"Goodness," Princess Salvia said, inspecting Dawn. "I hadn't realized quite how much you resemble me."
Dawn nodded, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, it's kind of odd… looking at someone who's so similar."
"Indeed." Salvia sat. "Now. How much do you know."
"Not a lot..." Dawn admitted. "I know we look the same, and that you're a princess..."
She shook her head. "But the rest of the situation is kind of unexpected."
"Do you want some tea?" Johanna asked. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting a royal visit – I can get some better tea if you give me a few minutes to run to the shops."
"That will not be necessary, thank you," Salvia assured her.
Freesia produced a letter from a pocket of her dress. "This appeared on the dress of Princess Salvia earlier today," she said. "We naturally followed up on it."
Dawn read the letter, frowned, and read it again.
"That is just… bizarre," she said. "You sent an email?"
"I did," Freesia confirmed. "Within a few minutes, we got a reply detailing your identity and that your house was here."
Dawn shook her head. "That's kind of creepy, actually," she said. "Sorry, but… this has all kind of come out of the blue. I know I have some odd things in my life, but this isn't one of them."
"Odd things?" Princess Salvia asked, curious. "Like what?"
"Well… things," Dawn began, a bit awkwardly. "So, firstly, there's this thing with Legendary Pokémon."
She checked the clock. "Actually, I think you might find out in a moment."
Right on cue, there was a knock on the door.
"I think that's Suicune, Mom," Dawn said. "Should I get it?"
Salvia shot a confused look at Freesia, who spread her hands.
"I'll do it," Johanna told her, and went to the door.
When it opened, it revealed Suicune standing there politely on the doormat.
"Dawn?" she asked. "I think we had a lesson planned for this afternoon?"
"That's right," Dawn called. "Thing is, a princess has shown up to discuss things with me… do come in, though."
"Thank you," the Aurora Pokémon smiled, padding into the house. "And greetings to both of you, as well."
"Greetings, honoured Legendary," Princess Salvia replied, putting her hands together and sketching a brief bow. "It is a pleasant surprise to see you here."
"I'm not the only one," Suicune replied. "I think there's incoming help, Dawn."
"Help?" Freesia repeated. "What kind of help?"
There was a thunderous BOOM which rattled the windows.
"Come on, Ash..." Dawn sighed. "Brake before you go overhead."
"I think that's technically Pidgeot's fault," Suicune observed, as the Pidgeot in question landed outside.
"Okay," Dawn said, as Ash got off his Flying-type and recalled her for a rest. "You're going to find out about this anyway, so here's the quick version. I'm a time traveller."
"I can vouch for her," Suicune volunteered.
"I… see," Salvia said, neutrally. "Interesting."
"I know, it's kind of odd," Dawn admitted. "We met back before I went back in time, and you asked for my help to get a bit of relief from being a princess all the time, so we dressed up as one another and you won a Contest ribbon with Togekiss."
"What happened then?" Salvia asked.
"Well..." Dawn shrugged, a little awkwardly. "Togekiss liked it, so she came with me. She went back to visit occasionally, but we did spend most of the next year together – that's when the time travel happened."
Ash came in the door. "Hi, Dawn," he said. "Sorry about the delay. Uh… Princess?"
"Ah, you must be Sir Ketchum," Princess Salvia said, giving him another small nod. "I heard about your knighting from the Togepi Kingdom."
"Yeah, that," Ash agreed. "It still feels kind of odd to me."
"Princess," Dawn said, drawing their attention back to her. "I think I know a way to show what I mean about time travel. Ash has an ability he can use with some people he knew from the future – and their Pokémon – to… sort of remind them how their life went in the future. If that makes sense."
"I… don't follow," Freesia admitted.
"So… a good example is my Buneary," Dawn began. "I actually met her when I set out on my journey, some months from now, but when I happened to encounter her again Ash was able to remind her of when we met – and all our time since then."
"Ah, I see," Suicune volunteered. "You think it would be a good idea to show Princess Salvia, by demonstrating on Togekiss."
"That's right," Dawn confirmed.
They looked at Princess Salvia, who seemed somewhat lost.
"Well..." she began, then composed herself. "It is my opinion that your proposed test is worth trying."
She raised a finger. "But if this plan is to go forwards – specifically, the plan detailed in the letter – I think that it would be only sensible for Dawn to undergo some training in political theory."
Dawn blinked.
"Simply to ensure that you fulfil your acting role," Salvia clarified. "It should not be hard to pick up the basics, and few will expect an expert of you."
She sent out Togekiss, who looked torn between eagerness and confusion.
Buneary squeaked, drawing their attention to the little Normal-type on one of the stairs.
Piplup, who was on the next step up, told Buneary off sharply, and then Quilava (the step above that one) and Pachirisu (on the bannister) scurried upstairs.
"It seems that your Pokémon recognize their old teammate," Suicune said.
"So..." Ash began. "Should I, uh… is that okay with you?"
Togekiss realized he was addressing her, and nodded after a moment's contemplation.
Ash reached out and touched the tip of her wing, and there was a flash of blue Aura.
The Jubilee Pokémon shook her head, and looked around in confusion for a moment before brightening. "To-gi?"
"She says that she's a little bit disoriented remembering two sets of memories, but it's fine," Suicune supplied, for the benefit of those who weren't Ash. "She's also glad to see both her trainers, and hopes that you'll come to a resolution."
"You got all of that from two syllables?" Freesia asked.
"Pokémon languages can be very concise."
After everyone else had left, Dawn sat down on her rug with Suicune.
"Okay, let's try this one," Suicune said. "I want you to tell me how far into this sentence you-cune cune-suiii-"
"I lost you after 'this sentence you'," Dawn reported.
Suicune nodded. "I see. That's very good, Dawn – last month you wouldn't have heard any of it."
"Wouldn't that have made it hard to understand the instructions?" Dawn asked.
"I feel sure we would have been able to work it out," Suicune chuckled. "But fortunately the problem did not arise."
"That's true, I guess..." Dawn agreed, nodding. "Okay, so… what's the next step?"
"More meditation, I'm afraid," Suicune told her. "It may help to have one of your Pokémon with you."
The young trainer straightened. "Sounds like a good idea – I'll see if Piplup's busy."
Suicune watched as Dawn went upstairs, then turned her attention to Johanna. "I hope we're not causing too much disruption."
"It's fine, really," Johanna assured her. "I feel like things just keep escalating – and after the first time a Legendary showed up I didn't think that was possible – but..."
She shook her head. "One of the things that parents often say is that their daughters are their little princesses. I suppose in this case it's… not quite literal, but close."
Suicune used her paw to hide a chuckle.
"You're sure we did them in that order?" May asked.
Absolutely.
"Wow..."
"What is it, momma?" Manaphy asked, peering down at Ethan's screen. "Why are you surprised?"
"Well… look," May said, as Ethan plotted out their route around the Battle Frontier. "That's not the most sensible route at all – especially since we started in Pallet Town, not far from Cremini Town."
"Oh, I see," Manaphy agreed. "Maybe we were just following a good current?"
He put a flipper to his chin, looking up slightly. "No, that can't be right. They're called breezes in air."
"We also don't use them to travel, much," May told him. "They're used for ships, but not for land vehicles. Anyway, the reason I was looking was to see how far we are from the Battle Tower."
She zoomed in, and blinked. "Huh. Pretty close, actually…"
"Found it!" Ash reported from up ahead. "There's a really tall tree, we were just coming towards the Battle Tower from the far side of the tree and it was blocking our view!"
"That seems about right for our luck," May admitted.
"I wonder if I should volunteer to knock down the tree," Blaziken said. "Would that be a good idea?"
"Probably not, no," May replied absently. "I think it's part of the landscaping."
"But it would still be part of the landscape if it were horizontal."
"Have you been taking hints from Lucario?"
There was a knock on the door, and Anabel paused mid-sentence.
"I wonder who that is," she mused, then glanced at Espeon. The Psychic-type nodded back, and Anabel placed her hand on Espeon's back before concentrating.
With the faintest of clicks, the door swung smoothly open.
"Salon Maiden," said the man in the doorway. "You have a challenger."
"Ah, excellent," Scott said, getting to his feet. "We'll finish our discussion later, Anabel?"
"I'd love to," Anabel agreed, removing her hand from Espeon's back and getting up herself. "But yes, I think this is probably Ash Ketchum."
She looked up to her judge. "Is that right, Maron?"
"It certainly is," Maron agreed. "That or an Ash Ketchum impersonator holding a conversation with thin air."
"That sounds like the Latias or the Latios, then," Scott agreed. "It's strange how so many very powerful Pokémon trainers tend to be eccentric."
"I hope you're not suggesting anything, Scott," Anabel replied.
They reached the lift, which was already on their floor, and filed in.
"Not at all, Anabel," Scott replied. "But it's a simple fact – just look at Alder."
Espeon nodded along, pressing the ground-floor button with his telekinesis.
"I suppose you're right," Anabel agreed. "And, if I'm honest with myself, most normal trainers can't connect so closely with their Pokémon."
"There you go," the Battle Frontier's owner said. "Eccentric isn't an insult in the least."
"I can't remember what the gimmick of the Battle Tower is," Max said. "Ash?"
"I don't think it has one," Ash replied. "Is that right?"
Correct, Dexter confirmed. According to news articles, there were considerations of giving the Battle Tower a special trick, but the Battle Tower franchise objected – they're the ones who like to rate Pokémon into tiers.
"Oh, yeah, I remember them," Ash agreed.
The door opened, cutting off their conversation and revealing Anabel – the Salon Maiden of what was confusingly not called the Battle Salon.
Next to her was an energetic man in a loud Alolan shirt.
"Aha!" the man said, running down the steps. "Mr. Ketchum, there you are at last!"
"Scott, right?" Brock asked, recognizing him.
"That's me," Scott agreed. "You're… one of the Pewter gym leaders? I'm always on the lookout for talent."
He waved his hand. "But the important issue is with Ash Ketchum here! How are you finding my Battle Frontier?"
"With great difficulty," May muttered, remembering their complicated route all over Kanto.
"It's been pretty interesting," Ash said. "I've had some hard fights on my journey."
"Yes," Scott agreed. "I'm quite proud of my work. But speaking of which… did you know the Battle Frontier is invitation only?"
Ash blinked, then brightened. "Oh, yeah, now I remember!"
He blushed. "Um… oops?"
Scott gave Ash his best stern glare for about four seconds, then laughed. "Oh, don't worry. It's only invitation only so that the Frontier Brains have more time to train – without needing to spend most of their time dealing with challengers of all levels like they do in the Gym System! I can assure you that I'd have invited you like a shot, if I could only find you."
"Where did you look?" Max asked. "Ash introduces himself by hometown half the time."
"...you know, that's probably where I went wrong," Scott mused. "I should really have spent more time investigating Pallet Town than outer space. But that's all water under the bridge now!"
He stepped aside, drawing attention back to Anabel. "Now, let's get to that battle of yours!"
"Mr. Ketchum," Anabel began. "If you're not aware, the rule of the Battle Tower is that we have regulation tournament battles. Three Pokémon each, no special rules."
"Yeah, I do know," Ash confirmed. "Dexter said something about licensing?"
"Dexter?" Anabel asked, then nodded when Ash held up his Pokédex. "Of course. I researched your team, but it's quite a large one so it's hard to keep track of."
She clasped her hands. "In any case. Please select your Pokémon before the battle."
"Already done it!" Ash replied. "Let's go!"
Anabel nodded. "Very quick of you."
She sent out her first Pokémon, an Alakazam, and Ash did the same thing with his Houndoom.
"Wait a moment..." Ash frowned. "-Houndoom, Fire Blast!"
Anabel smiled slightly, and Alakazam's spoons went up. They glowed, and the sudden blast of intense heat washed off a burst of psychic energy.
Then the glittering Mega Stone on his forehead lit up, and Alakazam began to change.
It lifted both feet off the ground, clasping them together, and floated in mid-air in defiance of such pedestrian things as pedestrianism (and gravity), and three additional spoons appeared in little sparks of white light above a head developing into a diamond shape.
When the light faded, it was also possible to see other changes to Mega Alakazam – his mustache had lengthened and turned white, supplemented by a beard, and the sections of armour-like material had become larger and bulkier – becoming more like robes than before.
Finally, a red stone appeared in the centre of Mega Alakazam's forehead, and glowed with a red light.
"...I should have asked about that," Ash admitted. "Okay, Houndoom, don't use any Fire type attacks!"
"Yeah," Houndoom agreed. "Trace."
Then he dodged to one side, away from a Focus Blast which blew a small hole in the floor.
Anabel's expression changed slightly, and Alakazam gestured. Two of his spoons began to crackle with electrical energy, while the other three remained clear and ready to defend.
Houndoom used Double Team, not just once but a dozen times, spilling out duplicate illusions of himself in all directions. One of the Charge Beams was decoyed off into striking a Double Team illusion, but after that they began to quickly zero in on which one was the real him.
His tail flicked from side to side, and he shouted. "Dark Pulse!"
Mega Alakazam's shield didn't do a thing to stop the surge of malicious energy, which struck home and made the Psychic-type wobble backwards.
"Interesting," Anabel commented, as Mega Alakazam retaliated by switching all five spoons to attack and firing out a series of Charge Beam attacks. "You don't talk to your Pokémon in battle much."
"I try to train them to be independent," Ash replied. "Especially with a well trained Pokémon, you shouldn't need to order them to attack – and especially not to dodge."
As he spoke, Houndoom pounced at the wall. Paws pressing into it, he twisted and pushed off again – high enough that he could fire a Dark Pulse which came down from above towards Mega Alakazam's shield.
The Psychic-type skimmed rapidly to one side, countering with a Focus Blast, and Houndoom vanished in an explosion of smoke.
A moment later, however, Houndoom landed intact on the floor of the stadium and loped off – seemingly no worse for wear.
That was interesting, Anabel noted. Was that Smokescreen?
It didn't look like it, Mega Alakazam replied. Anyway, I fired my attack first – it should have hit.
Attack, on the left, Anabel cautioned. And I agree. Something is odd here.
Mega Alakazam's spoons flicked out, two of them launching out Dazzling Gleam attacks while the other three readied a more durable Protect shield to replace the simpler shield of pure psychic energy. Houndoom dodged the first, and the second caught him a glancing blow on the tail – making him shout, more in rage than in pain.
Good, you're pressuring him, Anabel observed. Now, Dazzling Gleam with all five.
Reverting to primary attention focus for shield, Alakazam replied, clasping his hands and readying to use Protect in case Houndoom managed to avoid being knocked out.
"Go for it, Houndoom!" Ash called, as all five spoons began to glow a brilliant pink.
Be ready to adjust, Anabel cautioned.
For a long second, Houndoom continued to pace at a slow speed around the edge of the arena – then suddenly surged to full speed, just as the glow of the spoons brightened to the full power of the Dazzling Gleam attack.
Two will hit, Mega Alakazam stated with certainty, and then all five attacks flashed out at once. The waves of power crashed into the arena floor and wall all around Houndoom, throwing up clouds of dust and more than a few splinters – but it wasn't quite possible to see what had happened, for the first second or so.
Then Mega Alakazam exerted a pulse of psychic pressure to blow the smoke away, and revealed a very odd sight indeed.
Ash's Houndoom seemed to be, once more, none the worse for wear. And, crouching over him, were the wings of a shadowy Ho-Oh.
The half-there Legendary dissolved a moment later, producing another cloud of smoke, and Houndoom's tail whipcracked through the air. "Beat Up!"
Anabel got the meaning through her link with Mega Alakazam, and for a moment she was puzzled – then realized what Ash's team was like.
Look out! she told Mega Alakazam. Shield!
Duplicates of Houndoom appeared to either side of him, flicking out like a Double Team, then they shimmered with shadowy energy and changed into copies of other Pokémon on Ash's team – Pikachu, Lucario, Ho-Oh and Latios.
The first of the duplicates exploded a second later as Mega Alakazam fired a spoon right through it, and managed to hit Houndoom on the side of the head as well – sending him rolling over on his side. But the Dark-type recovered quickly, springing to his paws, and sent the other Beat Up duplicates at Mega Alakazam as fast as they could.
For the next several seconds, it was a mad rush by Mega Alakazam to keep up with the task at hand. His spoons were up to the task of disrupting a Beat Up shadow-clone if they hit hard enough, and he could control them all at once, but they still had inertia and Houndoom wasn't so foolish as to send his reinforcements along the same line. It took all the attention Anabel could spare to keep looking in the places Mega Alakazam couldn't, and sparing the time to charge up a more powerful attack wasn't happening.
Then Mega Alakazam flinched suddenly, and the current Lucario duplicate got through to hammer a blow in against his shield. It didn't go down, but it was a worrying drain on the strength of the barrier.
Down one spoon, Mega Alakazam reported. Just lost it. Lost another.
Anabel scanned the room, looking for the source of the problem – then blinked.
Houndoom jumped into the air just as another of the duplicate Ho-Oh was destroyed, and snagged a spoon out of the air. It joined the two already in his powerful jaws, unable to move as he kept Mega Alakazam from recovering them, and he landed with a grunt before sending out another wave of Beat Up clones.
Houndoom is taking them! Can you feel them?
No, Mega Alakazam replied. His Dark type nature is jamming me. Where?
Anabel sent him the location, and Mega Alakazam drew back both remaining spoons before firing them out charged with a Focus Blast and a Dazzling Gleam – one each.
The two implements flashed out at Houndoom, and hit – and went right through.
Anabel had just enough time to be shocked before the real Houndoom – hiding among his latest wave of Beat Up doubles – pounced. He fired a Dark Pulse which discharged Mega Alakazam's compromised shields, then dove through the gap and slammed into Mega Alakazam himself.
The Mega-evolved Psychic-type was no pushover even at close range, and hit Houndoom with a painful Focus Punch right to the collarbone. Ash's Houndoom winced, but kept his grip and retaliated with a Crunch attack – then a second one.
I fold, Mega Alakazam sent.
I agree. "Hold!" Anabel called out loud.
"Stop fighting," Maron requested, and Houndoom stopped his attack straight away. Mega Alakazam did the same, and reverted with a flash of orange light.
"Impressive," Anabel went on, recalling her Alakazam. "A Feint Attack? Yes, that's certainly one of those attacks it's better not to actually order out loud."
"So, Scott?" Brock asked, getting the attention of the Battle Frontier owner as Anabel switched out her Pokémon. "How's it so far?"
"Well!" Scott said, with a chuckle. "I sort of wish I'd seen-"
"Wait!" Max interrupted.
"...did I say something wrong?" Scott asked, puzzled.
In reply, Max opened his bag to allow Jirachi to float out. "Please don't wish things near Jirachi," he requested. "He can say no, but it's still really distracting."
"Well, goodness," Scott blinked. "I hadn't realized – no, I should have done the research on all of you. My apologies, young man."
He shook his head. "Now, where was I – that's right. It'd be nice if I could have seen those battles."
"Some of them were pretty impressive," Brock agreed. "And… I think Ethan, Kris or Dexter – those are the Porygon or Porygon-2 – might have some recordings."
Scott's reply was cut off by Maron chopping his hand down. "Begin!"
Houndoom opened fire in a literal sense, sending a rush of flames surging out towards Espeon. The Psychic-type flicked his tail, producing a radial burst of psychic energy, and blew the flames away – then followed that up with a Dazzling Gleam, one fired so quickly that the flames still provided a bit of a screen for his attack.
The Dark-type winced at the impact – not hit as badly as he would be if he wasn't also a Fire-type, but still painful – and formed a full set of Beat Up doubles with a tail-crack, then dodged away from any follow-up attack by Espeon.
Espeon's answer was both simple and effective, as he pulsed another burst of air pressure outwards. The thunderclap was powerful enough to disrupt the clones, and Espeon's next step was to send out a stream of Swift stars.
"Block!" Ash called, alerting Houndoom to the incoming attack in case he hadn't seen it, and a Ho-Oh double formed around the Dark-type just in time to protect him from the shimmering star-barrage.
Espeon lit up with a Flash while that was going on, and when the light faded the Psychic-type had disappeared.
Ash closed his eyes, and winced. "Below you!"
Houndoom jumped out of the way as Espeon emerged from beneath the floor. His claws swiped at Houndoom, augmented by a burst of psychically-boosted speed, and Houndoom hit him with a Dark Pulse – one which made the feline Psychic-type wince – then the two of them were in close quarters.
Ash was surprised that Espeon was willing to fight so close in, but after a moment he realized what was really going on – Espeon was using his telekinesis to move himself around Houndoom, hitting from unexpected directions and avoiding Houndoom's jaws, and the gem on his forehead was glowing with the side-scatter of powering a steady stream of Swift attacks which were what was doing the real damage.
"Houndoom, Fire Spin yourself!" Ash called out.
Houndoom did so, taking a few more Swift hits to the flank as he did so, and a roaring column of flames exploded out around him – as did a second ring of fire, this one maybe ten feet away the moment it appeared before quickly tightening in to trap the Psychic-type between them.
This time Espeon didn't have time to dodge away, and the flames engulfed them both – and Houndoom yelped in surprise, cancelling out the flames and shaking smouldering embers out of his short fur.
While he was dealing with the unusual feeling of actually being harmed by fire, Espeon – who looked none the worse for wear from his flamebath – used his telekinesis trick to move around to one side of Houndoom, then unleashed a Hyper Beam which knocked him halfway across the room and into the wall.
"Nice," Ash said. "I hope Houndoom's okay after that – Skill Swap, right?"
"Yes, well deduced," Anabel confirmed. "I was going to use that to get off a Hyper Beam during the flame – that way Houndoom couldn't block with one of those shadow Pokémon. He ended the Fire Spin too fast, but this worked just as well."
"Right," Ash agreed. "Okay, let's see..."
He looked down at his two remaining Pokéballs, and made his decision.
"Go!" he called, and Kingler burst onto the battlefield.
Don't Skill Swap this one, Anabel instructed. We don't know what his ability is, and if it's Sheer Force it would ruin some of our strategies.
I agree, Espeon sent back.
He focused his psychic power, feeling it building up in his fur.
Begin with Zap Cannon, Anabel added, and Espeon moved – blurring from his current position around in a quarter-circle to attack Kingler from the side.
With a crackling flash, Espeon fired Zap Cannon at his target.
Kingler immediately fired a Water Pulse at him, but an odd one – it went only a few inches from Kingler's claw before abruptly exploding, forming a cloud of droplets which intercepted the Zap Cannon not far from actually hitting Kingler. Droplets of water immediately went everywhere, exploding outwards into a fine mist as they were electrostatically repelled from one another, but only a small fraction of the charge actually reached Kingler itself.
What?
Both Pokémon and Trainer were in synchronicity as they thought that, not having experienced a trick like it before, and Espeon was late to react to the blast of Brine which followed from Kingler's other claw.
Shaking his head to get some of the droplets off, Espeon flicked around to another flanking position and fired a second Zap Cannon – only to yowl in surprise as the attack grounded through the Brine into Espeon himself, lighting the Psychic-type up for at least a second before the last of it discharged.
Anabel winced, having caught some of the backlash, and looked at Kingler again – then turned her attention to Ash's Pikachu.
The Electric-type saw her looking, and winked.
I suppose we should have expected most of Ash's team to be good at dealing with Electric attacks, she admitted, as Espeon refocused and blew a second Brine attack into salt-smelling mist.
It smelled a little like a sea breeze, which was oddly pleasant for the middle of a battle.
"Keep it up," Ash said. "Kingler, look out!"
Kingler spun, claw clacking together, and another burst of water exploded outwards. This time the water seemed a little different – purer, perhaps – and Espeon blocked it with another psionic pulse, leaving water to rain down all over the arena.
His gem glowing as he prepared a Psychic attack – less effective than the Zap Cannon, but safer to use – Espeon tensed up ever so slightly. Then he used his telekinesis to slide out of the way of a two-clawed attack from Kingler, picking up more water on his fur as he swept out a path through the air but managing to get in position to launch his Psychic.
Kingler reacted with startling speed, turning around in a clatter of limbs and firing a blast of water from his mouth. He still took the attack, which knocked him backwards, but Espeon was unready for the sudden spin from his decapod opponent and took the water blast full in the face.
Startled, the Sun Pokémon took a step back and his paw slipped. Then another paw slipped, and then he began to shiver – the water he'd been hit with was icy cold, and was freezing into ice even as they watched.
Espeon's eyes widened, and he tried to throw the water off him, but his instinctive reaction had left him still for too long – Kingler smacked the Psychic-type on the nose with a Crabhammer, disorienting him until the Rime had done its work.
The same attack also froze Kingler solid as Espeon's Synchronise activated, and for a few seconds both Pokémon were immobile. Then Kingler's claws burst out of the ice, hissing with steam, and the Water-type turned his Scald on himself.
"I think that's conclusive," Anabel said, after a moment. "Espeon is defeated. Very interesting – how did that work? I know about the Rime move, but I thought it took longer to freeze the target."
"Well, sometimes it does," Ash replied, as Kingler used Scald again to thaw out Espeon. "But Kingler put a lot of it into the air as well, so Espeon was already coated with nearly-freezing water when he did that telekinetic move trick."
"Thank you," Anabel told him. "I'll be sure to remove that vulnerability from now on."
She returned Espeon, and switched to her third and last Pokéball. "Now, let's finish this battle. If you're ready?"
"Sure am," Ash agreed.
Anabel threw her third Pokéball, and a Metagross slammed to the floor – legs splashing into the thin layer of water on the floor of the arena.
"Right..." Ash began. "Uh… okay."
Kingler glanced back at his trainer.
"Give me a moment," Ash requested.
"That's actually a very useful feature of the arena design," Brock said, pointing out the wet and dry patches. "The floor's uneven, so it can't flood all the way."
Scott nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, we make sure to pay attention to all kinds of details like that. There's drains by the walls which filter off water that might get to the level of the trainers' shoes, but there's still enough depth to make it interesting!"
"Right, and it's got shallow enough curves so Pokémon don't trip," May added. "That's clever."
She broke off as a red flash heralded Kingler vanishing, and then Ash sent out Torkoal instead.
"I'm surprised you're using two Fire types," Anabel admitted. "If you were going to use two of the same type, I'd have pictured Dark types."
"That's a good point, actually," Scott mused. "I wonder what Ash has to show us now!"
Torkoal rolled his neck, feeling the level of pressure inside his shell, then scraped his foot along the floor – one of the dry sections, fortunately – and squared up to the much larger Steel-type.
Then he let off a blast of steam, hurtling into the air with a loud BANG, and unleashed a Fire Blast from near the ceiling. It speared into Metagross, detonating with a flash and a roll of oily smoke, and Torkoal used another burst of steam so he didn't fall all the way back to the floor of the arena.
Twisting, he scooted to one side, and the vapour produced by his jets created a kind of opaque screen around him.
Then Metagross exerted its will, sweeping away the smoke and the steam both, and Torkoal had a moment to be startled before it grabbed him in a telekinetic grip.
"Rapid Spin!" Ash ordered.
Torkoal duly did so, tilting his legs to direct his steam jets, and spun up – very quickly. The combination of extra steam and high rotational speed made Metagross lose grip, and Torkoal managed to correct his trajectory before he hit the floor. Bursting back up into the air on a pillar of steam, he flipped over upside-down as he passed over Metagross – and used Lava Plume..
A spike of flame flashed straight down from Torkoal's shell, and there was a loud explosion - along with a sudden wash of steam and water vapour, giving the room a steambath atmosphere.
"What just happened?" Max called, speaking too loudly. "I can't see!"
"I don't think anyone can unless they have Aura!" Brock replied, shouting as well. "Unless – hey, Kris? Ethan? Can either of you-"
Of course we can, Ethan interrupted, printing the words in the air with his projector. Hold on while we give you a sonar picture.
Not to be outdone, Kris began providing tactical analysis. Metagross used telekinesis to lift up the water lying on the floor. I think it was going to use the water to hit Torkoal, but Torkoal evaporated most of it.
"Huh, that's kind of funny," Max noted. "So Kingler actually gave Metagross a useful weapon against Torkoal..."
"Okay, Torkoal, new plan!" Ash called, as Metagross used a burst of telekinetic force to move the steam away and clear its vision again. "Return!"
"I don't know that move!" Torkoal replied.
"No, I mean-" Ash began, then just used his Pokéball to pull Torkoal back in. "Kingler!"
Kingler appeared in Torkoal's place, turned quickly, and crossed both claws. The hasty move worked, blocking a burst of psionic force from Metagross, and the Steel-type approached rapidly.
Ash's Water-type waited a moment, then brought his claws out of the crossed position and slammed one of them down in a Crabhammer. The blow knocked Metagross' fist into the ground, and the crackling energy of a Thunderpunch earthed through the water – going mainly along the briny surface of the floor instead of taking a shortcut via Kingler's legs.
"Bubblebeam to your left!" Ash instructed.
Kingler had to deal with another volley of punches before he could get onto that, as a Meteor Mash slammed attack after attack into his claws. Then he had a moment's free time, and fired a burst of bubbles through the window of the stadium.
There was a crash, and the fogged-up windows shattered.
"Oh, dear..." Scott sighed. "I should have realized the repair bill was going to be hefty."
"Didn't you hear about it from all the other Frontier Brains?" Brock asked. "We did the Battle Pike in a tent so Ash didn't break any of it, and Spenser was glad Ash didn't set the island on fire."
"I think I might need to check the accounts..." Scott admitted. "Well, I'm sure it'll be fine!"
He looked down to Grumpig, who had a hand out and was forming a dome-shaped shield around them. "And I must say thank you, Grumpig – otherwise we'd have had to go to the observation deck, and that might mean we'd be unable to see this excellent battle!"
You are welcome, Grumpig replied.
There was a flash of red/white light as Ash switched Kingler out for Torkoal, and then another flicker as Dexter's bevelled form appeared next to Ash.
"Fire Blast!" Ash instructed immediately.
Torkoal opened a very literal fire, and just as before Metagross swept up some water to soak up the power of the powerful heat lance.
There was a loud BANG as the first of the water Torkoal hit exploded into steam, and then the rest of the water absorbed most of the remaining heat and fury of the attack. The steamy air filled the room in a trice, blocking out any view of the battling Pokémon for several seconds.
Sorry about making you divert some attention to shielding me, Anabel noted. It can't be very convenient.
There is no problem, Metagross replied. One attention focus is on shielding you at all times. Three suffice for dealing with the battle.
As the disturbed air began to fade, they heard Ash shout again. "Inferno!"
Metagross flicked up another watery shield, blocking this one as well, then reverted to offensive operations and slammed all four legs into the ground. The burst of energy formed a small ring of rocks out of white light, which Anabel couldn't quite see but which she felt because of her mental link with Metagross.
There was a flicker of light in the mist just as Metagross threw the Rock Slide, and instead of striking home on the Fire-type the rocks exploded into gravel with a loud crack.
Clear the mist, Anabel instructed. And keep it clear.
Metagross forced the vapour away from itself, revealing the battlefield, and showing that Ash had switched back to Kingler again. The Water-type scuttled forwards, claw rotating, and a gob of mud splashed off Metagross' quick psionic shield.
Metagross lunged, moving much faster than most people remembered such a large Pokémon could move, and hit Kingler squarely with a Thunderpunch. The crustacean skidded backwards across the floor, stabilized, and then switched out with Torkoal again.
Rock Slide now, before he can switch again.
Concurrence, Metagross reported back, and formed a ring of rocks again. Half of them went straight at Torkoal, the other half were held back for an instant and then thrown at a higher angle to catch Torkoal if he steamjumped.
Torkoal's approach to the problem, however, caught both of them by surprise. His legs retreated into his shell, there was a moment's pause, and then – just as the rocks came in – he Exploded.
The pressure wave of the Explosion knocked the rocks away, splashed off the shields protecting everyone in the room – Dexter's over Ash, Metagross' over Anabel and Grumpig's over the spectators – and completed the job Kingler's Bubblebeam had done of breaking the windows.
Almost as soon as the explosion was over, before the echoes had faded, Torkoal jumped back up again. The effort of performing an Explosion was clearly wearing on him, but he was still in one piece – then Ash pointed.
"Overheat!"
Water shield! Anabel instructed.
Metagross began to do so, then reported an urgent problem. No water is available.
Anabel blinked. What?
Then it was too late. The spike of orange-yellow fire hit Metagross on the front glacis, only slowed a little by its primary psionic shield, and held on the Steel-type for several long seconds. Metagross staggered back, informing Anabel of various urgent damage warnings, then fell to the arena floor with a mighty crash.
"What just happened?" Anabel asked, as the shield around her faded and she shook her head – then she recalled Metagross to let him rest.
"It's why I had Kingler break the window," Ash replied. "I knew the best way to beat Metagross would be to hit it with a powerful enough Fire attack, and I had faith Torkoal could pull it off – but when you started using the water as a shield-"
"Right!" Anabel realized. "So you kept evaporating it, and letting it leave the arena through the window! And when Metagross pushed it aside to see better that only made it leave faster?"
"That's right," Ash confirmed. "I waited until there wasn't enough for a shield, then had Torkoal use his Overheat."
The Fire-type in question sat down hard, producing a little flicker of steam as his body touched the still-wet boards. "I think I would like to cool down now."
"Sure thing," Ash told him, recalling the Fire-type. "Great work, Torkoal – and you too, Kingler. And Houndoom, if you're awake yet..."
"Well, Ash, it's later than I'd hoped but that really shows me what you're made of!"
Scott shook Ash's hand, clapping him on the back, then took a step back and inspected the hand. "Like hitting a wall..."
"Pardon?" Ash asked.
"Sorry," Scott said, realizing what Ash was confused about. "Nothing important. Anyway – unless I'm very much mistaken, you've earned your sixth Frontier Symbol. Anabel?"
"I have to agree," Anabel said. "Ash has definitely earned my Ability Symbol. His Pokémon demonstrated speed, skill and a talent for unorthodox tactics, which is exactly the kind of thing we want to see here."
Ash took the symbol, and opened his Badge Case to put it in the correct slot.
Anabel leaned over to have a look, and blinked. "How… how many badges do you have?"
"I think the count is up to twenty-eight," Brock said. "Or twenty nine? How did they count it in the Orange Islands?"
"Drake didn't give out a badge," Ash answered, turning to the section with the Symbols and fitting Anabel's one into the slot. "But Mom did make me four, if you want to count them."
Scott chuckled. "The life of a multiple Champion, right?"
"Yeah," Ash agreed, shutting the case again and clicking the locks into place.
"Well, then," Scott said. "Firstly, I need to tell you where the Battle Pyramid is at the moment."
He paused, then shook his head in disappointment. "And I really thought I'd be able to get you there! You already know the Battle Pyramid is mobile, don't you?"
Ash nodded.
"Well, then, it's currently parked on Cerulean Cape," Scott told them. "You can't miss it."
"Okay, I'll handle getting us there," Brock said. "Ash couldn't read a map if his life depended on it."
"Which it has," May pointed out.
"Multiple times," Max volunteered.
"Hey, I survived!" Ash protested.
"Define survived," Pikachu requested of him. "Remembering how many times you haven't so far."
"Yeah, but… none of those involved a map," Ash replied somewhat lamely. "Anyway, uh..."
He shook Anabel's hand. "Thanks for the battle – that was great!"
Anabel gave him a mysterious look, then frowned.
"What is it?" Scott asked.
"I was going to use my telepathy to tell Ash I'd enjoyed the battle as well," Anabel explained. "But it didn't work."
"Dark Type Hat strikes again, by the sound of it," Latios said.
Scott jumped, then laughed as Latios phased into visibility.
"I have to keep reminding myself you've got more Legendary Pokémon than Brandon," he said, still chuckling.
At about the same time, hundreds of miles to the east, a typhoon lashed at the sea. Rain came down in sheets, wind whipped up great mountainous waves, and caught in the grip of it all a half-dozen small ships heaved and tossed.
On the outskirts of the typhoon, two flickers of light darted across the sea.
"I am certain – certain – that this is a lot easier for Father when he does it," Entei announced, running up the crest of another enormous wave before leaping over the froth at the apex and coming down the far side.
"That's because he can dashed well fly!" Raikou agreed, just as wet as his brother but having considerably more fun. "But at least we don't have to swim!"
"Perish the thought," Entei grumbled, his internal fires keeping him warm despite the extreme weather. "I don't think even Suicune swims."
"I've heard her talking about it," Raikou countered.
Both Legendaries were moving at a fantastic speed, so fast that they could run across the surface of the water instead of sinking into it, and while that allowed them to stay on top of the waves it did nothing about the spray.
"Have you seen one of the ships yet?" Raikou added. "I'd rather do this bally job with a deck under us!"
"No sign-" Entei began, then overruled himself. "Wait – there!"
He altered course, running down one wave and up the next, and confirmed his sighting – a small fishing vessel, struggling to make headway.
In the next few seconds, the vessel's captain jumped as several hundred kilos of damp Legendary Beast landed on his weather deck. He stared, not sure what he was seeing, and rubbed his eyes to check it wasn't some kind of trick of the light.
"Finally," Entei muttered, shaking his fur out – not that it helped much, as a wave dumped even more water on him a few seconds later.
Water dripping from his mane, he sighed deeply. "I really hope the next one doesn't happen when Suicune's busy."
Raikou chuckled, then planted his paws. "Now, let's be about it!"
The two focused, then ROARED. Two overpowered Sunny Day moves punched out into the storm at the same moment, and the typhoon began to unravel almost instantly.
"That's better..." Entei said, as the rain ceased. "What do you think? Is that the job done?"
Raikou jumped to the top of the fishing vessel's bridge, making it creak alarmingly, and had a look around.
"I think another few pops should do it, what?" he judged.
"I'm going to rue the day he met that Noctowl," Entei decided.
AN:
And the Battle Tower, now! Plus Dawn and Royal Stuff.
This was a fun battle to write. I based Espeon's trick a little bit off the "Reversal" reaction command from Kingdom Hearts 2, though I didn't realize that was the inspiration until I came to write the note here.
Just to quickly give my Shipping-related reminder, Ash is currently fourteen and roughly as dense as lead in that regard...
