This is the first of two chapters today.


"There's so many kinds of Flying-types," Mawile said, softly.

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "And lots of Pokémon which can fly even though they're not Flying-types, too – look, a Dragonair!"

"I'm not nearly that graceful," Goodra sighed, and adjusted his grip on Mawile's ankles.

The Fairy-type shook her head. "Maybe you're not – but that doesn't matter!"

There was a whoosh as an Archeops swooped low over the crowd, and Mawile ducked. "Wow! That's a cool Pokémon!"

"They're Archeops," Ash told her. "Fossil Pokémon – I guess someone here has a revived one."

"Cool," Mawile decided. "Like Kabutops! Hey, let's go see!"

She pointed. "I think it went that way!"

Goodra checked his grip, and followed Ash through the crowds.


"Seriously?" Pikachu asked. "It's really the costume?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if it works for all Pikachu," Cosplaychu replied. "Hey, maybe you should try – here, have this one!"

She held up an outfit next to her.

"No," Pikachu said, shaking his head. "Not going to happen."

"But you'd make a great Belle!"


"It went just over there!" Mawile said, craning her neck to see. "Hey, that guy looks familiar!"

Goodra examined him.

"I don't see it."

"That's because you're much taller than last time we met him, silly!" Mawile giggled.

"You're a lot higher up," Goodra replied, taking one hand off her ankles and giving her a poke in the side.

More giggling, and Mawile shook her head. "That's different!"

"Hold on," Ash said, with a frown. "Is that Steven?"

On hearing his name, the Rock collector looked up. "Who is – ah, Ash! Good to see you!"

"It's great to see you, too," Ash replied, shaking his hand. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I'm showing Archeops around," the Champion replied, as the Rock/Flying-Type came down for another landing. "He wanted a look at how many more Flying-types there are these days – there's actually a theory that all Bird Flying-types are descended from Archen and Archeops."

"Wow," Ash said, impressed. "Is it right?"

"No," Steven told him bluntly. "But it's an interesting kind of wrong, which is nearly as useful."

"I like that kind of thinking," Mawile pronounced.

She waved at Archeops as he took off again, then frowned thoughtfully. "Oh, yeah – you're someone who knows about rocks, right, Mr. Steven?"

Ash relayed the question, and Steven chuckled. "It's Mr. Stone – or Steven. And yes, never ask a Stone a question about rocks unless you're willing to be talked at for half an hour."

"Great! Then you can tell me what my bracelet is," Mawile decided. "Do you know where it is, Ash?"

Ash rummaged in his bag.

Steven blinked as Ash's arm went in up to mid-bicep. "That's… new."

"It's one of Sir Aaron's artefacts," Ash explained. "I tried to work out how to do another one, but my head hurt… it's bigger on the inside. Aha!"

He took the bracelet out, and Steven's eyes went wide.

"Ash – do you know what this is?"

"...no," Ash admitted. "Why? What is it?"

"It looks like..." Steven's voice trailed off, and he reached for his belt. "Hold on a moment, I'll test it. Can I borrow it?"

Ash glanced at Mawile to check, and she nodded.

At her nod, Steven took the bracelet and passed Ash something from his lapel. He then frowned, thinking for a moment, and sent out a Scizor.

"Okay, let's see if this works..." he said, and took a deep breath.

The bracelet began to shine, and a moment later so did the band around Scizor's head.

"Is that a Mega Stone?" Ash asked, holding up his hand against the light, and then looked with surprise at the change. "Wow… Mega Scizor looks cool."

The Mega-Evolved Pokémon gave him a nod, keeping both enormous pincers carefully closed.

A moment later, the transformation reversed itself.

"Remarkable," Steven said, taking the Mega Stickpin back. "This, Ash, is a bracelet of a style which is clearly hundreds – if not thousands – of years old. It dates back before the concept of Samurai, to give you some idea… but it has a Key Stone in it."

"Whoa," Ash said, blinking. "That's pretty cool."

He glanced at Mawile. "Hey, maybe it's the partner of that Mega Stone Mew found when we were looking for Spoink's pearl?"

"I guess so!" Mawile agreed. "That makes sense!"

"Remarkable," Steven pronounced, and handed the bracelet back. "I'd really like to study it, truth be told – but it's yours, so I won't just take it."

Mawile nodded her thanks. "That's nice of you," she said seriously.

"But now I'm wondering how I could pay for it," he added, frowning. "Hmmm… are you here in Fortree for a while?"

"At least until tomorrow," Ash told him. "We've got a Pokémon battle with Winona."

"In that case..." Steven considered. "I believe that I have an idea what I can trade you for the bracelet, miss Mawile."

Mawile brightened. "You do?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid I don't have it on me at the moment," Steven apologized. "Or – well, I do, but it's something that really belongs to a member of my team."

He sent out another of his Pokémon, who stepped forwards a pace to stand next to Scizor.

"Hi," Mawile said, waving, but not nearly as enthusiastically as she normally greeted new Pokémon.

"Good afternoon," the other Mawile replied. "And hello to you all."

"...you're not going to say Goodra's all slimy and gross, are you?" Ash's Mawile asked suspiciously.

"No, I'm not," Steven's one told her with dignity. "I don't especially like slime… it's rather a mess... but I know others don't mind – which is their choice."

"You're nicer than a lot of other Mawile I've met," Ash's Mawile complimented.

"All three of them," Goodra chuckled.

"They were all mean!"

While they talked, Steven's Mawile reached up to his topknot and undid a small bow.

"Is this what you were thinking of?" he asked his trainer, who got the gist and nodded.

"Mawile?" Steven said, clearing his throat. "I'd like to ask whether you'd be willing to swap your bracelet for a Mawilite."

Mawile blinked, surprised.

"Remember, I don't have one to spare yet," Steven added. "And yes, you can try it tonight – I'd love to watch, Mega-Evolution is always something special and I'd like to see how you handle it."

Mawile was about to reply when Ash glanced up and yelped. "Look out!"

He caught one Pikachu in one hand, the other in the other, and then Scizor picked both Pichu out of the air with ease.

"Ow," the slightly larger Pichu said. "I guess that costume didn't work..."

"I think it worked too well," the smaller one moaned.

"Pikachu?" Ash asked, then saw the smoking remnants of an outfit and the heart-tip tail on the other one. "And – you're Jessie's Pikachu, right?"

"Right," Cosplaychu agreed, and Ash let her down. She flipped, landed on her feet, and brushed the last of the costume off. "Don't ask."

"What-"

"I said don't ask," she said firmly, and Ash's Pikachu nodded his agreement.

"It didn't make a lot of sense at the time, and it makes little more now," he confirmed.

"Do you know where my trainers are?" Cosplaychu asked, as Steven stared at the whole tableau.

Ash closed his eyes, and glanced around. "Uh… looks like Dustox is over there – does that help?"

"It'll do," Cosplaychu agreed, and hopped up onto a low rooftop.

She turned to point at the Pichu Brothers. "And that was a terrible idea! I'm not going to try doing Superman again!"

With that, she was gone.

Pichu Big glanced at Pichu Little.

"...she didn't say anything about any other superheroes," Little pointed out.

"You two are going to blow yourselves up some day," Pikachu sighed. "You know. More than already."

"What just happened?" Steven asked, curiously.

"I'm not quite sure myself..."


"This has been a pleasant evening," Arbok said, craning his neck to watch the latest formation of Pokémon going overhead. "It's really quite nice to be able to relax."

"Well, I'm more used to Contests than you, I suppose," Seviper replied, slithering around alongside him. "But yes, I take your point. It's not as though we have to be Team Rocket all the time."

"When a felon's not engaged in his employment, or maturing his felonious little plans," Arbok ventured to state.

"Of course," Seviper agreed. "And how have you been finding your capacity for innocent enjoyment?"

"Just as great as any honest mon's," Arbok replied. "Especially when I enjoy the song of birds in ivied towers."

"And has it been challenging?"

"It's certainly been interesting," Arbok agreed. "I've never done any Contest training before."

"What, never?" Seviper asked.

"No, never," Arbok confirmed.

His fellow snake hissed. "What, never?"

"Well, hardly ever…"

"I'm sure I can help you learn more," Seviper informed him, waving a tail. "After all, I am the lord high serpent performer."

"I'll have to content myself with being the lord high everything else, I see," Arbok agreed amicably. "Were you taken from the county jail?"

"By a set of curious chances," Seviper nodded.

"Oh, joy, oh rapture unforseen-" Arbok ventured.

"That's stretching it a bit," the Hoenn serpent interrupted.

"Yes, sorry." Jessie's elder Pokémon thought for a moment, then brightened. "I suppose my eyes are fully open to my awful situation."

"Will you go at once to Jessie and make her an oration?"

Arbok shook his head. "I think I'll just go after the ones on my little list."

"Ah, you've got them on the list," Seviper nodded sagely. "The ones who'd none of them be missed."

"But don't neglect battle training, either, gallant soldier brave and true," Arbok mused, tail scratching his hood as Moltres did a final crowd-pleasing pass over the town.

"Of course!" Seviper agreed. "We fight the foe together."

"The enemy of one, the enemy of all is," Arbok told him seriously. "And thus-"

"What on earth are you two talking about?" Cosplaychu asked, dropping down from a roof.

"Culture," Arbok told her loftily. "I'm sure you wouldn't understand it all."


"Okay, let's see if this works..." Ash said.

He looked around at the Pokémon around them. "Everyone ready?"

Pikachu nodded, speaking for all of them. "We're ready," he confirmed.

"This kind of makes me nervous..." Mawile admitted. "I'm afraid of if this goes wrong..."

"It's okay to be afraid," Ash assured her. "Just don't let it be the only thing you can think of. It almost always goes fine, remember – Absol was the first Pokémon we know it went wrong for, and Steven's Mawile's had no problems."

"Thanks for the advice!" Mawile smiled, much happier now. "Hey, little brother – ready to watch?"

Tyranitar nodded.

"...how is it that she's your-" Steven's Scizor began.

"Don't ask," Tyranitar advised.

Ash smiled at the interplay, then unlimbered his staff and concentrated.

Mawile.

Mawile was a Pokémon he'd only met after coming back in time… which made her the first Pokémon he'd helped Mega Evolve of whom that was true.

But she was one of the closer Pokémon, in a way. He hadn't hatched many Pokémon, and she was the first since he'd become able to understand Pokémon… in a very real sense, she'd grown up being able to talk to humans and have them understand her, and that gave her a unique perspective.

And a sweet one, too.

It wouldn't be accurate to call her a daughter, but she was a little like one…

His staff lit with white-and-gold from the two feathers attached to the headpiece, which then merged into a shimmering orange incandescence and flashed across to Mawile.

"Wowwww..." Mawile said, softly, and then the light of Mega Evolution washed over her.

When it receded, parts of her had barely changed. Her hair was a little longer, and there was a purple colour added to her dress, but for the most part she looked the same.

The exception, however, was her horn. It had become larger, longer, more spiked… and bifurcated into two separate maws which rested symmetrically either side of her back.

"Cool," Goodra said, the first to break the silence.

"I am?" Mega Mawile asked eagerly. "What do I look like? Oh – do I have wings?"

"Not really," Tyranitar told her, a little apologetically. "You've got two jaws instead of one, though."

"Oh," Mawile said, both interested and disappointed. "I kind of wished it was like Mega Absol is – you know, with the wings..."

"I suspect this means she's not going to go on a rampage," Lucario said quietly.

"Looks like," Sceptile agreed. "Good to know."

"She looks the same as my Mega Mawile does," Steven said, taking a note on that. "Interesting. Does she fight the same?"

There was a pause.

"I'll give her a battle," Goodra volunteered.

"Great!" Mega Mawile said. "Thanks – it'll be fun, I bet!"

"I think so too," Goodra agreed. He frowned for a moment. "Just don't do anything too powerful without giving me a warning, please?"

"Okay!" Mega Mawile nodded. "I'll try!"

She took a stance, wobbling slightly as she adjusted for the weight of her jaws, and Goodra prepared himself as well.

"Watch out," Steven's Mawile said quietly. "Mega Mawile are quite strong."

"Oh, okay," Mega Mawile replied. "I understand!"

Goodra inhaled, and she jumped forwards before he could attack. "Tag!"

The impact of her palm, much to the surprise of everyone except Steven's Mawile, knocked her friend backwards into a wall.

"Oh no!" she said, hands going to her mouth. "How did that happen?"

"I said we were strong," the other Mawile reminded her.

"Yeah, but I thought you meant strong, not… um… super strong?" Mega Mawile said, shaking her head.

She ran forwards and pulled the slightly dazed Goodra back to his feet. "Sorry! Sorry – I didn't know that would happen, really I didn't!"

"It's fine," Goodra said, wobbling slightly. "I guess we know how you fight best now..."

"Yeah, you're right," Mega Mawile agreed. She thought for a moment, then skipped over to Tyranitar and pulled herself up onto his back. "I know!"

Tyranitar looked back at her. "What do you know?"

"Walk closer and I'll get them for you!" Mega Mawile told him seriously.

"You know," Lucario said, idly. "It occurs to me that you've now got two places for Flamethrower to come from, not one."

Mega Mawile's eyes went very wide.

She got off Tyranitar's back hurriedly, then glanced back over her shoulder to adjust the position of her jaws.

"What are you doing?" Steven's Mawile asked, as she determined they were satisfactorily placed and crouched down slightly.

"Liftoff!" she said, and used Flamethrower.

They watched as Mega Mawile soared crazily skywards on twin plumes of smoke and flame.

Then they watched as she hit a nearby bell tower, producing a ringing BONG.

"What now?" Winona asked, faintly audible even at a distance.


Bright and early the next morning, Ash and Max stood at the bottom of a very tall pole.

"What's the rules again?" Max asked.

"Something about how we have to get to the top without using our Pokémon," Ash replied. "She said it was so we had a better appreciation of how much effort it is to fly."

"Right," Max nodded, looking over first at the equally tall pole supporting Winona's battle balcony, and then the hundreds of rungs on the ladder. "Uh… mind giving me some help?"

"Sure," Ash agreed. "Okay, hold on tight."

He crouched down, letting Max get on his back, then stood up again and took a contemplative look at the tower.

"Okay, this should be just a couple of minutes," he told his friend.

I'll make sure you don't hurt yourself if you fall! Jirachi informed Max. Ash – make sure he doesn't fall in the first place, okay?

"Sure!" Ash agreed. He checked that Max was on securely, then headed up the tower.


Winona shook her head at the sight of Ash walking up the wall. "I can see it's going to be one of those battles..."


"There we go," Ash said, crouching down again to let Max get off. "How was that?"

"I think I'd have preferred the ladder," Max admitted. "That just felt so bizarre..."

"Yeah, I'm kind of getting used to it by now..." Ash admitted. "Should I go first?"

"Please," Max said, sitting down quite firmly.

Lucario joined them at the top of the tower, bearing Pikachu. "Here."

"Thanks, Lucario," Ash said, as Pikachu took his customary place. "Okay, let's see… hey, how do I speak to Winona?"

"There's an open channel," Winona told him. "I heard you're going first – now, I've been warned about you by Falkner."

"Huh," Ash said, wincing. "How bad was it?"

"He advised me to pull out all the stops," the Flying-type gym leader said.

Ash looked across the gap to her balcony, and was a little surprised to see that she was actually perched on the box rim. "Uh… is that safe?"

"Of course it is," Winona replied. "Now, I'm prepared to permit Mega Evolutions – I've managed to source two myself – but I must ask no actual Legendary Pokémon since I know you could otherwise just send out Lugia and Ho-Oh."

"Any other rules?" Ash checked.

"Only that at least one Pokémon should be able to fly," Winona shrugged. "It's not so much a rule, as… well, this battle doesn't have a roof, so I will have my Pokémon fly out of range if need be."

"Ouch," Max said. "How often has that rule made someone lose?"

"Fairly often," the Gym leader replied with a shrug. "It's not as though it's hard for someone to just get a Taillow or Pidgey, though."

She looked up. "So, Ash Ketchum. Send out your first Pokémon!"

Ash took one of the Pokéballs from his belt. "Okay!"

He paused before throwing it. "Uh… I have to ask, though. Does this place have good drainage?"

Winona gave him a confused look. "It's my gym arena, and it's open to the sky. And yes, it rains here on occasion."

"Right," Ash said, satisfied. "Squirtle!"


From her perch, Winona watched as the Squirtle posed and gestured flamboyantly with his pair of spiked sunglasses.

"Starting with a non-Flying type," she noted. "Daring."

"Okay, Squirtle!" Ash said. "Here we go!"

There was a flicker of orange light, and Winona blinked.

That wasn't…

She put down the 'ball she'd been about to throw, and switched for another.

She had a feeling she'd need it.


The burst of orange light died down, revealing Mega Squirtle standing on the rim of Ash's balcony.

He pointed towards the Pinsir that Winona sent out, and cleared his throat. "Okay, ya big bug! Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once!"

The pair of cannons on his back swivelled, pointing downwards. "I may be only a Squirtle, but not only am I the most badass of a very badass kind of Pokémon but I'm the ultra-awesome leader of the Squirtle Squad! And, just to put a real shine to my cool nature, I'm also Mega Evolved! So you may as well just give up now, because… Mega… evolution..."

Mega Pinsir spread his wings and buzzed into the air, hovering in front of Winona's box.

"...he Mega Evolved while I wasn't looking, didn't he?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Pikachu agreed. "I didn't want to say anything."

"All right, then!" Mega Squirtle rallied. "Your Mega Evolution's a good start, but it's not nearly as awesome as mine! All you got were some pointy bits and a pair of wings, whereas I have drills and cannons and all kinds of awesome!"

"Is your Squirtle finished?" Winona asked Ash.

Ash listened to some of Mega Squirtle's rant, then shrugged. "Pretty close."

"Okay, then… get ready, Mega Pinsir."

"...so I'm going to show you just why I'm their leader!" Mega Squirtle finished, and stepped forwards – off the side of the balcony.

Mega Pinsir looked down, surprised, and then there was a sound like an enormous waterfall.

Mega Squirtle rose back into the air on twin jets of high-pressure water, water which misted into spray and traced a rainbow of light across half the battlefield below him, and crossed his arms.

"Let's do this," he said, with a grin.

"Mega Pinsir, use Double Hit!" Winona said.

Mega Pinsir tilted forwards, then shook his horns – which spawned a whole host of cascading blades of air, numbering in the dozens, and sent them scything towards Mega Squirtle.

The Water-typed Mega replied by rolling onto his back, intensifying the blasts of water holding him up and curving away from the initial flurry of wind-blades, then launched a water-trailing drill cone of ice right back at his Bug-type opponent.

Mega Pinsir did a backflip, easily evading the attack, and climbed up to follow Mega Squirtle.

As the noise began to fade slightly, Winona cleared her throat. "Now I understand a lot of what people were saying about that Squirtle," she admitted.


Mega Squirtle levelled out about half a mile up, and looked back to confirm where Mega Pinsir was before firing a jet of water at him.

Halfway from his position to Mega Pinsir, the jet stopped as though it had hit a wall. It sprayed out, detonating into a broad flat plane of water, and then increased in size to form a great Water Pulse which headed towards Mega Pinsir.

Mega Pinsir did a pair of flips, sending scythe-like blades of air towards the Water Pulse, and flew through it as it fell into four separate quarter-spheres before heading towards the ground.

As it fell, it broke up and began to become a brief shower of artificial rain.

Neither Mega Squirtle nor his opponent were paying attention to the fate of the water globe. Instead, Mega Squirtle wove up and down as his opponent fired a barrage of compressed-air pockets which tried to slap him out of the air, then reversed course abruptly and spun into a head-on charge with backpack-jets and arm-drills combining to push him towards his opponent.

Mega Pinsir accepted the challenge, and met the Skull Bash with a wind-streaming Quick Attack. The impact sent a spherical blast wave outwards into the air, rattling the windows below, and both Pokémon took a few seconds to recover and soar back skywards again.

The bombastic Water-type pointed at his opponent. "Okay, you're good – I'll admit that! That's great, because overcoming a challenge is far more badass than not overcoming one!"

"Can we just fight?" Mega Pinsir asked. "I mean, it's kind of why I'm… you know. Here."

Mega Squirtle looked scandalized. "Just fight? Just fight!? What's a fight without the meaning that true Pokémon give it? Without the clash of wits as strong and as important as the clash of attacks?"

Mega Pinsir pointed at him. "Smack Down."

Mega Squirtle's eyes widened. He avoided that attack by the simple expedient of turning his jets off, falling out of the initial attack basket, and then reactivated them and swooped down-around-and-up to come at Mega Pinsir from underneath.

Mega Pinsir shot skywards, weaving about and shooting off projectiles of air from Double Hit and Fury Attack which scattered before boring back in on his pursuing foe. They came streaming in in waves, a dozen or more at a time, and detonated in blasts of air which made the view through them ripple.

Jets working furiously, Mega Squirtle powered through the barrage. He dodged so close to one that it skipped off his shell and detonated, sending him wobbling, then recovered and used Water Gun to burst a few before they even reached him.

That was supplemented first by a Water Pulse and then another Water Gun, and Mega Squirtle inhaled before firing out a great cloud of Bubblebeam which absorbed the blasts before they reached him.

Emerging from the storm with a few scratches on his shell, he aimed a fist-drill at Mega Pinsir and steadied it on target. "Fire!"

A thin drill shape of ice cracked forwards, and Mega Pinsir avoided it by weaving down at a shallow angle. He was somewhat surprised, however, when it turned around to attack him from ahead.

"Super ice shard converging attack!" Mega Squirtle announced, putting on a burst of speed and extending his other arm. "There's nowhere to run from someone who can-"

Mega Pinsir used Protect, throwing up a swirling wall of wind which knocked both drill and Pokémon scattering away in the resultant instant tornado.


"He looks like he's quite used to flying," Winona said, watching as the falling Mega Squirtle pulled out of his spin before stabilizing himself and blasting back into the sky. "How often do you train like this?"

"Never," Ash replied. "But he's been able to fly with Hydro Pump for a while, and he's watched a lot of giant robot anime."

"I… see," Winona said, with a frown. "I think."

Water pattered down in a very short-lived shower, moving across from one side of the arena to the opposite corner.

"I also start to understand why you asked about drainage," she added. "It's probably a good thing that it is well drained..."

"This isn't really why, yet," Ash corrected absently. "Huh, that's new..."


Mega Squirtle let the windstorm of his foe's Hyper Beam dissipate, then smashed his way out of the enormous ice-drill he'd used as a shield. "That windy might is unmistakeable!" he enthused. "That's the kind of fight that does credit to any foe of the badass leader of the Squirtle Squad!"

That earned him a look of exasperation.

"Okay, you know what?" Mega Pinsir said, a moment later. "I'm done with this. Giga Impact."

He leaned forwards, and then charged with a shocking suddenness.

Mega Squirtle dodged out of the way with a backflip, then turned to get out of the way as Mega Pinsir turned sharply and came back towards him – pincers clacking and sending out tiny bursts of wind which followed Mega Squirtle at a faster speed than that of the Bug/Flying Type himself.

Mega Squirtle weaved around a few of those, then turned and charged with a watery drill forming around his arm. "One clash is the ultimate expression of victory!" he called. "This Giga Drill Impact will solve our entire fight in one almighty blow!"

"Guillotine," Mega Pinsir said abruptly.

Mega Squirtle had nowhere near enough time to dodge, and the thin plane of high-density air slapped his drill in half and knocked him out with a WHAM.

Then Mega Pinsir hit him too, sending him flipping through the air.


"Huh, you beat Squirtle," Ash said, blinking. "That's… yeah, wasn't expecting that."

He looked up, watching carefully, and then sent out Swellow. "Catch him, quick!"

"On it!" Swellow said, wings blurring as she flew off.

"That's a sleek Swellow you have there," Winona said, with the eye of a connoisseur. "She looks fast and skilful. Are you going to use her?"

"Probably not," Ash said, with a wince. "Sorry."

"Pity..."

Swellow flew back down, Squirtle in both claws and a ball of blue stone in her beak. "Got him!"

She examined the stone. "Is this his Mega Stone?"

"Yeah," Ash agreed, looking at it. He blinked, then threw it off the tower.

A second or two later, the pulses of light reached a crescendo and the stone exploded.

"I guess he hasn't stabilized it yet," Pikachu said.

"What the-" Winona cut off her exclamation. "What just happened?"

"Squirtle's home-made Squirtilite is kind of unstable," Ash explained. "Sorry about all the water..."

"I can see why you wanted good drainage," Winona agreed, as Mega Pinsir landed next to her with a buzz of wings. "I'll withdraw Pinsir for now – pick your next Pokémon."


AN:


Rocketship Mawile! To The Rescue!

This ended up longer than anticipated. See second chapter for further shenanigans.