"So, flown around the world?" Staraptor asked, as he and Pidgeot circled above the group. "Neat. Bet you saw a lot of interesting things out there."

"I certainly did," Pidgeot agreed. "It's amazing how big the world is, and you don't really appreciate that until you've travelled so much of it yourself."

She adjusted her trim a little. "I understand you're more of a brawler? I prefer to use my speed and range advantage, myself, but Swellow's very different and she's told me that you're different again."

"Oh, yeah, you talked to Swellow..." Staraptor said, wincing. "Now, don't get me wrong, I heard about you from Bulbasaur, but-"

"Ivysaur," Pidgeot corrected, a chuckle in her chirp. "He evolved, finally."

"Huh, never thought he'd be the type," Staraptor mused. "Anyway, yeah, whatever Swellow told you I deny all the bad bits."

"She was actually quite positive," Pidgeot replied. "Though there was one thing that interested me."

"Denying it," the other Flying-type repeated.

"I thought it was quite interesting that you evolved in a game of PokéRinger just like she did," Pidgeot said mildly. "What did you think I was going to say?"

"I don't know, it never happened," Staraptor pointed out reasonably. "So you're a ranged-speed Flying type, right? That could be interesting. Who do you normally spar with?"

"An Articuno, a Zapdos and a Moltres," Pidgeot replied. "But in their case it's not a spar and they really are trying to knock me out."

"Colour me impressed," Staraptor admitted. "Huh, I'll have to step up my game."

"That's about how everyone's responded."

Staraptor waggled his wings, and they circled for a long moment above the woods.

"I think that might be him," Staraptor said, eventually. "Down by the trail there, to your front now."

"That certainly looks like a trainer," Pidgeot agreed. "If you say that's the right one, I'll let Ash know."


"Hello?"

Paul looked up from his Pokedex. "Yeah?"

He saw who'd just spoken, and blinked.

"Aren't you Ash Ketchum?"

"That's me," Ash replied, his trademark Pikachu on his shoulder and his equally distinctive Lucario to one side. "I've got a few things to talk to you about."

Paul considered that for a moment, then nodded. "What is it?"

"Well… this is going to sound kind of odd," Ash began. "But I've travelled back in time, and part of the way that worked was that people I knew before could be… well, the way we put it is that I can remind them of what happened last time."

The other trainer thought about that, considering what he knew about Ash Ketchum. "Go on."

"...wait, you believe me?" Ash said, surprised.

"Either you're correct," Paul began, ticking that option off on his fingers, "or you're good enough at Pokemon training to make up for being completely insane. So I'll go along with it for now."

"Uh, okay," Ash said. "And… well, I can remind you. And, last time, you released your Chimchar and I got him – so I can remind him as well, he was one of my Pokemon."

"You can give me memories of another time line," Paul reiterated, considering.

Then he shook his head. "No thank you."

"I think that's a first," Lucario observed.

"Really?" Paul said, then snorted. "Heh. I guess most people just want to use shortcuts."

"Pii-ka!" Pikachu said. He sounded hurt, and Paul smirked.

"What about Chimchar?" Ash said. "He was a really good friend, last time – but he didn't become a strong Pokemon when he was with you. Your way of training just doesn't work for him, and he was really miserable – when you released him for being weak, he was heartbroken, and-"

"Fine, whatever," Paul decided. "You're right, Chimchar isn't a strong Pokemon. But I want two things from you in return."

Ash looked wary.

Paul pointed. "Firstly, I want a battle. I know you're good – you've won all the Pokemon Leagues you entered that actually had a winner at all, and I want to see how much I need to improve to get to that level."

"Of course!" Ash said quickly. "If you want a battle, then sure – but should I get some of the Pokemon I have back home?"

"Who are your strongest Pokemon with you right now?" Paul challenged. "Top three."

"Pikachu, Keldeo and Lucario, I think," Ash answered.

"Them, then," Paul decided. "And secondly – if you're taking one of my Pokemon, I want it to be a trade. I know you can talk to Pokemon, so you can find the ones who will work with my training style – like Chimchar doesn't."

Ash exchanged a glance with both the Pokemon he had out, and Paul waited.


"That was not how I expected this to go," Ash said quietly. "Pikachu?"

"I kind of wonder how much our journey has changed his journey," Pikachu replied. "He didn't know who you were last time, and he was really obsessed with getting stronger – and he still kind of is, now, but it's like he knows you're a target to reach rather than just some trainer."

The Electric-type shrugged, tail flicking to the side. "I don't know. Do you think we can find a Pokemon Paul would be okay with?"

"I don't know, but… there must be some," Ash replied. "I mean, most of his current team is okay with his way of training. I hope he's okay if I say I'll do my best?"

"You have a Lucario," Paul pointed out. "If you say you'll do something, that's trustworthy because otherwise he'll tell you off."

"I would," Lucario agreed.

"Lucario!" Ash laughed. "That's..."

He shook his head. "And do any of you mind about the battle? Keldeo?"

Keldeo emerged from his Pokeball. "I don't know," he replied. "But we do fight other trainers fairly often, so this is no different – right?"

"Yeah, that's a good point," Ash agreed.

He looked back up at Paul. "Yeah, I think that's fine – both of them."

"Good," Paul said, and sent Chimchar out.

"Master?" Chimchar said, confused. "Sorry, I wasn't awake-"

He went quiet, waiting for instructions.

"Chimchar," Paul began. "I've decided I can't train you to be strong enough. But another trainer says he can."

Without further ado, he tossed Chimchar's Pokeball to Ash, and Ash caught it out of the air with one hand.

"Did I do something wrong?" Chimchar asked, looking between his old and new trainers.

Ash scooped him up with one hand. "No, you-"

There was a bright flash as the Pokemon more than octupled in weight, and Lucario put his paw over his eyes. "Not again."


After Ash had extricated himself from underneath Infernape, the Fire-type looked around – seeing Paul, then Lucario, then Ash in an unfamiliar outfit.

Staraptor landed next to him. "Hey."

"Oh, Staraptor," Infernape replied. "What is going on?"

"Ash is going on," Staraptor said. "Again, as in time travel again. By the way, we have Legendaries as teammates now."

Infernape absorbed that, glancing at Ash, and smiled. "I knew it would happen some day."

"You did?" Ash asked. "How did you know?"

"Ash, you're not just the best trainer I've ever had – you're the best I've ever seen," Infernape declared. "You're good, and kind, and caring, and just in the time I travelled with you you met… what, fifteen legendary Pokemon? Plus I heard about all the other times, too."

Ash found it a little hard to think of what to say, and Infernape nodded to Pikachu. "Nice to see you again. How was Unova?"

"Odd," Pikachu summarized. "You don't seem surprised about Ash being able to understand Pokemon."

"That was only a matter of time as well," Infernape explained, and offered his hand to Lucario. "Nice to meet you."

"We've met," Lucario replied, shaking his hand. "Do you remember a Riolu you helped save from Hunter J?"

Infernape was about to reply when Staraptor raised a wing for attention. "I didn't hear about this."

"It's only been a few hours," Lucario replied. "We haven't even mentioned the moon base yet."

"Yeah, you guys have been causing trouble for several years," Staraptor shrugged. "Fair enough."

"What's going on?" Paul asked.

"Infernape's getting to know his friends again," Ash summarized.

"I was more wondering why Chimchar evolved to Infernape," Paul clarified. "How did that work?"

"That happens when I remind a Pokemon who I knew last time," Ash explained. "They evolve to what they were last time, and for him that meant Infernape."

Paul took that in, then waved his hand. "Whatever. Okay, are you going to do that battle now?"

"Just a moment, I'll let my friends know I might be a bit longer," Ash said. "Staraptor, can you..?"

"Sure," Staraptor agreed. "You going to have Pidgeot carry you back when you need it?"

"That's right," Ash agreed.

"Which Pokemon are you going to use first?" Paul said.

Lucario stepped forwards. "I will be your opponent, for now."

Paul reached for his belt. "Magmar, stand by for battle!"


"So, what's the deal with this Paul guy?" Max asked. "I heard about how he was the old trainer of Ash's Infernape, but apart from that..."

"It's… kind of complicated," Dawn replied.

They watched as Absol walked Roland through another training kata, moving slowly so they could be sure Roland was executing the moves precisely, and then Absol stepped back to watch Roland repeat it over and over.

"They met pretty soon after Ash arrived in Sinnoh," the Coordinator said eventually. "And, well – you've been with Ash for a while, you know how he trains Pokemon. He looks for their strengths, he coaches them, and he always praises them when they do well and doesn't mind when they fail."

Max nodded, thought for a moment, then winced. "That means-"

"Paul's way of training is kind of different, yeah," Dawn agreed. "The biggest difference is how the praise thing works – when Ash tells Pokemon when they've done well, and consoles them when they haven't, Paul just tells them off if they don't do well – and, well, a lot of the Pokemon he gets are just released if he thinks they're weak."

She looked back at where their Pokemon were training, watching as Arc tried to catch Pachirisu and Pachirisu tried to take all the strings they'd tied onto Arc's tail, and shook her head. "I don't really understand how someone could think that way… some Pokemon start out weak, but then they can get stronger if they're treated right."

"Was that what happened to Chimchar?" Max asked.

"Yes," Dawn confirmed. "Paul released him after deciding he was weak. Then Ash trained Chimchar properly, until Infernape was one of the Pokemon who beat Paul in the Sinnoh League quarter-finals."

She was about to continue, then paused. "Hold on."

Cupping her hands around her mouth, Dawn called out. "Quilava, stick to non fire moves! We're trying to see if you can fight properly in the rain without lighting your fire!"

Quilava put his flames out, and rolled to one side away from a tail strike by Guy. The impact made a dent in the springy grass, and then Quilava used Aerial Ace instead – sweeping in and scoring Guy a glancing blow on the shoulder, but unable to do more than that because of the need to avoid a retaliatory Mach Punch.


Lucario's paws pulsed a faint blue with Aura as he jumped backwards, sweeping a palm forwards to deliver a wave of air which dispelled Magmar's Flamethrower.

"Fire Spin!" Paul called, and the Spitfire Pokemon produced a further wash of bright red-yellow flames – forming a hollow cone, swirling around with enough momentum to avoid the simple way Lucario had dispersed the last one.

Instead, the Fighting-type used Ice Punch. Energizing both his fists with Ice-typed energy, he lashed out to create a gap in the leading edge of the Fire Spin and jumped sideways to get out of the area of effect.

As soon as his feet touched the ground outside the area, he summoned a Bone Rush staff and threw it – hitting Magmar in the arm as he swept the Fire Spin around, and making him stop for a moment.

Lucario put together an Aura Sphere with his off hand, and flung it across at Magmar before he could recover. The ball of compressed energy hit Magmar hard, sending him skidding back several feet, and his Flame Body ability left a pair of scorched trails from his feet.

"Magmar, Smog!" Paul instructed, and the Fire-type produced a cloud of smoky purple mist around itself.

Lucario closed his eyes, to ensure he could still see Magmar, and frowned as the Fire-type just stood there.

"Rock Tomb," Paul added. "And use Will-o-Wisp on them."


"I have an obvious question," Infernape said. "So… I know there was time travel, but what actually caused it? And why?"

"Well… I wasn't there, only Ash was, but essentially Arceus asked Ash to do him a solid," Pikachu said. "Do you remember Cyrus? The guy who tried to get Dialga and Palkia to make him a new world?"

"Of course I remember," Infernape replied, then did a double-take. "Wait. It was him?"

"Apparently," Pikachu sighed. "I'm going on what Ash said, and either he forgot to ask for details or Arceus just plain didn't have them. But yes, the world ended – that was apparently what Cyrus did, whether he meant to or not – and Arceus used a new Dialga to push Ash back in time with all his memories. And ours. So, that's how come we're here."

"Okay, so the main way this is different from the other times is that it's not physical time travel," Staraptor said out loud. "There's not two Ashes, with one of them going to school or something – just our Ash, and us."

"Yeah, and the other thing is that we're not going to be brought forwards in time to when we set off," Pikachu said. "Because at the time Ash set off, there kind of wasn't any anymore."

"Any more what?"

"Time," Pikachu answered. "And yes, I've been told by Celebi herself that the incipient headache is a sign that you do get some of what's going on."

"Aura Drizzle!" Lucario called, bringing their attention back to the fight as the blue Fighting-type jumped eight feet in the air.

Energy flamed from his foot-paws as he balanced there, above the battlefield, then formed some Aura Spheres in both palms. He rammed them together to create a cloud of seeker spheres, but then made all those spheres fly into the air and collide again – producing an energy-charged cloud of smoke out of which tiny Aura Spheres fell like rain.

"Needs a better name," Ash said.

"I know, I couldn't think of one," Lucario agreed, landing with a flex of his knees, and examined Magmar – who seemed to be handling the 'rain' just fine. "Though judging by the impact, I need a better move."

"Why are you doing that?" Paul asked. "You're wasting energy joking around?"

"It's because we fight better like that," Ash replied. "It's not a really serious, fate-of-the-world battle, so jokes relieve stress."

As he spoke, Lucario crouched – then lunged forwards with his palms glowing. He struck Magmar's chest, side and chin in a three-hit Force Palm combo, the last one sending a spike of blue Aura out six inches from his actual palm to ensure it still hit, then backflipped out of the way just before Magmar followed Paul's order for an area-clearing Lava Plume.

Darting back in, he manifested his Sacred Sword in his right hand, and his left flashed blue-white. He attacked Magmar with the blade, scoring a glancing blow, then stepped back as Magmar counterattacked.

"Oh, okay, this is pretty good," Pikachu said, nudging Infernape. "You'll like this."

Lucario attacked again, dodged back, then riposted – drawing Magmar forwards to try and hit him with a Fire Punch.

"Magmar, stop!" Paul commanded. "Stay still and use Flamethrower."

Magmar did so, halting his advance, and shot a stream of flame at Lucario – one which was deflected by the Sacred Sword, but which left Lucario at a momentary quandry.

"Or not, I guess," Pikachu decided. "Pity. That would have been cool to watch."

"Try Aura Storm!" Ash said.

"Now there's a name that would have been good for the new move," Lucario muttered. He raised a paw, catching the Fire Blast Magmar launched at him, and contained it in a bubble of Aura. It seethed violently, then exploded – but by the time it had, Lucario had already jumped.

The blast knocked him into the air, giving him the height for his Aura Storm attack, and he channelled the power for it into his forearms.

"Magmar, Lava Plume!" Paul called.

Magmar's Lava Plume built up, then burst forth – and met a torrent of Aura coming the other way. It was torn to bits and dispelled, and a moment later Magmar was hit by the rest of the Aura Storm.

For a long moment, the brilliant blue light obscured what was going on. Then it faded, showing that Magmar was now several feet underground.

"Nice," Infernape said.

"We used it in the Orange Islands," Pikachu told him. "I understand Lucario broke the arena, which is something we've made a bit of a habit of this time around. We're trying to break it."

Lucario landed on his palms, and flipped upright with a casual flex. "I think that counts as defeated."

Paul nodded, returning his Magmar without a word.

"Okay, now-" Pikachu began.

"I'm up next," Keldeo said.

Pikachu threw him a hurt look.

"We'll still both get our battles," Keldeo pointed out, removing his hat with a hoof. "I just wanted to go second because you were still talking to Infernape."

"Oh. Thank you, then," Pikachu decided.

Keldeo smiled, passing his hat to Ash.

"How did you do that with your hooves?" Infernape asked.

"Magnets, I think," Keldeo replied with a shrug.

Turning to face Paul, he stamped his hoof and transitioned to Resolute Form. "I am ready."

"Elekid, stand by for battle!" Paul instructed.


"I wonder how long Keldeo's going to be," Virizion mused, cantering along the side of a mountain with Cobalion and Terrakion. "I hope he's not staying out too late."

"We're the ones staying out late," Terrakion replied, sweeping his head around to indicate the moonlight all around them. "Where he is it's daytime. I think."

He chuckled. "But actually, I could see Keldeo cantering into a drive through movie theatre with his trainer. That would be pretty funny."

"Do they have those in Kanto?" Cobalion asked. "I don't think I ever thought about it before."

"Human culture is strange and confusing," Virizon shrugged.

They reached a narrow defile, and turned smoothly to run up it three abreast. A rock bounced down the path towards them, and three blades flashed together.

Much smaller bits of rock cascaded down the slope.

"So that rogue Conkeldurr is up here, I see," Cobalion said. "You know, I just realized this is a poor quest to do without Keldeo – he's the one who can fly, but we have to fight our way through the valley."

Another rolling rock, and Terrakion took the lead. Whirling around on one hoof, he delivered a tooth-shaking kick to it which broke it clean in half and sent the fragments flying.

"You're right," Virizion said. "I wonder what he'd suggest we do, if he were here… perhaps use Grass Knots to help us climb the walls?"


"I don't think you'd like it if I took it easy," Keldeo said, then swept his horn down. "Meteorain!"

Three blue slashes of Sacred Sword flicked out, and Elekid dodged aside – managing to get between two of them and avoid being hit.

"Meteorain?" Paul repeated, confused, then shook his head. "Electric Terrain!"

The Electric-type's horns crackled. He flipped into the air, plugging his horns into the ground, and there was a fzzt-crackle before a sparking field of electricity formed across the ground.

"Don't use any water moves, Keldeo!" Ash called, watching as the energy spread out. "Your hooves are protecting you, but if you put any water through them..."

"Got it!" Keldeo agreed, kicking out with his right foreleg. Elekid took a glancing blow and was sent flying through the air, but landed right-side up and skidded a little to brake his momentum.

Paul pointed. "Charge Beam!"

Energy flowed up Elekid's arm to his horns, a little ball forming between the holes, and he shot it at Keldeo. The Water-type interposed his blade, now glowing with the brilliant green of a Leaf Blade, and redirected it into the ground.

"Yah!" Keldeo added, flicking the Leaf Blade at his target, then recreated his sword and followed up with an Ice Blade. The first hit, knocking Elekid skidding backwards across the Electric Terrain, but that very movement threw off Keldeo's second strike and it missed.

"Keep using Charge Beam!" Paul said. "Keep charging up!"

"Keldeo, hold on!" Ash called. "He's trying to boost Elekid to the point he can beat you – uh – wait, I know! Bounce!"

Keldeo crouched, sweeping his horn across to block one of Elekid's increasingly powerful Charge Beams, then bounded into the air with a shout.

"Now – Hydro Pump for a very short time!" Ash went on. "And Icy Wind!"

Paul frowned for a moment, then realized. "Elekid, jump!"

Keldeo used Hydro Pump, a brief burst of water surging out of his hooves and crashing to the floor. It fizzled as it hit the Electric Terrain, but by the time it did Keldeo had stopped using Hydro Pump and so the charge didn't travel up to actually hit him.

Then he used Icy Wind, a ball of freezing energy slapping down to hit the water, and it froze. The ice cancelled out the Electric Terrain, trapping it beneath a sheet of smooth ice and grounding it out, and Keldeo landed on top of it with a crack that shattered the ice beneath him into hundreds of fragments.

"Hydro Pump, full power!" Ash called.

"Thunderbolt!" Paul ordered.

Keldeo's hooves smashed the ice further, and he drove the nozzle of one hoof under the surface of the ice – then fired, sending shards of ice bursting up from the sheer force of the water pressure and knocking Elekid into the air. His other three hooves glowed blue with Aura as he held himself down despite the recoil, and his horn flashed golden as he deflected the Electric attack with Secret Sword. Then he surged forwards again – reaching Elekid as the Electric-type was about to land, and forcing his way through a nasty Discharge to Stomp on Elekid and knock him out.

"Hm," Paul said, frowning slightly, and recalled Elekid.

Keldeo shook out his mane, which had taken on a decidedly frizzy look. "I think I might need to take a few more training Thunderbolts from Pikachu to make sure I'm still electrically resistant enough."

"We'll do it later," Pikachu suggested. "Are we going to leave the crater on the battlefield?"


"That is Pallet Town down there, right?" Charla asked, looking across at her mate.

Charizard's wings flapped, and he adjusted his position a little so he was perfectly on her wingtip. "You've been here before, right?"

"There wasn't a giant floating palace there last time I looked," Charla said. "When did that arrive?"

"A few days ago," Charizard replied, grinning. "Okay, follow me, I've got something really cool to show you here."

He tilted his head, indicating the highest point on Samiya, then banked and began to circle down towards it.

Mystified, Charla followed.

"This had better not be 'oh, there's a Groudon hiding in there'," she said. "It's bad to face a Groudon before dinner."

Charizard laughed, looking back fondly at his mate. "I don't know which of us deserved the other, but I'm grateful for it."


Wings flaring, the two Charizards landed atop the structure.

"Hey, Manaphy?" Charizard called, making Charla look at him in confusion. "Is it set up?"

"All set!" Manaphy confirmed, waving. "I did before you arrived, and double-checked!"

"Is that that Manaphy your trainer's friend May has?" Charla asked. "In retrospect, that's a stupid question, the answer's obvious. Nice to meet you, Manaphy."

"Thank you," Manaphy said, sketching a quick bow to her.

Charizard waited for them to be done, then led his mate over to a large stone chute leading downwards. "We go in here."

Charla examined it, frowning, and leaned closer to give it a sniff. "This is just smooth stone."

"That's right," Charizard agreed. "It's smooth enough you can use it as a slide. Want to go first, or should I?"

"I will, then," Charla said. She gave the slide another look, using her tail flame for illumination, then sat down and pushed off.

The tube steepened quickly, plunging down into the middle of the structure.

Then, all of a sudden, Charla found herself shooting out of the mouth of a slide – straight into a pool full of water. She had enough time for a startled yelp before hitting with a terrific splash, sending spray in all directions, and got a mouthful of water almost as soon as she was under the surface.

Much to her surprise, she found herself able to breathe perfectly well and feeling quite normal – despite being in a situation which normally would have been very dangerous to a Charizard – and a moment later her mate splashed down as well, dropping several feet into the water before rising back out with a great sweep of his wings.

"What in the name of Reshiram?" Charla demanded, breaking the surface of the water herself. "What did we just do?"

"This is Samiya!" Charizard answered, sounding very proud of himself. "It has special, uh… magic science? Which means that those inside it can breathe water as if it's air. It lets Flying types fly underwater, as well, and it's even able to keep our tail flames intact as if the water wasn't there at all."

He shrugged. "I kind of wanted it to be a surprise, so I had Manaphy set it all up before I brought you over. It's not often that a Charizard gets to visit a water park."

Charla gave Charizard an unimpressed look. "That was really frightening, you know."

"Uh..." Charizard began, looking nervous. "Sorry?"

"But it is pretty neat," Charla added, dipping her flame into the water and marvelling at how it came out unharmed.

Charizard smiled. "Good, then… and… well, that water fountain up there is the way back up to the top of the good slides. I think Manaphy's put water in them now, so we can enjoy the slides."

"...wait, is this the Temple of the Sea?" Charla said suddenly. "That's kind of… well, kind of."

"Yeah, you know how it is," Charizard agreed. "Things happen, you fight a meteorite, and the next thing you know there's a magic Charizard-friendly water park outside."

His wings spread, splattering warm droplets of water everywhere. "Come on, I'll show you the best slides."


"Paul?" Ash said, getting the trainer's attention as he readied his third Pokeball. "I wanted to check something."

Paul frowned slightly. "Go on."

"Well… I kind of remember something that happened last time," he explained. "You challenged Cynthia, and… well, it didn't go very well. And I remember you were really annoyed."

Paul blinked. "...why? Because I lost against the Sinnoh Champion?"

"I guess?" Ash said, spreading his hands. "I'm afraid I don't understand why, but… I just remember that, and I remember you scolding Chimchar for not doing enough."

Infernape grimaced. "That was… not a happy time, no."

He straightened, and looked Paul in the eye. "I understand that your style is different to Ash's style, and I know it works for a lot off your Pokemon. But I will never forget you telling me off – shouting at me – for not managing to beat the most powerful Pokemon of the most powerful trainer in the region."

Paul's expression hardened – not understanding Infernape's words, but getting the general tone. "Well, if Chimchar didn't manage to do at least some damage to Cynthia's Lucario even with his fire attacks-"

Pikachu slapped his tail on the floor with a bang, interrupting Paul. "Talking about this won't fix anything, and it's just going to make everyone who remembers feel annoyed," he said. "Should we just get to the battle?"

"I think so," Ash agreed. "Paul, can you send out your Pokemon?"

Paul nodded, dismissing the argument as unimportant, and sent out his Torterra.


"It wasn't Lucario," Infernape said softly. "He sent me out against Garchomp, and I did my best but he didn't care."

Lucario patted him on the back. "It is okay. Speaking strictly with my Aura turned off for once, he is a jerk."

Infernape smiled.

Then the ground shook, making them both look up as Paul's Torterra began jumping up and down.

Pikachu staggered as the ground shifted about underneath him, then jumped and lit off his cheeks in a crackling burst of electricity. That formed a Magnet Rise, keeping him off the ground, and he adjusted it to find the right balance so that he could still reach the ground with his tail if need be.

"Torterra, use Stone Edge," Paul instructed, as Pikachu fine-tuned his altitude. "Fortify yourself!"

"Yes, master!" Torterra confirmed, still slamming alternate legs into the ground, and his eyes glowed. Rocks burst out of the earth all around him, forming two concentric layers with the first one offering only a few gaps and the second more spread out.

As he finished, Pikachu adjusted his Magnet Rise to his satisfaction and tensed up. Then he hit the ground with a Tail Whip, and used that to flick across the area of the battle at high speed.

"Giga Drain!" Paul called, and Torterra produced a shower of green streamers which reached out for the fast-moving Pikachu. He used another Tail Whip to dodge, then another, and got around behind Torterra almost as fast and smoothly as he could have done simply running along the floor.

"Let's see if this one works," Pikachu said, and produced a ball of blue-yellow light between his paws. He spun, slapping the Electroball with his tail, and it hit Torterra before exploding and engulfing him in brilliant energy.

The Giga Drain streamers dissolved as Torterra lost concentration, and the Earthquake died down for a moment. Then, as Paul was looking annoyed, the dome of light dissolved and revealed Torterra was still standing.

"Torterra, that's no good!" Paul admonished. "That was an electrical attack, you should have just ignored it!"

"Hey, that's not fair to Torterra or Pikachu," Ash protested. "Pikachu's Electric attacks can hurt Ground types."

He waved a hand. "Actually, it's kind of impressive that Torterra managed to endure that at all, Pikachu's managed to do a lot of damage with Electric attacks."

Paul gave Ash a considering look, then decided the time-travelling trainer was probably telling the truth.

"Torterra, Stone Edge," he said suddenly.

Torterra's shell flashed, and he made the outer row of Stone Edge spikes suddenly burst outwards in a wave – splitting into fragments as they did so, so a few of them managed to catch Pikachu with a shower of high-speed gravel.

Pikachu was launched backwards, partly by the impact but mostly by the wind that accompanied the attack, and dug his tail into the ground to skid to a halt before lifting it away again as Torterra resumed the earthquake.

His paws flashed blue, and he Tail Whipped himself forwards again – aiming for Torterra's side, this time, and keeping an eye out for trouble. He soon got it, as Torterra fired off a Leaf Storm, and the Electric-type spun himself into an Iron Tail buzzsaw to cut through the leaves without slowing down.

Landing on Torterra's back, he made good use of the sudden opportunity to get proper leverage. Tail still glowing silver with Iron Tail, he hooked onto one of the branches of Torterra's tree before spinning two hundred and seventy degrees around it and slamming home a Force Palm into Torterra's back.

"Sand Tomb!" Paul instructed, and Torterra promptly did so – whipping up a powerful wind full of sand grains and using it to try and blow Pikachu off his back.

The yellow Electric-type clung on with all four paws, using Aura to enhance his grip, and hit Torterra with another powerful electrical attack. This time it was a Thunder, one which sent secondary bolts fizzing into the ground all around his target, and Torterra lit up like a shop display.

The moment Torterra's Sand Tomb relented, Pikachu jumped upwards. He touched the tree for a moment to get better leverage, then pushed off from there to land on the ground in front of Torterra.

"Crunch!" Paul said automatically, and Torterra's jaws snapped out. They closed on Pikachu's tail, and stuck – unable to squeeze the Iron Tail Pikachu had jammed into Torterra's mouth.

Getting a good grip on the ground, Pikachu hauled with both forelegs – raising Torterra off the ground for a moment, moving him from the middle of his defensive ring of stones before dropping him crashing back to the floor on top of some of them.

"Giga Drain!" Paul called.

Twisting around, Pikachu hauled Torterra's jaws open again to release his tail. The moment that was done, he dodged away underneath Torterra – the big land turtle unable to simply sit on him due to the remaining Stone Edge rocks – and jumped down into the crater left from Lucario's Aura Storm.


"Look, over there," Todd pointed.

Sneasel looked, nodded, and adjusted her camera a little. She disabled the flash, then took two exposures – the first a long one, and the second much faster.

Examining the results, she waved a claw – could be better.

"Is it the light?" Todd asked. "Yeah, I thought it might be a problem – the water absorbs all the red light, so it shifts the colours and it gets worse the deeper you get. And we're pretty deep."

Sneasel nodded.

Would it help if we were a bit shallower? Latios asked.

"We wouldn't really get a good chance to see the Corsola then," Todd replied. "This is where they live, after all."

He frowned. "Well… what about this. Do you know Flash?"

Yes, I do, Latios agreed.

His body began to glow a soft white, banishing the gloom, and Todd adjusted his own camera before starting to take photos himself – watching as the Corsola crowded around to see what was going on.

"Nea-sel," Sneasel chuckled.

I agree, Latios transmitted, squeaking as well so Sneasel could hear. "They're too interested in me to act natural..."

"Yeah, it is a problem," Todd agreed. "You can go invisible, right?"

"Yes, but then I wouldn't be making any light."

Latios flicked his ear. "Actually… now I think of it, I realized I know a pencil artist, a paint artist and a photo artist. That's a lot of different ways to record a picture."

"Sneas?" Sneasel said, pausing halfway through taking a photograph of some Clamperl grouped around a DeepSeaTooth.

"Sorry. Two photo artists."


"Do you have any paper?" Infernape asked.

"Huh?" Ash said, looking over. "Uh… hold on a moment… I think it's in the third shelf from the right..."

He took his bag off his belt, reached inside up to his shoulder, and retrieved a piece of paper and a pen.

"Here," he said, then noticed the Fire-type giving an odd look to the bag.

"...what?" Infernape said. "That's new."

"Yeah, it's kind of helpful," Ash agreed, then looked back at the battle. "Hold on, I think it's about to get going again."


Pikachu spun in place, looking at his tail-work, and decided it was pretty good – good enough, anyway.

There was a long spiral gash carved into the side of the pit, concentrating the water which had dripped down into it from Keldeo's attacks, and making it a little easier for his electricity to flow than it would be otherwise.

Closing his eyes, he felt out with his electrical current sense – feeling a moving Pokemon not far away, coming closer.

"Torterra, hit Pikachu with an Energy Ball," Paul instructed.

Opening his eyes again, Pikachu walked quickly to the middle of the pit and charged up. His cheeks sparked, and his tail – which had reverted to normal – flashed back to the silvery tint of Iron Tail.

Then Torterra poked his head over the side of the pit, Energy Ball already glowing in his mouth, and Pikachu unleashed the full force of his electricity. A dome of yellow light spread outwards, reaching the ragged edges of the pit, and flashed upwards – filling the whole uneven shape of the hole with an eerie, tingling Electric Terrain.

Summoning a hefty dose of Aura as well, Pikachu took just a moment more to check his aim – then jumped, flipping forwards into a high-speed spin with his Iron Tail outermost.

Then he fired.

The spiral shape of the path around the pit sides acted like an electromagnetic coil, producing a magnetic field, and Pikachu himself generated a second field.

The enormous amount of energy in the coil yanked Pikachu off his feet, pulling him with increasing strength towards the midpoint of the coil – about halfway to Torterra – and when he got there he turned it off, pulling all the electricity back into himself as a Volt Tackle.

Torterra was knocked at least eight feet into the air by the sheer force of Pikachu's improvised coilgun, a distance helped by the explosion as the Volt Tackle detonated on contact between the two Pokemon, and landed hard – rolling half over, before his tree stopped him from going any further.

Lucario's arm snapped up, and he caught Pikachu out of the air by the scruff of the neck.

"Ow," Pikachu managed, his tail glowing slightly as it cooled down, and looked at Lucario. "This feels backwards somehow."

"I'm not sure how you'd think that," Lucario replied.

"Are you okay, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"I'm fine, thank you," Pikachu replied. "But I don't think that move's going on the list..."


After several seconds of silence, Paul reached out his Pokeball and recalled Torterra.

"I see," he said. "Now I know how much further I have to go."

He looked up at Ash. "Tell the truth. Was that an easy battle?"

"Not really," Ash replied. "I mean, I don't know what Pikachu thinks, but the only other time I've seen him do something like that pit cannon is when he was fighting Brandon's Registeel."

Paul frowned. "That's right," he said. "You defeated Brandon, didn't you."

He held up his hand. "No, don't tell me how. I think I can guess."

"Well, it did work out, generally," Ash said. "But okay. And that was a pretty good fight – really."

Paul smiled slightly, then straightened his expression.

"Remember what I asked for," he said, simply, and turned to go.

"Wait," Infernape called.

Paul stopped, looking around in confusion, and Infernape gave him a piece of folded paper.

"Okay, Infernape, ready to go?" Ash asked. He got a nod, and returned first the Fire-type and then Lucario and Keldeo.

"Oh, cool," Staraptor realized. "This means we get to try out the whole riding thing, right?"

"If you don't mind," Ash replied. "Is it okay?"

"Sure!"


Paul watched Ash leave, then opened out the note.

I'm sorry, it read, in a flowing script. I did fail you when battling Cynthia. But in my defence, it was Cynthia's Garchomp and you sent me out first.

He frowned, wondering what on earth had possessed his other self to do that.

Against the Lucario, he could understand. But Garchomp?

Had he forgotten about type advantage entirely?


Staraptor came flitting down over the treetops, flaring his wings and hovering before making a gentle landing not far from Dawn.

"How was that?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Not bad," Ash agreed with a thumbs-up. "It's definitely different to Pidgeot, but I think that's because she relies on aerokinesis as much as anything. You're just that strong."

Staraptor nodded matter-of-factly as Ash slid off his back. "Glad to hear it," he said seriously. "Okay, what now?"

"Well, I wanted to reintroduce Infernape," Ash said, and sent the fire-type out.

"I see you managed to get things sorted out," Dawn smiled, getting up and shaking Infernape's hand. "Nice to have you back with us, Infernape."

"It's nice to be back," Infernape agreed. "Though I barely noticed the change."

He looked around, then pointed. "...did you have Mamoswine yet? I thought you didn't catch him until later."

Mamoswine shrugged, making the Quilava on his back wake up and yawn.

Infernape transferred his gaze to the Fire-type. "And – Ash, is that your Quilava or Dawn's one?"

Set up, Dexter said, materializing his smoothly curved body out of his projector. Providing subtitles for Dawn.

"What's that?" Infernape asked. "I've never seen that Pokemon before, but the voice sounds familiar."

"That's Dexter," Ash explained. "He's a Porygon2 who basically grew out of my Pokedex."

That earned him a baffled look from Infernape, then the Fighting-type decided to just treat it as normal. "Well, then… nice to meet you," he said, offering a hand to shake.

Dexter looked at it. This may have problems.

"You're right, sorry," Infernape agreed. "I hope you can accept the sentiment."

He looked around. "I hope that's all the things I… who has the strange-looking canine Pokemon? Is that Geodude Brock's?"

Infernape looked back at Ash, who was nodding. "Whose is the Flygon?"

"Now I come to think of it, I guess our teams have changed a lot since last time," Ash chuckled. "The Flygon's Brock's as well, and so is the Rockruff."

"I… is that May's brother over there?" Infernape said, now completely lost. "Why does he have all those Pokemon?"

"Yeah, let's just take it from the top," Ash decided. "So, uh, because I did the same thing to Dawn, Brock, May and Max as I did to you and my Pokemon, now things have changed a lot because it's been over three years. We met a lot of extra Pokemon, and Max is kind of my trainee now so he can have Pokemon earlier."

"Okay, I think I understand," Infernape nodded slowly. "So how many Pokemon do you have now?"

"...counting you, forty six," Ash said, after a long pause to count them off. "I think. One of them's Buizel, though, because Celebi made sure Dawn got her entire team early."

"That must be complicated to organize," Infernape said, sitting down.

"You have no idea," Lucario agreed. "Though I think Ash is counting all five Tauros."

"Wasn't it thirty?"

Hold on a moment, Dexter requested. I'll show you the team photo, that should get you up to date.

He projected an image in the air, showing the photograph from Pallet Town a few days ago, and Infernape examined it closely.

"I don't think I know what some of these Pokemon even are," he said. "Who's the purple one with a big thick tail?"

"You're going to need to be more specific," Ash replied. "Which one?"

"The one who looks kind of… gooey?"

"Oh, that's Goodra," Ash answered. "I got him from Gary in a trade, he's from Kalos. He and Mawile are really good friends. The other one's Mewtwo – there."

"So that's what Mewtwo looks like," Infernape said. "I've never actually seen him before. Huh."

He looked up, and smiled at Ash. "I'm very impressed, Ash – and I'm glad I can tell you that."

Then he stepped back, really taking in what Ash was wearing for the first time. "...is that a sword? And is that some kind of staff?"

"Ash and I have been sparring for years now," Lucario explained. "Ash is good with Aura. You're welcome to join in, by the way."

"Thank you," Infernape nodded. "I'll certainly give it a try!"

"Hi Dawn!" Barry called. "Oh, hey, your friends arrived!"

Ash and his Pokemon looked over, seeing Barry running over the crest of one of the nearby hills.

"Wow, that's a lot of Pokemon!" Barry added, coming to a halt. "Hey, what's with the Infernape? I asked Professor Rowan but I could only get a Piplup, but he evolved thirty minutes ago so that's okay."

"Wait, your Piplup evolved already?" Dawn asked. "How?"

Barry shrugged. "I've heard that kind of thing happens, so I didn't question it. Hey, since you're here, could you help with building my move collection? Smeargle's already been picking up lots of moves but there's a lot he still has to pick up, I don't want to stay here too long so I won't ask for all of them but can we have a few?"

When he finally finished talking, there was a short pause as the friends worked out what had been said.

"Uh… sure," Ash agreed, eventually. "What kind of moves?"

Barry promptly sent out two Pokemon, his Prinplup and then his Smeargle. "Well, I don't know, maybe some rare ones? I mean, it's easier to get common moves than it is to get rare ones, so I thought maybe I should use this chance to get rare ones and we can pick up common ones somewhere else. But then I wondered if it's always the rule that rare moves are more powerful than common ones, because Hyper Beam and Giga Impact are really strong but they're also moves most Pokemon can learn. So, anyway, what Pokemon do you have with you?"

Infernape stared, then turned his gaze to Smeargle.

The artistic Pokemon raised his eyebrows, then shrugged.

"Copying moves is Sketch, right?" Dawn asked. "How does that work when he uses them?"

"Let's show them, Smeargle!" Barry said. "Use Water Gun!"

Smeargle took his tail in one paw, holding it about a handspan below the tuft, and made a little flicking motion. The tip left a line of colour behind it for a moment, then suddenly the colour became a jet of water which splashed out onto the floor.

"See?" Barry asked. "Pretty cool, right?"

He snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah, before I forget – Dawn, did you meet any more Legendary Pokemon?"

"Just the same ones again, so far," Dawn replied. "Except Keldeo, I think Keldeo is new."

"Is that Ash's one?" Barry checked, and got a nod. "Okay – I heard a rumour online that Keldeo was sent to Ash to make him a knight and let him use their special Sacred Sword move, because they were making Ash the first Sword of Justice who wasn't a Pokemon."

"That's… not correct," Lucario said.

"But it had sources and everything!" Barry protested, then paused. "I assume. Actually, can Smeargle learn Sacred Sword? It sounds like a really good move."

Prinplup nudged Smeargle, giving the Normal-type an expectant look. Smeargle just shrugged in reply, not seeming especially bothered about the idea either way.


Ghetsis lifted his gaze to Ryoku. "Report."

"It is as you feared," Ryoku confirmed. "Our King departing as he did has split Team Plasma, and Rood's leadership of those who do not follow you has given them legitimacy. If there was ever a time Plasma could be mended, it is now past."

The leader of the Sages struck the floor with his staff, frowning.

"Then we will have to do something else," he said softly. "Ryoku. You will study the ancient scrolls. Find what it takes to awaken Zekrom, and what he deems to be the properties of the Hero of Ideals. I would know what counts as an ideal for Zekrom – it may yet be that the right ideal will win him to our side."

Ryoku nodded, moustache bristling. "I will do as you say, learned one."

"Take your men, and what remains of Rood's and Bronius' men," Ghetsis went on. "Avoid drawing attention if possible, but do not hesitate to fight rather than give up what you are after."

He fell silent, watching as Ryoku left the room.

"And what of myself?" Zinzolin asked.

"If Reshiram is beyond our grasp, and we cannot obtain Zekrom to battle him, there is only one option," Ghetsis said. "We must have Kyurem – by whatever means necessary."

He nodded. "Yes. Seek out all the information you can on Kyurem – how to entice it, and how to use its powers. There is an expert I have heard of, who may be useful."

After a moment's pause, Zinzolin spoke up. "What will I have?"

"You will have your own cell, and the use of the Shadow Triad," Ghetsis said. "Be subtle. My fool son may accept our hunting Zekrom, it appeals to his sense of fairness – but Kyurem is something else."


In his office, Giovanni frowned slightly.

Turning over the page of the report he was reading, he read to the finish – confirming his first assessment of the spy report.

Then he shook his head.

"The skill I prize most is the ability to cut losses," he said, getting Persian's attention. "Why is that so rare, I wonder..."

The Classy Cat gave a feline shrug.


AN:


Paul is... a difficult topic. Any realistic appreciation of him as a trainer has to reflect both his skill and the fact he's a total git, at least early on.

Infernape naturally remembers this.