"Hey, that's a Pikachu you've got there, right?"

Ash looked over at Pikachu. "It is you, right?"

"I think so," Pikachu replied. "Of course, if I were Zorua, Noctowl, Purrloin, Mew, Ibid, or an illusion created by Zacian or Lokoko, or Aten if he'd learned how to use the Illusion ability we all presume he probably has-"

He cut himself off. "Anyway. If I was pretending to be me I'd say I was. So asking me doesn't necessarily help."

"Uh…" the boy began.

"Yeah, sorry, just checking," Ash said. "We agreed that it's probably Pikachu."

"Well, then!" the boy said. "I'm Sho! I'm out looking to have one of each kind of Pokémon in Raichu's evolutionary line, and I've got a Pichu and a Raichu… do you think there's any chance I could trade you another Pokémon for that Pikachu? I've got a Mareep, a Magnemite-"

"No way!" Ash replied. "Pikachu's my partner. He's the best Pokémon I could ever hope for, and a pretty good trainer too!"

"Pretty good?" Pikachu repeated. "I've got a perfect win-loss record if I remember properly."

"...sorry, what?" Sho said, a little confused. "A trainer?"

Whitney giggled.

"Well, whatever," Sho shrugged. "I guess if you don't want to swap, then you could at least evolve them into a Raichu! If you're going to have just one, then Raichu's the one to have!"

"What is it with people insisting I evolve?" Pikachu demanded. "I'm happy the way I am, thanks!"

"Yeah, that's not happening unless Pikachu wants it," Ash said. "And he doesn't."

"Besides, they're all good for different reasons," Dawn pointed out. "A Raichu has that tail and can learn some moves that Pikachu can't, and it's got more bulk, while a Pikachu has a higher ceiling on what it's capable of."

"No, Raichu is the one that's stronger," Sho snorted. "Wow, you don't even know that?"

"The only thing that's preventing me from agreeing with Dawn without reservation is that I'm fairly sure evolving would indeed make me stronger," Pikachu said. "But I don't want to, and I don't feel I need the power."

Rapidash came out of his Pokéball, and posed with his mane blowing in the wind. "I think this sounds like the set up to a lesson about Pokémon, or friendship, or something like that," he said.

"Wait, did that Rapidash just talk?" Sho asked.

Rapidash ignored him, and pointed a hoof forwards. "So! Let's find out which it is!"

They found out which it was.

"So… Pikachu actually can't evolve," Ash said, starting to tick off the points. "The Thunderstone just doesn't work on him."

"Yeah, that was weird," Pikachu admitted. "I'd always planned to bat it away if I got too close to one, but I'd have expected it to actually start working before I did that."

"And Sho's Pichu is a jerk," Whitney added. "A cute jerk, but a jerk! So cute Pokémon can sometimes be awful Pokémon too. It's sad to have to learn that."

"Don't forget that that move Sho's Raichu did to try and battle Pikachu could have been really dangerous," Dawn said. "A point blank Hyper Beam on a pinned down target would have been risky."

"Sky Uppercut saves the day again," Pikachu smiled.

"So, what's the lesson…" Rapidash mused to himself, speaking out loud. "You sometimes realize you're a jerk when you see what your Pokémon have been learning from you?"

"Maybe," Ash said, as Ibid rotated his Pokémon out – swapping the Beasts' Pokéball for Zacian's. "Or maybe it's that there are still mysteries out there, like how Pikachu can't evolve."

Zacian burst out of her Repeat Ball. "Did you just say that Pikachu can't evolve?"

"Yeah, there was this guy whose Pichu tried to force Pikachu to evolve with a Thunder Stone and Fling," Ash agreed.

"Marvellous," Zacian declared. "I'm not sure how to make use of this information, but I've definitely got ideas for how…"

Not long before reaching Pastoria City, the road wound past Lake Valor.

"This is one of the three great lakes of Sinnoh," Dawn told them. "There's a rumour that a Legendary Pokémon lives here, which means a Legendary Pokémon lives here."

"Oh, which one?" Whitney asked.

"Azelf, I think," Dawn said. "I don't remember for sure, not quite, but I don't think I'm wrong."

"Yeah, that sounds like it makes sense," Ash replied. "Uh… Uxie is about knowledge, so it's Lake Acuity – that's about knowing things. Azelf is about willpower, so it's Lake Valor which is about being brave. And Mesprit is about empathy, so it's Lake Verity which is about what's right."

"I wonder if that means a Legendary Pokémon lives in Lake Outrage," Zacian pondered. "It would probably have to be a Legendary Bird, though, and there's only the one lake with that sort of name. So probably not."

"Unless one of all three lived there," Ash suggested, then pointed down onto the lakeside beach. "Hey, wait, isn't that Wallace?"

He waved. "Hi!"

Wallace got up, turned, and his face lit up. "Ah, Ash! What a coincidence to see you in Sinnoh!"

He spread his arms with a flourish. "And who might your friends be?"

"This is Whitney," Ash introduced. "She's a Gym Leader on sabbatical. And this is Dawn, she's a Coordinator."

"Of course you've got a Gym Leader with you," Wallace said. "How many have travelled with you so far?"

"Whitney's only the third," Ash replied, then frowned. "I think. Though I guess I count as a gym leader substitute."

"You'd count as Hoenn Champion if you hadn't turned it down," Wallace chuckled. "But then again, so would I."

He smiled. "And I've heard of Dawn, yes – but have you heard of the Wallace Cup?"

None of the others answered, and he chuckled. "I assume you don't watch much TV… that or the ad campaign isn't working. It's a special Contest which I'm hosting in a few days on the shore of Lake Valor, and the prize is a special Ribbon that's valid for any Grand Festival!"

Dawn looked tempted. "I'm… not sure if I should take part," she admitted. "But it'd be nice. What about you two?"

Ash was already thinking hard.

"Just… if you're going to use your Rayquaza, please tell her not to turn into Groudon," Wallace requested. "Since it's on the lake shore, it might empty the lake."

"...the tricky thing is that there's so many Pokémon to choose from," Ash said, as they entered Port Valor.

"I've got the opposite problem," Dawn admitted. "I've not got a full team yet, and everyone helped me win my last Ribbon… I feel like I've still got months to go before the Grand Festival, easily, and if I end up winning all my Ribbons now then whoever I pick up later on won't have the chance to properly integrate into the team. Even if I double my team size two Double Contests is enough chance to get everyone involved."

"It's better to have that problem than have the other problem, right?" Pachirisu asked, balancing on her shoulder. "I know I'd rather not be stressed out about a losing streak."

"Yeah," Dawn smiled, and gave the little Electric-type a pat on the back. "I like to think I'd handle a losing streak okay, but you can't really know until it happens."

Ash had got out Ibid, who had converted into a scrollable screen with all kinds of interactive Pokémon information on it, and flicked back and forth.

"Maybe I should ask Swellow if she's interested," he said. "She hasn't had a battle in a while, and that's usually a good way to tell."

"That's true…" Whitney agreed, thinking about it. "And I could maybe bring Deerling in from Goldenrod!"

"Hey!" a familiar voice called. "Ash, I can't believe it!"

"May?" Ash asked, looking up. "I didn't know you were in Sinnoh!"

"We both are!" May told him. "Max is out exploring with a Houndour he met in Big Town, but we're meeting up later today."

"Houndour are pretty neat Pokémon," Whitney pronounced. "They're not as cute when they evolve, generally speaking, but they've got that aloof cool side to them then and that's just the best when they're sappy canine Pokémon anyway."

"So, what new Pokémon do you have in Sinnoh?" May asked. "I know you usually catch a lot more than me, and I don't have any new Pokémon to share… so, anything good?"

"So far…" Ash began. "Starly, Turtwig, Croagunk, Buizel, Chimchar, Moltres, Yveltal and Cresselia."

"I can't remember what some of those look like," May admitted. "But a Moltres means you've got the complete set now, right?"

"May?" Max asked, Houndour trotting at his heels. "Huh, I went off somewhere else and we ended up in the same place anyway. Go figure… wait, is that Ash?"

He slowed to a halt as he arrived. "Great to see you, Ash. Who are your friends?"

"I'm Dawn," Dawn introduced herself. "I'm a Pokémon Coordinator. And I guess you're Max?"

"Max Maple, that's me," Max agreed. "Probably going to be a Pokémon Professor some day just because of the law of inevitability, and because it's that or Ash ends up a Professor and I think everyone can agree that would be kind of… chaotic."

"Chaotic and amazing," Whitney said, her eyes shining. "Can you imagine it? I'd love to get a starter Pokémon from Professor Ash! I wonder how cute a tiny Raikou is!"

Max's jaw worked for a moment.

"Uh, quick question," he said. "Dawn? You know Ash is crazy, right?"

"No," Dawn replied. "And that's a bit rude to say about a friend."

"Great," Max groaned. "I'm the only voice of reason."

While Max was realizing that, Zygarde padded over to Houndour.

"Woof," they said, offering a paw. "This seems more dignified than the alternative."

Houndour looked at the paw, then at Zygarde.

"You're a Legendary Pokémon, right?" she said.

Zygarde nodded.

"Good," Houndour replied. "It's nice to know where I stand. I don't mind not being top dog so long as it's obvious."

"I am fairly sure that I can take your weight more easily than the other way around, if we are discussing a pyramid situation," Zygarde mused.

May's starter was a Blaziken, and Dawn was interested to see what a Blaziken was like, so May went through all the Pokémon she had on hand that afternoon introducing each one to Dawn and Whitney – including Manaphy, who came out of his water bottle with a big smile and who Whitney immediately declared to be amazing before suffering a mild case of hyperventilation.

Ash introduced all his new Pokémon to Max and May, as well, then Dawn and Whitney did the same with their on-hand teams, and by that point they'd eaten a giant pasta bake prepared by Dragonite and it was well into the evening.

"I believe that concludes this experiment," Zacian said, getting their attention.

Raikou was lying on her side, full of pasta. Zygarde was perched on her haunches, Houndour was wobbling on top of Zygarde, and Zacian's paws glowed with golden light as she stood en pointe atop Houndour's nose.

"I think that any observer would say I was top dog, based on this," she added. "Unless Suicune was around, because she can do something very similar to this with water. Thank you for the experiment."

Houndour hopped to the ground, leaving Zacian hovering there without any means of support. "Personally, I understand a lot more about Skitty, Blaziken, Eevee and the others, now."

"I think Skitty came that way," Zygarde told her.

"That would have been a pretty good Appeal, if it didn't involve about four times as many Pokémon as are allowed to enter," May said. "And two trainers, plus one Pokémon who I think doesn't have one."

Zacian floated to the ground. "I could take part in the Battle round?" she said. "Oh, or… hmm. No, that would be too logistically difficult."

AN:

It's a pyramid scheme, of course.