"So, yeah, you remember that thing I did to swap Max and Ralts over for a bit?" Mew asked, floating along upside-down in the middle of the group. "That's called Heart Swap! It's a thing Manaphy can do, only, Celebi sort of Amnesia'd him so that he can't do it just yet. That's because it's… a bit hard to control."

Mew giggled. "It'd be funny! But it'd also be inconvenient, because that's one of those rare moves a Pokémon can use in the egg. And when one of you is riding on the back of the other one to get over a canyon it's not funny when you swap and the one who's riding is suddenly trying to remember how to fly. When they never learned in the first place."

"Ouch," Max winced.

Mew flicked her tail over to tickle Manaphy, who giggled and waved his arms. "But yeah! It's a tricky move, I can re-teach him or get Celebi to do it once he's able to use moves when he's trying to, it's probably better that way."

"No kidding," May agreed. "And sorry that you're going alongside, Eevee, you didn't get long as the youngest…"

"That's fine," Eevee said. "Besides, Manaphy's really cute!"

"He is," Brock said.

He checked the map, then held out his left hand. "We turn here for the Battle Pike."

The Battle Pike was… odd.

Some of the other Battle Facilities had looked a little eccentric… or oversized… but this one looked like a classical building with doric columns, a large pediment, and several smaller columns flanking the walkway into the building.

Also, there was an enormous Seviper sculpture draped over the roof and with its fangs framing the door.

"I guess we know what Pokémon she uses," Max said, after several seconds admiring the building. "What do you think of Seviper, Zacian?"

"If this is because I'm a Fairy type and Seviper is a Poison-type, I will remind you that I'm able to become Fairy-Steel," Zacian replied.

"Actually, it's partly because Seviper is a Poison type and partly because it's got a blade-tail," Max explained.

"Ah, I see," Zacian nodded. "In which case… yes, they can be quite good with the blade. There are certain tricks that a tail blade offers which I cannot take up, though of course I have my own."

"And Jessie's Seviper is mostly focused on biting things," Ash added. "All right, let's meet today's Frontier Brain!"

Scott opened the door for them, and waved the group inside.

"Welcome to the Battle Pike!" he said.

"Why is it called the Battle Pike?" Max asked, and Scott's expression soured slightly.

"Focus groups," he said, darkly. "A vote decided that Battle Tube wasn't impressive enough, but it took weeks to decide on a better one."

He stood back. "Though it is still better than Battle Location. In any case…"

Scott cleared his throat, then waved to a smaller door inside the lobby.

"Allow me to introduce the Pike Queen, Lucy."

Lucy came through the door, tossing a patterned boomerang into the air and catching it, and Brock gasped.

"Such a vision of loveliness!" he said, going down on one knee. "I can see you're the prettiest Frontier Brain as well as a strong trainer!"

Bulbasaur and Mudkip both came out of their Pokéballs, but by the time they had Lucy was smirking and blushing.

"Flatterer," she said. "See me after the battle, okay?"

Bulbasaur's jaw dropped.

"...uh…" Brock began, honestly baffled, then turned to his friends. "I… don't think I know what to do now? I've never got this far before…"

Brock seemed to be having a little trouble adjusting to a seismic shift in his world view – to be fair, so were his Pokémon – and consequently Lucy told Ash that her battle would be two consecutive single battles.

Max put up his hand. "So a battle with two Pokémon a side that's not a double battle?"

"Yes, essentially," Lucy agreed. "Challenger, pick your Pokémon."

Ash thought for a moment, then went for two Safari Balls on his belt.

"I was already fairly sure I was using these two," he said. "I try to make sure everyone gets a bit of a turn, as much as I can."

"That's good," Lucy agreed. "I mostly specialize on a body type, for challenges, but I've got other Pokémon who train with them and they mix it around."

She held up a Pokéball. "Seviper!"

"Dragonite!" Ash replied, sending out King Dragonite.

The orange Dragon-type put his arm just above where his waist was theoretically meant to be, and bowed in mid-air.

"Does the crown mean anything?" Lucy asked. "Apart from being a King's Rock, that is."

"It helps people tell him apart," Ash explained. "He's the king, so when Professor Oak needs to talk to them he's usually the contact point, but apart from that it mostly means he gets to pick his colour when they play board games."

"A king?" the Pike Queen asked. "Interesting… maybe I'll have to get myself a King's Rock."

She waved to one of her assistants. "Anyway. Catherine, if you would referee for us?"

"Of course," Catherine agreed. "Three, two, one, begin!"

"Dive!" Lucy ordered, and her Seviper plunged into the water pool in front of them. "Coil!"

"Twister, Dragonite!" Ash replied. "Whip that pool around to get Seviper out of there!"

Lucy waited a long moment, then nodded sharply. "Poison Tail!"

Seviper emerged from the pool at speed, riding the currents of the forming Twister, and jabbed his tail blade into Dragonite's side.

"Hello!" Dragonite said, catching Seviper out of the air. "You know, I really like having arms but sometimes it makes me sad that I can't do full-body hugs any more!"

He embraced the Poison-type. "How does this feel? Am I doing it right?"

"Hey! Ow! Get off!" Seviper gasped. "I'm not that kind of snake!"

"You don't even know Constrict?" Dragonite replied. "Then I'll have to show you!"

"I poisoned you, you stupid Dragon!" Seviper snapped.

Dragonite patted him on the head. "I know. But that just means the lesson's going to have to be quick!"

"Dragon Tail!" Lucy ordered.

Dragonite caught the tail as it flicked towards him, then tied it neatly around his own.

"That's better!" he said.

"I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't that," May said.

Manaphy giggled.

"Keep holding on, Dragonite!" Ash said. "And don't forget to tell him the difference between Bind, Wrap and Constrict!"

"Of course!" Dragonite agreed, his voice jolly. "I wouldn't forget that!"

"Please forget that!" Seviper said. "You are badly poisoned, how are you still so chipper?"

"It's a battle, not an attempted regicide!" Dragonite informed him, squeezing Seviper again. "I know you're a softy really."

Seviper wheezed.

"Job done!" Dragonite reported, saluting, then – with great and regal dignity – fell over.

Since he was still floating in mid-air, he fell all the way from upright to upside-down, then slowly drifted down until his horn bumped into the ground. Then, with equal great and regal dignity, he flopped over onto his back.

"You could have recalled him at any point in that process," Pikachu pointed out.

"He seemed to be really dedicated to it, though," Ash replied, returning Dragonite to his Safari Ball. "So, who sends out their Pokémon first now?"

"I think technically me," Lucy replied, thinking. "But I don't mind doing it anyway. Milotic!"

"Oh, a Milotic!" Pikachu said. "We've… actually fought quite a lot of those in battles with some kind of badge or symbol on the line. A surprising number if you think about it."

"Three is a surprising number?" Ash asked.

"It's a surprise to me," Pikachu replied.

"Are you sending out your Pikachu?" Lucy checked.

Pikachu shook his head.

"A lot of what I do is training," he explained. "Including training the new team members. But I try not to hog all the battles, and that means I'm probably battling whoever is at the end of the Battle Frontier."

"I'm actually using one of his students," Ash told her. "Raikou, come on out!"

Raikou emerged from the Safari Ball.

"Well done for remembering our schedule," she said, tail wagging, then looked at Milotic.

"Milotic, be ready for a tough fight," Lucy warned. "You know what to do!"

"Begin!" Catherine said, and Raikou jumped into the air. Her Steel Wings formed, and she hovered in place as lightning built up around her – ready to see what Milotic would do first.

What Milotic would do first, as it turned out, was light up with a brilliant orange glow.

When it faded, her hair formed a complete sweep around the back of her head, and the scales on her tail had taken on a rainbow glow. There was something a lot like a Dragonair's gemstone bead at the base of her tail fan, as well, and she floated into the air surrounded by a glow of ethereal light.

"Is that a Mega Milotic?" Ash asked. "That's cool!"

"I couldn't find a Seviperite," Lucy admitted. "But I think you'll find Mega Milotic a challenge! Twister and charge!"

"Counter Shield!" Ash replied, and Raikou engulfed herself completely in lightning as Mega Milotic rushed in.

The Water-type took a hammering, despite the shield, but to Ash's surprise so did Raikou – even before Mega Miltoic actually hit her – as the glowing light around Mega Milotic flashed back up the path of the attack to earth itself into Raikou.

Then there was a mighty Twister current around Raikou and Mega Milotic, with the Tender Pokémon riding it and using Dragon Breath. Raikou shielded herself with her wings, which lasted the seconds she needed to reorient herself, and a moment later she used Extrasensory and forced the Twister away with a surge of psychic energy.

"Something weird is going on," Ash mused, watching closely. Raikou used Discharge, this time, letting it flow over her re-manifested Steel Wings and blast the entrained water in the Twister, and while Mega Milotic yelped as the attack hit home so did Raikou. "Over here! Teleport!"

Raikou's lightning surged, spiking upwards, and she vanished from where she was to reappear instantly next to Ash with the crash of an impacting thunderbolt.

"I am a fast doggo," she said, as sparks flashed off her fur.

"Swift!" Ash ordered, before Mega Milotic could react to the sudden change of positions.

Raikou flicked out a surge of Swift stars, then yipped as that same discharge of energy hit her again.

"Twister!" Lucy said.

"Okay, I know what to do!" Ash called. "Teleport over there and use Extremespeed!"

Lightning blasted Raikou over to the other side of the room just as Mega Milotic's Twister came hunting for her, and then Ash's first Legendary Beast hit Mega Milotic with a whip-fast tackle.

The other Pokémon responded with a danger-close Twister, wrapping it around herself at a distance of barely two inches so Raikou had to go through it to get to her, and Ash raised his voice over the shriek. "She's Fairy Type as well now – Steel Wing!"

"Moonblast!" Lucy called. "Dragon Tail!"

"Brock?" Bulbasaur said, as they left the Battle Pike – with Ash now in possession of one Luck Symbol, and Brock the still slightly bemused possessor of a phone number. "I've got something to ask, if you've got a moment."

"Sure," Brock agreed. "Sorry, guys, this might be a few minutes."

"That's okay," Ash replied. "I don't think anyone's in a rush."

Brock nodded, then crouched down with Bulbasaur – then with Geodude and Onix, as well, as those Pokémon sent themselves out. Vulpix was already out, so when Mudkip joined them the only Pokémon Brock had on him who wasn't out of their Pokéball was Bonsly.

"This is a serious question, Brock," Bulbasaur said. "It's quite simple."

He looked his trainer in the eye. "You know how I feel about trainers who abandon their Pokémon, or who don't commit. But it shouldn't take my personal connection for you to understand how important this question is… is this going to be a serious thing?"

Bulbasaur nodded towards the Battle Pike.

Brock was silent for a long moment.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I've… I don't know. It's something that… heh, I dreamed about it in a lot of ways, but I've got no idea how to actually do this now. I might need to think about it, just to assimilate it."

"Whatever decision you make, we'll be with you all the way," Onix said, firmly.

"Yeah, what the O-ster said," Geodude confirmed.

Bulbasaur held up a vine.

"Here's what I think," he said.

Vulpix sniggered. "We know you've got a lot to say," she said. "You've done most of the talking so far."

"All right, all right," Bulbasaur grumbled. "But here's the thing, Brock… firstly, don't use thinking about it as an excuse not to do anything. Even to yourself."

Brock thought about that, then nodded.

"I can do that," he said. "I think. So long as you pull me up short if I'm taking too long."

"It'd be our pleasure!" Mudkip said, slapping his tail on the ground.

"And, secondly…" Bulbasaur went on. "If you haven't decided against trying to make this a real thing, you get a pass on what you say about her. Only her."

He smiled, in a way that made him seem positively Dark-type. "I don't expect you to break a habit you've had for years in a single day… but I will make sure you know when you're slipping. Otherwise how will you learn?"

Brock gulped.

"That's fair," he admitted.

"Brock! Brock!" May called. "Manaphy just said my name!"

"He said Ma," Max corrected. "He's a Pokémon. That's literally one of only three syllables he can say."

"What about if we ask Ash?" May challenged. "He was right there."

"Huh?" Ash asked. "Sorry, I'm trying to work out how to ask Professor Oak if he's heard of Mega Milotic without him assuming I found a Feebas and caught a Miltoic. He's so excitable sometimes."

May sighed. "Great…"

Then she patted Manaphy. "I know what you meant."

"Mama! Ma-y!" Manaphy giggled.

"Okay, so…" Vulpix began. "In the interests of clarity, I was translating that one."

May's smile was brighter than her Eevee's fur.

"Ash," Lucario said, the next morning.

He turned to the side. "Is this working? I can't tell."

"You need to be a bit to the left," Latias stage-whispered. "The camera's on top of the middle of the screen."

"Oh, I see it," Lucario realized, and sidestepped. "There?"

"That looks good," Latias agreed.

"Right," Lucario said. "Thank you. Now. Ash, I feel that you will need to get some experience in the use of Aura. This 'distance learning' has been going admirably, but I feel we will need to get hands on so that I can ensure you are not picking up bad habits."

He waited, to see if Ash had anything to say, then continued. "I would like to come and join you for the next few days, so that I can see how you are doing… and, of course, offer my continued thanks for all you have done, for both myself and Xerneas."

Ash didn't reply, and Lucario squinted at the screen.

"Is this working?" he asked. "I feel like Ash would have said something."

Latias tilted sideways in the air, then went ah and picked up the remote.

"Unmute!" she announced, and Ash's voice blasted out of the speakers.

"-Pokémon Orienteering!" he said.

"Ow," Lucario winced.

"I don't know if that's the kind of thing you were thinking of," Ash went on, then his voice dropped to a mercifully tolerable volume as Latias mashed the lower-volume control. "Or what the difference is between Pokémon Orienteering and normal orienteering. But it's something to do with following a map, so I guess I could use a bit of help."

"That sounds like a fine plan," Lucario declared, sticking a finger in his ear and wiggling it around a bit. "And I only slightly regret not having the Soundproof ability."

AN:

What can I say… using Insurgence Megas is fairly tempting.