"...the point is," Ash insisted, "we thought that the Deoxys thing would start tomorrow. Not right then!"

Ho-Oh just kept glaring at him. "And would you have called on me if you had known?"

Ash shook his head. "Uh… no, I guess not. Actually, we had a pretty good team available right then..."

"Chosen One, I feel it is a mutual honour that you are the one to bear me into battle. But that requires that you actually do it." Ho-Oh shuffled his wings, and used his beak to pick up a garlic-browned mushroom from his plate.

Lifting it into the air with a quick motion, he snaffled it up. "I will admit, the food is good… but, while pleasant, there is relatively little honour in sauté."

"There is a bit, right?" Brock asked.

"I think it is largely a case of not being able to get hold of you on short notice," Lucario said, in an attempt at tact. "The same applies for Mewtwo, for example. Or Lugia."

"Didn't Lugia actually bring himself along to help us out once?" Pikachu asked.

"That's just cheating," Ho-Oh muttered. He took another mushroom, swallowing it with a sigh of happiness. "But the point is well taken. I shall simply have to make sure that I put my opinion across on the matter forcefully enough."

He turned to Entei. "Did you enjoy yourself, at least?"

"I did," Entei confirmed. "The many Deoxys provided an interesting challenge, and I was able to make good use of Sacred Fire, especially in blast form – it is a truly formidable move."

"With many variations," Ho-Oh confirmed.

The phoenix turned his gaze back to Ash. "So. Have you anything further to say?"

"Actually..." Ash picked Dexter up. "Can I have a map, please?"

Dexter drew it in the air with his projector.

"So… okay, we're a couple of days from Lilycove," Ash said, then looked closer. "I think?"

"Seems right," Pikachu confirmed. "Thanks for the giant glowing arrow, Dexter."

No problem, Dexter said amiably.

"Hey, May?" Ash called, looking up.

"What is it, Ash?" May replied, sounding frazzled. "My brother's stupid Ghost-type switched my hairbrush with Skitty's one!"

"...ouch," Brock said faintly.

"Do you want to do the Contest in Lilycove?" Ash checked.

"What? No, my hair's going to be – no, I'm fine, I've got three ribbons. I'll be fine."

"Great!" Ash said. "So, what about that, Ho-Oh?"

Ho-Oh considered it.

"I'm not sure it's much of a challenge, now that it actually comes up..."

"Actually, with how Contests work, even the battling requires skill more than strength," Brock pointed out. "Because of the points system."

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "And we can work on a weather appeal thing – that's okay, right?"

"Storm's thunder and blizzard's snow, swept away by the rainbow?" Ho-Oh asked, clearly thinking about it. "I suppose I could agree with that."

He looked over at Entei. "I'm afraid I may need you to take up a task for me, though. I was going to ensure that all is well on Mirage Island – you know the way?"

"All seven of them, yes," Entei confirmed. "Ash, I may need to set off now."

"No, stay the night," Ho-Oh told him. "It's not that urgent, just… something to be done soon."

"I understand," Entei nodded.

"Can't Suicune and Raikou handle it?" Ash asked. "Are they busy?"

"Raikou is," Ho-Oh said, finishing his mushrooms. "But Suicune is, as I understand it, at Pallet by now."


The swift Water-type's paws padded on dew-soaked grass.

"It's strange how fast somewhere can become home," she mused, smiling up at Swellow as her Flying-type friend swept in to fly alongside for a minute.

"Hey, Suicune, long time no see!" Swellow chirped. "Where have you been?"

"A land which was once known as the Three Kingdoms," Suicune told her. "They still don't like us over there. There was an… interesting… discussion with the local Reshiram."

"I guess that explains the soot on your flank," Swellow admitted. "Blue Flare?"

"Correct," Suicune nodded. "Of course, he regretted it."

"That's what I like to hear!" Swellow grinned.

She pulled up, climbing into the sky, and did a circuit. "I'm heading off to bed," the Flying-type explained. "It's late anyway."

"I'll probably do the same once I've had some hot cocoa," Suicune said, loping towards the lab.

"Okay – you can tell us about the fight tomorrow!" Swellow suggested, flying over to perch on her usual branch for the night.

"I'll be sure to," Suicune agreed.


"Hello?" Suicune called softly, stopping in front of the lab back door.

She reached up, bracing herself on the frame, and pulled the handle down with a click – opening it, and letting her pace inside.

Pushing the door closed again with her rear left foot, Suicune looked around. This area was the one that Tracey had set up for Pokémon who wanted to be indoors overnight, and it looked fairly empty tonight – just Torkoal, some of the Houndour and Totodile watching a movie.

Suicune looked again, and saw that Mawile was sitting on the sofa – snoozing lightly, huddled into a blanket with one of the younger Houndour.

Smiling, and moving softly so as to not disturb them, she crept through to the kitchen.

"Evening," she said, nodding to her double and to Entei's doppelganger. "How's things?"

"Not bad," the shiny Suicune replied, nodding back. "Cocoa?"

"What else, this late?" the elder Legendary smiled. "Is there still some of the caramel?"

"I think so," shiny-Entei said.

"If I'd really, deeply known about this kind of convenience… I'd probably have considered capture years ago," Suicune chuckled.

She poured out some milk with care, and put the mug in the microwave.

"How did your trip go?" shiny-Suicune asked, tilting her head. "Anything good happen?"

"Let's just say that there's a very wet Reshiram who won't be fighting within three miles of a lake any time soon," Suicune replied.

"That move you worked out? Or a variation?"

"Variation," Suicune told her. "I'll show you some time. Where's Raikou?"

"Which one?" shiny-Entei shrugged. "If you mean your brother, he's probably still out training..."

He sat down, and the shiny Suicune padded over and licked his cheek.

"That's… kind of strange for me to watch," Suicune admitted, as Entei nuzzled back. "I know Molly kind of created you as being… well, her Mom and Dad, not as brother and sister… but you still look a lot like my brother, and you still look a lot like me."

"Sorry," shiny-Suicune said, taking a pace back. "If you want, we can-"

"No, no, it's a problem with me not a problem with you." Suicune looked up at the ding of the microwave, and retrieved her drink. "I'll just leave you in peace."

"Thank you," her doppelganger replied, with a smile. "I know, it's a little strange… but it is how we feel. And while we were created with it… that doesn't make it wrong."

"I agree," Suicune nodded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I have the second half of a film to watch."


"I'm not really sure the extent to which having me there would have helped," Absol said, shrugging. "I mean – yes, I am a Dark-type, but by the sounds of things you didn't really need my help."

She frowned. "Which is probably why I didn't get a ping on my danger senses."

Lucario waved a paw back and forth. "I'm sure you would have been a useful aid if you were there – if nothing else, we did get blindsided when Deoxys attacked."

"But that's the thing," Absol replied. "Everyone was out of their Pokéball anyway, or as close as makes no difference. And you got things handled so quickly that no-one got hurt – not really."

"Fate is strange, is it not?" Lucario asked.

"You don't need to tell me, I've been studying it for years..."

"I'd really like to hear the other half of that conversation," Drew said softly.

Absol's ears perked, and she looked. "Hello?"

"Oh – sorry, I didn't realize you could hear me," the Coordinator winced. "I was just saying – I feel like I'd like to know the other half of that conversation. Because I had an Absol, back before… later… you know."

The Dark-type nodded. "Lucario? Would you mind translating?"

"I don't mind at all," Lucario told her.

"Right. Well…" Absol paused. "I'll admit that after being around humans who can speak Pokémon, I'm used enough to talking that it's a little hard to frame how I want to say this – when it's being translated, I mean. But..."

She gave Drew a long look.

"I think I can see why your Absol followed you," she said. "Why he or she chose – and it always is a choice with Absol, we can after all sense danger – to be your ally and partner."

Drew nodded, reaching to the corner of his eye for a moment. "He," he said. "My Absol was, will be, male."

"As for the Flygon you have also mentioned… well, I'm sure you were good friends. And will be again."

"Can you tell?" Drew asked. "Can you see if I'll meet them?"

"Alas, I cannot," Absol replied with a shake of her head. "I can only foresee disaster and the lack thereof."

She turned, looking up at the sky. "Celebi, now, is a different matter entirely. I'm sure one of them will be handling it."

"I guess that's good to know," Drew said, with a small smile. "Thanks."

He shook his head. "And now I wish even more that I'd had a chance to talk to my Absol… before, I mean."

Absol inclined her head to him. "Regrets like that can be the hardest to deal with."

Drew didn't reply, and they looked into the starry heavens above.

"Are you going to be competing in this Contest in Lilycove?" Lucario asked, curious.

"Not sure yet," Drew replied. "I know Ash is bringing Ho-Oh, and all of my Pokémon are… kind of flammable."


"Okay!" May said, addressing both Ash and Ho-Oh. "The most important thing when you're doing a Contest is the Appeal!"

"What about the battling?" Ash asked.

"Most important for you," May amended. "Battle isn't much of a question for a Legendary Fire-type like Ho-Oh, and I've seen your battles – spectacle is certainly not something you need help with. But what were you thinking of for the routine?"

"Uh..." Ash glanced at Ho-Oh, who shrugged. "I was kind of thinking something like the bit in the Silver Conference. At the opening ceremony."

"Hm," May said, then shook her head. "No good. It was on TV, and people will have made the connection – they'll know it's a thing you've done before. Novelty is key!"

"So… what then?" Ash asked.

"Don't look at me," Pikachu shrugged. "It's your Ribbon, not mine."

Ash frowned. "Uh… how big is a contest hall?"

"The one in Lilycove is especially large," May said. "So Ho-Oh will fit, at least. But I don't think he'll have much chance to fly very high."

"See, I was thinking maybe we could do something with his fire," Ash explained. "You can set yourself on fire, right?"

Ho-Oh replied by blandly initiating Flare Blitz, resulting in a curtain of flame and a pulse of warm air like being slapped in the face by a pillow.

"Right!" Ash nodded. "And… huh, wait, I might need fireproof clothes..."

"Ash?" May asked, confused. "What… I know I used fire batons, but are you talking about actually being in direct contact with Ho-Oh when he is on fire?"

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "I'm pretty sure that's going to look good..."

"It'll look amazing if you can do it without catching fire," May summarized. "What's your plan for not catching fire?"

"Why bother asking?" Lucario said. "You know the answer is going to be Aura."

"Not just Aura..." Ash protested. "Okay, while we see if we can do that… I guess we should see if this works. Uh… May? Can I borrow some Razor Leaf from Venusaur?"

"This is either going to be great or a complete disaster," Pikachu decided. "I wonder if Ash will end up as the Contest Conflagrator."


"Okay… I think I've got an idea, Casper," Max said. "You know how you're trying to get a good fighting style?"

Casper turned upside down, floating with his head down and his tail up. "Well… more like I just don't have a good one right now."

"Yeah, but I was thinking – can't Ghost-types make illusions?"

"Some of us can, I guess," Casper agreed. "But I'm not really very good at that kind of thing… why, did you think it would be a good fighting style for me?"

"Well, it was an idea..." Max frowned. "But there is another one, I guess. Or, another one which works with how you're kind of a sneaky, trick-playing type."

The Shuppet allowed that he was something of a prankster.

"So… you can go underground, or phase through things with illusions. So if you hid underground and popped out to hit a target with..." Max waved a hand. "I don't know, Night Shade or Spite or something..."

"...then I could stop them from ever managing to hit me!" Casper agreed. "I like the sound of that!"

"And I'm pretty sure that one of Ash's Pokémon has Shadow Ball – well, Ash knows, but… so you could learn that."

"It'd be nice to-"

There was a strangled yelp.

"Huh, that took longer than I thought..." Casper said, tilting his head, as Cinder sneezed her way out of the brush.

"What was it this time?" Max asked.

"I put some really smelly aniseed stuff in a water balloon," Casper told him. "I guess Cinder just found it!"

The Mightyena turned, still sneezing, and glared at Casper.

"...what was that you said about hiding underground?" Casper asked. "Uh, I might just go ahead and do that..."


"Phew," Ash said, sitting down and brushing some small-A ash off his clothes. "That was kind of..."

"Sorry," Ho-Oh mumbled. "I sneezed."

"I know what will cheer you two up!" May said. "Lunch!"

"...yeah, that'd do," Ash admitted. "What's for lunch?"

"Brock's doing your food," May told him. "But as for Ho-Oh – in memory of the first time I made some Pokéblocks, which was around here somewhere, I'm making some special batches!"

"Pokéblocks… hm," the Legend of the Storm's End said, looking interested. "I've never actually tried any, but I find myself interested in doing so."

"Great!" May said. "Okay… hm, let's see..."

She got out a notepad. "What kinds of food do you like?"

"Well, I'm partial to herbs-"

"Bitter, sour, spicy, sweet or dry?" May clarified. "Beyond that it's more or less up to interpretation."

"Oh. Well… I suppose I quite like bitter things..." Ho-Oh frowned. "That is, when they're burned."

"...I'll put you down as bitter and dry," May decided. "What kind of Pokéblocks do your other Pokémon prefer, Ash?"

Ash shrugged. "I mostly don't remember."

May gave him a look, then sighed. "Okay, I'll just make a big pile of all kinds. Can you get everyone out looking for berries? I think I'm going to need them..."


"How's that?" Lucario asked, pulling on the cords.

"Great!" Houndoom replied, tail wagging, and shook the panniers to be sure they would stay on. "Okay, see you in a bit!"

He loped off through the underbrush.

"I see he's got a way to collect berries," Pikachu said. "What about you?"

Lucario replied by using Sacred Sword, turning his right wrist spike into a claw, then a shimmering blade, and cloaking it in blazing blue energy on top of that.

"That'll do," Pikachu agreed. "I'll just use Iron Tail, to be honest..."

He picked up a basket and bounced up to halfway up a big Iapapa tree. Looking around for a convenient spot, he hung the basket on a projecting branch and examined the berry clusters handing above.

His legs tensed, and he burst into motion – jumping off the tree, curling up into a ball, and spinning with his jagged Iron Tail outermost.

It sawed through the stem holding the berries up with ease, and as they began to fall Pikachu kicked off another one of the many spreading branches of the big tree to come right back at the bunch from another direction.

He gave the berries a kick, knocking the whole bunch off course and right towards the basket.

Which promptly broke as several berries almost as big Pikachu himself went straight through the weave.

"Whoops..." Pikachu winced. "Look out!"

Lucario dug his sword-blade into the side of the tree and used it as a lever to come rushing upwards. He spun, catching two berries in each hand, and drove his left wrist spike into the tree along with his chest spike.

Using both points to slow himself, he skidded to a halt just above the ground.

"There," he said, putting them into a basket each. "Four large Iapapa berries – delivered to the ground without making them explode."

"All right, all right..." Pikachu muttered, hopping from branch to branch and landing back on the ground. "See any other good trees?"

"There's an Oran berry one over there," Lucario suggested. "Don't forget to get a replacement basket."

He waited until Pikachu had gone, then planted one hindpaw on the side of a tall tree with a pulse of his Aura to stick to it. Collecting three baskets and slinging them over his elbow, he climbed up the side of the tree and began to pick small Micle berries.

"Or you could just do this," he added – quietly. "It's much simpler."


Houndoom loped through the underbrush, eyes alert for any sign of a berry bush.

Spotting one, he changed course slightly to reach it. His paws balanced on a log for a moment, then he slowed a little and trotted forwards – bringing his tail up and forwards, so it hovered over his right shoulder.

The sharp, spade-like tip flicked out to cut berry stems on the move, and the berries he cut free fell neatly into his pair of panniers.

"I wonder if there's something sweet nearby," he said, sniffing. "Aha!"

Loping over to the bush, feeling pleased with himself, he sliced off some berries.

Then a large hand reached out and picked up his panniers, lifting Houndoom as well.

"Hey!" Houndoom yelped. "Put me down!"

The owner of the hand shook the panniers out into its mouth, belched, and began to shake a tree to get bananas down.

Houndoom felt rather put-upon. And put-down, as he was placed none-too-gently back on the forest floor. Upside down.


"...there we go," Donphan said, using his trunk to place his final basket on the table. "Just Houndoom left, I think..."

"Yes," Lucario agreed. "And here he comes now."

He frowned, squinting. "Houndoom?"

"A Snorlax just ate all the berries I'd gathered!" Houndoom complained. "That's not fair!"

"But couldn't you just stop the Snorlax?" Lucario asked. "And then get your berries back?"

"I mean she ate them all," Houndoom clarified. "In one gulp. While holding me upside down to get them out of the panniers."

"You mean she got a hot dog take out?" Casper asked, brightening.

"I'm a Dark-type, you know..." Houndoom muttered.

"I'll help," Max offered. "Hey, Guy, you want to come with?"

"Certainly," Guy agreed. "I'm sure Arc could handle it, but Normal-types are a speciality."


"Okay, so..." May chopped up some berries, picking three of the sweeter ones for her first go. "There's Berry Blender machines which do this a bit quicker, but someone in Johto taught me the way to do it old-style so we'll do that this time."

"Why's that?" Pikachu asked. "I mean… I know we don't have one of the machines, but..."

May glanced down at Ethan for confirmation of the translation, then resumed. "Basically, it's because I'm mainly checking what flavours you all like this time. I've got a few guesses, but I think we may as well work it out this way before making some of the official ones."

She blushed. "Besides, it means I look like I can guess exactly what you want when we actually go to the Pokéblock shop to make the big batch..."

Skitty hopped onto the table. "Like… you could just, like, do it the easy way."

"I know," May replied. "But this way is kind of more – hey, stop it!"

Skitty swallowed the Nanab berry. "What?"

"Don't eat the ingredients!"

"Like… guh, that's totally not cool."


"Excuse me," Guy asked. "Snorlax?"

The Snorlax snored.

"Hello?" he said, more loudly. "I would like to speak with you!"

Still no response.

"What are you going to do?" Max asked.

By way of reply, Guy drew back his foot. He took a stance, aimed, and lashed out. "WAKE UP!"

The Wake-Up Slap connected with a crack, and Max stepped back. "Wow, that was loud!"

It didn't hurt her, did it? Jirachi asked, worried.

"...I don't think she's even waking up," Guy said, disappointed.

A moment later, though, the Snorlax punched him into a tree.

"I was having a nice nap," the Snorlax said, yawning, and rubbed her eyes as Guy sprang back off the tree and flipped to land on the ground.

Half his attention on Kris, Max replied. "But you're being rude to our friends! You took the berries Houndoom had been gathering!"

"Those?" Snorlax yawned again. "I was hungry."

"You're not very nice," Guy muttered.

"I'm hungry," Snorlax reiterated.

"Okay, look!" Max said. "What about a battle? If we beat you, you have to pick enough berries for us to replace the ones you ate!"

"And if you lose?" Snorlax asked, yawning.

Max glanced at Guy, who shrugged.

Perhaps, if Snorlax wins, we provide her with some of May's Pokéblocks, Kris suggested.

"That sounds good," Max agreed. "Is that okay?"

"I suppose," Snorlax yawned.

"Great!" Max said. "Okay, Guy, ready?"

"Of course," Guy agreed, one foot forwards and the other back and sideways.

"Leaf Storm!" Max instructed, and his Fighting-type cannoned forwards.


"There we go!" May said, tapping it with a spoon. "One Pokéblock!"

"Who was this one for?" Ash asked.

"I made this one for Ho-Oh," May replied. "See if you like it, okay?"

Ho-Oh bent down, his long, hooked beak delicately closing on the blue-white cube.

He lifted it a little, then tossed it into the air and snapped it up.

"Hm," he said, tasting it. "It's quite dry… and… well, not bad, I suppose..."

May looked at Ash's expression. "I guess he's not jumping with joy?"

"I think he's just kind of unenthusiastic about it," Ash told her. "Sorry."

"That's okay, there's others," May replied. "Give me a minute..."

She turned the mixing crank, grimacing. "I forgot how much effort this is!"

Lucario proffered his paw. "I will help."

"You will?" May said, smiling. "Oh – thanks, that's a great help!"

"No problem," Lucario replied, and began to steadily turn the crank.

"Okay, so I tried just dry, and that didn't work," May explained. "So I'm going to try adding something dry but mixing in a bit of sour as well."

She added a pair of berries, talking as she did so. "Sometimes Pokémon prefer different Pokéblocks depending on how they feel – I mean, you know, you could just not be in a sour mood. That kind of thing."

This time, helped by Lucario, she'd felt able to mix more at once. Three berries came out, and she put one on the table.

She passed another to Swablu, but sighed when he took one bite and fell off her shoulder in surprise.

"My mouth feels like it's trying to suck my beak back in!" Swablu gasped.

"Maybe that was a bit too sour," May admitted.

Ho-Oh tried a smaller segment of this second one, and declared it not to his taste.

"Ah well, another failure," May sighed.

Then Crobat snaffled up the third one.

"Thanks!" he called, chewing away, and flew off to a tree branch.

"Well… that's good to know," the Coordinator said with a shrug. "Okay, you didn't like the sourness… perhaps I could try something a bit more mixed?"


Guy used Mach Punch, flashing across the distance and slamming his fist into Snorlax' stomach.

"Ow," she said, and Mega Kicked him into a tree.

As he pried himself out of the trunk, she nibbled on an apple. "Are you done yet?"

"No," Guy replied, landing with a spring in his step.

"Are you holding up okay, Guy?" Max said, looking concerned. "You've been punched or kicked into a lot of trees..."

"Well, now you mention it, I am feeling a tiny bit dizzy," Guy admitted. "But I'll keep fighting!"

He burst forwards again, slamming his thick tail into Snorlax and using the spring-back to keep on the move. Going off the momentum, he volleyed in a pair of punches, then added in a nasty kick from overhead, and that was about as far as he got before Snorlax threw him into the upper branches.

She nibbled on her apple again, watching as he fell out of the branches and landed tail-first.

"Guy!" Max said suddenly. "New plan!"

"Really?" Guy said, shaking his head. "Are we attacking the left Snorlax or the right one?"

"Between them, Guy!" Max ordered. "Use a Low Kick – and then grab that apple!"

Snorlax held her apple protectively. "No! You won't take it!"

The Breloom blinked a few times, then focused on Snorlax and took a wind up. He crouched down, aiming his head at Snorlax like a missile, then adjusted just a little to the right and kicked off with both powerful feet.

Spinning, he lashed out just at the base of Snorlax' belly in a stinging Low Kick which left Snorlax staggering.

Then, using the impact as further leverage, he twisted and slammed his tail into Snorlax' back.

The combination of blows knocked Snorlax over onto her front, and sent the apple bouncing away across the battlefield despite her best efforts.

Houndoom snagged it with his tail. "Got it!"

"All right, you win..." Snorlax mumbled, then began to snore.

"All right!" Max agreed. "Great work, Guy!"

He blinked. "Wait. Did we agree when she was going to gather those berries? 'cause she's just gone back to sleep again…"

"Thank you for your help anyway," Houndoom said. "But I think we'd better get back to camp or we'll miss all the Pokéblocks."


They stared at the Pokéblock.

"How many berries did you put in?" Ash asked.

"Six," May replied, blinking. "I kind of thought I'd get… something that wasn't that."

Lucario stopped cranking, and picked it up. "It's… got jellybeans in it," he said. "Or I think they're jellybeans."

He checked the piles of nearly arranged berries on the table. "And where did the white bit come from?"

May shrugged helplessly. "I'm almost afraid to give it to anyone..."

"I'll try," Ho-Oh suggested.

"If you want to, I guess," Ash agreed. "Okay, ready?"

He took it from Lucario, and threw it as hard as he could into the sky.

Ho-Oh kicked off in a swoosh of wind and a smell of saffron. He climbed quickly into the air, adjusted a little, and snapped up the multicoloured Pokéblock.

Flames burst out the side of his mouth, red and yellow and pink and blue and green, and he coughed violently. Then he sneezed, realized he was about to hit the ground, and pulled up to an undignified belly landing on the grass.

"Ow," he wheezed, blowing a cloud of multicolour smoke.

"What happened?" May asked, dumbfounded. "It was just a Pokéblock!"

"I have no idea," Ho-Oh muttered, picking himself up and preening his feathers quickly. "It actually tasted quite good… I think the term is a flavour explosion."


"Thanks for helping out," May said, giving Marshtomp a nod. "This thing clogs up pretty nastily if the juices aren't washed out."

Marshtomp shrugged, nibbling on another green Pokéblock.

"Okay, I guess we can get going," she added. "Uh… let's see… wait, where's Max?"

She glanced at her shoulder. "Swablu, can you have a look for my brother?"

"Sure!" Swablu agreed, wings spreading, and took off before rising in a broad, sweeping spiral.

"I wonder if he's with Houndoom," Ash said. "I can't see him either."

Closing his eyes, he did a quick scan with Aura Sight. "Oh – wait, never mind, there they are."

"Where?" May asked.

Ash pointed, and she squinted – then blinked. "Wait, they're still in the bushes?"

"Yeah?" Ash agreed. "I can kind of see through-"

"Oh, right," May nodded.

Max emerged from the brush, Swablu circling his head and Houndoom walking just behind him, and sat down with a sigh.

"What happened?" May asked, holding out her arm for Swablu to land back on. "You've been gone for ages!"

"Well..." Max began. "Uh… this is really going to sound silly."

"Really?" Brock looked up. "Compared to what?"

"A Snorlax took all the berries Houndoom had collected," Max summarized. "And I went to try and get the Snorlax to make it up, and she didn't want to. So I challenged her to a battle over it."

"Did you lose?" May asked. "What did you have to do?"

"What?" Max blinked. "No, I won – Guy beat her. But she just went to sleep again instead of making it up for us."

"So… how far away was this?" Brock asked. "You've been gone a while."

"Not far," Max shrugged. "I was just waiting for her to wake up, but eventually gave up and walked back here."

"That sounds like a tedious wait," Lucario said. "I'm impressed you didn't get bored sooner."

"Well, I was spending most of the time trying to decide if I wanted to catch her," Max explained. "I mean, I did beat her in a battle."

He shook his head. "But I didn't want to give poor Professor Oak more Snorlax to deal with. Munchlax is going to be hard enough..."

"I know,"May agreed. "Don't worry, though, I've got at least three of his favourite Pokéblocks stored."

"That'll make thing simpler," Max agreed.

"So, did you get the berries?" Pikachu asked.

"No," Houndoom replied. His tail reached into one of his bags and pulled something out. "We got Poffins!"

Pikachu blinked, watching as Houndoom ate his way through the fluffy snack. "But… how?"

That was me! Jirachi said. I thought – hey, I don't like stealing, but if I wish for some berries from the trees to be turned into Poffins it's fine!

He yawned. Kind of tiring, though…


"Okay, ready for this?" Brock asked.

Ash nodded, adjusting his outfit. "Yeah!"

He checked on it again. "This is kind of stiff, though…"

"Be glad it looks that good," May said. "I'm surprised you had a fire-resistant outfit at all..."

"I guess," Ash agreed.

"How come you had one of those in your bag?" Max asked.

"Ash's mother is well prepared," Lucario informed them matter-of-factly. "Though it took us a while to check. I think there's a dress in there as well."

"Which we are never using!" Ash insisted. "Why did she even put that in?"

Brock coughed.

Ash turned to him. "What?"

"...I was visiting Pallet while you were in Unova," he said, looking awkward. "I may have told her about the Ashley thing."

"That's cruel, Brock," Pikachu said, trying to hide a snicker.

"Anyway!" Ash said, loudly. "I guess I'm going to go ahead and do the Contest now – Lucario, Pikachu, don't forget to watch from the stands!"

He handed over Dexter. "And help Dexter record it, too – I'm sure that Suicune, Entei and Raikou would like to see."


"Well, looks like you were right," Brock said, looking around at the display space of Lilycove Contest Hall. "It's certainly big enough."

"Yeah," May agreed. "I guess I'm interested to see how it looks."

"See if Ash manages to pull it off, you mean," Max said.

"Pretty much..." May nodded. She glanced over to where Max had Delta's Pokéball ready – just in case. "Remember, don't do anything unless he's actually on fire and not in a good way."

"I know, I know," Max said, waving. "I wonder if Ash is first."

"Looks like he's not," Brock replied. "Uh oh..."

May looked. "...oh, you have to be kidding."


"All right!" said the first challenger. "Go! Use Bullet Seed!"

There was a flash of sparks as the seals detonated, and a Cacturne emerged from the resultant smoke cloud. Planting both feet firmly on the floor, it salvoed off a set of Bullet Seeds in all directions – starting with directly up, and turning and spreading until after only a few seconds there were dozens of seeds in the air going in a great spiral pattern outwards.

"Now! Poison Sting!" Harley added.

Cacturne slammed his arms together, and showers of Poison Stings shot out of his trunk in all directions. Some of them missed, but every Bullet Seed bar one was hit and burst in a clap sound with a cloud of green smoke.

"And finish with Ingrain!" the Coordinator concluded, taking a step forwards.

Cacturne's roots grew into the stadium floor – fortunately one which was soft enough to permit it – and there was a moment's pause before they burst out of the ground again and carried Harley into the air.

Dressed in his Cacturne suit, the somewhat-eccentric Coordinator raised his arms out to both sides. Cacturne copied him, taking the same pose, and the final missed Bullet Seed – the one which had been fired straight up – came back down to hit the peak of Cacturne's head and burst with a little puff of green smoke.


"Not bad," May said, trying to be impartial. "I think he probably meant to miss that one which went straight up, and letting it be the finisher for his act was probably meant to show that off."

"Remember," Max stage-whispered. "You need to say his cookies are great!"

"I'm going to be truthful," May told him primly. "They are not half bad."

"Should I understand that?" Lucario asked Pikachu.

"Probably not," Pikachu replied, twitching an ear. "I don't think we've ever talked about it when you've been there."


Ash walked out onto the stage, Pokéball shrunk and almost invisible in his right hand, and looked around as he reached the centre.

The ceiling was high enough, which was great… and that meant – now.

Putting a burst of Aura-enhancement into his arm, he expanded the Pokéball and threw it in the same motion – throwing it underarm, but fast enough despite that that it reached into the air almost too quickly to see at first.

With a crack and a burst of smoke, the Pokéball burst open – seals firing off and producing a billowing tower of grey smoke. The smoke swirled, then spread and became a great cloud layer which covered the whole top of the stadium.

And, a moment later, Ho-Oh emerged from the half-fired Rain Dance.

He looked a complete mess. Thanks to a combination of makeup, deliberate mis-grooming, an overloaded hairdryer and simple acting, the Legend of the Storm's End staggered through the air looking like he'd just collided with Zekrom and come off second best.

Ash waved his arms, signalling, and Ho-Oh's course altered to come down towards the trainer.

Ho-Oh was pulling off the wounded-bird look with a great deal of dedication to his act. He dipped, flapped his wings to recover, and nearly hit the ground before coming back up and closing on Ash – who turned, looking over his shoulder, and began to jog.

Reaching out his arm, Ash ran more Aura through his system to boost it – and Ho-Oh landed, gently despite his apparent exhaustion, on the outstretched limb.

As soon as Ho-Oh was down, wings still beating to keep himself steady, Ash stopped moving and relied on his boots to make himself 'heavier' – because otherwise, as had happened at least twice in practice, Ho-Oh's great weight would simply make him fall over.

Ho-Oh lowered his head, and Ash used his free hand to rub along the underside of his beak before reaching up to the feathers topping his head. As he did, Ho-Oh's eyes closed and his wings slowed.

Next, Ash took a fistful of dried leaves from his pocket and passed them to Ho-Oh. Some of them were Magical Leaves, which shimmered faintly, and Ho-Oh sampled one.

Then he reared up – and burst into flames.

There were shouts of surprise from the audience as the huge Legendary set himself on fire – starting with a smoky red flame, which intensified until he was engulfed in something only a step away from an all-up Flare Blitz.

But Ash stood stock-still, the special suit protecting his arm and sheer Aura preventing his hair or eyebrows from catching fire even as the fire climbed higher. Streamers of rose striated through the flames, as the source seemed to curl up with his wings close to his chest-

-then, with a triumphant shout, Ho-Oh's wings spread again.

The fire exploded outwards in a hemisphere of smoky flame before vanishing, and as it did the clouds parted as well to allow the sun to shine down into the arena.

Ho-Oh had changed completely under the cloak of flame. Makeup burned away, feathers realigned, and especially the way he sat Ash's arm combined to produce the same effect – he was now, clearly, completely healed.

Crouching down for just a moment, he launched himself into the air with a caw and an almighty downbeat which whirled little puffs of smoke away from his trainer. As he rose, a rainbow came blossoming from his tail feathers, and he did a complete circuit of the stadium before engulfing himself in fire again and landing directly in front of Ash.

Wings fully extended, he favoured Ash with a deep bow – and Ash, arm now by his side, returned it.


"Well, I guess it went all right!" Brock said, clapping. "I mean, you know… considering the rehearsals."

"Yeah," Max agreed. "That's one which must look a lot better if you didn't see the days it took to perfect."

"I assume this means he's made it through?" Lucario asked.

"Not sure," Max said, as Ash returned Ho-Oh and walked off – brushing cinders off his sleeve as he did so.

"I am," May countered. "There's only a couple of acts to go, and he's got to be fourth placed at least of the ones we've seen. He's going to be in the top eight, which means he's going to be in the battle section."

"...actually," Pikachu said, glancing at Lucario. "How would that work? Don't they mark you down for using sheer force and fighting boring?"

"You have a point," Lucario admitted. "He's going to have to make it interesting, and Ho-Oh using Inferno and winning in one move is not interesting."


"I'm sorry, you're… what?" Aaron asked, coming out of his ready stance in confusion.

"Team Meanies!" the Gengar repeated. "And don't you forget it!"

"I am going to be completely unable to forget that name," Giratina assured him. "Team Meanies. Me-an-ies."

"It's Meanies, not Me-an-ies," Medicham insisted.

"Okay, time out," Dialga declared.

"Ah, so scared?" Ekans asked sibilantly. "What-"

"No, I said time out," Dialga repeated, gem flashing.

Team Meanies froze in space. So did everything else.

Hey! Arceus called from On High. No time stopping!

"Dad, this is ridiculous," Dialga replied. "What kind of people call themselves team meanies?"

Believe it or not, it's not the silliest name when compared to real world names, Arceus replied. There was a flash, and he materialized in front of them to aid conversation.

"Oh, really?" Palkia asked, folding his arms. "Try us."

Giratina quietly slid over to Team Meanies.

Well, Arceus said, thinking. There's Team Rocket.

"Silly, but not silly enough," Palkia assured him.

Teams Aqua and Magma. And Plasma.

"What did Plasma do?" Dialga said, catching sight of Giratina and deciding not to mention it.

Pokémon Liberation – meaning, make everyone else give up their Pokémon, Arceus told him. So not related to the name at all.

"Why did they call themselves Plasma, then?" Aaron asked.

Perhaps because they wanted to use Reshiram to defeat everyone? I don't know… Arceus sighed. And that's not even the strangest. What about Snagem?

"That one's quite bad, yeah," Palkia admitted.

Team Great Rocket… Team Dim Sun… there was a group called the Pokémon Pinchers, and I seem to recall something called the Phobos Battalion.

"Point made," Palkia nodded. "Okay, you win, Team Meanies is sensible."

Not so much sensible as on message, Arceus said. He vanished between one breath and the next. Now, please unfreeze time.

"Right away!" Dialga agreed, and unfroze time.

Team Meanies had a quarter second to react before several large rocks landed on them.

"Good work, Giratina," Palkia said.

That's not really in the spirit of things either, Arceus muttered.

"Medic?" Medicham gasped.


AN:


Ash Does Contests. (For Once.)

The concept, in case it wasn't clear, is the rebirth of the phoenix… from its ash.

Badum-tish.

Apart from that, a look at Pokéblocks, a glance at Pallet, and a reminder that the God Squad are still doing PMD.