This is the third of four chapters today.


"What the..." Butler said, gaping. "That was... that was how I thought my machinery would resurrect Groudon... but there is no way that is Groudon!"

The trees around it were shrivelling up, dying simply from being near it, as the monster sucked energy from the earth around it.

It had the shape of Groudon, sort of – but it was far too big, and had none of the grace or precision of the real Legendary.

Exhausted, Jirachi slumped into Max's arms – his true eye closing, most of his energy spent.

A moment later, the Beasts pelted down into the valley. Suicune took the lead, and roared a challenge – then unleashed a mighty barrage of Bubblebeam on the creature.

Her bubbles exploded off its skin, possibly doing damage – though it was hard to tell – and the Groudon lookalike replied by lashing out at her with green tentacles of energy formed from its claws.

Suicune ducked one, jinked around another and fended off a third with a burst of water, and then Raikou joined in by severing a fourth tendril with his Thunder.

Entei went next, launching a shimmering blue sphere at the Groudon which checked it slightly – though he just ended up the next target, and had to dive aside to avoid being caught by the Groudon's attacks.

"Butler!" Diane called. "Please tell me you have a plan to stop this!"

"I don't- wait!" Butler said, overriding himself. "Jirachi – that vision!"

"Yes?" Jirachi asked, still sounding a bit out-of-sorts.

"In it you used a powerful attack – Doom Desire!" Butler went on. "And that did it! So that's how we have to destroy this Groudon!"

"Butler, be realistic!" Diane said. "Look at him – Jirachi's exhausted!"

"I know," Butler agreed, and winced as one of Entei's attacks lit up the whole valley. "But I still have my equipment – it's back at the fair, but if we can get it here then we can recharge Jirachi enough for a Doom Desire!"

"I guess that sounds like it might work," Max agreed, remembering how that had sort of been the plan last time. "How are you going to get it here, though?"

"I think Kirlia can teleport that far," Butler frowned. "But what I don't know is if she can teleport with that much weight..."

Max and Jirachi exchanged a worried look.

"I will try, master," Kirlia said firmly. "Just give me a moment."

The monster's tendrils lunged for the cliff they were on, and then the nearest one was bisected by a glowing arc of golden light.

"Get clear!" Keldeo said, Secret Sword flaring brighter. "I'll help keep it busy."

"Right!" Butler said, and hurried the others on their way.

"Where's May?" Max asked, looking around. "Ash? Brock?"

"I saw them follow that Magma agent," Diane said.


Mega Steelix roared, tail thrashing as he drove down the slope.

"Are we heading the right way?" Brock checked.

Lucario's eyes were closed, and his Aura appendages shimmered faintly in the evening light. "It's hard, but I can still track him," he reported. "Keep going – wait, he's turning left."

"How's he doing it?" May asked. "Blaziken, do you have any ideas?"

Blaziken shook his head, one arm around May's waist and the other holding onto one of Mega Steelix' spines. "Sorry, May, I've never heard of a way a human can become invisible. Maybe he's a psychic like that Aqua agent."

"I don't know..." Ash said. "Cinder didn't see him either."

He wobbled as Mega Steelix smashed a rock formation to powder, and scowled down at Dexter's screen. "What's wrong? We always have signal!"

Usually I just don't mention when we don't, Dexter replied, a representation of his Porygon form appearing on the screen. But this seems more like we're being jammed. It's probably the Team Magma goons...

"Probably?" Brock asked. "Who else could it be?"

There's an energy sucking abomination less than a mile away! Dexter said, a little sharply. I don't know if it might be that instead!

"Then I guess we're not getting reinforcements..." Ash winced. "Good thing I had all the Beasts along, but I'd really like Charizard's help..."

Lucario crouched, and launched himself off Mega Steelix' back. His right paw glowed with a shimmering blue, and he hit what looked like thin air with a powerful Ice Punch.

A Slugma bounced backwards, the heat-haze shimmer around it rippling and fading, and Mega Steelix slowed before slamming his tail into the ground and firing a Stone Edge forwards.

Stantler blinked. "Wait – so that's how it was working! Heat haze!"

"Wouldn't that only be vision?" Brock asked.

"Not if it's doing the same thing my antlers do! May must have been close enough she was in the ripple, and that's why she smelled sulphur!"

More shimmers rippled through the air, and then a second Slugma appeared along with a whole team of Magma grunts.

"Looky here," the lanky leader said. "Bunch of brats! Get them, everyone!"

A Heatmor fired out a blast of heat at Lucario, who deflected the worst of it with a crossed-hands block and jumped back to safety. The Heatmor then got blasted by Pikachu in turn, and staggered back a step.

"Camerupt, you handle that Pikachu!" a grunt ordered.

His Camerupt lumbered forwards, and Pikachu grinned.

Trainers felt their hair stand on end. Pokémon felt tingles through their fur if they had it, or their skin if they didn't.

Then Pikachu used Thunder, and the Camerupt was knocked backwards at least two and a half feet by the sheer force of the attack. Residual crackles arced over his body, skirling around the twin peaks on his back, and several of the Magma agents took an unconscious step back.

"What the..."

"What should we do, Blaise?" another grunt asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" Blaise replied. "Blast Burn, Infernape!"

"Everyone look out!" Ash called.

The Infernape in question had already summoned fire to his hands. Now he focused it, drawing his hands back to his waist for a moment, and rammed it forwards in a lance of blue flame.

"Endure!" Brock shouted to his Mega Steelix. "And block it!"

All the blue crystals on Mega Steelix lit up an incandescent blue, and he surged forward while shaking off all his passengers – and then the Blast Burn connected, detonating with stunning force and knocking Mega Steelix entirely into the air and off the cliff.

Blaziken exploded into motion as soon as the attack fired, launching himself at Infernape with a scything kick that knocked the other Fighting-type sprawling before pressing him closely in a succession of snap-kicks and distracting flame-jets.

"Brock!" Ash called. "Where – he was still on Steelix!"

"No!" Stantler cried, galloping to the edge as the battle started in earnest.


Flygon was, by this point, fairly sure he'd gotten mixed up in something far bigger than he was expecting.

The battle going hammer-and-tongs in the valley was audible – and visible – before he was halfway there, and the Salamence wheeling and plunging around the enormous fake Groudon looked like the least powerful Pokémon involved.

There were all three of the great Beasts – he'd never seen even one before – battling back and forth across the forested terrain, always keeping an eye on one another and making sure none of them got caught in a situation they couldn't get out of in a hurry.

There was a Latios, feathers shimmering blue as he cloaked before reappearing halfway across the valley and turning to launch a gout of Dragonbreath, and also doing something which involved a very loud bang – a Boomburst – appearing from just nearby and knocking one of the grey-green tendrils to pieces.

On top of all that, there was a Pokémon who looked like a strange Ponyta – throwing around huge, golden-glowing blades as though they were mere Air Cutters, and scything through as many as a dozen of the tendrils at once.

Flygon had just started to question if he could help at all when a bright flash and a roar caught his attention from directly below.

A strange-looking Steelix – a Mega Steelix! - was knocked bodily backwards off the cliff by an explosion. He flashed orange and reverted as he fell, and a human shape separated from the Steel-type and fell as well.

Flygon tracked his trajectory by instinct and saw it was going to intersect some rocks. Making his mind up in an instant, he dove – wings making a buzzing hum as he drove them as hard as he could – and came gently up underneath the human before swerving skywards.

"Thanks!" the human said, clipping a Pokéball back to his belt – Flygon saw the Steelix had vanished – before grabbing onto his neck with both arms for stability. "Can you get me back up to where I fell off?"

"Sure!" Flygon buzzed.

"Thanks again!"

Flygon did a double-take. Had that just been a really good guess, or...?


"How are the engines doing?" Jessie asked.

"They're running fine," James replied. "This plane's built for low altitude work as well as high, you know..."

Jessie pulled the yoke back slightly, and they hopped over a rustic little village.

"Hey, I hope dey didn't get our registration," Meowth said, looking out the window. "I think we startled their town Pidgey... oh, and it looks like we annoyed a coupla Masquerain too..."

Jessie pushed the throttles forwards slightly.

"Yeah, dey're givin' up," Meowth reported.

"Where are they going?" James asked, getting some binoculars to follow the Seaking helicopters. "This looks like Forina."

Meowth counted under his breath. "...yeah, wouldn't ya know it. Three days early, but da twerps have got da whole thing with Jirachi goin' pretty close ta on time."

"They should try getting creative one of these days," James quipped.

"Guys?" Jessie asked, frowning. "They're slowing down. What's the plan?"

James focused his binoculars. "Look – a battle's going on. It looks like Ash and... the others. And they're fighting Team Magma."

Jessie reached out and flicked some switches. "Well, I guess we should take over. That's our job!"

"Dat's what da Boss said," Meowth agreed.

There was a muted rumble as the eight VTOL engines spooled up, and Jessie reduced the pitch of the propellors to slow them down a bit. Then, as the jets reached full power, she switched over to them with a roar.

"That way!" James said, pointing. "But don't get too close!"


Absol paced back and forth, tail lashing.

The battle with this strange not-Groudon was going poorly.

Thus far, the Beasts of Ecruteak, between them and with the help of Salamence, Latios, Swellow and Keldeo, had managed to keep the monster from taking any prey... but it was an increasingly close run thing.

Their attacks were doing damage, that much was clear to see – blasts of flame blowing away chunks of material, water hammering away the skin of the Groudon, and blasts of lightning harming the beast like the real Groudon could not be... but their attacks were still energy, and this abomination was being healed by energy every bit as much as the attacks were harming it.

They were keeping it busy, distracted – but that was nowhere close to defeating it, and that was the problem.

"How's it going?" she heard Diane ask, and turned to look.

The complicated machinery retrieved by a tired Kirlia was now almost completely set up, with a dish antenna pointed far over to the east to the point that the Millennium Comet was just rising over the horizon.

"It's nearly ready," Butler replied, and tapped a few more buttons. "I built this to draw energy from the comet via Jirachi, not to charge Jirachi... but I think this is ready."

"Absol?" Max asked. "Can you check if this is going to work?"

"I... I'm not sure how I could," she admitted.

"That's easy!" Max replied. "Just stand over here, and let us know if a disaster's about to happen!"

It wasn't quite that simple, but in principle there was nothing too difficult about that.

Pacing slowly forwards, Absol stood by Jirachi and extended her disaster-sense – focusing entirely on the contraption.

"Okay..." Butler pushed some switches to full power. "Forming link with Jirachi."

The Wish-Maker winced, the device pulling on him slightly as it powered up. "That feels weird..."

"It'll be okay, Jirachi," Max said, trying to keep his voice level. "Just stay calm."

"Extending link to Millennium Comet," Butler went on, and punched a key with a flourish.

The dish antenna pulsed, and fired out a small packet of light to the east – at a little white glow starting to peer over the horizon.

Everyone held their breath.

Then a soundless white flash answered, and light streamed from the Comet back down along that line towards the device.

"It's working!" Diane said in wonder, as the collector array lit up and fed power to Jirachi.

"That feels a lot better now," Jirachi reported, wiggling a little at the feeling of the energy flowing into and through him. "I'm a lot less tired already!"

His True Eye opened, drinking in the power of the Comet, and Butler sighed with relief.

"The hard part's done."

Absol gave him a look. "Why would you even say something like that?"

As if on cue, there was a roar of shock and pain from the battle, and then Suicune's shout reached them despite the distance.

"Brother!"

"What – no!" Max said, craning his neck to see. "It got Entei!"

"That's bad," Diane said, wincing. "Very bad. If it's now got the energy of a Legendary to draw on..."

"Nearly done," Butler reported. "Jirachi should be fully charged very soon."

Max's Electrike barked softly.

"I know," he agreed, reaching down absently and rubbing the Electric-type. "I wish we could help..."

Absol decided the machine was probably not going to explode, and expanded her senses again. Feeling out the situation as a whole, searching for the shining golden path and the many pitfalls along the way.

She took about half a second to realize they were in big trouble.

"Look out!" she shouted, and a moment later two big heavy-lift helicopters roared over a ridge and directly towards them.

Diane paled. "Who do we have?"

"Arc, Delta and Guy," Max said quickly. "Cinder's tired."

"So are Kirlia and Mightyena," Diane said. "Butler?"

"Dusclops!" Butler called, sending his Ghost-type out. "Stop them! Shoot the engine! - just the engine!"

"I shall!" Dusclops declared, spreading his hands.

"Butler-" Diane began, startled.

A glow developed between Dusclops' hands, and he fired a blast of light at the lead helicopter.

Something exploded, and the helicopter visibly slowed. It slewed back, and the blades slowed – though they kept turning, as the pilot fought the controls to bring it to an autorotation landing some way down the slope.

The trailing helicopter kept coming, and a familiar face leaned out of the door.

Absol snarled, and tossed her head – sending a Razor Wind flicking up towards the trainer.

The attack flew straight and true, but was smashed aside by a blast of water from his Gorebyss. Two more water attacks came down, both targeting Dusclops, and he phased through them before being slammed to the ground by a Murkrow.

Arc pounced on the Flying-type, getting it off Dusclops before it did too much damage, and then Absol had her paws full with her own fight.

She skipped back a step, avoiding a pellet of high-speed water, and shot off another Razor Wind at the hovering machine – aiming for the same spot Dusclops had hit.

The attack dented the helicopter's skin, but didn't go all the way through. A second one did, and this rotary-wing aircraft began to descend the same way the first one had.

Absol turned, flicking an attack at someone going after Keldeo, and then her senses screamed threat.

The man with the Gorebyss had jumped out of his Seaking as it began to fall, and used a Hydro Pump blast to brake. Lunging for the machine, he grabbed onto Jirachi just before Absol got there to stop him.

"I wish-" he began, and then Absol bit him in the leg. He grunted in pain, but hammered her with a blast of water and kept speaking. "-for a Kyogre like that Groudon!"

A Focus Blast hit Absol in the side, forcing her to let go of the man's leg. She spat out some trouser fabric, and then the Shroomish – Guy – hammered her new opponent with a barrage of Bullet Seed.

That was small comfort, though, as Jirachi rose skyward to grant the second wish. And everything she could tell said it would make things much worse.


Suicune panted, triumphant.

It had taken quite a while, but between them she and Keldeo had managed to completely flood the small depression the battle was taking place in.

Three feet of water made the fake Groudon much less dangerous, bogging it down in mud and making it move tonnes of water with every step – and also sealing off the trees from further energy absorption.

Now they just had to keep it busy until it could be destroyed – and her brother freed.

There was a BANG overhead as Swellow blasted another tendril to bits, but she was looking peaky already from the effort of keeping her speed up.

"Swellow, break off!" Suicune called. "You've done enough – and you'll be no good absorbed!"

Swellow dipped her wings in agreement, and turned for their impromptu base of operations – then gasped. "Suicune! Get off the water!"

Suicune blinked, then noticed a tracery of light beginning to shine on the water surface.

Deciding Swellow was almost certainly right, she turned and pelted for the shore.


"What's going on?" Keldeo asked, squinting down from his vantage point. "I heard Swellow – but..."

He finally got a good view of what had just happened.

Huge and ponderous, a blue so dark it was nearly black, a facsimile of Kyogre rose from the water and sounded a long blast.

The Groudon turned, roaring, and its tendrils whipped out at the new opponent – matched by a blast of shimmering greenish water from the Kyogre.

Swellow landed next to him, absent most of her usual grace. "At least they're busy with each other," she noted.

"Right," Keldeo agreed. "But what happens when one of them wins?"

The fake Kyogre sent out a waterspout of shimmering green water. Salamence was too slow to react, and the foul water engulfed his torso before dragging him inexorably downwards.

"No!" Keldeo said, horn flaring gold again. "Secret Sword!"

Latios fired a blast of Dragonbreath at the same moment, and the two attacks exploded on the spout – cutting it off, but not clearing the goop from Salamence's torso.

He crashed to the water of the pool, and thrashed frantically to try and wash the substance off.

"Hold still!" Raikou roared, pelting across the water. Lightning crackled from his mane and tail, stabbing out at the Kyogre as it tried to batter him with a fluke, and he rammed into the stricken Salamence with an almighty Wild Charge.

The electricity seemed to help, and Salamence managed to get airborne with the green stuff dripping off his body.

Raikou was not so lucky, as the Kyogre turned with deceptive speed and snapped him up in one huge gulp.

Lightning blasted out from between its teeth, and Keldeo heard booming laughter.

"What did he just say?" Swellow asked, head tilted.

"I believe my brother just said he couldn't possibly miss now," Suicune said, flanks heaving as she reached the top of the hill.

"What do we do now?" Keldeo asked.

Neither of the others had a ready answer for him.


"Brock!" Ash called, happily, as his friend flew down on the Flygon.

"Yeah, Flygon saved me," Brock said, and got off. He thanked the Flygon, who took off – though he stayed hovering nearby just in case. "What's going on?"

"I really wish we had more Pokémon," Ash said. "We're doing okay, but there's so many of them we can't actually knock them out fast enough!"

May looked up. "Guys – do you hear that?"

Slowly, majestically, an aircraft rose vertically into view on eight tongues of heat and flame.

"Prepare for trouble if you're from a team!" Jessie called, leaning out the door with a megaphone.

"And make it double – I dropped my ice cream!"

Jessie beaned James with her megaphone. "Was that the best you could come up with?"

"We didn't have time to practice..."

Blaise gaped. "Who the heck..?"

"Forget the twerps, your battle's with us!" Jessie said, trying to get things back on track.

"And face everyone in our battle bus!" James improvised frantically.

Jessie gave him a look, then decided not to hit him for that one. "Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, arriving stylishly late!"

"You should have wished to be safe from your fate!"

"Meowth's too busy flying da plane to join in!" came a faint voice.

Blaise sighed. "Right, wipe these idiots out and finish the others off, then we can help Lord Groudon."

"Boss?" a grunt said. "The other kids ran off while these new guys were talking."

"...surrounded by idiots, I swear," Blaise said. "Then stop these guys and then we'll work out what to do!"

"Right!" someone said. "Magmortar, Hyper Beam!"

"Mortar!" Magmortar announced, and fired a beam of brilliant white energy.

Jessie sent out Wobbuffet.

The Magmortar was hit in the chest by his own attack, bounced halfway up the hill and came to a stop with smoke pouring off him.

"Growlie, get them!" James called, sending out his Arcanine. "And you, Gyarados!"

Jessie sent out her Cubone, too, and Blaise frowned.

This was going to be tricky-

"Moltres!" James called.

The Legendary exploded out of her Pokéball, doing a loop-the-loop and strafing the Magma Pokémon with Flamethrowers, and even the Fire-types looked uncomfortable from the sheer heat.

"...oh, you've got to be kidding me..." Blaise muttered. "First aura users, now this? Slugma, put the illusion back up!"

Slugma did no such thing.

Blaise frowned, and turned – only to see a pair of smug-looking snakes and two unconscious Slugma.

"...ah."

Arbok and Seviper did a high five with their tails, though it was more of a high one given their lack of fingers.


"Max!"

The young trainer turned from the battle for a moment. "May!"

Beautifly flew in, wings shimmering, and knocked a Skrelp away from Guy with a blast of Psychic energy.

"Guy, are you okay?" Max asked.

"I think so," the Shroomish said, sounding a bit surprised about that. "I mean... I'm fairly sure I'm poisoned, but-"

Max was unable to tell what was said next, as Kris materialized from her projector to block an attack aimed directly for him and Jirachi.

"Blaziken, get that Empoleon!" May shouted, and Max ducked reflexively as the Fighting-type came dashing forwards to open with a Double Kick.

"What happened?" Ash asked, as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder to help fend off Team Aqua. "Butler, what-"

"We'd just finished recharging Jirachi when that Aqua agent turned up!" Butler explained, most of his attention on the control panel of his machine. "He wished for a Kyogre, just like the monster Groudon!"

He looked up as Salamence came staggering in, wings leaden with fatigue, and barely avoided plowing a long furrow in the ground as he landed.

"What now?" Brock asked. "Crobat, how's the battle going?"

"Really badly!" Crobat reported. "The monsters are fighting each other, which helps a bit, but they've each eaten one of the Legendary Beasts and they're getting stronger as I watch!"

"That's... really bad," Ash gulped. "Can we stop them?"

There was a crackling crash as Pikachu hit a Quagsire hard enough to knock it out, which was followed by a rumble from the direction of Geodude.

"Ash!" Jessie called. "Get on with it, we'll keep these idiots busy!"

As she said that, James' three Grass-types all fired out showers of Razor Leaves at the Aqua Pokémon.

"Right!" Ash said. "Pikachu, we're going to need your help!"

There was another great crackling bang, and a Seismitoad fell over. Then Pikachu blurred out of the chaos and arrived back at Ash. "What is it?" he asked.

"I don't want you tired out," Ash explained. "You've at least damaged that real Kyogre, so..."

Pikachu nodded understanding.


"It's good to see you," Ninetales said, flame licking off her tails and wrong-footing an Armaldo by engulfing it in fire. "We should really do this again some time."

"With less Water-types, I hope?" Growlie asked, grabbing a Pelipper that had gotten too close and flinging it to the floor. He went in to finish the battle, but a battered-looking Empoleon blasted him with a Hydro Pump and sent him skidding backwards.

"Probably," Ninetales agreed. She coiled herself and leaped at the Empoleon, dousing him in flames, and he lashed out with a flipper – which missed, hitting nothing at all as Ninetales melted away.

He blinked, thrown, and then Stantler appeared out of thin air. "Jump kick!"

There was a meaty clang as the Fighting-type attack struck home.

"Nice one!" Growlie complimented, shaking himself dry and adding a cascade of Embers to make the process quicker. "Who next-"

There was a splash, and water rained down on him.

"Look out!" Geodude called, arms gesturing, and the rock shield he'd formed punched further out of the hillside to block Amber's next water bullet. "Stantler, Ninetales, can you two try to get behind him?"

"I'll try!" Ninetales replied, fading in and out briefly.

Growlie blinked as the Rock-type gestured again, and launched a rocky projectile back at the Aqua admin – who retaliated with a tendril of water which slapped the rock bullet down. "This seems new."

"Got it working properly just a couple of weeks ago," Geodude replied absently, broadening out his shield and peppering his opponent with small attacks.


"What do we have?" Brock asked. "I mean – I can see several Pokémon are tired..."

"Well, the machine is damaged..." Butler said, and tapped one of the indicators. "But it looks like it should still work... I can recharge Jirachi again, but it'll be slower this time."

"We'd better get started," Jirachi decided.

Max nodded, and at that Butler activated the machine. It lined up on the comet, now a little higher above the horizon, and pulsed a beam of light at it to start the charging process.

"I've got Crobat and Ludicolo," Brock went on. "The others are either out of it or busy."

"Just Beautifly and Ethan for me," May said. "That Infernape basically tired Blaziken out."

"Delta's okay," Max volunteered. "And so is Kris."

Ash glanced over at the battle site – though the valley itself was obscured by the fold of the ground, they could all hear the roars and feel the impacts of the ongoing battle. "Latios looks okay," he said. "I can help him go Mega. But I'm not sure about Keldeo, and Suicune was pretty tired."

He reached up to scratch his starter absently. "Apart from that it's Pikachu, Dexter, Meganium, and I think Lucario's still got some fight in him. I don't think Goomy or Mawile are ready for that kind of fight."

Brock nodded. "Butler?"

"No-one left," Butler sighed. "Salamence can barely walk, let alone fly, and Kirlia's still wiped out from her teleport..."

"You have me as well," Absol said firmly.

"I'll help too!" Flygon added. "I'm not sure if I can help, but if there's something I can do then I'll do it!"

"That's actually very helpful," Brock said. "Okay, here's how I see it."

Everyone leaned forward to listen, including Jirachi – as far as the machine would let him.

"We know that Doom Desire will stop these monsters, and I think we've spent the last twenty minutes or so proving that nothing else is going to stop them," Brock stressed. "But I'm pretty sure that a big attack can stun them a bit."

"That's what I saw," Latios agreed, drifting closer. "When Raikou blasts Kyogre from inside it's kind of twitching and stopping for a moment."

"But Doom Desire – I know this much," Absol said. "Doom Desire must not be fired downwards – it's too powerful."

"Yeah," Jirachi agreed. "But how am I going to get underneath Kyogre to fire it upwards?"

He paused. "And how am I not going to get eaten when I try?"

"Here's my plan," Brock said. "First, we need two Pokémon to stun Groudon and Kyogre. That means Latios – Mega Latios – and Pikachu."

Butler blinked. "You're serious? I remember a mention of that Pikachu and Kyogre, but..."

"Pikachu's strong enough for it," Ash said, trusting his starter.

"Yeah!" Pikachu agreed.

"We're also going to need to have a fast Pokémon to get Jirachi close in underneath Kyogre," Brock went on.

"Why Kyogre first?" May asked.

"Because Groudon's taller, and Jirachi can hit it from further away," Brock explained. "And because all the water will slow Groudon down once it's not got Kyogre to distract it."

"I get it," Ash said. "And then we can just blast Groudon whenever we want to."

"Won't it be more dangerous than before, though?" Absol asked. "I mean, it'll have more energy – and it'll take a long time to recharge Jirachi."

"It's the best option we've got," Brock said. "Oh – and we'll need Kris, Ethan and Dexter between them to punch a hole in the water to get Jirachi underneath."

I see, Dexter said. We can create a strong enough Reflect screen between us that it can punch through the water.

"But who-" Max began.

"I'll do it," Flygon said, landing. "I'm not as strong as Latios – and I can't believe this whole situation... but I am quick. And I can carry weight."

"Right," Brock nodded. "That makes things a lot easier."

Latios looked up and around suddenly.

"What is it, Latios?" Ash asked.

"Reinforcements on the way," he said.

"How?" Brock asked. "We still haven't managed to stop that jammer."

"There's one Pokémon I can contact no matter where in the world we are," Latios replied. "Look!"

He pointed, and they looked.

For a moment, no-one saw anything. Then May pointed. "I see it!"

"Is that Latias?" Ash said, recognizing her Aura. "How'd she get here so fast?"

In seconds, Latias grew from a dot to a shape to a Pokémon – revealing herself to be Mega-evolved, and with a familiar-looking artist on her back.

"Bianca!" Brock called. "Nice timing!"

"Thanks," Bianca said, looking faintly green as Mega Latias slowed to hover. "We've been going at full speed all the way from Altomare..."

"That makes things much easier!" Ash said. "We can have Mega Latias and Mega Latios do the stunning-"

"No," Mega Latias interrupted. "I know what the plan is, Ash – but I can help more in a different way."

She took a breath. "About when you first got to Hoenn – when you got Latios for the first time – I met another Latias. And she taught me a new move – Healing Wish."

"Oh – right!" Ash said, realizing. "So you can recharge Jirachi straight away!"

Mega Latias nodded. "That's right."

Keldeo came cantering down the hill. "Uh, guys? I think there's a problem..."

"What now?" May asked, exasperated.

"I think the monsters have got so powerful they're starting to make the terrain give way," the Sword of Justice reported. "Some of the pillars are collapsing."

"Then I guess we'd better hurry," Brock said. "Who's going where?"

"Well, Ash and Bianca need to stay with the Pokémon they're Mega Evolving, right?" Max said, frowning. "I think that's how it works..."

"And I'm coming with you on Flygon," May said.

"Pardon?" Max asked.

May reached out and hugged him. "I want to make sure you're safe," she whispered. "And I know you're going to go with Jirachi."

"Can you take both of us?" Max asked, glancing at Flygon.

The Dragon-type examined both humans, then Jirachi. "That should be fine."

"Jirachi, you should be charged now," Butler said. "The machine's not giving you any more power – either it's broken or you're charged."

Jirachi nodded, worried.

"Let's get going," Ash said. "Keldeo, can you take Pikachu with you? He needs a good angle to hit Kyogre..."

"Sure!" Keldeo replied. "Come on, Pikachu!"

As Pikachu got on Keldeo's back, and Jirachi and both Maples onto Flygon, Ash unlimbered his staff for a moment.

"Let's do this, Latios," he said, and concentrated.

Orange light flared, and then they were ready to go.


AN:


Team Magma and Team Aqua are really quite hard to get rid of. Fortunately, there's our old friends Team Rocket on the case.

When they're done improvising their motto, anyway.

Incidentally, all helicopters are required to be able to autorotate to a landing if they have only one engine. It's part of a principle called "single engine safety", where any aircraft with just one engine has to be able to land if that engine suffers a failure.

Also – Bianca!