"You know..." Ash began, frowning. "It's kind of odd to see you hanging around so closely."

Ho-Oh did another orbit of the group. "I don't see what's odd about it. I've actually done this more than once."

"Yeah, but… usually at several thousand feet," Ash countered. "I think? I'm pretty sure I'd have noticed if you were down this low."

"I have the distinct feeling that, were I to fly higher, I'd somehow manage to miss you stumbling into a crack in the living rock and facing off against Heatran." Ho-Oh alighted on a tree branch, which creaked alarmingly. "What do you suggest?"

"Well… maybe that you don't have to be out all the time?" Ash asked. "Or maybe you could fly alongside us without doing continuous circuits like that. It makes me think of a… Mandibuzz or something."

"Well, I certainly would not want to seem like a Mandibuzz," Ho-Oh mused. "While they are perfectly serviceable Pokémon, nevertheless they are-"

There was a creaking snap, and the tree caught fire.

Ho-Oh looked down. "Oh. Um… that was not what I was trying to do."

As he took off, Manaphy waved both flippers. "I'll help!"

He shot out a Water Gun, then gestured, and the Water Gun turned into a kind of thin sheet of water which slapped outwards at the blaze. There was a hiss of steam, which got most of it, and a second burst of water got the rest.

"I am very sorry about that," Ho-Oh mumbled, alighting on the path this time. "That has not happened for years."

"How many of those years have you spent sitting on trees?" Brock asked.

Ho-Oh considered that.

"You may have a point."

His eyes fixed Ash with a glare. "But you had better call upon me if an actual problem comes up."

Ash nodded, and Ho-Oh vanished with a flash of red light.

"So, where to now?" May asked. "I'm planning on another Contest in a few days, but I think we could fit in another gym for Max first."

"No thanks," Max said. "I'm kind of in the mood for relaxing today, after the whole superpowered artificial Pokémon thing."

Dexter's projector flared, producing a detailed 3D map of Kanto. Possible amusements include, but are not limited to, the following.

"Enjoying being a Porygon2?" Ash asked him.

I did not know it was possible to be this multithreaded, Dexter replied. It is an interesting feeling. It is roughly how I imagine it feels to be zen.

"This one looks good," Brock said, pointing. "Pokémon Orienteering."

"Sure, that – wait," Max blinked. "Why is it Pokémon orienteering? What's different from regular orienteering?"

"The Pokémon?" Brock suggested.

"I didn't know that regular orienteering banned Pokémon," May said. "Why would you even have that rule – and how could you enforce it?"

"Perhaps it simply means Pokémon can take part as well?" Lucario suggested. "That is, it's something open to humans and Pokémon both."

"I don't buy it," Blaziken replied. "IF it was a thing that was for humans and Pokémon, it'd just be 'orienteering'. Orienteering for humans only should be called Human Orienteering."

"He's got a good point," May mused.

"What was it?" Max asked, then checked Kris. "Oh, right. Does that mean there should be Orienteering, Human Orienteering and Pokémon Orienteering?"

"I don't think the Joys are going to change the name of their organization to a Centre," Brock said. "Remember, humans can get trauma care there too."

"...let's just go and ask," Ash said. "How far is it?"

"It's on an island," May replied, pointing at Dexter's hologram. "I think we can get a boat from here."

"Why do we need to get a boat?" Ash asked. "That's only half a mile..."

"Not everyone can walk on water," Pikachu hinted. "Actually, very few people can. Those who do have a tendency to end up quite famous."

"Well, I'll just walk, and you guys can take the boat," Ash decided.


"All right, everyone!" the organizer said. "Welcome to Pokémon Orienteering. Now, in a moment I'm going to be passing out maps of the island."

Max raised his hand.

"I should remind everyone that this is quite a tricky course in some areas," she went on. "There's no shame in giving up, not if the alternative is getting hurt."

May glanced down at her brother. "Having trouble down there?"

Max gave her a dirty look.

May winked, then raised her own hand. As she was considerably taller this worked better.

"Yes, miss?" the organizer said, pointing May out.

"Why's it called Pokémon orienteering?" May said.

"Well… because you work with a Pokémon?" the organizer replied, a little blindsided. "I'm not sure why it matters."

Lucario spoke up. "The reason for the confusion is a debate we had earlier, about whether it's right that something involving only humans to be the default for a name, and what it would be correctly called if there was a form of orienteering that only Pokémon could participate in."

"Yeah, what he said," Max agreed.

The poor woman looked completely out of her depth.

"...I'm not sure?" she said. "How many of you are going to be taking part? Only I need to make sure we've got enough maps..."

Ash and Brock both nodded, and May answered for them. "Two."

"Two, right," the organizer confirmed, then blinked. "Wait. Isn't that Ash Ketchum? What Pokémon are you going to be using? Mewtwo? Suicune?"

There was a brilliant white flash, one which a moment later was overlain by rainbows and the scent of saffron.

"Ho-Oh," Ho-Oh said, wings flaring out as a shaft of sunlight illuminated him. Rainbow haloes flared from his iridescent wings, and the air itself seemed to be purer and cleaner.

He looked around at the awestruck reactions of the other players.

"That's more like it..." he said quietly.


"Wonder how Ash and Brock are doing..." May mused, some minutes later.

"I'm sure they're fine," Max replied. "Okay, Ferris, fetch!"

He threw a nut, and Ferris went running after it with a happy clatter of steel feet.

"Who do you think you'd have used to get the stamps?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," May admitted. "Maybe Blaziken, if I was competitive about it."

There was a crunch as Ferris ate the nut.

"Good work!" Max said. "Ready?"

Ferris nodded.

Max threw a bolt, and Ferris went galumphing off in the other direction after it.

"Are you sure those are healthy?" May asked.

"They're stainless," Max replied. "I'm pretty sure that means they've got chromium in them, and apparently that's important for young Aron."


"Okay, Geodude, I think the next stamp's up there," Brock said, indicating it. "Let's see… can you do a balustrade this time?"

Geodude shot him a thumbs-up, and began gesturing. As he did so, the ground trembled, and mud oozed aside to reveal fresh rock.

Under Geodude's control, the rocks punched upwards one at a time – the step forming first, then a blauster to each side, and finally a railing which connected the tops of the balusters to form a continuous thread.

"Bonus, no extra charge," Geodude added, and the stairs began to move as if they were an escalator.

Brock stepped on, and was smoothly lifted to the stamp. "Nice work, Geodude. You're getting pretty good at fine detail work."

"I guess I'm just that cool," Geodude chuckled. "Got it?"

"Just did," Brock answered, replacing it for the next contestant. "Okay, two left."

Geodude waved, and the stairs sank down into the ground once more. Brock rode them without any indication of discomfort, and began checking the map. "Let's see… so that looks like it's about three or four miles to the next one, which is basically due north."

"Have fun with that," Geodude stated.

"You're going to need to come along as well," Brock pointed out. "I'm pretty sure the rules say that the Pokémon you use is the one which is out during your attempt at the orienteering run, so if you were returned it would disqualify us."

"Fine, then, let's travel in style," the Rock-type said. He made another gesture, and the ground began to churn. "I'll just move this along, and we'll ride the wave."

Brock looked at it a little apprehensively, and then they were interrupted as a rainbow-winged Pokémon flew overhead.

Ho-Oh banked around, and alighted on the ground a little way off.

"That's the place, correct?" Ho-Oh checked.

Ash looked at the map. "Uh… I think so?"

"You said that the last four times," Ho-Oh said. "Right, that's it. Put the map down, I'm reading it – you go get the stamp."

Ash slid down Ho-Oh's back, then noticed Brock. "Oh, huh. Hi Brock!"

"Hello, Ash," Brock said. "Having trouble with the maps, I see."

"Yeah, pretty much," Ash agreed, as Ho-Oh used his beak to spear the map by one corner and began to examine it closely. "It's easier when I know where I want to go, but..."

He tailed off.

"By the way," Brock went on. "Where are Lucario and Pikachu?"

"I think they're helping the organizer," Ash answered vaguely. "I explained the thing with how Pikachu doesn't like being Returned."

He clambered up to the stamp, and after a moment of fiddling got his map marked. "Okay, that one's done!"

"Good," Ho-Oh declared. "I have identified our next port of call."

He shook his head. "It is fortunate indeed that we do not give the Chosen One his marching orders by pointing at a map."

"How would that even work, though?" Brock asked.

Ho-Oh shrugged. "It is also fortunate that we do not need to work out the details of such an implementation."


"I think it's going to take a while to get used to Ferris' eating habits," May mused. "I mean, normally when you get sweets for someone you don't end up giving them the wrappers."

"I'm pretty sure Aron eat normal food as well," Max shrugged.

He spotted Brock, and waved. "Oh, hey! You're back quick!"

"Geodude worked out a way to move really quickly," Brock told them.

"Did you win?" May asked.

"No," Brock replied, shaking his head. "The girl who won had a Kadabra. Her time was twelve seconds."

"That… sounds like an oversight," Max said.

"Yeah, no kidding..."

Brock looked up, shading his eyes. "Okay, it looks like Ash is nearly done, so we can move on then."

"Sounds like a plan," May agreed. "I need to find out if this is a Double Contest, so I know who to pick..."


"So, decided yet?" Max asked.

"Not really," May replied, shrugging. "I've narrowed it down a bit, though."

"May, the Contest is in half an hour," Max pointed out. "I think you really need to make your choice pretty soon-"

He stopped. "Uh oh."

"What?" May asked.

"May!" Harley's voice called, answering her question. "It's so nice to see you! And it looks like you're on a diet – that's great!"

"Yep," May agreed brightly. "I decided it was a good idea to eat the same kind of high-energy food as my Pokémon do, because I've been doing a lot of martial arts lately and it's been burning off a lot of energy."

Harley looked thrown off for a moment, then smiled. "Great, good to hear it. I mean, you don't need to look pretty – that's just a stereotype."

"Well, yeah, beauty is basically related to makeup in modern perception," May mused. "My face structure is basically out of my control so long as I keep brushing my teeth, and apart from that there's not much that people are going to mind about."

Looking a little irritated, Harley shrugged. "Well, I'm glad you're putting so much thought into it," he said. "It's good to see people who are getting ready for a Contest can spare so much time to think about other things without compromising their ability to perform."

"I guess I'm just that talented," May grinned.

Harley left in a bit of a huff.

"...May?" Max said. "What just happened?"

"It's actually a trick for picking up girls," Brock told them. "Turned to evil."

He shrugged. "Mind you, it's pretty nasty already. I never did it."

"Yeah, you were the kind of person to just grab their ankle and be dragged along," Max muttered.

May grinned at both of them. "Yeah, that felt pretty good. I love it when he can see he's not getting to me."

"That's pretty cool," Max decided. "And I guess it's more satisfying than beating him in the Contest."

"Can't I do both?" May asked.

Then she stopped. "Wait. Did you hear that?"

"I did!" Manaphy announced. "Mama, your bag's beeping!"

May exchanged a glance with her friends, then shrugged her bag off and opened the top. Taking out the egg canister – and silencing the alarm that the egg was about to hatch – she opened the top.

"I wonder what it's going to be..." she said, looking at the yellow colouring.

"Sorry I'm late," Ash apologized. "I was-"

He spotted the egg beginning to glow, and stopped.

The glow brightened-

-then the entire egg seemed to just vanish, all at once.

"...huh?" Manaphy said, puzzled. "How often does that happen?"

"I've never seen it happen before," May replied. "What just..."

"Down here!" called a quiet voice.

They looked closer.

"Huh," Ash observed. "That's one small Joltik."

May squinted, then brightened. "Oh, yeah – there you are!"

She reached in, and there was a frzzt and her hair poofed out in all directions.

"...damn it, Absol..." she said.

"Sorry!" Joltik said, sounding like she was shouting to be heard. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," May answered. "I just need a few minutes with a lightning rod..."


"Your tail is tasty," Joltik announced.

Pikachu examined the flat tip of the tail in question, spotting the little Bug-type near one corner. "I hope you're not eating it."

"Not the fur..." Joltik began. "But you've got loads of electricity!"

"Just don't take too much," Pikachu advised.

He turned back to the floor just as one of the first Coordinators left the floor – someone with a Spheal and a Dewgong, who'd done a nice little juggling demonstration.

"I don't know about you..." Brock began. "But that seems kind of like it would be a good sport. It'd probably take more Dewgong, though."

"Pokémon Volleyball?" Ash suggested.

"Oh, don't start this again," Max groaned.

"Well, it would involve only Pokémon..."

"Next up!" Nurse Joy announced. "A veteran Coordinator from Hoenn, please welcome Harley!"

"Wonder who he's using today," Max pondered. "I don't think we've seen him in a Contest for a while, so he could have gotten a new Pokémon or two."

"You're probably right," Brock agreed, as Harley strode out onto the floor.

"Excuse me?" someone asked.

Brock looked over to his side, seeing another spectator.

"I was wondering," the spectator said. "It sounds like you know this trainer?"

"Yeah, we've met him a few times," Brock agreed. "Why?"

"Well… why is he dressed like a Cacturne?"

Brock looked at Harley again, noticing he was – indeed – still wearing the Cacturne costume. "I… honestly, I don't know. Cacturne is one of his Pokémon, but I don't know why he always wears it."

There was a bright flash as the seals on Harley's Pokéballs activated, producing a cloud of smoke which was swept away a moment later.

"Ariados!" Harley instructed. "Sticky Web! Octillery, open fire!"

The two Pokémon began to move almost at once, with Ariados firing a blob of sticky webbing-material and Octillery shooting a Fire Blast at it. The two moves collided in mid-air, and the Sticky Web had just enough time to trigger before it was consumed – producing a momentary web-shaped flash of flame, then nothing.

"Now, water!" Harley said.

Ariados spun around with a clickety-click of spider feet, and fired in the other direction. His partner reacted quickly, turning his head upside down and shooting this web with an Octazooka.

The result was completely different, as the Sticky Web captured the compressed water of the Octazooka and the resulting water-balloon bounced off the Contest hall wall.

Octillery hit it with a Water Gun, bursting it into a shower which rained down on both Pokémon, and then Ariados fired out three Sticky Web attacks in quick succession.

The red cephalopod was a blur as he fired on Sticky Web after Sticky Web – catching every last one Ariados launched, though a couple of them were close. Some of the results were beautiful and startling, like the Sticky Web fusillade which were hit by an Ice Beam and turned into giant, delicate snowflake-like constructs that floated down through the air.

Then Ariados scuttled to one side, getting ready for the finale.

"Launch!" Harley instructed.

Octillery faced down, and used Hydro Pump. The blast of water rocketed him into the air, and covered the floor in water – water which Octillery then froze with an Ice Beam.

Twisting in mid-air, Octillery fired a dozen Bullet Seeds – each one smashing one of the icy webs – and fell back to the floor, landing on a cushion of webbing that Ariados had quickly fabricated for him.

Using lines of String Shot to warp across the ice, Ariados slid into position next to his teammate, and both posed at once.


"Well, you've got to admit, there's a reason he's one of May's rivals," Brock noted. "That was a pretty impressive display – especially if those two Pokémon are new."

"Yeah, I think it was," Max agreed. "Which just means it's more impressive if May beats him."

"So, what do you think of that?" Brock asked, looking over to Pikachu's tail. "I think you haven't seen a Contest before, and that was a Bug type there."

"That was pretty cool," Joltik agreed. "I wonder if I'll be able to do that with webs? I think I heard of a move called Electroweb?"

"Actually, I know that one," Pikachu told her. "I could probably help you learn it. But it's not very safe to use on most Water types."

Joltik considered that.

"Oh, it looks like May's on next," Ash pointed. "I wonder what this routine's going to be..."

"And can everyone please welcome May Maple!" the announcer echoed. "Miss Maple's been a sensation in Hoenn, and she's certainly demonstrated that same talent in Kanto so far!"

May did a bow, dressed in a practical-looking gi, and the announcer continued.

"Her distinctive style often mixes her into the routines of her Pokémon, so let's see what she's got for us today!"


"Well, they're not wrong," May admitted.

She took both Pokéballs, and threw them at once – one in front of her, the other into the air.

The one near the ground burst first, in a crackle of flames and a cloud of smoke – both resulting from the seals May had fitted on the Pokéball, and drawing the attention of the entire crowd.

Blaziken stepped out of the smoke, and took three steps closer to her. His arms went to his side, and he bowed to May – a bow which May returned, careful and graceful.

Then Blaziken turned to the side, and demonstrated a simple punch. Claws rolled up, thumb outside the fingers, putting the whole body into it.

May turned as well, and copied him. She froze at full extension, and Blaziken corrected her a little.

The crowd was hushed, wondering what the trick was, as May copied the punch again – this time getting a nod.

Then Blaziken stepped two paces further back, and took a more fluid stance. He punched low, high, and then did a sweeping kick, and as he did there was a sudden flicker of white-blue movement – the form of an Altaria appearing, following the arc of his kick for just a moment before disappearing.

Rising back to his feet, Blaziken invited May to do the same.

May tried, but her foot slipped as she went for the spin. No Altaria appeared, and Blaziken helped her back up before demonstrating for a second time.

This time there was no mistaking it, as the translucent form of an Altaria appeared on the outside edge of Blaziken's strike.

May took a deep breath, and repeated the combination. This time she got it right, and Altaria appeared for her as well.

A soft, singing note resonated into the air, fading after a moment but not quite going away.


"How's she doing that?" Max asked. "I get she's using Altaria, but..."

He glanced at Ash. "Actually, where is Altaria?"

"Hiding up above the stage lights," Ash answered. "I think it's Double Team."

As they spoke, Blaziken and May began doing their moves side by side, an increasingly complex kata of martial arts moves. Every third or fourth strike invoked Altaria again, and the Dragon-type timed his Double Team attacks perfectly to keep up the illusion.

With each strike, each combination, the singing notes grew. What had been a single note began to rise into a full scale, and they accentuated the kata as it developed more and more ornate moves. A rising strike was met with a swiftly-piped ascending scale, and then a moment later Blaziken and May both did a two-handed block which briefly meant there were four Altaria illusions at once.


May did a rising forehand block, copying Blaziken a few feet to her front-left. Before it had even reached full extension, both of them took another step and used the movement to power a second rising block with the other arm.

Instead of doing a third, however, Blaizken spun around and faced her. May continued her kata, and now Blaziken was fitting into it with great care – using his own greater skill to correct for any imperfections in her performance and make it look natural.

The two traded three combinations of blows, all of them blocked and with illusory Altaria flicking around them in all directions, and then Blaziken reached down and formed a stirrup with his hands.

May stepped into it, and Blaziken launched her into the air – and the song, which had been building to a crescendo, suddenly went completely silent.

There were gasps, gasps which May noticed but didn't let distract her.

She brought her hands together in front of her, clasped them at the apex of her rise, and brought them to her chest-

-and there was a bright flash of golden light, accompanied by a cloud of smoke and a burst of pure, sweet song.

A moment later, Mega Altaria flew out of the cloud, with May safely on his back.


"Oh, and a wonderful finisher from miss Maple there!" the announcer said. "That's a very well timed Mega Evolution, along with another demonstration of her trademark – getting right in with her Pokémon and performing alongside them!"

"Wooow..." Joltik gaped. "That was so cool!"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, May's pretty good at that kind of thing. And she's been doing that martial arts training for a while, so it's good to see that."

"It's also a big difference from when Swablu first evolved into Altaria," Brock pointed out, as May landed again and she and her Pokémon took a bow. "May's become a lot more confident – I can't actually remember the last time she used her harness, either."

"So… if May flies on Altaria a thousand feet in the sky, is that like me sitting on her head?"

Brock did the mental math. "I… actually think it might be fairly close..."

"Hmmm..." Joltik buzzed. "It's an interesting question whether an experience like flight can be simulated by mere relative altitude."


"Okay, I think that went really well," May said, once they were backstage again. "I hope we'll get through into the battle section."

She glanced between them. "You know what I mentioned?"

"Yep!" Altaria agreed. "Watch out for Ice attacks, and Blaziken's supposed to set me on fire if that happens."

"It does sound odd, now we say it out loud," Blaziken said simply.

"Well, it's not just that," May clarified. "But yes."

"Sometimes I think our strategies have become odder than before from exposure to Ash," Blaziken added. "Bit hard to test, though."

"Maybe," May agreed. "Who knows."

She considered for a moment, then nodded to Altaria. "I don't know if you'll need to Mega Evolve, but if you do – let me know and I'll sort it out."

Altaria's wing patted his Mega Stone for a moment, and he nodded firmly.

"Right!" May said, giving them both a thumbs-up. "Let's go!"


"So… May Maple," Harley said, hands on his hips. "We meet again."

"We met half an hour ago," May pointed out.

"We're still meeting again," Harley countered. "This is a challenge!"

He sent out his Pokémon, and Ariados scuttled back to stand next to him as Octillery squished forwards. "Now, let us begin!"

"It sounds like there's a grudge match in the offing," Nurse Joy said, interested.

"What's an offing?" Contesta asked.

"It's like an itinerary," Joy answered. "You know. Something that's going to happen."

They were interrupted by a brilliant flash of flame and smoke as Blaziken came out of his Pokéball.

"Sorry!" May called. "I, uh, forgot to take off the seals..."

"Hm," Harley said, shaking his head. "A beginner's error."

"Yep, I guess I still forget sometimes," May admitted readily. "It happens to everyone."

"All right!" Joy instructed. "Begin!"

"String Shot!" Harley called.

Ariados fired out a pair of String Shots, one from either side of his body, and the sticky threads stuck to two of Octillery's tentacles.

Blaziken came running in, doing a handspring and flexing his body into an arc, and then tried to use the straightening movement as a spring to launch Octillery into the air. By the time he was ready, however, Octillery used Hydro Pump – launching himself into the air, his flight controlled by the two String Shots Ariados had attached to him.

The Bug-type was already moving fast, scuttling around the edge of the arena, and pulling alternately on one string or the other to alter where Octillery was at the same time as Octillery was using his watery rocket propulsion to move.

"Blaze Kick!" May instructed. "Cut the cables!"

Blaziken rolled forwards, swinging his legs around in an arc as he fired off his Blaze Kick. It blurred through the threads without any noticeable resistance, but Ariados was already launching new ones before he'd even contacted the old ones – and so Octillery's flight was under control again in less than a second.

The squishy Water-type took the opportunity to retarget and switch to Octazooka, and a blast of water went straight at Blaziken – with Ariados hauling on his String Shot cables to keep Octillery from blasting off and out of the arena entirely.

Blaziken raised his arms, ready to block, and then a blur of blue and white intercepted the attack. Altaria came swooping down to take position between Octillery and Blaziken, leaving the odd image of all four Pokémon in what amounted to a straight line.

"Aurora Beam!" Harley instructed.

Everything happened very fast.

Octillery switched modes to Aurora Beam, and sent a multicoloured salvo of icy energy flicking towards his dripping wet opponent as Altaria began to hum. Then Blaziken got involved, sweeping his leg around and kicking a spike of flame off it towards Altaria, and the Ice attack and the Fire attack engulfed Altaria completely in a sudden explosion of steam and mist.

Not stopping, Blaziken swept around the rest of the way, and his foot contacted the string shots – but this time, instead of burning through them, he just touched them. The sticky material stuck to his leg, and he spun – the force pulling Octillery forwards violently, making him stop his Aurora Beam attack out of surprise.

A brilliant golden light flashed inside the cloud, and Mega Altaria burst out. He swept his wings around to clear some of the mist, and his song turned into a shriek – one which took on physical force, forming a glittering wave of sparkling pink and blue motes which hit Octillery just as the Water-type was about to impact with him.

After that burst of activity, there was a still silence for a moment – one interrupted only by the splat Octillery made against the far wall.

"...I'm not sure what to say," Joy admitted. "You two?"

"Remarkable?" Sukizo suggested.

"That sounds about right."


"So that was a Contest," Joltik said, some time later. "Um… hold on a moment… May? Can you put your hand somewhere I can climb across, please?"

May smiled, and picked Joltik off Pikachu's tail. "You're right," she said. "That was a Contest. What did you think?"

"Well… I think the bit with the Octillery and the Ariados was probably the most interesting part, from the battles..." the Electric-type said.

"Yes, that's how it usually works," Grumpig agreed, inspecting a patterned fan.

"It is?" Manaphy asked. "What is?"

"When there's either Drew or Harley present, that becomes the most important one-on-one of the Contest," the psi-pig explained. "It's just how Rivalries work."

He folded the fan in again with a dramatic snap. "I've been reading some fascinating articles Golduck recommended to me about it. He says a good Psychic type should try to be enigmatic."

"But Golduck isn't a Psychic type," Brock pointed out.

Grumpig shrugged. "Do you want to tell him?"

"Good point," Brock agreed. "Objection withdrawn."

"...uh, I have a question?" Joltik went on. "Do you mind if I just stay up here for now?"

"On my shoulder?" May checked. "Sure – go ahead!"

"Thank you," Joltik said.

"I think maybe Joltik needs to take some lessons in projecting her voice," Ash suggested. "I keep having trouble hearing her."

"I think that's just a size thing."


Dawn yawned, rolling over in her bed to check the clock.

It was pretty early, but she wouldn't have time to properly fall back to sleep before it was time to get up.

"Right," she said, with another yawn. "Okay, I guess I should get dressed..."

She sat up, and was about to change out of her nightclothes when she spotted something.

"...wait..." she began, confused. "Pachirisu? Buneary?"

The two named Pokémon shifted, and Buneary yawned – using her ear to cover her mouth as she let loose a jaw-cracking yaaaawn.

She blinked, shaking her head, and twitched her whiskers interrogatively at Dawn.

"Was that there last night?" Dawn asked, pointing.

Buneary followed her pointing finger, looked, and did a double-take.

On Dawn's desk, nearly contained in a nest of branches and soft leaves, was a dark blue Pokémon egg with four large red spots around the middle. From her angle, Dawn couldn't quite see, but she was sure there was a cream pattern on the lower half.

"...okay, this is getting silly," she announced, and Piplup grumbled in his own bed as her voice woke him. "What's a Cyndaquil egg doing in my room?"

Pachirisu shrugged, and went off to go get breakfast.

"Okay, what time is Ash going to be available..." Dawn mused. "It's going to be a few hours at least, I guess."

She leaned out the door of her room. "Mom?"

"Yes, dear?" Johanna asked, voice floating up from the kitchen. "You're up early!"

"I didn't think it was by much," Dawn replied. "Anyway – that's not important at the moment. I just need to check, did you leave an egg in my room?"

There was a clatter.

"Mom?" Dawn said, worried.

"Don't worry, dear, I just dropped the spatula," Johanna replied. "I know it's been a bit odd how all your Pokémon keep turning up, but – this is one of your Pokémon, right?"

"Theoretically," Dawn replied. "Like I said, it's an egg."

Dawn listened to the silence for several seconds.

"Okay, I'll just assume it makes sense," Johanna decided. "Should I go and get a proper egg canister for it?"

"I'm not sure," Dawn admitted. "It depends how soon Ash is available – if he'll be along today it doesn't seem worth it. But if the Legendary Beasts and Latios and Latias are busy, it might be a few days."

"All right, dear," Johanna replied. "I'll assume-"

"Wait, I forgot, Pidgeot too," Dawn corrected.

Johanna started laughing.


Ash nodded. "Okay, I understand… right. Should be there soon, Dawn."

"Another one of her Pokémon?" Brock asked.

"Yeah," Ash confirmed.

"Which one is it this time?" Pikachu said. "Not Buizel or Ambipom, right?"

"Quilava, we think," Ash told them.

"...isn't she an egg?"

"Didn't stop me," Lucario pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was a one-off thing and probably involved pure luck," Pikachu dismissed. "This is freakish coincidence. What happened?"

"Apparently it appeared in her room overnight," Ash said, already frowning. "Hmmm… I don't think Ho-Oh is supersonic..."

The Storm's End exploded out of his Pokéball.

"Try me," Ho-Oh invited.

"...what, really?" Brock asked. "But you're clearly not built for supersonic flight."

"Several members of Ash's team aren't built for flight at all," Ho-Oh dismissed. "More seriously, I have been preparing for this."

He cleared his throat. "I," he began, "have been reading engineering magazines."

"Wait," Brock said slowly. "What kind of engineering magazines?"

"Aviation, of course," Ho-Oh answered. "Have you ever heard of a ramjet?"

Lucario immediately raised his paw.

"How safe is this for Ash to be involved with?" he asked.

"… quite?" Ho-Oh tried. "I have done several test runs. The most recent two did not involve any dangerously high temperatures in the passenger area."

"I… think I might ask Latios for a ride," Ash said. "But you can certainly come along."

"I'll have to be content with that, I suppose," Ho-Oh decided.


"Can I just check, dear?" Johanna asked. "How many Pokémon did you have?"

"...well..." Dawn began, adjusting the blankets over the egg. "If this is Quilava, then he's the last one who is, or will be, one I got, myself. There's also an Ambipom who Ash caught, a Buizel I traded to him for Ambipom, and a Togekiss I got from Princess Salvia."

"Yes, silly me," Johanna agreed.

She leaned back a little as Glameow jumped onto the table, then shrugged. "I sometimes think you're being so casual about that partly to see my reaction."

Dawn smiled. "Well, maybe there's a bit of that."

"And I'm sure you enjoy the result," her mother countered. "Well, that's fine."

She looked out the window. "How do you think Ash is going to arrive?"

"I think we can narrow it down to Suicune, Pidgeot, Mega Latias or Mega Latios," Dawn said. "They're the ones who can control the wind. If he'd had Mewtwo to teleport him he'd already be here, though."

"Why does the wind matter?" Johanna asked, then held up a hand. "Wait, I think I've worked it out. It's because Pokémon don't have windshields?"

"Well, Mega Latias and Mega Latios have windshields, but yeah," Dawn confirmed.

"So-"

Johanna stopped. "Do you hear that?"

Buneary stretched out her ear to listen as well, and nodded, as did her trainer. Glameow, deciding she didn't like where this was going, dove off the table and stuffed her head under a cushion.

The sound got louder very quickly. It was a terrific shrieking roar – almost like the sound of a fire at full blaze, but far higher and louder at the same time. Then it crescendoed with a bang that rattled the windows, dropping as it did to a lower register, and faded away.

Dawn looked out the window.

"Huh," she said. "Ash is here."

"I guessed," her mother replied tartly. "What was that awful noise?"


"It is a work in progress," Ho-Oh admitted, as the last wisps of his jet boost faded away. "I remain baffled by the baffling."

"Yes, it was pretty loud," Latios agreed, as he transitioned down from Mega. "Well, during the times we weren't supersonic, though I bet it was loud then too."

Ho-Oh nodded, and they began to drift towards the ground – Ho-Oh making wide, swooping circles, and Latios just dropping straight downwards.

"Do you have any thoughts, Ash?" Ho-Oh tried.

"Well..." Ash frowned, thinking. "I didn't see a huge amount of it when the jet was running, but I think the problem was probably how much fire you were using. That and doing it close to the ground."

He waved his hands. "If you do it up high, you shouldn't have the same problems with noise, and I guess… well, maybe that the hot air from your fires should be acting as a sound deflector."

"I will certainly think on it," Ho-Oh decided, backwinging once and landing neatly on the grass.

As Ash slid off Latios' back, the door to Dawn's house opened.

"Hi, Ash!" Dawn waved. "I didn't realize you were going to bring Ho-Oh."

"Ho-Oh decided to stick around until something violent and dangerous happened," Ash said. "I think?"

"I've decided to stick around until something happens which justifies my sticking around," Ho-Oh clarified. "And I will be the judge of that."

"It was the Mirage Pokémon thing," Ash clarified.

"That, right, you said," Dawn realized. "Hey, I think Barry might just have noticed the Legendary Pokémon standing on his lawn."

Ho-Oh tilted his head, puzzled, then looked to one side.

"...there appears to be a blond boy standing by my leg, and attempting to resonate."

"Let's just go sort this out?" Ash suggested.

"Right," Dawn agreed.

"You're one of Ash's Pokémon, right?" Barry asked. "Both of you? That's so cool! I heard online that Ash Ketchum is supposed to be the person with the most Legendaries in the world. Is that accurate? I looked on encyclopedia sites but they said you were Citation Needed and I wasn't sure what that meant for the whole idea of Ash having so many Legendary Pokémon."

Ho-Oh shot a helpless glance at Latios. "Was he always like this?" he asked, sticking to pure Pokémon-speech.

"Ahem," Latios countered, doing the same. "How would I know?"

"...oh, right," Ho-Oh said. "My apologies, Latios. I forgot."

"It's okay," Latios assured him. "But my guess is that he was not quite this extreme."


"Yep, that's Cyndaquil – Quilava, sorry," Ash corrected himself. "After so long seeing him as a Cyndaquil, it's hard sometimes – I know I saw him in Unova, but..."

"At the moment he's an egg," Pikachu pointed out. "So he's not Cyndaquil or Quilava."

"Well, yeah, but you know what I mean," Ash replied.

"So… how does this work?" Johanna asked. "You touch them, and they get their memories?"

"That's… about as much as I've needed to understand about it," Ash replied. "I mean, it's a lot more complicated, but I understand how to do it and roughly what it does. So that's about all I need."

He reached out a hand, and touched the egg.

Both the Berlitzes watched as a white light suffused the egg – and, when it faded, Dawn's Quilava stood there.

He rolled his neck, and looked around. "Time travel," he stated. "So this is what it's like to participate."

"Yeah, pretty much," Ash agreed.

"That's new," the Fire-type noted. "Can Dawn do that as well?"

"Not yet," Ash told him.

"Good to have you back," Buneary said, proffering a paw for Quilava to shake. He did so, then extended the same courtesy to Pachirisu.

"We'll have to tell you all about it," Buneary added. "It's a pretty long story, but an interesting one-"

There was a fwap as Piplup landed on the table.

"Quilava," he said, simply. "I take it you've not forgotten our argument?"

"What argument?" Quilava countered. "If this is about that ridiculous pronouncement on architectural merit, then you're not going to find a sympathetic ear here!"

Piplup put his flippers on his hips. "I don't think you appreciated my point – of course a colonnade can be impressive, and I don't think anyone's ever argued otherwise. But non-structural columns, added because they look cool, is outside the bounds of good taste. It's tacky, is what it is."

Quilava reared up, glaring across at Piplup. "Elitism doesn't help your case, you know."

As the argument picked up steam, Buneary sighed. "Here we go again..."

"It's been months by Piplup's clock," Pachirisu marvelled. "How did he remember what they were talking about right before time went screwy?"

"Oh, you two…" Dawn sighed. "Sorry, Mom, I forgot these two had a bit of a problem with one another. They're always arguing about something, but I've never understood what got them so riled up."

"Architecture, apparently," Ash said.

Dawn blinked. "...huh. Wouldn't have taken either of them for construction critics."

"It was movies the week before, and topiary two weeks before that," Buneary informed anyone who could understand her. "I think they just enjoy it by now."


"It kind of sucks that we just see one another when I have to come up and remind one of your Pokémon," Ash said, some minutes later. "It's great that you have most of your team already, though."

"Yeah, I agree," Dawn smiled, giving Quilava another fond look. "I'm just trying to work out how – if – Togekiss is going to show up too."

She shrugged. "Well, that's going to matter when it matters."

Ash nodded.

"Oh," he added. "I know Suicune said she'd be showing up every so often – how's that going?"

"It's a help," Dawn agreed. "She's been trying to help with the Aura thing, and it's kind of slow going – I can understand her when she doesn't use much Aura, but not when she doesn't use any, and the rest of my Pokémon aren't any more understandable."

"It'll come," Ash assured her. "It took me a week of training, and then a bit longer before I first understood Pikachu."

Johanna frowned. "That… doesn't sound like a long time."

Ash chuckled. "Yeah, but I spent the entire week – without sleeping – learning about Aura. That's… at least a hundred hours."

"And I am sure that most people would have taken at least ten," Pikachu said, deadpan.

"Hey!" Ash laughed.

"All right, Ash," Dawn told him, smiling. "I'll keep working on it. I'm looking forward to being able to discuss things with Piplup and the others."

Ash waved, then turned to Latios and Ho-Oh.

"...are you giving autographs?"

"Please save us from him," Latios pleaded. "He does not stop talking."


"I have made a decision," Ferris announced.

"You have?" Brock asked. "What might that be, then?"

"I have heard about this Pokémon Battle thing, and I have decided it is an honourable thing. I would like to train to headbutt things for a living."

Max started to snigger. "That's… a unique way of putting it?"

"I like it," Cinder supplied. "Nice and straightforward."

"True," Max agreed.

He looked over at his sister, where Grumpig, Wartortle and Manaphy were discussing how to use manipulation of water in a battle or a contest.

"So… let's see," he said, opening Kris to check his facts. "Right. Aron are mostly very physical Pokémon, so the big problem is probably going to be being able to get up close to an opponent."

He glanced down to make sure Ferris was following along, and clarified further. "The problem is what to do if your opponent doesn't want to stand still for long enough for you to flatten them. So we're going to want to work on speed."

"Right," Brock agreed. "That sounds about right to me. There's a move called Rock Polish which really helps Rock types get a lot faster than they're supposed to be, so that could be something to work on."

Ferris nodded seriously.

"Actually, I don't think I really know your moves yet," Max frowned. "Maybe you should have a practice battle?"

He thought for a moment.

"Hey, Roland?" he asked.

The Kirlia promptly came out of his Pokéball. "Yes?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to do a quick demonstration with Ferris, so we can see what moves he already knows," Max explained.

"Sure, sounds good," Roland agreed.

He took a stance, and bowed. Ferris tilted his head, then nodded back.

"Okay, Roland, just tag Ferris to show he's been hit – nothing dangerous," Max said. "And Ferris, don't hit Roland too hard either, if you do get a chance."

Ferris nodded again, crouching down a little.

Then he clattered forwards, aiming a Headbutt at Roland.

The Kirlia flicked a foot or two away, dodging out from in front of Ferris' forehead.

"That's not bad, actually," he said. "I can just teleport, but with other Pokémon you want to try and make it so they can't escape successfully. Even if they have time to notice, they might not have time to get out of the way."

Ferris took that in. "That is smart."

"Well, I got a lot of it from Blaziken," Roland admitted. "He talks a lot about no-escape zone theory."

"Want another go?" Max asked. "If you've got a more unusual move, give it a go."

The Aron took a step back, claw scraping on the ground, then suddenly blasted forwards in a corona of yellow and purple flames.

The sight so startled Roland that he forgot to teleport away, but the attack just hit him with a bonk sound and no visible effect.

Ferris bounced off, rolling over onto his back, and looked a little annoyed before managing to flip back onto his front again.

"What happened?" Max asked. "Wait… was that Dragon Rush?"

"Suddenly I'm glad I hadn't decided to evolve just yet," Roland noted.

"That's a pretty cool Egg Move," Max grinned, tapping Ferris affectionately on the cephalon. "And it'll be a good surprise against Pokémon who are expecting to have an easy time with you."

Ferris nodded, and then they were interrupted as Brock pointed.

"I think that's Ho-Oh," he said.

"How can you tell?" Max asked.

"No, wait, let me guess," Cinder called. "It's the flames."

"That does help," Brock agreed. "Okay, looks like we can get moving again after Ash gets back – and we can discuss what Ferris should learn first."


AN:


So that's what that other egg was.

Also, another Contest for May (feat. Martial Arts), and some Dawn stuff. And a certain overprotective Legendary.

Incidentally, I do hope the more "OC" of the characters I've used in this fic (including the most recent two) integrate well.