"You know," May said, looking around. "I can't help but feel a bit apprehensive today..."
Swablu took off from her hat, flying a circle around her. "I can't see anything that could be dangerous."
Alighting back on her arm, he tilted his head. "Is it one of those things you remember from last time around?"
"I think it is..." she agreed, giving him a scratch. "But I'm not quite sure, so I could be just getting nervous about something from a different day."
She turned to Ash. "How do you keep all this straight?"
"It's funny because you think he does," Pikachu said.
Skitty jumped from the ground to a log, from the log to a branch, ran along it, and launched herself into a flying leap which ended with her landing firmly on May's shoulder.
Then she purred, loudly and insistently.
May rolled her eyes, and reached up to pet the feline with her free hand. "I don't have nearly enough arms for this."
"I know the feeling," Ash admitted. "I've got enough Pokémon that I have to work from a schedule."
"You've got enough of us that we have to work out our own entertainment schedules," Ivysaur agreed. "Hopefully the fact I left Donphan in charge back at the ranch will keep Professor Oak's workload down a bit."
"Yeah, we saw on the news," Ash agreed. "They were kind of worried, until they worked out it was probably training."
Max chuckled. "Yeah, for other people it's a possible sign of the end of the world. For Ash it's training... and not even training he's there for."
"It's not that bad," Ash protested.
"Ash?" Brock asked, waiting for Ash to look at him. "You've just turned up in a new town, and two powerful Legendaries are fighting one another in the middle of a thunderstorm. What's your first reaction?"
"Um..." Ash frowned. "I guess... yeah, I pretty much start working out what I need to do to save the town, the world, and possibly the universe..."
"See, Ash?" May asked. "It is that bad."
"Hey, look!" Swablu said, pointing. "There's a Skarmory!"
"...oh, yeah, now I remember," May said, wincing. "Blaziken, can you-"
Pikachu jumped off Ash's hat, and fired a crackling Thundershock at the Skarmory.
It wobbled in mid-air, then came down to a barely-controlled crash landing next to the path with electricity still flaring off its steel feathers.
"What was that for?" she protested, shaking her feathers to make a menacing rattle. "I didn't even do anything!"
"Yet," Brock said. "But I know Pokémon behaviour – especially Rock, Ground and Steel types. You were coming in to attack."
"...you can't prove that," the Steel-type muttered, now significantly less bellicose.
"Please do not," Blaziken asked, looking down at the Skarmory as she got to her feet. "It would make me sad if you attacked us – especially my trainer."
Skarmory said something rude, and flew off – glancing over her shoulder every so often.
"Well, that went well," Max said.
"Yeah," May agreed. "Thanks, Pikachu."
"No problem," Pikachu said, looking smug.
He glanced back. "Hey, you two!"
Meganium looked up, and realized how far back she and Sceptile had fallen. "Oh – sorry!"
"Come on!" May said, waving. "I don't want to be late to get Bulbasaur!"
She looked over at Ash as the two Grass-types hurried to catch up. "Can you see her yet?"
"Not yet, no," Ash replied, shaking his head. "If she was right at the near edge of the reserve I might, but it's a big place."
"Well, I guess we'll have to find out if we can get in," Brock said. "We might need to get Professor Oak to ask them to let us in, but it's best to just try..."
"Yeah," May agreed. "That sounds good."
"That's Venusaur, right?" Swablu asked. "She sounds like a nice Pokémon."
"She is," May nodded. "She's my biggest Pokémon – though I guess Munchlax might be bigger, when he evolves... and so might you, actually."
Swablu fluffed himself up, preening, then giggled.
"Huh," Ash said, looking closer.
"What is it?" May asked, turning her attention to her friend. "Can you see Bulbasaur?"
"Well... I'm not sure," Ash admitted. "I can see something – actually, I can see two somethings, but one of them is..."
He squinted, still walking.
"I think that's Drew," he said, eventually. "Hey, Noctowl?"
There was a flash, and Noctowl shed his illusion – appearing just over Ash's head. "Pip pip?"
"Can you go see if Drew's got anyone with him?" he asked. "Anyone who isn't Roselia or Leafeon, I guess..."
"Or Masquerain," May volunteered. "He found his Surskit again, and evolved him."
"How do you know that?" Max asked, blinking. "We've not met him since then."
"He sent me a text," May replied, a little defensively. "We're rivals, not enemies. Anyway, doesn't Team Rocket send Ash text messages?"
"Occasionally," Ash admitted.
"There you go," May said firmly.
"I'll be back in two shakes of a Mareep's tail," Noctowl said.
He frowned. "Actually, that doesn't exactly bally well roll off the tongue, does it? Two shakes of a Lilligant's... no... hm, this is harder than I-"
"Noctowl?" Ash prompted.
"Right you are, right you are," Noctowl agreed, beating his wings and sweeping off towards the mid-morning sun.
"Oh, hey May!" Drew called, waving. "Ash, Brock... other guy."
"Come on!" Max said, shaking his head. "We met more often than you met Ash! Remember, in Johto?"
"Yeah, but you'll always be other guy to me," Drew said.
May stifled laughter. "So, how's things?" she asked.
"Not bad," Drew replied. "I wanted to have a look around the Grass-type reserve, and between Roselia and Leafeon they were pretty convinced I wasn't out for trouble – well, I guess that's what happened..."
"Why?" Ash asked "Who was convinced?"
"There's some Nuzleaf who looked at me back when I arrived," Drew said, gesturing over his shoulder.
"We didn't have that," Ash said, confused.
"We did," Sceptile corrected. "They asked Meganium and I about the purpose of our visit. You must have been too far off to notice."
"Oh, okay." Ash shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess..."
He gave Drew another look, then closed his eyes and looked again.
Not noticing Ash's scrutiny, Drew shook hands with Brock. "I noticed your Flygon," he said. "Good taste – I got one myself, you remember?"
Flygon waved.
"And as for Absol..." With a chuckle, the young Coordinator shook his head. "It's kind of like you're trying to get all the good Pokémon before I can!"
"Drew?" Ash asked. "Did you get a new Pokémon recently?"
"You mean Masquerain?" Drew replied. "Well, he was fairly recent..."
"No, I mean a Normal-type," Ash said, still frowning. "Or I think I'm seeing a Normal-type..."
Now Drew looked confused too. "I've got two Grass-types and a Bug-Flying," he said, then thought again. "Unless you mean... well, there's an egg, could it be that?"
"That would work," Ash confirmed.
"Then yeah, I do," Drew nodded. "Leafeon's first egg, from just a couple of days ago. I'm keeping it for now while I see if anyone's a good trainer for it... why, are you volunteering?"
"May?" Ash said, instead of answering the question directly. "Where did you get Glaceon?"
May looked up from a side conversation with Brock, a little confused. "Uh – you remember, right? That farm in Kanto which took in eggs from people who couldn't find homes for them..."
"Can I see that egg, Drew?" Ash asked.
May gave a tiny gasp, hand going to her mouth. "You don't..."
"I don't know," Ash stressed. "But I think it'd be a good idea to check."
"What did you want to show me?" asked the shiny Suicune.
The non-shiny one smiled. "Oh, it's something that I came up with just recently – after discussing things with Ash and Pidgeot."
"Then it must be good," the shiny said. "I assume it either involves water or is very destructive?"
Ash's Suicune chuckled. "Indeed it is – why do you ask?"
"Well," said Molly's friend, looking at the distant lighthouses. "We are a few miles out to sea."
"Of course," Ash's Suicune agreed. "Now, watch closely."
She began to pace faster, streamers swirling, and Molly's Suicune fell behind a little to get a clear view.
"Tailwind!" called the non-shiny Pokémon, and accelerated further. Her feet picked up, hopping from wave-crest to wave-crest, until she was flying across the water at hundreds of miles per hour.
As she ran, her power over the North Wind divided the air she was rushing through into two streams which curved away from her.
Then, she pushed herself just a little faster – and stopped dividing the wind.
Molly's friend took a step back, shocked, as an enormous wave built up in seconds, then crashed down as it became unstable and Suicune blasted through it.
"Did you see what happened?" she called, loping back over.
"I... think so," said the younger of the two Water-types. "You were going... well, it must have been the speed of sound... and then you used your sonic boom as a, a trowel – to dig into the water."
"That's right," Suicune agreed. "And, for just a moment, I was moving hundreds of tonnes of seawater at great speed."
She smirked. "It may mostly work on open water... but it's quite a surprise to anyone who's not expecting it."
"I see."
The shiny Suicune considered, then bowed. "My thanks once more for the lesson."
"Oh, the pleasure's all mine," Suicune replied. "Do you have any idea how fun it is to be able to discuss Suicune-specific tactics?"
Her doppelganger chuckled. "Yes, I imagine this one wouldn't work with Entei..."
Drew knelt on the soft grass, opened his bag, and carefully retrieved the egg canister.
Leafeon stood beside him, mouth a little open and one paw raised.
"Careful," she said, very softly.
Moving with gentle care, Drew set the canister down and opened it. Reaching in, he lifted the egg out in both arms.
"Is that enough for you to tell?" he asked.
Ash nodded. "It is."
Rather than continue, though, he bent down to address Leafeon directly. "Leafeon?"
"Yes?" the Grass-type asked.
"This is going to feel kind of strange for you," he explained. "Not... well, not tingly Aura stuff. Just... it's going to be bizarre in the same way it's bizarre that your trainer can talk about the Flygon he's going to meet, or the Absol he hasn't caught yet."
Leafeon looked down for a moment, then up again. "Did... did my child know me before, then?"
"I don't think so," Ash replied. "May got her egg in Kanto – at a place where eggs are dropped off to be hatched. I don't know if your daughter ever said anything about her parents – I only got the ability to understand Pokémon after going back, so I never could ask."
"She did," Pikachu spoke up unexpectedly. "She didn't do it much, but she did speak about you."
Leafeon's paw came up to touch her left eye.
Straightening, Ash nodded to Drew. "She's going to weigh a lot more in a moment," he cautioned.
Nodding, Drew shifted his grip – so the egg was resting on his palms, instead of held to his chest by one arm.
Ash waited for a moment, as May came up to stand beside him, then touched a blue-glowing palm to the Eevee egg.
It began to glow, then flashed a brilliant blue-white light.
The spherical form of the egg came apart, gaining definition, and then in a flash a long flat tail and two pointed ears and all the other features came at once.
Glaceon landed lightly on the grassy floor, shook her head, and blinked upwards. "...what just... happened?"
She glanced from left to right. "May? Ash? And... wait, Max isn't that... and where did..."
Spotting Pikachu, she directed a question at him. "Did Drew get a new Pokémon? I'm pretty sure his Roselia evolved..."
"Actually, it's kind of... different," Ash said. "That's his Roselia – before she evolved."
Glaceon did a double-take.
"Glaceon?" May asked, voice soft.
"Of course it's me," Glaceon replied, then her ears pricked up at the tone in May's voice. "...why wouldn't it be? What's wrong?"
She glanced over at Ash. "If he's gotten involved with Legendaries again-"
May crouched down and ran her hand along Glaceon's chill back, scratching all the good spots. "I've missed you, Glaceon!"
"Like, me too," Skitty volunteered, jumping down from her perch on May's shoulder. "It's been – ohmigawd, whole weeks!"
"We had a chat this morning, didn't we?" Glaceon asked, still confused.
"Like... the one about dresses?" Skitty asked. "Yeah, that was, like, this morning for you, but it was ages ago for me. Totally different."
Glaceon tapped Skitty on the nose with a paw, smiling at the pink-yellow feline's purr. "If you say it's been ages, then it probably has been..."
"Daughter?"
The Ice-type froze.
"Who said that?"
"I did," Leafeon said, walking around into Glaceon's field of view.
Glaceon's eyes flicked along her body. "But... you're... but my mother was a Flareon."
The words made Leafeon's face fall.
"Last time," Ash stressed. "Last time she was a Flareon – but there's been time travel, Glaceon. This time, Drew caught your mother, and she evolved into a Leafeon."
"...oh," Glaceon said, and winced at Leafeon's expression. "Uh... um..."
She glanced at her friend. "Skitty? Any help here? I don't know what to..."
After a moment, the Normal-type reached up with her tail and gently pushed Glaceon's muzzle back around to face Leafeon. "She's, like, your mother, Glaceon," Skitty pointed out. "So... like, do what you always thought you'd do when you met her, you know what I mean?"
Glaceon swallowed, then nodded.
She sat back on her haunches, tail curling around her, and looked down for a moment. "Uh... sorry, I had this whole meeting planned out in my head, but it really didn't work out that way," she began. "But... I've always wanted to meet my- to meet you, mom. And..."
Leafeon's eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
"...and I'm really sorry I reacted badly," the Ice-type went on. "But I want to... I need to... make it up to you. And – well, this is what I wanted to say to someone who..."
May put a silent hand on Glaceon's head, stroking her as lightly as a feather.
"It doesn't matter what you did, or didn't do, or... or how you're different from the mother I remember before I hatched," Glaceon went on. "Or, one of the mothers – I remember you as a Leafeon, and as a Flareon. But either way, I love you, and I want to know who you are."
She extended a paw. "So... can we talk?"
Leafeon took a deep breath.
"When I discovered I was going to have an egg, I imagined all kinds of things," she said. "This wasn't one of them. But..."
Her muzzle quirked in a smile.
"If you want to get to know me, then I can only say yes. I hope we get to know one another well, daughter – and I'm happy beyond words that your trainer knows mine, so that we have that chance."
Glaceon took two quick steps forwards and touched her muzzle to that of her parent, and then Leafeon licked the cold nose in front of her.
"I love you," Glaceon said softly. "You look nothing like I imagined, but you're everything I could have wanted."
"So..." Leafeon said, tilting her head slightly. "I guess you're mostly a Contest Pokémon?"
"That's right," Glaceon agreed. "Like you are, I believe – at least, if you're Drew's Pokémon it seems a safe assumption."
"That's right," Leafeon agreed. "I've taken part in about four shows so far-"
"Only four?" Glaceon repeated, then blinked and blushed. "...oh, sorry – I should have realized..."
"This is really strange," Leafeon sighed. "I mean... you're older than me, and that shouldn't be possible."
"Imagine how I feel..." Glaceon muttered. She shook her head, bangs swinging. "But – sorry, I interrupted. How's your contest style?"
"Well, Drew tends to work with using moves like Razor Leaf, for me," Leafeon explained.
They came to a gate, and Glaceon let her mother go first as the group filed though. She exchanged a quick smile with May, assuring her trainer it was fine, then accelerated slightly to get alongside. "So... just nice patterns of leaves?"
"Not just that," Leafeon corrected. "So I might produce Razor Leaves, and then brown them with Solarbeam or dry them with Giga Drain. That means I can make whatever pattern I like with them – within reason, of course."
"Sounds neat," Glaceon agreed. "I'm a bit more for close combat – though of course I can work either there or further away. One of my favourite tricks is... well, Mirror Coat."
"It sounds almost like cheating," her mother said, with a smirk. "Whatever he did, just more of it!"
Both vulpines giggled.
"So..." Glaceon said, after a moment. "I've only ever heard of this bit – this is before I hatched, the first time. Do you know...?"
"I might know more than you, you're right," Leafeon agreed. "But not a lot more. The main thing I can tell you, at the moment, is that we're in a grass-type Pokémon reserve."
"What about May's team?" Glaceon asked. "Do you know anything about them? And-"
"Not much," Leafeon replied, tail flicking. "I want to – especially now, daughter, I want to know all about your team and about you – but as yet I don't know much."
Glaceon smiled, shrugging it off. "That's fine – I'll find out, and let you know."
A pause. "I can probably tell you the most about Skitty, though. She's a good friend."
"I've not fought her yet," Leafeon said, with a sinuous shrug. "But yes, I saw her with you earlier. What's she like?"
Glaceon's expression turned a little awkward. "Well, she's... kind of a ditz, sometimes... but she's always a good friend if you really need it."
"That's the best kind of friend," Leafeon said, then snorted in sudden laugher.
"Mom?" Glaceon asked.
"Sorry, I'm just – I'm trying the whole, motherly advice, thing... and I've got no idea how to do it. I'm just guessing..."
Leafeon jumped to the top of a log, and Glaceon gathered herself before following – then the two Eeveelutions trotted along in single file, paralleling the path the rest of the group were taking.
A blue-white shape flew over, and hovered beside them.
"Uh – hi, Glaceon..." Swablu said, shyly. "Sorry, I didn't really get to say hello earlier... I'm one of May's Pokémon, and I guess you are too."
"...just when I was getting the hang of this time travel thing," Glaceon sighed, so theatrically her mother giggled. "Okay, it's nice to meet you, Swablu."
She glanced sideways at May, who waved. "Can you give me a bit of help with who else May has caught?"
"I think I'm the only really new one," Swablu said, sounding a bit unsure. "There's Ethan, and Blaziken, and-"
"Who?" Glaceon asked, blinking.
"...you don't know Blaziken?"
"I know Blaziken, I don't know Ethan," Glaceon said.
"Now him I did battle," Leafeon interjected. "Swablu, would you mind-"
"It's fine," Swablu assured, flying up a bit. "You can talk, I'll join in if I want to."
"So, who's Ethan?" Glaceon asked, glancing sideways.
"Well-" Leafeon's flow was interrupted for a moment, as they jumped back down from the log and padded over towards the main path. "He's a Porygon – I don't know where your trainer got him, but I think it was a while ago."
Glaceon frowned. "Okay... I suppose I'd just better ask him about it later."
There was a growl in the bushes, and Glaceon leaped to the defence of her mother.
Unfortunately, Leafeon had also jumped to defend her daughter, and both Eeveelutions ended up in a tangle of limbs.
"Ow!"
"Hey!"
Glaceon sneezed as a leafy tail tickled her nose. "Gerroff – ow, that's-"
"Your foot's in my ear!" Leafeon yelped.
"Well, I-"
The Grotle moved menacingly out of the shadows, and then a blur of motion shot past and the Grotle went hurtling backwards.
"I had that handled," Blaziken said, lowering his foot.
"Can't hurt to help," Lucario shrugged, bringing his fist back from full extension.
He reached down and helped disentangle Glaceon and Leafeon. "That better?"
"Thanks," Leafeon said a bit breathlessly. "And – sorry about that, I guess."
"Yeah," Glaceon agreed. She chuckled, then shook her muzzle. "Maybe we should decide who's the one who needs protecting..."
Leafeon licked her on the cheek. "You're my daughter, it's my right to feel protective. Even if you could probably freeze me solid."
Glaceon smiled, touched. "Thanks, mom."
"Any sign of anything?" Brock asked.
Ash shook his head. "No – I'm looking for a Grass-type, but there's a lot of Grass-types around here. I'm having trouble seeing where she might be."
"Just do your best," May asked. "I mean, I guess if it's too much of a problem then Celebi's just going to dump her on your head, but-"
"Yeah, being underneath a Venusaur would be painful," Ash agreed.
"Being under a Venusaur would crush most people," Drew commented offhand.
"Well, you know," May shrugged. "It's Ash – after going back in time to save Arceus, what's being flattened by a Venusaur?"
There was a yelp from behind them, then a human cry of surprise, and a leafy crash.
"Max?" May asked.
Looking around, they saw her brother clambering out of pile of ferns with Arc looking sheepish next to it.
"I don't think I'm going to be able to ride Arc just yet..." Max said, brushing plants off his clothes.
"Sorry..." Arc whined, tail wagging, and Max scratched him.
"Not your fault, Arc, we just need to practice a bit more."
The Electric-type nodded, still looking unhappy.
"Chaps and chapesses?" Noctowl asked, flying down.
"What is it?" Ash asked. "Did you find some Bulbasaur?"
"Well... I found a dashed lot of Grass-types, that's for sure..."
"This feels familiar," James mumbled.
Jessie nodded. "Yeah, it kind of looks it too... but this is the first time in a while the Pokémon have been running towards us."
"What was da last time?" Meowth asked.
"Ow," James wheezed.
"Hey, ain't dat a Tropius?" Meowth said, looking interested. "Now dat's not the most common Pokémon..."
"It's not the lightest Pokémon," the Rocket said. "Uh... little help here?"
"How?" Gyarados asked, glancing over at Jessie. "Is there a good way I can..."
Meowth shrugged. "Ain't like I know a good one," he said. "Unless... hm. Jessie? How many Pokéballs we got?"
"How much further, Noctowl?" Ash asked, glancing up.
"Not far, what?" Noctowl replied. "Just over this next tuffet, I'd say."
"A what?"
"A tuffet," Noctowl repeated. "One of those bally things that Miss Muffet stood on."
Ash and Brock exchanged shrugs.
"I think it's a small hill," Pikachu volunteered.
"Really?" Ash asked, looking at his shoulder-riding starter. "What makes you say that?"
"We're climbing one."
"Oh, yeah..." Ash said. "I guess that makes sense."
As they reached the summit, a voice could be heard.
"Okay, listen up!"
A babble of voices could be heard below it, almost loud enough to drown out the familiar voice.
"Okay, you got three options! Any of you who wants to leave, you can leave – I'm giving ya thirty seconds. Then ya got a choice."
"Is that Meowth?" May asked, listening. "Sounds like him..."
"Either ya get in one o' dese Pokéballs, or Moltres an' Growlie here makes ya get off James!"
"Meowth?" Drew repeated, frowning. "Wait, that talking Meowth you ran into a couple of times?"
Max snorted in laughter.
"I'm pretty sure I've run into that Team Rocket trio more than six hundred times," Ash said.
Drew blinked. "But... what?"
"It's okay, they're not very committed to the whole stealing thing any more," Brock told him. "Which helps, given they're actually quite good at it-"
A blast of flame pyred skywards, and several Skiploom and Jumpluff scattered in all directions – a Tropius labouring into the air after them with sweeps of his wings.
"Did he say Moltres?" Drew asked. "I mean – okay, so I knew Ash had Legendaries. But those guys?"
"Yeah, it's a long story," Ash shrugged. "Or... well, I guess for them it's more short-but-funny."
"What are they doing here, anyway?" May asked.
"I guess we should go and find out..."
"Aren't you worried?" Drew frowned. "I mean... these guys are Team Rocket, and they've got a Legendary too..."
"That's okay, we'll be fine," Ash assured him. "They're friends!"
"Plus they're not the only ones with a Legendary," Brock added. "Right, Latias?"
Latias shimmered back to visible right in front of Drew, and the Coordinator jumped a foot in the air.
When he landed again, panting, he heard giggling – both from Latias and from his Leafeon.
"Traitor," he muttered, shaking his head.
"It's fine, really," Ash shrugged. "Come on, let's go see them!"
"Well, dat went pretty well," Meowth said, brushing his paws against one another. "If I do say so myself..."
"I guess so," Jessie agreed, picking up one of the Pokéballs. "Who knew you could just... recruit?"
"Can we not recruit that way again?" James asked, getting out a comb and starting to remove twigs from his hair. "It was painful."
Wobbuffet said something, saluting.
"Ow," Meowth winced.
"What was that one?" Jessie asked.
"Now I gotta repeat it..." Meowth sighed. "Okay, he was sayin' that it's a straw poll for who wants to join."
"...I don't get it," James said, after several seconds.
"Hey!"
All three looked up at the shout.
"Oh, hey, look – if it ain't Ash," Meowth said, brightly. "Fancy meetin' you here!"
"We're a bit surprised to see you, too," Ash admitted. "What was going on?"
"Well, ya know how James is wid Grass-types," Meowth explained.
"Yeah, coming to a Grass-type reserve wasn't the best of ideas," James agreed. "I think I have pollen down my shirt..."
Ash winced. "Yeah, that can be hard to clean..."
"How do you know about that?" Jessie asked.
"Bayleef," Ash replied.
Meganium promptly materialized with a flash. "I don't do it any more..."
"Yeah, which is why I said Bayleef and not Meganium," Ash countered.
He noticed Jessie picking something up. "What's with the Pokéballs?"
"Well, we did warn 'em," Meowth shrugged. "An' we used Pokéballs, too – all legit an' stuff."
The friends exchanged glances.
"I... actually think we can't complain about you catching Pokémon that way," Max said slowly. "Why did you never do it this way before?"
"Good question," James muttered.
"So, what brings you here?" Jessie asked, picking up the last of the Pokéballs.
"Well, actually, we were looking for Bulbasaur," May said. "She was around here."
"Guess that makes sense," Meowth agreed.
Brock glanced at his watch. "Well, it's actually pretty near lunchtime – shall we just do that, and then keep looking afterwards?"
"Sounds like a plan!" Ash said promptly.
A Pokéball on Jessie's belt lit up, and Audino emerged. "I'll get my tools."
"Hey, who's this?" Ash asked, interested.
Audino turned, and nodded to him. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Audino – I'm the team medic, and I also cook."
"So do I," Brock said.
Audino's eyes narrowed just slightly. "I see," he said. "Then we'll see who's the better cook."
"Are you challenging me?" Brock asked.
His eyes did not narrow, mainly because they couldn't really get much narrower.
"If you want to put it that way... yes, I am!" Audino confirmed.
"Huh..." Meowth said, as the human and the Pokémon began setting up their grills. "Cook-off. Wonder who's gonna win?"
"I think it's actually us," Max replied. "If Audino's anything like as good as Brock, this is going to be one tasty lunch!"
"How did we get in this situation, again?" a Nuzleaf asked, munching his way through some canapés.
"Good question," his friend replied, with a shrug. "It all happened a bit fast."
The Bayleef in question reached out with his vines, and grabbed another small tray. Taking the fresh, steaming naan bread off it, he pulled it into two pieces and passed one to Nuzleaf.
"Thanks," the Dark-type said, taking a bite. "Mm, this is great, though. Much better than what we normally have."
They ate in silence for a minute or so, and then a Geodude came over with some plates. "Do you want some of the next course?"
Nuzleaf craned his neck to see into the plate. "What is it?"
"Oh, it's some curry – don't worry, it's not too hot, and we've got some yoghurt to mix in to cool it to taste."
"Neat," Bayleef said, taking one of the plates. "What about you?"
"I'm pretty full," Nuzleaf begged off.
Geodude went on his way, now a little lighter, and Bayleef took a bite.
Nuzleaf watched his eyes widen."...I'll go get that yoghurt..."
"Well, basically, it's not a lot different from being a normal trained Pokémon," Victreebel explained, waving his single big vine. "Sure, Team Rocket does some dubious things – but they're mostly just normal business deals, just a bit less official than normal. Everyone benefits really."
"Sounds nice," replied the Gloom he was talking to. "Well, somewhat... so what kind of thing would I have to do?"
"From talking to other Pokémon at Rocket headquarters, the most likely thing is guard duty," Victreebel said. "Just being there if your trainer gets in trouble. There's also catching Pokémon, some of that..."
"So no daring escapes over rooftops with stolen jewellery?" asked an Ivysaur. "That sounds a bit... boring."
"Actually, you probably could ask for that," Victreebel frowned. "I mean, you know..."
"We've done more dan our share of da tough stuff," Meowth volunteered. "It can get kinda annoying after a while, when ya trip an' fall off a rooftop... for the fifth time in a week..."
"I still think I'd be interested in the exciting stuff," the Ivysaur decided.
"Well, I'll put in a good word for you," Victreebel promised.
"What?" Cacturne asked, looking down.
The Sunkern twitched.
"No, I don't know what you'd be best at."
Twitch.
"Carnivine?" Cacturne asked. "I think I'm out of my depth here."
"I know exactly what you should do, don't worry," Carnivine told the little Grass-type. "You can be an athlete!"
Sunkern's eyes shone.
Cacturne blinked. "How?"
"Oh, Growlie told me how they lost a Pokeathlon run to a team with a Sunkern MVP. It's quite possible."
The long-limbed Grass-type then shook his head. "Just don't ask me how..."
"What's that?" Audino asked, looking up from his barbecue.
"I'm making bok choy," Brock replied, busily cooking away. "It's very nutritious – I'm going to serve it with rice and a glaze flavoured with rosewater, as well as some crispy fried carrots and thin-sliced potatoes."
The Normal-type examined that for a moment, then turned back to his barbecue. "Right! I can see I'll have to get serious! Moltres!"
Moltres looked up from the last of her teriyaki. "What do you need?"
"I need your flames at an even yellow heat!" Audino replied. "And some almonds, butter, and four kilos of sugar. I'm making toffee – straight from the sugar."
Brock blinked, looking up from his sizzling cabbage. "Okay, that's going a bit far..."
"Of course it's not!" Audino replied. "It's a valid dessert choice!"
The Gym Leader bent back to his task. "In that case I'll finish this and get started on my own dessert – a four layer cake with checkerboard pattern baked into the inside!"
"A worthy challenge," Audino admitted. "Very well – let the best cook win!"
"I'm just saying," Stantler shrugged. "I don't think this is really the best way to tell if Brock or Audino is the better cook."
"Why not?" Growlie asked, tilting his head.
"Oh, I'm sure you know," Ninetales smiled, tail tapping Growlie's nose. "It's because this is partly a test of which of them knows the better recipe – which is the more inventive cook."
"I think that's important," Growlie replied, and smiled at Ninetales. "But if you say so..."
"I still think it's a good way," Stantler was at pains to explain. "Just that maybe it'd be better if we didn't know who had cooked what until the end."
Growlie gave an interested nod. "Oh, I see... yeah, maybe that would work better."
He looked over at the battling cooks. "Should we tell them we got it all worked out?"
"Best not, they're having so much fun..." Ninetales chuckled. "Now, while they're busy, why don't you and I see which one of us has gotten faster since last time?"
"I like the sound of that," Growlie nodded. "Once around the perimeter fence?"
"Wait," Stantler said, frowning. "Are you sure that's-"
"Let Brock and James know where we've gone!" Ninetales called, dashing off to the south.
Growlie jumped after her with a laugh, and Stantler stared after them for a moment before sighing.
"Hmmm..." he said, glancing over at the rest of the party.
Illusory versions of the Arcanine and the Ninetales flashed into being for a moment, and then vanished as he shook his head. "No, that could go wrong far too easily..."
"Ohhhh..."
May leaned back, and sighed. "That is lovely."
Drew glanced at her plate. "Aren't you going to finish it?"
May shook her head, still smiling. "Too full."
"I'm pretty sure they're doing dessert now," he added. "Want some?"
"...I might have to get some in a bag, or a lunchbox," May decided after a moment. "This has been great."
She looked up, seeing Glaceon padding over. "Hey, sweetie. How's things?"
"Good," Glaceon replied – and smiled, remembering that May could actually understand her now. "Leafeon's over trying to work out exactly what it is about James which makes him smell so nice. I couldn't tell myself, but..."
She shrugged. "Mom seems to want to work it out."
"You're getting on well," May said, smiling. "I'm glad – and especially glad that you two can keep seeing one another, whenever Drew and I have a Contest together."
"That's one of the nice things about this," Drew agreed.
May was about to go on, but felt a tug on her trousers.
She looked down, and a Bulbasaur smiled uncertainly back up at her.
"Bulba?" the Bulbasaur asked.
"She wants to know if you're going to eat all of that," Glaceon supplied, then paused. "Wait a moment..."
May reached down and hugged the startled Bulbasaur. "It's great to see you!"
"Sauuur?" Bulbasaur asked, baffled.
"It's because of the heart mark on your forehead," Glaceon said. "I'm sure we'll explain in a moment."
"I'm sorry?" Giovanni asked, blinking. "You did... what?"
"Well-" Meowth began, ready to tell the whole story again.
"No, never mind, I heard you," Giovanni said, raising a hand. "So... you were swarmed by Grass-types."
"That's right," James agreed, pulling a leaf out of his shirt.
"And you drove them off with your Moltres."
"Most of them," Jessie confirmed.
"Yes, most of them... except for the ones you..."
"Captured!" Meowth said, holding up a basket of Pokéballs. "They're all kind of eager, too – well, ya know. Interested."
He picked one of the balls up. "Dis one's a Turtwig!"
Giovanni nodded. "I see. Any you want to keep hold of?"
"Not really, no," James said, shaking his head. "I've got three Grass-types, that's enough for me..."
The Boss considered that, then accepted it. "Understood. Deliver them to one of the existing bases within two days, and they'll be assigned for training."
"Got it, boss!" Meowth said, saluting, and the call ended.
Persian put his paws on the edge of the table, and Giovanni reached down to give him a stroke.
"Well, their little trip has been profitable, so far..." the entirely-respectable-businessman mused. "Some more Grass-types will be useful."
He chuckled, making Persian look up. "But knowing how things have been going, I wouldn't have been completely surprised to be given a Pokéball containing a Shaymin..."
"So, this is our new place," Aaron said, inspecting it.
It looked... like nothing more nor less than a building shaped like a giant Riolu head.
"Are you sure this is where we're supposed to go?"
Of course I am, Arceus replied from the heavens. It looks like you, see? It's even got a house name.
Aaron looked. "Ah. Cameran Cottage. Cute..."
The ground trembled slightly, and Palkia squelched his way wearily up the path.
"I. Hate. Tiny Woods."
"Can Palkia and the others fit in here?" Arceus asked, looking up as the Dragon of Space stomped past.
"Of course I can," Palkia replied, walking through a five foot doorway without bending down. "I'm the Dragon of Space, and this building's as big as I say it is."
"That explains why my hands – ah, paws – were tingling," Aaron admitted, rubbing the nubs on the backs of his wrists. "I think... don't forget to make it big enough for the others, too!"
Palkia's reply was a snore.
A few seconds later, Dialga walked up as well. "Please get this Pidgey off my back."
Aaron looked, sighed, and jogged forwards. He ran up to Dialga, then jumped up onto his back, and gave the Pidgey a firm kick.
"Thank you," the Dragon of Time said. "I think I'd like a lie down now..."
"Where's Giratina?"
Dialga shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't particularly care at this point."
Giratina groaned.
"Now, what have we learned?" asked one of the Kecleon.
"Stealing is painful," the Ghost-type dragon managed.
"Good," the other one said. "Now – do you want to buy something?"
"Do you have any painkillers?"
AN:
Surprise!
Bet people weren't expecting that... it was interesting writing that relationship.
Also, of course, the cook-off. There are few things nicer to eat than what two cooks make when vying for the title.
It's a delicious cycle.
