"
Seviper thrashed irritably, and Lucario let his tail go. Using the loose end, the Poison-type untied himself. "James or Meowth would do..."
"They'll be along soon, I guess," Ash said. "There's this whole time travel thing going on, it'll take a while to explain."
"You seem friendly all of a sudden..." Seviper observed.
"Yeah, we kind of made up with your trainer," Brock told him. "We've not seen them in a few days, but I guess they'll come looking for you. This is about when you got caught last time."
"Right..." Seviper said, a bit dubiously. He gave Lucario a long, suspicious look. "Fine, then. I suppose it's going to be simpler to just... follow you around..."
Sceptile watched the Seviper from afar, eyes narrowed with suspicion.
He trusted Ash, but not enough to be sure that he wasn't making a mistake. So... he watched.
Nothing more.
The Poison-type snapped a little irritably as the Electrike, Volta, walked too close – then subsided, glowering, as Lucario raised a warning paw.
"Do I need to tie you in a knot again?" Lucario asked.
"...no," Seviper admitted reluctantly.
"Good. Remember, we're planning to return you to your trainer as soon as possible."
Sceptile watched as the serpent subsided, muttering.
"Can I have a word?"
"Meganium?" he asked, looking up as the other Grass-type approached. "Certainly."
"Thanks. Well..." Meganium paused, trying to come up with the words. "I was wondering why you look at me like that?"
"Like what?" Sceptile asked, not sure what she meant. "Was I looking at you funny?"
"Not funny, just... different." Meganium rolled her neck in a shrug. "Or maybe it is funny, I'm not sure. I noticed you were... well... you seemed to be expecting someone else."
Sceptile frowned, then realized what it probably was. "Ah. I think I know."
Meganium looked at him expectantly.
"When I evolved," he began. "I'm not sure if you're aware when this was... it was in Kanto?"
"The Battle Frontier, right," Meganium said. "I think I remember hearing about it from Donphan, but that was a while later."
"Right," Sceptile nodded. "And... well, it sounds silly. There was a Nurse Joy with a Meganium, and... well, I fell head-over-heels for her. Absolutely besotted."
Meganium winced. "I think I can see where this is going, actually..."
"If you're guessing it didn't work out, you're more aware than I was," Sceptile said bitterly. "I battled the Tropius she loved over her, but that didn't fix anything – she didn't have any affection for me – and even after I evolved, the experience made me unable to use attacks. It was... traumatic."
Meganium winced.
"Would you believe me if I said that I know the feeling?" she asked.
Sceptile blinked. "I wasn't aware you'd had a romantic relationship."
"I didn't, that's the problem," Meganium clarified. "In fact, if anything it was more impossible than yours."
"I somehow doubt that..." Sceptile muttered.
The other Grass-type took a deep breath. "Ash."
Sceptile's twig fell out of his mouth.
Catching it with a vine, Meganium passed it back, and he took it absently. "You actually... I must admit, that does indeed beat my experience."
"Well, it's stranger..." Meganium admitted. "And more futile. But it sounds like you had more heartbreak than me. Fortunately for me, Ash is sensible enough that once it got through his thick head we talked it out."
"I'd have liked that..." Sceptile said ruefully.
The conversation stalled a little, and then there was a crack from the other side of the clearing.
Dreading it having been Seviper causing trouble, Sceptile looked up. What he saw instead, though, was... something else entirely.
His trainer had just knocked Lucario into a tree.
"...what?" he said, nearly losing his twig again.
Meganium giggled at his reaction. "Ash takes Aura training seriously – speaking of which-"
Lucario rejoined the fight, and his first combination evened the score. Ash was hit in the shoulder by a roundhouse kick, stumbled, and then Lucario swept in past his guard with a Force Palm and knocked him to the floor.
"I'm guessing more Aura is also the reason he's still able to walk..." Sceptile said, as Ash bounced back to his feet.
"That's about the size of it, yeah," Meganium nodded.
She sat back on her haunches, watching, and Sceptile brought his legs together to sit more easily as well.
"What's the first gym here?" she asked, after a minute.
"Rock, I think," Sceptile said. "Rustboro."
"Wonder if we'll be called on..."
"How much longer is it going to be?" Seviper asked, testily. "Didn't we used to run into you every other day?"
"Yeah, but things have calmed down, like I said," Ash informed him. "Heck, we didn't meet much all of Johto – which was really kind of a nice change, actually."
"I'm sure..."
Lucario raised a paw. "Hold on. I see something."
Ash closed his eyes, looking. "Yeah, there's something there... it's kind of hard to make out, a spark of light – wait. Swellow? Can you check if that's their Moltres?"
"Sure thing, Ash!" Swellow chirped, and set off in a blur of wings.
"...did you just say... their... Moltres?" Seviper blinked.
"Oh, yeah, you've got some catching up stuff to do," Ash said. "They've been busy."
"I wonder just how busy..." Seviper flicked his tail. "Whatever. It'll be nice to be with Jessie again."
"I'm sure you'll have a great time with their new Pokemon," Ash told him sincerely.
Seviper blinked, then tossed his head.
For a few minutes, they stood on the hilltop.
"Didn't you meet Shroomish around here?" May asked.
"It was a bit further," her brother replied. "The city just through that forest. Not long now, though..."
"Right. And it's not all that much longer until I meet Beautifly again..."
"Ah, the Bug," Seviper said, drawn into the conversation despite himself. "I think I faced him once or twice in contests..."
May looked at Seviper, then glanced at Brock for help.
"Oh, right," Brock said, shaking his head. "Sorry, didn't realize – what was that, Seviper?"
"Forget it."
"There's no need to be rude..."
Seviper let out a hissing sigh, then looked around.
He blinked. Did a double take.
"What is that?"
"That's Jessie and James' plane!" Ash called, over the growing roar of the engines. "Told you they've been busy!"
Seviper's reply was drowned out by the almighty thunder of the VTOL engines as they engaged, taking the weight of the big plane as it slowed to a halt and dropped to the nearest stretch of flat ground.
Once there, they spooled down a bit, and the hatch lowered.
"Got them!" Swellow chirped, flying out of the hold and alighting on Ash's arm again.
"Thanks, Swellow," Ash said, then frowned. "Wait, I see... oh, hi, guys! I see you got Cacnea too!"
"We did," James said, walking down the ramp festooned in Grass-types. "Carnivine spotted her. Can you...?"
"Sure!" Ash said, and reached out to touch Cacnea with his free hand.
A moment later, James had a much larger cactus on his arm than he was expecting.
He promptly fell over. On top of him.
"Ow..."
"Cacturne, then," Ash observed. "Huh..."
"James!" Cacturne said, happily. "I learned lots of stuff from Gardenia!"
"...glad to hear it," James said, levering himself up. "Does anyone have any tweezers? I've kind of got needles to pull out..."
While that had been going on, Jessie exited the aircraft herself. "Seviper?"
Seviper brightened, and slithered forwards. "Jessie, it's good to see... you?"
He slowed. "Is that that Arbok you said you had?"
Arbok poked his head out from the door. "Is that that Seviper you said you had?"
Meowth winced. "Dis could get complicated."
The two Poison-type serpents approached one another, and each gave the other a long look from nose to tail. There was the odd tremble, as one of them moved slightly before aborting the motion.
Then they nodded courteously to one another.
"Nice to meet you," Seviper said. "How are you at Contests?"
"We've done a bit of practice, but I'm not sure I'm cut out for it," Arbok admitted. "Did Jessie really catch you by beating you up herself?"
"I'm afraid so..."
Jessie let out a relieved breath. "Phew."
She then looked contemplative. "Wonder if I could do a routine with both of you at once..."
"Were you worried?" James asked, and pulled on one of the spines. "Ow!"
"...of course not," she said unconvincingly.
Max swallowed.
"Don't worry, Max," May said. "We'll be here if you have trouble."
"I'll handle it if you want," Ash volunteered.
"No thanks, Ash," Max replied. He took another breath, and steeled himself. "I should do this."
Stepping up the path, he knocked.
After a moment, the door opened.
"Hello?" asked the young man who answered the door. "Good morning!"
"Morning," Max said. "Uh... are you the guy who owns that old mansion on one of the main streets?"
"I am, that's right," said the man – Alex. "I'm afraid it's about to be torn down, though – why do you ask?"
"Well..." Max frowned. "There's loads of Shroomish living there, and I was wondering what was going to happen to them."
"Lots of Shroomish?" Alex repeated. "That's strange, I thought they'd all gone..."
"I think they didn't have anywhere else to go," Max said.
"I see. Well... I suppose we should go and have a look," Alex decided. "I think it's too late to stop the mansion being taken down, but... well, I'll see what we can do. I liked the Shroomish when I lived there, but I thought they'd all gone..."
"That seemed a lot easier than it was last time," Max said, a few hours later.
"I think it's because Team Rocket weren't interfering," Ash suggested. "It made Johto easier, between the bits they weren't involved with at all..."
"It's nice of Alex to cancel the demolition work and replant all those trees," Brock said. "I can't imagine it was cheap."
"Yeah," Ash admitted. "It's good of him... wait, I think I see the Shroomish you knew, Max."
"You can? Is he... well..." Max began.
"Doesn't look like it, I'm afraid..." Ash said, crouching down as the curious Grass-type hopped over. "Hey, Shroomish?"
The Shroomish looked quizzical.
"It's a long story, but..." Ash thought about how to summarize it. Before he could, though, Max started to speak.
"I'm Max," he informed the Grass-type. "I... well, I'm kind of new to being a Pokemon trainer, but I was wondering if you'd like to come with me."
Shroomish frowned. "You mean go in a Pokeball and stuff?"
He considered. "Well... hm, I'm not sure... I guess it'd be neat. And you did help us... sure!"
Ash smiled. "Nice to have you. I'm Ash – I'm kind of helping Max learn how to be a trainer."
"You are?" Shroomish looked interested. "Uh..."
"Don't worry, ask any questions you have," Ash told him.
Shroomish blinked. "You speak-"
"Hi!" Volta said, wagging his tail. "I'm Volta! I'm Max's Starter!"
"...hello," Shroomish said after a moment. "You've got a nickname?"
"Yeah!" Volta nodded. "I've not really settled on one, but there's a lot of choice!"
"Okay, here's the full explanation," Ash said, smiling at the Electric-type's antics. "It's kind of complicated..."
"Have you picked a name yet?" Max asked, looking down at the Shroomish he was still carrying.
Shroomish frowned, then shook his head. "Not really."
Max listened closely, then sighed. "I can't wait until I get the hang of this Aura stuff..."
"It is a gradual process," Lucario informed him.
"I guess I'll have to be happy with that."
He missed Lucario's little smirk... as well as the fact that, last week, he wouldn't quite have been able to understand what Lucario had said.
"What about... Mike?" Max suggested.
Shroomish turned around to look at him. "What?"
Some things needed no translation.
"No, see, it's because one of the words for mushroom like Paras or Foongus is that they're Myco... Mycorrhiza," Max said, stumbling over the word slightly. "And... you know. Mike."
"You put way too much thought into those," May said, with a chuckle.
"About the only other idea I had worth hearing was Truffle," Max admitted. "Unless I try and name him after a Manga character or something..."
He shrugged. "Ah well, we've got a while to decide, it's taken Volta months and he's still not sure."
"I'm not!" Volta yipped in agreement.
Max frowned for a moment. "Uh – Ash?"
"Yeah?" Ash looked around, then waited a few seconds so Max caught up with him. "What is it?"
"Well... I had an idea for what to teach Shroomish first," Max explained. "I wanted to see if it made sense."
Ash nodded.
"Okay, so... I know that when he evolves, which might take a while, he'll be Fighting-type," Max began. "And I thought – it'd help to have a good ranged attack, and to be able to keep opponents from moving. So as well as all kinds of spores, like Stun Spore or... just Spore, I wondered if maybe Bullet Seed would be a good one."
"Sounds like a plan!" Ash agreed. "I'd say it'd be good to get a move like Mega Drain, too, because that would help in staying healthy. Maybe even Grass Knot, too, in case spores don't work."
Max nodded. "Right. How do those sound?"
Shroomish frowned. "Do I have to learn them all at once?"
"No, just one at a time," Ash told him. "Sceptile knows Bullet Seed, you could start by asking him if that's what you're going for first. Or... I guess there's Ivysaur, he's got a few of the powder moves..."
"The world's most powerful Pokemon?" Max read off the sign. "Wait..."
He frowned. "Ash, I remember this place. Why are we coming here?"
Ash smiled, a little worryingly. "I'm just going to use it to see how you cope with tricky situations, that's all. Don't worry. I have a plan for him."
"What plan?" May asked.
Ash told them.
"...evil," Max said. "I like it. Okay, Volta, let's give this a go!"
"Right!" Volta yapped, not sure why his trainer had reacted like this but willing to listen.
"So, here's how this works," Anthony said. "My Pelipper here is the best Pokemon in all of Hoenn, possibly the world!"
He rattled off the spiel, not particularly bothered as to why the girl and that vaguely familiar kid in the billed hat were chuckling to themselves.
"So, kid, how about it?" he asked.
The boy – who looked really young, actually – nodded. "We'll get you!" he said, firmly. "Okay, Volta, let's do this!"
Volta turned out to be an Electrike. Interesting – he didn't have any Pokemon with Ground attacks, so Grass would have to do.
"Vine Whip!" he said, as the battle began.
"Boost, Volta!" his opponent ordered, and the Grass-type attack thwacked to the ground just behind the suddenly-faster Electric type.
"Impressed?" Anthony asked, keeping an eye on the Electrike as it came curving around. "My Pelipper's special, right?"
"I've got an Ivysaur who can use Whirlwind," the kid with the cap contributed. "The Grass thing's fairly new, but..."
He shrugged.
"Yeah, Pelipper's got a much better move spread – Smokescreen!" Anthony interrupted himself, seeing the Electrike readying itself for a pounce.
There was a crackle of flame, and the smoke streamed out of Pelipper's jaws. Disoriented, the Electric-type stopped in confusion before yapping.
"Fire a Thundershock into the cloud!"
Anthony grinned. "Counter with a Thunder!"
The Electrike was pretty surprised when a Thunder attack came cracking back out of the smoke cloud and hit him. Some of the electricity charged up his fur, which visibly stiffened, but most of the rest of it did actual damage.
"Now, finish him with Flamethrower!" Anthony ordered.
"Thunder Wave back along the line!"
Both attacks fired at the same time. The crackling stream of the Thunder Wave took its cue from the Flamethrower for direction, and Pelipper stumbled a bit as he came flapping out of the smokescreen -electricity arcing around the middle of one wing.
The Flamethrower itself, meanwhile, had hit dead-on. The Electrike stumbled a bit, then flopped forwards with a pant.
"Nice work, Volta," his opponent said. "Return!"
"Hey, Max?" the middle boy of the three asked. "Can I take over?"
"Sure, Ash," Max replied, stepping back.
Ash... Ash... the name was kind of familiar, from somewhere...
"You okay to keep going?" Ash asked him.
"Sure!" he replied, sure in his ability to win.
Ash took a Fast Ball, and threw it. "Suicune, use Roar!"
"Suicune!?" Anthony repeated, startled, and didn't realize the real problem for a moment.
As the blue canine formed, though, he followed the train of thought to its conclusion. "Wait, don't-"
Suicune ROARED. The sound echoed off the walls, making the Pikachu on Ash's shoulder tremble for a moment, and his own knees felt a bit weak.
That was the side-scatter, though. The main effect was focused directly on Pelipper, and he promptly vanished back into his Pokeball.
Leaving Magby, Bellsprout and Magnemite abruptly in mid-air as his beak dematerialized from around them.
"Care to explain?" the girl asked, as it rained Pokemon.
"Uh..."
Anthony had to admit, that had looked pretty bad.
"Not impressed," Suicune added, giving the three remaining Pokemon a look. "This is no way to fight an official battle."
Magby looked almost ready to cry, and even Magnemite seemed unsettled. Which was perfectly understandable, given an actual Legendary was giving them all a chewing-out.
...and, way too late, he recognized the kid. He was the one who'd won the Johto League, just not wearing his outfit.
"This hasn't been my day..."
"I'm surprised you let him off that lightly," Brock admitted.
Ash shrugged. "Well, it's a strangely workable idea for triple battles, and he wouldn't have to feel all that bad about it either."
He turned to Max. "Nice work, by the way – Volta's real advantage at the moment is his speed, and you did use that well, but aiming back along his attack was a good one too. That's especially useful when an opponent doesn't cover you with their smokescreen too."
Max nodded seriously. "Right."
One human, one bipedal dragon, one quadrupedal dragon and one floating dragon materialized on (or above) a tiled floor.
"I guess this is the location for the final fight, then?" Sir Aaron asked.
Pretty much. I decided against throwing all the dragons at you at once. Aren't I a caring parent?
"That's actually a difficult question..."
Arceus sent a mental sniff to Sir Aaron's mind – though the ancient knight could tell there was some humour in there.
Basically it's divided into two parts. Part one is the ones in the tower. That's just about all of the ones which aren't Legendary, Mega, or both.
"Ah," Dialga said, wincing slightly. "I know what that means by process of elimination..."
Sir Aaron muttered something, and formed the other one of his pair of Sacred Swords. "Right. Let's get ready for this. One of you knows a Fighting move, right?"
Nods from Dialga and Palkia.
"Good. Now, Dragon attacks will be the workhorses – but don't forget your Ice move, Palkia, that's better against a lot of them, and-"
Bored now.
The wall collapsed, and a Dragonite and a Salamence were first through the crumbling ruins.
Sir Aaron took aim, threw his swords, and then things got a little bit complicated.
AN:
So, that's Gary's plan.
We also have... the Rockets getting some much-belated revenge, Sceptile's return, Seviper's somewhat more complicated return, Cacnea/Cacturne, and Max's Shroomish.
Of the Pokemon Max befriended, it's the first one he actually interacted with the least – there's not quite enough to work with there for Ash to restore.
Aside from that...
Well, Sir Aaron and his friends have started their final battle.
There's a third name that I've not mentioned which is in the running for Shroomish. Guy – as in, a fun guy.
(I, and therefore Max, kind of like meaningful and humourous names.)
