"Where are we?" Ash asked. "That big square mountain looks like the kind of thing I'd recognize..."

As he thought, May sighed. "Ash… if you really want to know, just check with Dexter."

She opened her own Pokédex. "Ethan, mind showing us where we are?"

Ethan materialized, and gave a silent nod. Then he came apart in a shower of light, which resolved into a holographic map of Hoenn.

"Yeah, we knew that bit," Max commented. "Little more detail?"

Ethan zoomed the map in, focusing on the area between Sootopolis and Pacifidlog, until the island appeared.

A label flashed into view – Giban Island.

Remarkable, Gardevoir pronounced.

"You could have just said..." Ash muttered. "So what is the square mountain?"

Don't ask me, Ethan replied, collapsing back into his Porygon2 state. Brock is the geology expert.

They all looked at Brock, who shrugged. "Sorry."

"Anyway…" May began. "We're not that far from Pacifidlog, but I think I'd rather spend the next day or two working on my routine for the Contest there – it would lose the shock value if we practised in the open."

"That makes sense," Max said. "I guess it's still a while until the Ever Grande conference, but I think we've got a lot to do – hey, maybe that cliff is a good place to practice teleporting with Roland!"

That sounds kind of dangerous, doesn't it? Kirlia asked, turning to look at Max with no small confusion. Doesn't it just mean he'll fall further?

"No, I mean that… okay, I'd have Roland go and..."

Max frowned. "Roland?"

The Ralts teleported in in front of him. "Max! Someone stole my Pokéball!"

"...oh, yeah, now I remember this place," Ash sighed. "I think it was a Linoone who was stealing all kinds of stuff."

Mom? Roland asked, turning to her. Can you tell where that Linoone is?

Gardevoir shook her head. I can't tell – I don't know the Linoone. It's much harder to sense minds you don't know well.

"I guess it's Cinder's turn to help, then," Max said. "Kris? Can you check if Cinder's done with her visit?"

Checking…

Blaziken cleared his throat. "Couldn't we just follow the trail?"

He pointed out a trail of broken branches, muddy footprints, and trampled grass.

"...actually, that sounds easier," Max decided. "Okay, let's go."


Brock knocked on the door.

After a long pause, a bulky man opened it. "Hello?"

"Hi," Brock said, smiling. "I'm afraid that we've had a bit of a problem with a Linoone stealing one of our Pokéballs."

Yeah! Roland added, crossing his arms. It's mine!

"Oh!" the man said, wincing. "A Linoone… that does sound like it might be Tokin. I've no idea why he would, but… hold on a moment."

He stepped back, and called up the stairs. "Kimmy?"

"What is it, dad?" Kimmy called back.

"Some people are here to see you," the man explained. "It's about Tokin!"

"I'll be right down!"

"That's our son, Kimmy," the man explained. "I'm Korban – my wife's out at the moment. And you are?"

"Brock," Brock introduced himself. "These are Max and May, and this is Ash."

"Ash?" Kimmy repeated, clattering down the stairs. "Like Ash Ketchum?"

"Exactly like Ash Ketchum," Lucario volunteered.

"Oh, cool!" Kimmy said, enthused, then slumped a bit. "But… right, you wanted to talk about Tokin? Has he been stealing things again?"

"I'm afraid he has," Brock informed him.

"Aw… okay, I know what to do."

"What's this?" Korban asked. "Is there a problem, Kimmy?"

"Tokin keeps stealing things," Kimmy said, with a sigh. "I've no idea why."

"Kimmy, you should tell us about this kind of thing!" Korban admonished, following his son as Kimmy led them around the side of the house. "We might be able to help!"

"It just seemed really embarrassing..."

"Actually, some of my Pokémon were worse," Ash spoke up, hoping to distract Kimmy. "My Charizard kept setting me on fire."

Pikachu's cheeks chirped.

"And sometimes Pikachu still shocks me..." Ash added, so morosely that Kimmy laughed.

"I found where he was putting stuff," Kimmy said. "I'm not sure if he's here, but..."

He opened the shed door, revealing a great big pile of round objects. Pokéballs were all over, mostly old and battered ones, but they shared space with berries, a few pearls, a ball made of clay and all kinds of sports balls.

"Wow..." May said, taking a step back. "There's loads of stuff here!"

"I can't see any new Pokéballs, though," Max added. "But I've never seen so many round objects."

One of May's Pokéballs flashed open.

Spoink took in the display, then spoke up. "That is a lot of round things."

There was a blur of cream-brown motion.

"Tokin!" Kimmy said sternly. "Stop it!"

As the Linoone ran off, Spoink looked up. "Hey! My pearl!"

He looked around for a moment, then grabbed his Love Ball from May's belt and put that in its place. "Ah… that's better..."

"We'd better find where he's taking it!" Ash said. "Come on!"

Blaziken broke into a run, and quickly left everyone else behind.

"I think I know where he went," Kimmy volunteered. "There's a clearing, I'll show you."

"How long has Tokin been this bad?" Korban asked.

"A while..." Kimmy admitted. "I've no idea why."

"With Charizard, he had some problems with being able to respect me," Ash said. "I'm not sure if it's that, though."

Kimmy glanced at Ash. "It's kind of hard to imagine you having problems with training a Pokémon."

"I'm just a trainer," Ash said. "And I couldn't always just ask my Pokémon… but I can ask Tokin what the problem is, that might help."

It seems to be clear that training Pokémon is a lot more than battling, Gardevoir observed. Among some wild Pokémon, it's only ever seen as making them fight – I'm reassured to see that's not how it works.

"Most people have Pokémon," Brock told her. "Even people who don't battle at all – my girlfriend has a Shinx cub who's not been in a battle as far as I know."

Interesting, Gardevoir pronounced.

But battling's kind of the interesting bit, Kirlia added. And Lucario's cool, and he battles a lot.

Of course, the elder Psychic-type agreed. It's just that there's the choice.


"It's just around here," Kimmy announced. "Watch out for that tree root."

Ash glanced down, saw he was about to trip, and moved his foot out of the way. "Thanks..."

"Hey, that's my Pokéball!" Roland announced, and vanished with a flicker of motion. He reappeared behind a bush, picking up a Pokéball, and showed Max. "See? This is where it went!"

"Great!" Max said, smiling.

"Tokin!" Kimmy called. "Tokin?"

There was silence, until Spoink broke it by bouncing over to the pile. "Where's my pearl gone?"

"I can't see it," May said, worried. "Do you think Tokin dropped it somewhere or something?"

Lucario's paw flashed out, catching a Linoone by the scruff of the neck. "Got him."

"Hey, let me go!" Tokin demanded. "You can have your stupid pearl back!"

"Tokin!" Kimmy said. "What's gotten into you?"

Spoink bounced back over, heading his Love Ball back to May, and caught his pearl as Tokin dropped it. "Ahh… that's better..."

"What happened?" Ash asked. "Why do you keep taking stuff?"

Tokin tried to get free from Lucario's grip, twisting around in a knot. "It's just for fun, okay? Kimmy taught me to!"

"I doubt he taught you to steal things," Lucario observed severely.

"Well, he taught me to play fetch with his Pokéball," Tokin said, sounding slightly confused now. "It's the Pokéball I go in, but it belongs to him, so..."

Ash sighed. "Okay, I think I see where you're going wrong."

"What is it?" Kimmy asked. "What did he say?"

"I think Tokin's confused about the idea of ownership," Brock said. "He used to play fetch with you, he says, but I don't think he understands that you're not supposed to take things other people own."

"I was just trying to get him to play with me!" Tokin protested.

"And it sounds like you might need to play with him a bit more," Ash added.

"Kimmy, have you been neglecting Tokin?" Korban asked.

"...I didn't think I was," Kimmy said, unsure.

What's that? Gardevoir asked, pointing.

Everyone followed her gaze, and then Korban did a double-take. "That's – is that my wedding ring?"

"Tokin!" Kimmy gasped. "Did you take that too?"

The Linoone looked mulish.

Korban hurried over to the tree stump, crouching down to get a better grip, and twisted the ring out of a crack in a stump. As he did, his foot caught something in the grass and knocked it into view.

"This has been missing for months!" the man announced, holding it up. "Oh, Harmony's going to be so happy!"

"Ash," May said, drawing his attention. "Is that what I think it is?"

Ash followed her gaze, and nodded. "I think you're right – that's a Mega Stone!"

"What?" Kimmy asked, startled. "Where did you get that from, Tokin?"

"...I didn't take it from anyone," Tokin said, reluctantly. "It was just lying on the ground."

Ash crouched down to pick it up. "Huh… this one looks kind of familiar – I've seen one like it before."

"Are you going to let me down any time today?" Tokin asked, rolling his eyes.

"Still thinking," Lucario told him.

"Tokin..." Kimmy said, thinking. "Is the problem that I've not been giving you enough time?"

He looked around the clearing, noticing some of the things his Linoone had collected. "I mean – you're clearly great at finding things… but, uh, what if I came with you?"

Tokin looked down, then back at Kimmy. "...I guess that would help."

Lucario translated, voice at a deadpan.

"Uh..." Kimmy looked lost. "Does that mean he says yes, or that he's being sarcastic?"

"He's serious," Lucario supplied.

"Then – can you let him down, please?"

Lucario complied, putting the Normal-type down, and Kimmy scooped Tokin up to give him a stroke.

"Sorry, Tokin," he said, sighing. "I have been neglecting you..."

"Now I know where I recognize this from!" Ash said, suddenly interrupting them. "Clair had one – it's an Altarianite!"

May's eyes widened. "A Mega Stone for an Altaria?"

She grabbed Altaria's Pokéball and sent him out. "Let's give it a try!"

"Pardon?" Altaria asked, blinking bleary eyes. "I was asleep..."

May blushed. "Whoops… sorry, Altaria..."


"Does that fit okay?" May asked.

Altaria felt it with a wing, then nodded. "Seems fine!"

May smiled, then took her Key Stone out.

Ooh… Kirlia said, staring at the bangle with its heart-shaped Key Stone holder. That's pretty…

May closed her eyes, concentrating.

Altaria.

She'd met him as Swablu, and helped nurse him back to health… twice, in fact.

Then they'd trained together for Contests, and of course Swablu had evolved to Altaria in a very dramatic way.

They'd been having problems with the whole flying thing, but…

...he was still Altaria.

After several seconds, Altaria spoke up.

"Should it have worked by now?"

May opened her eyes again, surprised, and looked at Altaria.

Just Altaria, no Mega.

"What went wrong?" Brock asked. "Was that the wrong kind of Mega Stone?"

"I'm sure it's not!" Ash said. "I know that's what Altarianite looks like!"

"But that means..." May began, looking crestfallen. "Do we just not have a strong enough bond?"

Altaria looked glum as well, and walked over to May to put his head on her shoulder.

"I think it just means you need to work on it more," Brock said, trying to put a positive spin on it. "Remember how long it took Gary before he got it working with his Sableye?"

"But Ash got it working really quickly with Absol," May protested. "What's wrong with us?"

"May..." Max began.

"I think I know what it is," said Blaziken. "Mega Evolution takes a very strong bond, right?"

"Yeah," Ash agreed, echoing Brock's nod.

"Then perhaps the problem May is having is that she's still got problems with flying with Altaria," Blaziken went on. "That means that one of the things she thinks about when she thinks of him… is being scared."

"I… guess that makes sense," May admitted, wiping her eyes. "And that means we'll need to do a lot more practice, right?"

Altaria nodded, folding his wings around her and giving her a hug – one she quickly returned.

"Sorry," she whispered.

Altaria replied with a wordless trill, one which assured May that she had nothing to apologize for.


May watched as Ash and Lucario sparred in the evening light, palm-strikes going back and forth between them.

Once, Ash slipped, and Lucario didn't let up – because, as it turned out a moment later, Ash's slip had been a trick, to try and throw Lucario off guard.

"Altaria?" she said, calling his attention.

"What is it?" Altaria asked.

"We're going to make this Mega Evolution work," May told him firmly. "It doesn't matter how long it takes – I'm going to keep practising with you until we can make it work."

Altaria piped a happy note. "I'd like that."

"So would I," May agreed. "And I'm already planning a routine for you for the Grand Festival – one which uses that Mega Evolution, too!"

"What's it like?" Altaria asked, interested.

"Well, it's not just you," May began. "How solid are your cloud wing things?"

Altaria brought them together, and poked one with the other. "...no idea..."

May laid her hand on one, squeezing it, and frowned. "I think that'll work… I was thinking of having someone walking on your wings."

"Someone?" Altaria repeated. "Who's someone?"

"Blaziken, perhaps," May said. "Or Glaceon… or me."

Altaria did a double-take. "May?"

"I said I was going to make that Mega Evolution work," May explained. "That means being okay with flying with you, and if I can do that… well, I've got this picture of me jumping, you Mega Evolving, and catching me before I hit the ground.

She winced. "It's kind of scary… but I think I can do it if we work at it. And I want to work at it."

"That does sound like it would be cool," Altaria admitted. "Am I the only one you're doing special routines for?"

"Not at all," May replied, shaking her head. "I'm going to try and have a special new routine for everyone, at the Festival. That way everyone gets a go."

"Do I, like, get a go?" Skitty asked. "Because, uh, you'd better get me some better shampoo if I'm going to, like, go on stage again..."

"Nice try," May replied, scratching Skitty and making her purr. "You get shampoo anyway, I'm not getting a separate bottle just for that."

"Awww… ice cream?" Skitty managed, before purring her ears off again.

Altaria laughed.


"Okay, we're getting pretty close..." Brock said, checking the map. "The Mirage Island should be coming into view about now."

"Great," May replied.

She leaned forwards. "I think I can see the top of the mountain..."

"Why do we have to come here?" Max asked.

"Liechi berries, of course," May told him, matter-of-factly. "They only grow here, and they're just what I need to get everyone in tip-top shape for the Grand Festival."

"Then… how are we going to get past the whirlpools?" Max asked.

Ash jumped out of the boat, landing on the water. "Like this?"

"You know we can't do that..." Max sighed.

"Actually, I had an idea," May said. "Okay, so… Beautifly, go up and look at the whirlpools! Try and find somewhere the water's going in towards the island!"

Beautifly rose into the sky, drifting up until she could see the swirling currents.

"What's the plan, May?" Brock asked. "I guess you've got one."

"Yeah," May replied. "I'm going to have Glaceon freeze a path, then get Blaziken to run along the path at full speed, towing the boat, so we get to the shore before it unfreezes!"

There was a silence.

"...or we could just fly," she added. "But I was trying to be inventive, at least..."

"I think we should stick to plans that don't involve..." Max paused, counting. "Broken ice, high speed, high speed on broken ice, falling into a whirlpool, and trying to have a Fire-type not break or melt ice."

"Why?" Ash asked.

Everyone stared at him.

"Please tell me you're joking," Brock pleaded.

"Actually, yeah," Ash admitted, and got back in the boat.

"Seriously, Ash, it's hard to tell," May pointed out. "You thought it was a good idea to-"

"Isn't there a Pokémon move that can handle whirlpools?" Ash interrupted. "Maybe we should do that?"

Actually, Gardevoir mused, if it's a problem, I can probably lift the boat – though not for long.

"Guys?" Max called.

"I think I've worked out our problem," Brock decided. "We have way too many solutions to our problems."

"You know, that makes a lot of sense," May agreed.

"Guys!" Max said. "We're drifting towards the whirlpool!"

They looked, and noticed that their boat was starting to go around in a circle.

"Someone use Whirlpool!" Brock called.

Things got a bit complicated as various Pokémon promptly began using Whirlpool. Latios began flying around underwater, Ludicolo began dancing, Delta dove into the sea, Totodile jumped out of Ash's Pokéball straight into the water and Marshtomp punched the ocean.

Waves appeared from nowhere, buffeting their vehicle, and Max fell over. Kirlia nearly did the same, but her mother crouched down and steadied her with careful hands.

Then, after several boat-rocking seconds, the waters stilled completely.

"I… guess that worked," Max said. "Should we just… keep going?"

Brock shrugged.

Beautifly came floating back down. "Sorry, May, all the whirlpools disappeared. I couldn't find a path through them… can you put them back so I can try again?"

"No!"

"Fine, be that way."

Brock? Ethan called, forming himself and displaying a three-dimensional holographic map – all jagged spikes and mountains. I have used sonar to map the sea bed. Please follow the indicated course.

"Huh, that's kind of cool," Ash admitted, waving his fingers through the hologram. "Hey, look, there's us!"

"Oh, right, you're not showing the water," May realized. "So… we're sailing between invisible spikes of rock?"

Correct, Ethan confirmed. Keep arms and legs inside the ride at all times.

Totodile hoisted himself back aboard, dripping with water. "That was fun!"


"Okay, here we go," Brock said, shifting the engine. "Just a bit further… there we go!"

There was a crunch of sand as they reached the beach.

"Now, remember," Brock added, as they all got out and Marshtomp pulled it out of the waves. "Keep your Pokémon with you – I don't need to remind you that some of the cliffs on this island are very unsafe."

"Yeah, I only fell off a cliff," May agreed. "And… technically, two cliffs. Counting the waterfall, that is."

"Are you sure you need these berries?" Max asked.

"I think it's a coordinator thing," Ash shrugged.


"I thought you knew where these berries were," Max complained, ducking under a branch. "Are you just leading us to where the trees are thickest?"

"No," May replied. "I'm not leading us to where the trees are thickest. I'm using my intuition to tell where the best concentrations of berries are."

"Intuition?" Max repeated. "Isn't that just a complicated way of saying you're guessing?"

"...it's completely different," May told him unconvincingly. "This is based on experience."

Boiiiiing

"So, where does your experience say we should go?" Max pressed. "Apart from uphill."

"They grow in the special soil of this island," May said. "So somewhere… that way."

Boiiiing

"That doesn't make sense!" Max pointed out.

"You don't-"

Boiiiiiing

"...what was that?" May asked.

"Not sure," Max admitted. "I could get Cinder to look?"

"Why not me?" Arc asked.

"Cinder's better at tracking," Max summarized.

Boiiiiiing

"I think it's coming from this way," May said, turning almost back the way they'd come.

Blaziken pushed a branch aside, holding it until they went past, then let it snap back into place.

Boii-Boiiiiing

"So what happened to intuition?" Max asked.

Boiiiing

May elected not to reply, and a moment later they broke through a screen of bushes into a clearing.

At least twenty Wynaut were crowded around, all looking at something.

Boiiiing

"Arc?" Max asked. "Can you translate? We might need to ask what's going on..."

No need, Ethan stated, his projector flaring inside May's pocket. Hologrammatic light spread out, forming a stream of words in front of May's eyes – the ongoing translation of what all the Wynaut were saying.

Boiiiing

"What is it?"

"It's fun!"

"That tickles!"

"It's about to do it again!"

Boiiiiing

"Wait – Skitty?" May asked. "What are you doing?"

All the Wynaut turned to look at her.

"...oh," she added. "Hi!"

"Hello!" several of the Wynaut said.

Boiiiing

"Stop it, Skitty!"

"But, like… I hit the tail and it comes back! It's totally cool!"

There were several more boiiing noises, and then a large Wobbuffet came walking up to the siblings.

"I am the chief," he said, and saluted.

"What do we do now, May?" Max asked. "I mean… they're not exactly attacking us. Or dangerous."

The chief kept saluting.

Boiiiing

"Skitty!"

"But, like, they don't… like… mind..." Skitty protested.

"We're looking for Liechi berries," May said. "Do you know where we can find any?"

Chief Wobbuffet shook his head.

"Oh, that's a shame.."

"Actually, we do," one of the Wynaut told her. "It's easy!"

Blaziken coughed. "I think he's shaking his head because of the breeze."

Boiiiing

"Berries?" May asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Okay, this way," said the talkative Wynaut. "Don't worry about the chief, he stands like that for hours."

"Hey, hold on!" another said. "How come she can understand us?"

"Why not?"

May groaned.

"What is it?" Max asked. "Ethan's not translating for me."

"Don't worry, you didn't miss anything," May assured him.

Boiiiing

"And what about Skitty?"

"I'm just hoping she gets bored eventually..."


"Well?" Brock asked. "Any luck?"

"Yeah, I found at least three bushes," Ash replied, holding up a basket. "They look pretty much ripe – and Kirlia tried some, she says they're great."

"Not bad," the Pewter trainer said. "Stantler found a couple, and I think Crobat went looking for another grove to see if there's one close enough."

"This ought to be enough, if May and Max found some," Ash said. "What do you think?"

Latios nibbled on some berry. "It's not just the Liechi berries, everything here's so tasty!"

"What's that?" Pikachu asked, interested.

"It's just an Oran – but they're great! Try one!"

The Psychic-type passed berries down to Pikachu, and then to Lucario as well when he asked.

"Yeah, I see what you mean," Pikachu admitted. "Mmm…"

"Sounds like you're enjoying yourself," Ash smiled.

"Ash?" Brock said, warily. "Look!"

Ash and his Pokémon turned to look.

They watched with some surprise as a procession of Wynaut came marching in step down towards the beach – tails flapping in unison, all to the left then all to the right and back again.

Each group of four carried a litter made of long sticks and some woven cloth, and with a couple of dozen Liechi berries on it.

Then, behind them all, was a Wobbuffet – and, behind him, Max and May and their Pokémon.

"Hi!" Brock waved. "What happened?"

"Well… it's kind of a long story," Max said. "We taught them tennis."

"How?" Ash asked, interested. "I didn't think you had any racquets."

"No, Pokémon-style tennis!" May replied, as the litters were poured into the boat – producing a mound of fresh Liechi berries between two of the seats. "See… I think it was Casper, right?"

"Yeah, Casper taught them how to do Astonish," Max took up the thread. "And that meant they could use Ghost energy."

Boiiiing

"And then-" May cut off, reaching down to scoop up Skitty, and put her on her shoulder. "And then Glaceon taught them how to use that to make it into a really weak Shadow Ball."

"May?" Brock began. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

"And then they used Mirror Coat to bat it back at one another," May finished. "We should probably get going, I think they're about to start practising."

"I'm the chief," the Wobbuffet said. "So it's my serve."

I'm completely lost, Gardevoir admitted. Tennis? What's tennis?

"Latios?" Ash asked. "Can we get a quick tow?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Latios agreed, putting the last of his berries in a pile on one of the spare seats. "Hold on, I'll just turn you around..."

A Shadow Ball whistled off into the distance.


"I'm still worried about that island," Brock said, looking over his shoulder. "Do you think we did something wrong?"

"I'm sure they're fine," Ash replied. "Wynaut are pretty tough."

"It's not them I'm all that worried about..." Brock said, shrugging. "Well, I guess Mirror Coat doesn't completely reflect attacks, so they should knock themselves out before it gets too dangerous."

May nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking!"

"It was?" Max asked. "You didn't say it was..."

May was about to reply, but they reached the crest of the hill.

"Oh, yeah, this place," Ash realized. "There's a lot of Donphan."

Ash's Donphan came out of his Pokéball. "There are? There are!"

He glanced at his trainer. "You didn't tell me about this place."

"I… forgot?" Ash said weakly.

"And what's your excuse?" Donphan went on, pointing his trunk at Pikachu.

"I plead the fifth!" Pikachu said, looking shifty.

"Wrong country!" Donphan replied.

"Then I forgot too… but so did Glalie!"

Glalie turned to Pikachu. "I did not," he countered, indignantly. "I'm just not the sort of person who actually tells people that."

"Anyway," Brock said, clearing his throat. "I think we had to help out here… there was a shiny Donphan female who all the males were trying to impress..."

"...actually, that sounds like fun," Donphan said. "Hey, Pidgeot?"

Pidgeot came bursting out of her Pokéball as well. "Morning, Donphan – what is it?"

"Who do you have in your other Pokéballs, Ash?" May asked.

"Uh… Lucario, Tyranitar, Meganium..." Ash began to count off.

May, Max and Brock all moved away from Ash.

"They're not all going to do that!" Ash protested.

"I was thinking..." Donphan explained. "Remember what we did to Raikou?"


"Your beauty is as the russet rock which rises over an endless desert," a Donphan said, bowing and flourishing his trumpet.

The shiny Donphan said nothing, just quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh, fine..." the Donphan replied, balling up and starting to Rollout. "No appreciation for a bit of novelty..."

Watching, the Shiny nodded approvingly. "The poetry helps… seven."

"It did?" asked her latest suitor.

"Yes. Otherwise it would have been a six."

"Six?" the suitor repeated.

"Hey, my turn!" another Donphan called.

Then a low rumble built up, drawing their attention to the north.

"What's that noise?" asked one of the herd, as it rapidly built up to earsplitting levels.

A moment later, a Pidgeot came hopping over the crest of a low hill. The golden flames of a Sky Attack spiralled and roiled in her slipstream, and she did a low roll before shooting overhead – leaving fire dripping down in her wake.

At the other side of their depression, she pulled up and around in a wingover – then released something from her claws and blasted off at a much higher speed than she'd been flying before.

As she blasted through the sound barrier overhead, the ball she'd dropped hit the ground with a thwack. It slowed as it did, and some of the Donphan realized that it was spinning – in the other direction to the way it was moving.

The object – now becoming obvious as another Donphan – skipped towards them, slowing every time, until at last Donphan uncurled. All four limbs dug in, carving furrows in the ground until he finally skidded to a halt.

"Eight," the Shiny said flatly.

"Oh come on!" one of the others snapped. "What would it take to get a nine?"


"And when, exactly, did you decide that this was a good idea?" Meganium asked, vines crossed.

"A while ago," Donphan replied. "Why?"

"Second question. When did you decide it was a bad idea?"

"...about half a second after the first bounce..."

Meganium sighed, shaking her head, then nodded. "Right, come here. I'll heal up the friction burns."

"That was kind of cool, I have to admit," Max said. "Actually, it reminded me of some old film..."

Dexter played some bars of music.

"That's the one!" Max confirmed. "Something about dams?"

"Oh, that film," Brock said, nodding. "I know the one."

"So, what did you get?" Glalie asked. "Did she like you?"

"Eight," Donphan shrugged, then winced. "Ow! Is it supposed to hurt that much?"

"I didn't do anything," Meganium replied, a little tartly. "You moved about too much!"

"Is he okay?" Ash asked.

Pidgeot leaned in. "Sorry if I dropped you too hard..."

"He's fine," Meganium assured them, using Heal Pulse again. "I won't say don't do it again, because there's a fat chance of you listening to that…"

Blaziken coughed. "I think one of them scored a ten."

"What?" May asked. "But the thing with Pidgeot was only an eight!"

"Well..." Blaziken shrugged. "I think Glaceon helped."

They looked.

Glaceon was sitting on her haunches in front of a large, smooth patch of ice. On top of it, the shiny Donphan held trunks with another Armor Pokémon.

"I guess one of them must have asked Glaceon for help?" Max suggested, as the two ice-dancing Donphan did a twirl.

"So that's what I was missing!" Ash's own Donphan said, clenching his trunk. "...where did that male one get a rose?"

Male passed the rose to female, and they skated off into the distance. Then Glaceon turned, and came loping back to her trainer.

"Hello, Glaceon," May smiled, catching her with an oof as the Ice-type jumped into her arms. "Doing a little matchmaking?"

"Well, one of them actually thought to ask," Glaceon replied, flirting her tail. "So I thought it was only polite!"

May chuckled. "Well, I guess that's the kind of attitude we need for..."

She paused.

"Wait, weren't we trying to get to Pacifidlog for a contest?"

"You're the one who memorized the calendar," Max said.

May's expression wavered, then hardened. "Okay – guys, you can catch up if you want. I'm going to make sure I get there in time to practice."

The Coordinator returned Glaceon and Blaziken, then sent out Altaria.

"Are you sure, May?" Brock asked. "It is quite a long way..."

"Of course I'm sure!" May replied. She exhaled, then nodded. "Yeah. Completely."

"Can you check the harness?" Altaria asked. "It feels a bit tight around my right wing..."


Four Pokémon flitted over the sea in loose formation, forming a V with one of the legs longer than the other.

"Shouldn't you be closer?" Ash asked, looking down at Pidgeot. "The way I heard how slipstreams work..."

Pidgeot tossed her neck. "Not really," she said. "I mean, if I actually wanted to use the slipstream then yes – but I don't."

"Why not?" Pikachu asked.

"It's because that makes it harder on the Pokémon you slipstream off," Pidgeot lectured. "Not much, it's worth it overall, but it also means that I'm letting Altaria set the pace without dragging him back."

Her wings waggled. "I'm much faster, Flygon's as fast, and I'm letting Delta slipstream off me so it works out."

"Right," Ash said, nodding. "And I guess… yeah, Flygon's as far from Altaria as we are, so that works. Thanks for explaining."

Pidgeot chuckled.

"How's Altaria doing, actually?" Ash added.

"He's good," Pidgeot replied, examining his flight path. "He's naturally inclined to a steadier kind of flight, and he's certainly doing that… and his speed's okay, even if I think he's practically standing still..."


Ahead and to the right, Altaria tilted his head. He rose a little, smooth as silk, then looked back at May.

"I can see the island!"

"Good," May said, smiling – a little shakily, but still a smile. "Contest, here we come!"

"Where do you want us to land?" the Dragon-type added, looking back in the direction he was going before glancing back again. "I'm not familiar with this island..."

"I've only been once," May replied. "It's kind of a big one… well, kind of a big island group, there's more than one of them and some of it's on floating pontoons. Hold on a sec."

She patted her pockets. "Ethan… where did I put you?"

Here, Ethan replied, flashing brightly from one of the pockets she hadn't reached yet. A hologram flared into being, thickening up rapidly until it was like a map resting on Altaria's back.

"Cool," Altaria said admiringly.

"So… uh, let's see..." May said, reaching a hand into the map and moving it. The map scrolled with her, and she brightened. "Great! That means, uh..."

She pointed. "There, I think. That'd be great."

"Got it!" Altaria trilled. "Okay, one landing coming up!"


To their right, Flygon buzzed along through the afternoon sun.

"I hope my buzzing isn't a problem," he said to Brock, rolling his neck so he could look backwards out of the corner of one eye. "I know it's kind of loud sometimes..."

"No problem at all," Brock assured him. "I get used to it – actually, by the end of a long flight it sounds strange for there not to be buzzing!"

Flygon chuckled.

"So… this is nearly the end of your time in Hoenn, right?" he asked. "Not much longer to go?"

"Pretty much," Brock agreed, shifting a little. "After that we're going to Kanto for a bit. I'm not sure if Ash is still going to do the Battle Frontier – but I imagine Max wants to do the Kanto Gym Challenge and I know May's got more Contests planned."

"Kanto, huh..." Flygon said, frowning. "I've heard it's cold there."

"Sometimes it is," Brock agreed. "But it's not really all that cold, it's just that Hoenn's warmer and more humid than Kanto. It's Sinnoh that's really cold."

Flygon mock-shivered, though not badly enough to make Brock too unsteady. "Maybe I should get a coat..."


"How much further is it?" Delta asked.

"Not far, I think," Max replied. "Why?"

"I'm getting kind of tired… and I don't think you'd appreciate me taking a rest on the water..."

"Don't worry," Max said. "I've got a plan for if you need a landing – Jirachi?"

There was a pause.

"Jirachi?" Max repeated, looking to his side.

Jirachi had his eyes closed, and all three of his tags were flapping in the wind. Wheeeeee!

"Good plan," Delta said.

"...it might need a bit of work," Max admitted.


A long way below, Latios scudded along the wavetops.

"Are you sure this is okay?" he asked the Psychic-types riding on his back. "I could go higher..."

This is fine, Gardevoir replied, smiling at her daughter – who was feeling the spray on one spread hand. Kirlia likes it, so if you don't mind we can stay down here.

"No problem," Latios agreed. "Actually, back home my sister and I fly underwater almost as much as in the air."

Your sister? Gardevoir repeated. A Latias, I assume?

Latias are neat, Kirlia said, smiling. I used to want to be a Latias when I grew up.

Latios chuckled. "Well, my sister… she used to be quite a handful. We live in Altomare, where we tried to stay out of trouble, but Latias… she wanted to see the sights, interact with people."

He waved a forearm. "Which wasn't impossible, because of our illusions, but very hard when you can't speak human language!"

Gardevoir winced.

I assume she changed? she asked, after a pause.

"Yeah, she did," Latios nodded, voice a little more sombre. "There was a pretty complicated thing that happened, it involved some Rocket agents and – well, time travel stuff makes it confusing, but pretty much what happened is that both of us had a nasty brush with death."

Kirlia's eyes widened. That sounds horrible!

"It wasn't nice," Latios agreed grimly. "But after that – well, Ash saved us, and then he offered to take us with him. One at a time, so Altomare's still safe – we're the protectors of Altomare – and teach us to defend ourselves."

He shrugged. "We've both gotten a lot better at battling since."

What's Altomare like? Kirlia asked.

"Beautiful," Latios told her. "The streets are full of canals, running everywhere in the city, and we use them to get invisibly from place to place. It's a lovely place in the summer, with water and boats everywhere, and right near the middle is a secret garden where Latias and I live."

He tilted his head. "Actually, I could show you where Latias is right now."

Latios pulled up into a climb, gaining height and moving away from the spray, and concentrated for a moment. Latias?

Brother! Latias replied, happily. How are things?

Not bad, not bad, Latios sent. Ash and Max just recently picked up their eighth Gym Badge, and we're heading to Pacifidlog Town now for May's fifth ribbon. What about you?

I'm showing my friend Latias – you remember her? - around the city again! Latias said cheerfully, then chuckled. What am I saying, of course you remember her!

I – stop it! Latios demanded. Uh… anyway, do you mind sight-sharing for a bit? I'm telling some Pokémon about Altomare.

Okay, but we're both in human disguise, Latias warned. It might look a bit strange.

The psychic mind-link intensified, and Latios – and Kirlia and Gardevoir – saw a partly-transparent version of Altomarean streets thronged with tourists.

"Cool!" Kirlia said, looking around. "There's so many humans!"

Where is your sister? Gardevoir asked.

Latios nodded. "That's her down there." Don't buy too much ice cream, Latias – you'll get fat!

As if! Latias sent back, with a mental raspberry.


Not much further, Arceus informed the four adventurers.

Silence greeted him.

Are you going to get over it soon?

More silence, broken by the thwack as Palkia kicked a Houndoom out of the way.

"Ow!" barked the Fire-type. "You want some of this?"

Palkia used Spatial Rend.

The Fire-type decided they could get on fine without more of 'this'.

Do you want me to make you battle a Dunsparce?

"That would be an improvement over what you sprung on us!" Dialga said.

I thought it was an appropriate challenge.

"It was a Zapdos!" Giratina replied. "A Zapdos, I might add, which could knock out a Dragon-type Greater Legendary!"

There's no such classification as a Greater Legendary, Arceus replied loftily.

"Didn't we agree we weren't speaking any more?" Palkia asked. "Oh, hey, we're here."

"Right," Aaron said, increasing his pace until he was at the front of the group. "Now, let's find out what's going on..."


The Xatu looked down at them, eyes unblinking. "Ah, the travellers," he said.

There was a pause.

"Can you actually see?" Palkia asked. "You've been staring into the sun for years, right?"

"I have excellent optical health," Xatu replied without missing a beat.

Sorry, I left in a few comedy lines, Arceus apologized.

"So, what's going on?" Aaron asked. "What's so important?"

"It is a great secret I have to tell you, traveller,"Xatu said, leaning closer. His eyes flashed. "For on this world, there is a Pokémon … who was once a human!"

"Lame!" Giratina said immediately.

"I know," Sir Aaron told Xatu.

The Psychic-type deflated a bit. "Oh. I was hoping it would be a bit more impressive than that."

He rallied. "But you may not know all the details – do you remember the time that human was cursed by a Ninetales?"

"Actually, I do," Aaron agreed. "But it was all a misunderstanding and she lifted the curse-"

"Not correct!" Xatu said. "It was in fact his faithful Gardevoir who took the curse upon herself, and that Gardevoir who he abandoned in the desert!"

Aaron stared fixedly skywards. "What."

Okay, so I took a few liberties with an event from your life to make the backstory, Arceus replied. What?

"That better not be me he's talking about!"

Make a few sacrifices for a good plot, why don't you...


AN:


Not all Mega Evolutions work first time.

In other news, Wynaut, some Donphan, and general movement towards Pacifidlog. Also we finally look back at what Sir Aaron and the God Squad are doing.