Day 16 — May 18th

Knot Island, Sevii Islands

Misty's Gyarados had made the journey from Seafoam to Cinnabar Island smooth and economical, despite a strange tension Brock sensed between his friends. They'd caught the last ferry – the S.S. Oceania – departing from Cinnabar to Knot Island that evening, and headed straight for their respective rooms, sleep overcoming them almost immediately.

After sleeping in on the first day, Ash and Brock had spent the day at the on-deck pool. Ash had even released Bulbasaur and Wartortle – two of his smallest and better-behaved Pokémon, next to Pikachu – to relax on the deck with them; Wartortle and Pikachu, the latter in an inner tube, had enjoyed the pool as Bulbasaur napped in the sun. Misty's presence, or lack thereof, had not gone unnoticed by Brock.

By noon on the second day, Misty still hadn't shown her face, and Brock had decided that he'd had to act. While Ash slept in a lounge chair, enjoying the warmth of the sun, the older male had gone and rapped on his friend's door, waiting for permission to enter.

Misty opened the door a fraction, peeping through the slit between the door and the frame to identify her visitor. "Oh, hey Brock. Something the matter?"

One of Brock's eyebrows arched suspiciously. "I think I should be the one asking you that question," he responded. "We haven't seen you for a day and a half." From the way Misty averted her visible eye, Brock felt that she must have felt some twinge of shame. "You know, I've always thought of you as a younger sister, having to take care of you and Ash for so many years," he told her gently. "You can tell me anything, you know that, right?"

The redhead hesitated a moment before opening the door, turning around and walking to the bed as Brock followed her inside and closed the door behind him. He grabbed the chair by the desk across from the bed, spun it around, and sat in it backwards. "You've got the floor."

She looked down at her lap, hands crossed and thumbs twiddling. "When you and Ash came and told me that we were going on an adventure again, I was so excited. It was finally a chance to get out of the gym for awhile. Don't get me wrong, I love being a Gym Leader, but you know how difficult it can be, between taking care of the Pokémon, maintenance, bills, everything else, especially when you're on your own."

"Your sisters don't help out?"

Misty snorted. "Are you kidding? They're more interested in beautification procedures and cosmetics and modeling. Daisy's the next most competent at battling, but even that only allows me to go out every once in a while."

"So you're overwhelmed."

The redhead nodded. "I was hoping to make this a vacation, to just kind of forget my problems for awhile, but after Seafoam, everything with Ash is so awkward—"

"What happened with Ash in Seafoam?"

Misty hesitated before relaying the adventure in all its awkward glory to her friend. To the older male's credit, he only listened intently to the story, holding in all reactions while she explained what had happened. When she'd finished, Brock hummed thoughtfully and stroked his chin. "Well, that explains a lot. I understand why you haven't really joined us then."

"Brock, what should I do?" moaned the redhead.

"Maybe you should look at the bright side," he suggested. "Ash recognized that you're a girl, and more than that, he sees that he likes someone with your qualities. If you're still interested in pursuing a relationship with him – come on, Misty, give me a little credit, I'm not stupid," he added at the redhead's agape expression, "then you're already leagues ahead of everyone else. Maybe you just need to put yourself out there a bit more, actually make it obvious that you're interested in him. Be confident! It might be enough to send him the clue that you'd like to be more than friends. You and I both know how oblivious he can be when it comes to this stuff."

Misty managed a crooked smile at Brock's statement, his sensibility slowly seeping into her scattered brain. "You're right. I should show Ash what he's missing out on. I could use a little more time to figure this out. Can you just keep him busy for the rest of the cruise?"

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem to run interference for a bit, but then it's all on you. I'll see if I can start to plant a seed within Ash's head about all of this, too."

The bed shifted as Misty rose from it and embraced her friend. "Thanks, Brock," she mumbled into his vest. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Starve," he joked, putting one arm around Misty in a half-hug. He leaned down and kissed her on the top of the head. "Good luck. You'll need a lot of it."

And so the rest of the voyage had gone with Brock keeping Ash constantly distracted. When the raven-haired Frontier Brain had gotten concerned about the redhead's absence, Brock had explained that she wasn't feeling too well and had asked to be left alone.

Of course, keeping Ash busy wasn't a huge problem. Volleyball was the easiest method, the two humans playing both with and against Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Wartortle, Primeape, Sudowoodo, and Croagunk. The unending buffet had helped, too, keeping Ash's infamous bottomless pit of a stomach full and the kitchens busy, especially the one instance Snorlax had been allowed to eat his fill.

The Sleeping Pokémon had been prohibited from leaving his Pokéball for the rest of the trip after that.

After the week of relaxation aboard the ship, the trio had gotten off at Knot Island and began a brisk pace towards the opposite end of the island. Misty and Brock, who had never been to any of the Sevii Islands, had forced Ash to slow down and allow them the opportunity to take in the sights. Both were able to purchase some of the trendy clothing only available in their current region before Ash, fed up with the delays, had forcibly led them away from the main area with a clipped, "We're skipping the small stuff and heading for the main attraction."

'The main attraction', as Ash had put it, ended up being the Ember Spa, located northeast of Knot Island's main hubbub. Much like Lavaridge Town's hot springs in the Hoenn region, the Ember Spa was rumored to have medicinal and therapeutic properties, the source of the heat coming from the infamous Mt. Ember.

Currently, the hot springs were doing a pretty good job of relieving Brock's stress over the whole situation between Ash and Misty. His elbows were propped behind him on the stones that ringed the spa which he and Ash were relaxing in, Pikachu dog-paddling through the water. Brock opened one eye to spy on his friend, who was attempting to squirt water from between his hands by squeezing them together. Knowing that Misty was in a completely separate pool – currently being harangued by a hydrophobic Psyduck, if the cries of distress were any indication – Brock decided to wheedle out his friend's opinion on the matter. "Hey, Ash, what do you think about Misty?"

Said trainer immediately stopped playing with the water, shooting his friend a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"You know…as a…person," he stressed, deciding that using the word 'woman' might've been a bit too obvious.

"She's cool," shrugged Ash, completely oblivious to Brock's tone. "I don't think she's changed too much."

If you only knew.

"It's nice to be around something so familiar, you know?"

"Sure." He considered that for a moment, wondering if Ash really did hold some sort of affection for the Cerulean Gym Leader, but couldn't recognize it because he'd never opened his mind to what any of those feelings could mean. Finally deciding to go for broke, Brock asked, "Is there a reason you've never dated?"

Ash groaned. "Is there a reason you guys keep asking me that?"

"We're your friends, and we're concerned about you. It's kind of unusual to not have expressed some sort of interest in a relationship at this point in your life."

"It's not like you or Misty are in relationships either."

Brock bit back the first retort that came to his tongue, instead saying, "At least we've tried."

Ash rose from the hot spring and wrapped a towel around his body. "Well, maybe if someone worthwhile came along, I'd give it a shot."

"What about Misty?"

Ash froze mid-step, surprised at the suggestion. He turned to face the older male. "Huh?"

Brock shrugged, closing his eyes and sinking a little deeper into the hot spring. "Nothing, forget I said anything. Random thought, you know?"

"…Yeah, sure…"

As the Frontier Brain's steps slapped against the wet surface, indicating his retreat, Brock smiled to himself.

-l-l-l-

Ash stretched to the sky, yawning loudly as the sun beat down upon Kindle Road. After leaving Brock in Ember Spa, he'd quickly dressed, habitually donning his white lab coat over his clothes. Even though he'd tried to brush them off, the breeder's parting words stuck with him, a message on loop in the absence of any other distraction. What about Misty? he challenged, and only silence greeted his internal question, because he wasn't sure where to pursue that thought.

The subject of his thoughts walked out of the spa at that moment, dressed in a red bikini top and a sheer sarong of the same color wrapped around her waist, the hem of the fabric catching in the breeze and dancing a tantalizing movement around cream-colored legs. The zephyr also caught Misty's unrestrained hair and teased the locks, giving her an enchanting quality. Ash's eyes raked over her form of their own volition, admiring her athletic swimmer's build from years of running the Cerulean Gym.

And suddenly the only thought in his head was, Wow.

It struck Ash that this was one of the rare moments he was consciously aware that Misty was female, and an attractive one at that. It had never really registered before what that exactly implied, but with Brock's question still lingering like a specter, it now stood out like a blotch of paint on an otherwise empty canvas.

The breeder had followed her out, clad in baggy, tan shorts and a loose green muscle shirt he'd bought from the Knot Island market. "Ash? Hello?"

He managed to shake himself from his daze at the older male's prompting, though Misty was now standing right next to him, the concern in her blue-green eyes apparent. And distracting. "Uh…what?"

"Aren't you going to lead us through Mt. Ember?" Brock asked. "You're the only one with any knowledge of this place."

Ash nodded distractedly, finally averting his eyes from Misty's figure and directing his attention to Brock. "Yeah…right, okay. Alright, let's go."

Brock followed Ash's semi-hurried ascension up Mt. Ember at a more sedate pace, whispering, "Well-played," to Misty as he passed by.

The redhead turned on her heel to follow her friend, a full-blown smile on her face.

-l-l-l-

The uphill climb from Ember Spa to Mt. Ember was a five-mile trek over a rough dirt path littered with and surrounded by rocks. The temperature rose gradually with the slope of the road, sweat beading on the foreheads of the trio. Misty and Brock were more comfortable in the 'native' clothing they'd purchased, but Ash was learning that long clothes and the sweltering heat made for a miserable journey about one-and-a-half miles in.

Finally, after another half-hour of travel, he stopped by the side of road and sat on a rock to unlace his shoes. His pants were transformable, the bottom-halves zipping off to become a pair of forest-green shorts. After re-shoeing his feet, Ash quickly shed his researcher's lab coat to reveal a dark blue tank top, the coat promptly stuffed into his traveling bag. Out of his line of sight, Misty raised an appreciative eyebrow at the subtle play of lean muscle in the Frontier Brain's arms before they continued their hike once again.

As the trio ascended the side of the mountain, the dirt path faded into a rocky road, the wild Pokémon thinning out into those more acclimated to the rougher terrain. Geodude and Graveler peered down at them from above, while a herd of Ponyta led by a Rapidash galloped up the slope nearby. Once, Ash had to prevent Misty from sitting upon the heated rock that was the shell of a slumbering Magcargo.

It took almost three hours for the threesome to reach the yawning entrance that lead to Mt. Ember's interior. The cavern was dimly lit, screeches and rumbles from within echoing out to reach the ears of the party. All three stared into the dark expanse for a moment, allowing the silence to stretch between them, each waiting for the other to speak up about continuing the adventure. "Well, nowhere to go but forward," Ash spoke at last. He swung his pack from its place on his back, reaching into it to produce a cylindrical rod.

Ash gripped the item at each end, cracking it and then shaking it, light emanating from the glow stick. He held up the light, catching sight of Brock rooting around in his pack to produce two more light sticks, tossing one to Misty. Both trainers followed Ash's example, the Frontier Brain waiting for affirming nods from his two friends before proceeding into the cavern.

Their trek was slow, the glow from the light sticks enough to see by, but not by much. Two Slugma appeared to glower at the trio as they passed, and Ash tripped over at least three potholes created by some wayward Ground-type, cursing fluently and alerting his two companions to the danger. It was after 20 minutes of silent travel that the friends approached their first problem, a fork in the path. Misty watched as Ash's head swiveled back and forth, deliberating the correct road to take. "Well?" she prompted after what she felt was an appropriate lapse of time.

Pikachu's ears twitched.

"I'm thinking," Ash told her.

Pikachu's head swiveled to the left, ears perking upright and entire body straightening to gain better leverage upon Ash's shoulder. He jumped off his perch with a cry of "Pika!" and took off down the left tunnel.

"Pikachu!" cried his trainer, taking off after the electric rodent, Brock and Misty following their friend.

A five-minute jog brought the trio to a larger antechamber, Pikachu standing stock still in front of a large boulder. Ash knelt down with his light, revealing the source of the Electric-type's abrupt exit.

Trapped beneath the boulder from the chest down was a small red Pokémon with a conical yellow mouth and red bulges atop its head. A black collar could be seen around its neck, and three stubby claws scrabbled for purchase in the hard earth of Mt. Ember. "Bee," moaned the Pokémon, coughing out short bursts of smoke from its mouth.

"Pikachu must've heard this Magby calling for help," Ash surmised quietly. "Brock, help me out here."

"Sure," agreed the breeder, handing Misty his glow stick and crouching down next to Ash. "What's the plan?"

Ash remained quiet, his brown eyes taking in the details of the situation. "Hmm…well, I think we can push this boulder back and then pull Magby out. Pikachu, you'll have to do that." The electric mouse saluted, moving forward and grasping Magby's hands. Ash stood up, Brock following his lead, and both men set themselves up against the rock. "On the count of three. One, two, three!"

The pair pushed, grunts of exertion echoing in the enclosed space. For a long moment, it didn't look to Misty as if their power was enough, but then the large stone grated against the ground, Magby's face contorting in pain as its body was scraped and kneaded by the movement.

"Pikachu…pull…" Ash urged between grunts. His faithful Electric-type began to do just that, struggling with the task of pulling something bigger and heavier than him. Several minutes passed, sweat beading on the foreheads of all involved as the burden of the task took its toll.

Finally, with one last tug, Pikachu yanked Magby free from its confines, the force rolling the two Pokémon across the earth and into the opposite wall. "Chaa," moaned the mouse from his upside-down position against the rock.

Ash flopped to the ground in exhaustion as Misty rushed over to check on him. Meanwhile, Brock fought through his tiredness and crawled over to Magby, pulling out some Pokémon medications and quickly applying them to the Live Coal Pokémon. Pikachu sat up and, noticing that Magby was being tended to, scampered over to his trainer, choosing to climb instead upon Misty's shoulder while Ash recovered.

Five minutes later, Ash, Misty, and Pikachu made their way to Brock, who was putting the finishing touches of a bandage around Magby's right leg. Brock dusted his hands together and stood up. "Well, that's all I can do for now," sighed the breeder. "It doesn't look like this guy was hurt too badly by that boulder. Based on his injuries, it almost looks like it was placed on him, but that would be really weird."

Pikachu jumped to the ground and began to converse with Magby. After an apparently in-depth conversation, Pikachu turned to Ash and began to chatter rapidly. The trainer nodded once, twice, and then questioned somewhat skeptically, "Really?"

"Pi!" affirmed his friend.

Ash shrugged. "If you say so." The male turned to his two human friends. "According to Pikachu, Magby says that he's going to lead us to Moltres."

His two companions blinked. "Come again?" Brock managed.

"I'll explain on the way," Ash offered as Misty passed the men their lights. He nodded to the Fire-type, trudging forward in step with Magby. Misty and Brock exchanged glances before following their friend into the darkness. As they walked, Ash proceeded to relate the story that Pikachu had gleaned from Magby.

According to the baby Pokémon, he'd been attacked by a group of Magcargo about a month prior. When they'd chased him into a corner and cast Rock Slide to crush the Live Coal Pokémon, Moltres had appeared and protected him from the attack. After the fiery bird had chased away the Magcargo, he'd stayed by the Legendary bird's side. Magby led them down the right path of a three-way tunnel as Ash continued the story, relaying that a sudden rumbling had shaken the tunnel he was in, rocks breaking loose from the walls and trapping the Fire-type. He'd cried out for assistance, but that had gone unheeded until Pikachu had taken notice of Magby's voice.

"Doesn't this all seem a little too convenient?" Brock asked. "First Magnemite, then the whole thing with Articuno, and now Magby?"

"Sure does," Ash agreed, "but what can we do about it?"

Brock didn't respond, though his eyebrows remained furrowed as Magby continued to lead them to Moltres. The heat increased with the incline, the trio of humans flagging as the hike up the mountain and the current trek took its toll. At the rear, Misty panted, "How—much—further?"

"Magby, bee," answered the Live Coal Pokémon, pointing ahead.

"Translation?" Brock gasped.

"No—idea—" Ash replied. "Wait. I see—a light—ahead. Is—that it?" The Fire-type nodded his head in confirmation, and the researcher tossed over his shoulder, "Almost—there!"

When they emerged into the summit's sunlight, the heat became nearly unbearable, the breeze that came from being outside again hot and dry. Water canteens were pulled out and passed around, heaving gulps taken with fervor. After several minutes of catching their breaths, the trio looked up to spy Moltres' majestic form.

The Legendary bird was perched on the highest rocky outcropping in the area, the top flat enough to roost comfortably. It possessed a thin, yellow body, brown talons, and a long beak. An embodiment of the fire it controlled, dazzling red and white flames comprised the avian's three-foot tail, head crest, and large wings. As Magby headed for shelter, Moltres flexed its six-foot wingspan and opened its beak, releasing a shrill screech. "Kyaah!"

Everyone present jumped and covered their ears. Compared to Articuno, whose high-pitched coos were melodic and soft, or even Zapdos, whose caws sounded raspy and flat, Moltres appeared to be tone-deaf and shrill.

Despite that, Moltres was a dangerous Pokémon. Legendaries were, by nature, creatures to be both feared and respected, and he had accumulated any and all existing data on the three Legendary birds of his home nation. For as rare as the Legendary Pokémon were, the elemental birds were perhaps the most frequently sighted of all (relatively speaking), and information on Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres was comparably commonplace. Among the three, Moltres was the largest, rarest, and most difficult to track; Ash knew, he'd tried.

Let's start with the type advantage, he thought, fingering a Pokéball. "Kingler, let's go," he called, throwing the sphere forward.

The large crustacean appeared, pumping his arms in a victorious manner. "Kukie kukie."

Moltres seemed to take that as its cue, diving down from its perch and shooting a stream of fire at the crab. "Behind the rock!" Ash commanded. Kingler scuttled to the right, finding shelter behind a large stalagmite. Moltres changed its target, aiming for a point mid-way up the rock. The hardened material super-heated quickly, Moltres' Flamethrower bursting through the other side in seconds and singeing Kingler's crown-like crest.

Brock and Misty went slack-jawed. Ash was surprised at the fiery bird's sheer power for a second before realizing that the upper half of the stalagmite was now about to topple over on his Pokémon. "Metal Claw!" he cried instinctively. Kingler's large claw glowed white before it was thrust straight up, shattering the rocky spire without even looking.

Moltres fired another Flamethrower, prompting Ash to yell out, "Counter with your Water Gun!" Kingler shot a stream of water from his mouth, and the two elements collided in midair. Steam shrouded the field as the crustacean's liquid attack was vaporized in an instant.

Silence reigned as the water vapor dissipated. The sound of grinding made its way to Ash's ears, and he realized that his teeth were grit together in frustration. Damn.

When Kingler's form became clear, the large crustacean was favoring his right side, the left half charred by Moltres' last attack. Ash's lower jaw worked itself into a mild frenzy. Kingler's strength isn't in his special attack, but I was really hoping that it would be enough. The Frontier Brain was yanked from his thoughts as another fire attack flew towards the Water-type.

"What's he trying to do?" Misty whispered to Brock.

"I think," he began, watching carefully as Ash ordered Kingler to use Protect, "that he's trying for the same strategy he used against Zapdos."

Misty watched the battle, noting Ash's use of both Protect and the terrain to have Kingler evade Moltres. "Kingler's tiring though," she observed.

"Yeah," agreed Brock. "Ash needs to make his move, and fast."

"Protect," Ash repeated, Kingler throwing up a shield to block another Flamethrower. The fire was repelled, but then it curved around the shield and transformed into a swirling vortex of flame that engulfed the Water-type. Moltres turned Flamethrower into Fire Spin, he realized, impressed. "Break free with your Crabhammer!" he called.

The fire in front of Kingler parted and dispersed as the white orb of Crabhammer smashed through it and flew at the Legendary bird. The Flame Pokémon veered sharply, screeching as the Fire Spin was disrupted. Then it dove at Kingler, wings swept back and talons outstretched.

Yes! "Alright, Kingler, just like before!" The Pincer Pokémon readied himself for the inevitable contact, claws ready to grab Moltres. With five feet of space remaining, Kingler reached out to grab the Fire/Flying hybrid's long beak.

As Kingler's claw lashed out, Moltres arched its long neck in a loop around the crab's spindly arm, dodging the blunt appendage. The Legendary bird raked its talons forward, grabbing Kingler's outstretched arm and pulling him off the ground. It performed a half-turn in midair, releasing its hold on Kingler and allowing him to sail into a rocky spire 100 feet away.

All three trainers winced at the impact, Kingler's body creating a large spiderweb of cracks. "Return," said Ash, recalling his Pokémon. "You did your best, Kingler. Thanks. Now," he continued, pulling out a second Pokéball, "you're up, Wartortle!"

"Wartortle!" cried the Water-type. Ash grinned; he still had the type advantage, and Wartortle was better with distance water attacks than Kingler.

"Start this off with a Water Gun," Ash told the turtle. Wartortle fired a jet of water from his mouth which was countered with another Flamethrower. For the second time, steam blanketed the battlefield.

Man, getting tired of that.

Despite the ominous silence that pervaded the area, Ash knew Moltres wouldn't wait as long to attack as it did with Kingler. "Okay, Wartortle, just use your ears and try to predict where Moltres is coming from." Wartortle didn't respond, and Ash assumed that it was due to not giving away his position rather than not hearing his command.

It didn't take long for Wartortle's long, feathered ears twitched, and he jumped to the left in the nick of time as Moltres went soaring past. The bird tried dive-bombing the turtle two more times, and each time, Wartortle barely escaped the Fire- and Flying-type's sharp talons.

After the third failed attempt, Moltres rose high above the dispersing steam and screeched, "Kyaah!" A bright blue sphere of energy formed in front of its body, easily two feet in diameter. With another ear-splitting shriek, Moltres flapped both wings forward and sent the Air Slash into the center of the steam.

Ash blanched at the sight. "Wartortle, Withdraw!" he cried. The wind attack impacted with the ground, blowing away all the mist at once. When it cleared, a brown shell was laying on the ground, the Turtle Pokémon having taken cover in time.

Before Wartortle or his trainer could act, Moltres proceeded to fire one Flamethrower after another at the shell. The flames seemed to do little at first, but after several blasts, Ash began to see scorch marks on his Pokémon's protective armor.

The attacks stopped suddenly as the flames of Moltres' wings glowed white. Two small white orbs formed at each wing's midpoint, and when they reached the size of a Pokéball, Moltres launched them both into the air.

The temperature, already unbearably warm, immediately skyrocketed.

Moltres' beak opened wide, the orange energy of a new attack coalescing within. Ash barely had time to react as the most powerful Heat Wave he'd ever seen was shot at his Water-type. Fortunately, the Frontier Brain had instincts honed from years of similar situations, and he shouted, "WATER GUN THE GROUND!"

Wartortle popped out of his shell, shooting a strong torrent of water at the earth. The power of the attack shot the Turtle Pokémon into the air, avoiding Moltres' Heat Wave. "Now, Rapid Spin!" Ash called. The Water-type flipped head-over-tail to right himself, withdrawing into his shell and then rotating quickly in Moltres' direction.

The attack connected, striking Moltres across the chest and eliciting a shrill cry. Wartortle fell to the ground and landed on all fours, smirking up at the bird. "Wartortle war," he taunted.

"Yeah, nice shot, Wartortle!"

The Flame Pokémon's eyes focused on the Water-type, an anger burning within them. It shot another Flamethrower at Wartortle, prompting the turtle to seek shelter in his shell. Then Moltres flapped its wings, controlling the fiery attack and forming it into the same flaming vortex that had overtaken Kingler. Ash could hear Wartortle's grunts from within the conflagration, and he quickly yelled, "Hydro Pump!"

Already within his shell, Wartortle began to pump waves of water from each of the holes in his carapace. Combined with his revolving motion, Wartortle managed to douse enough of the fire to escape the vortex and sail towards Moltres as Ash commanded him to use Skull Bash. In challenge, a white aura engulfed Moltres' body, and it dived at the Turtle Pokémon, heedless of the ongoing Hydro Pump.

Bird struck turtle in a mighty clash, but Moltres' Sky Attack overpowered Wartortle's Hydro Pump-fueled Skull Bash. Ash's Pokémon crashed into the ground back-first and feebly attempted to sit up. As Ash tried to encourage his Pokémon, Moltres' beak opened wide, and a golden-white light formed within.

Neither trainer nor Pokémon were able to react before Moltres fired its attack, the powerful light connecting with the Water-type. When the smoke from the blast cleared, Wartortle was laying unconscious in a small crater. Ash recalled the Turtle Pokémon with a sigh, complimenting him on a well-fought battle. That was unexpected. He glanced up at the bright light above, shielding his eyes to glower at it. As if Sunny Day wasn't enough, Moltres can use Solar Beam. Great. He fingered a third Pokéball absently, mind racing through strategies, before shrugging and tossing out the sphere.

Snorlax appeared with a grunt of his name, awake and energized for battle.

"Uh…" Misty started, raising a finger in question and then failing to continue it.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to use Snorlax, Ash?" tried Brock. "Moltres can kind of…fly…and Snorlax, well…can't."

"Don't worry, I have a plan." Brock and Misty turned to each other and shrugged, trusting that their friend knew what he was doing.

Moltres unleashed a Flamethrower, which hit Snorlax's body and then dispersed upon contact.

"Thick Fat," Ash said, eyes riveted on the conflict ahead. "Halves the power of all fire attacks used on Snorlax." After a second Flamethrower bounced off his giant Pokémon, he order a Hyper Beam. Snorlax opened his large mouth, quickly creating and loosing the golden-yellow energy of his attack.

It struck the stunned Moltres squarely, evoking a high-pitched screech. While Snorlax restored his energy, Moltres recovered from the attack and used Sunny Day again. The Legendary bird followed up by preparing another Heat Wave and unleashing it at the Sleeping Pokémon.

Snorlax – recovered from his Hyper Beam – took the attack head-on, grunting as the heat licked his thick body, the power boost from Sunny Day making the fire attack strong enough to feel. "Ride it out, Snorlax!" Ash encouraged.

The Sleeping Pokémon's determination rose, and he stomped his feet. With a cry of "Lax!", he broke through the attack. Moltres stopped its assault and opened its beak in preparation of another Solar Beam.

This time, Ash was ready. "Ice Punch with everything you've got, Snorlax!" he shouted. Ice crystallized on the Normal-types right hand, and at the last moment, he swung at the incoming energy.

To everyone's surprise – except perhaps Ash's (and both Misty and Brock marveled at how he could remain so calm) – the Solar Beam reflected off Snorlax's punch, rebounding at an increased speed and striking Moltres in the left wing. The Fire/Flying hybrid shrieked, and above the cacophony, Ash yelled, "Mega Punch!"

And Snorlax jumped.

Misty hadn't seen Snorlax jump since the Silver Conference, when he'd leapt into the air to deliver a crushing Ice Punch to Gary's Nidoqueen. It had been so long ago that she'd completely forgotten the giant Pokémon had the ability to jump. And luckily, with its failed attack hitting its wing, Moltres had started to lose its aerial advantage.

Snorlax met Moltres almost 50 feet above the ground, his fist glowing pure white. The Sleeping Pokémon swung, hitting Moltres in the back and sending the Legendary bird crashing to the ground.

If pressed, Ash would admit that Kingler's two-move combination victory over Zapdos had been uncomfortably lucky. The crustacean was a powerhouse when it came to physical attacks, and his failure to hit the more even-tempered Moltres – while not a huge shock – was still disappointing. But even Kingler had nothing on Snorlax.

And now the Normal-type was positioned for his trademark attack. "Body Slam!"

In most normal situations, Body Slam was a powerful move in its own right. Coming from a half-ton Pokémon suspended at least 40 feet in the air?

Moltres' eyes seemed to widen in fear as its fate became clear, Snorlax's body crushing it into the earth.

The ground shook from the collision, causing the gathered company to bounce several inches. When Snorlax rolled off the Legendary bird and stood up, Moltres was out cold. Ash threw a Pokéball at it with a melancholy expression in his brown eyes; he hadn't wanted to hurt Moltres – or any of the Pokémon – so badly, but he supposed that that was the risk with every battle.

"Bee, magby!"

Ash, Misty, and Brock looked over to find Magby running towards them, beak puckered into a frown. He began to talk in rapid Pokéspeak, and Pikachu approached the Live Coal Pokémon to explain the situation. Brock walked over and knelt next to the small Pokémon. "If you don't want to stay here, you're welcome to come along with us," he offered. The Fire-type's head swiveled between Moltres' Pokéball and Brock's placating hand in indecision, but finally locking eyes with the breeder and nodding. Brock dug a Pokéball out from his pack and offered it to Magby, the Fire-type clicking the button and disappearing in a beam of red light.

With the distraction settled, Ash finally picked up Moltres' Pokéball before turning his attention to Snorlax. "Nice job, buddy. You really came through for me there."

"Lax snorlax," asserted the Sleeping Pokémon.

The Frontier Brain was about to respond, but suddenly found that he couldn't speak. He tried to move to return Snorlax to his Pokéball, but his body wouldn't obey his commands. From his periphery, he could barely see Brock, Misty, and Pikachu encased in a glowing blue aura.

Before he could even consider what was going on, Mt. Ember vanished.

Seconds later, Ash was staring at a large, spacious indoor arena, the blue glow around his friends gone. He stumbled at the sudden change of location and felt to his knees. Then, as he crawled to his feet, a deep voice spoke directly into his head.

[Ash Ketchum…we meet again]