Disclaimer: Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

Chapter 60: Promises and Preparation

Leafeon and clefairy double-teamed a shuppet with Magical Leaves, giving Max a moment to look around. Swelt Town was a small village without even a Pokémon Center, and the two dozen or so Ghosts were not at all natural nor something the village could really deal with.

Unfortunately for whatever government plans there were, the Petalburg teenagers had been not even a mile away and within view when things went haywire.

"Nice one noibat!" Keith called out, and Max heard the small Dragon-type screech happily before he saw a very disrupted gastly… Sag to the ground? Whatever. "Skarmory, call 'em and Wing Attack!"

He heard an explosion from behind him, and after turning around, saw sceptile and blaziken walk away from a smoking crater, Pokémon inside not visible, but it allowed Jane to rush out of a nearby house that had taken damage, ushering an old man onto the street. "Just a precaution, you're better off outside," she told him before leaving the man with the boys and going off in the direction of the Hoenn starters, who had moved past the crater and were engaging two on three.

Max pitied the three before breaking out in a dry, painful cough.

A burst of clean air and spring flowers – Aromatherapy – cleared their lungs and the air. "Thanks leafeon," Max told Keith's Pokémon as he scanned the surroundings. Keith had the air under control, they'd been advancing up the street so that was all clear, and Max was just around to make sure they stayed safe from cheap shots. He switched manectric's ball from his left to his right, but didn't release the canine. She wasn't needed at all.

He took a deep breath and focused, trying to discern if there was anything powerful enough nearby. None of the Ghost-types found so far had been, so while he could feel the attacks, nothing really stood ou – "Left, leafeon!"

Electricity crackled, a rotom appearing out of nowhere. The streetlamp, maybe? A Razor Leaf disrupted the attack sufficiently, and clefairy threw a Disarming Voice out to force the Ghost-type out into the open, tagging it with an Encore as well after a Hex formed and went nowhere.

It was defeated soon after – it wasn't fast enough to dodge and being locked into the attack meant predictable openings as it charged up – but to Max's disappointment, his pokéball didn't allow for a capture, and they didn't have time to figure out which was the rotom's because he needed to not be here after this was over. "Really, Max?"

"Can you blame me for trying?" he answered as he scanned the streets again – nothing out of the ordinary in sight, excepting a… "Huh. Noibat's evolving."

"Really? Wicked!" Keith turned around to order the newly evolved noivern to do something when the Pokémon opposing the Dragon-type – a haunter – suddenly lost ten feet of height before shaking its head and making the universal gesture for surrender. "I think crobat and ninjask have found the machine."

"Master of the obvious, aren't you," Max shot back, grinning as he dodged the attempted slug by the taller teen. "The attack is over now," he told the old man, who, he noticed, was staring at them with a weird look on his face. He also looked unkempt, but being attacked at eight in the morning would do that. "You can go back into your house. I'm sure the police will be here shortly."

"You're… Aren't you with them?"

Max rolled his eyes as he returned clefairy, being careful to be disrespectful out of sight. "I am not. I've never been, and if us pulling you out of hhmmpff!"

"We weren't even in town when this started. A mile out, on the main path," Keith said, removing his hand from Max's face and ignoring the glare. "And I know one of the neighbours about a quarter mile that way saw us Teleport in. Older woman, grey hair done up in a… A bun I think. House with lots of hydrangea." A deep breath. "And since then, all we've done is tried to stop the Ghost-types from doing too much damage." He made a show of looking around, and Max followed suit. "It's… Worked out okay, I think."

Compared to the last times Max had been in an attack in a village like this, he had to agree. Sure, the street was pockmarked and, in the direction Jane was walking back from, had a crater. The facade of the older man's home also looked bad, but… Damage to property had been very limited overall. "I've seen worse."

"Look, sir. If we were with them… Why would we have gone out of our way to keep everything safe? You know who he is. You know what Pokémon he has and what they can do: it's been in all the newspapers." Keith put his hand on Max's upper arm, as a warning. "If he wanted to, if we wanted to, we could've made this much worse."

Silence stretched painfully as Jane rejoined them, not saying anything, but handing Max a single capsule. Sceptile's.

"Hm. I believe you." Not a ringing endorsement, but Max would accept it. "But mark my words. Stick with those Pokémon and you're…"

Max listened with half an ear, waiting for the man's rant against the Pokémon types, the world, Kalos, Psychic-types in particular, and youth these days to be over. He hid a smile when the man caught on that he wasn't paying a ton of attention, and refocused his efforts on the sky, waiting for two Pokémon to return.

With perfect timing, they did at the end of the impressively long rant by the old coot, who took a step back at the arrival of a crobat and ninjask. "Hard to find?" Max asked, and ninjask darted behind a nearby hedge before making the bush rustle. "Ah. Smart. Nobody nearby, I guess. How'd you deal with it?" A pair of Shadow Balls formed, one from ninjask, one from crobat, followed by the latter slashing one wing. "Well done." He made to return ninjask, but the bug buzzed before creating a Shadow Ball and making it explode on purpose. "Huh. It exploded? Because of you? Or…" He shook his head. "Probably automatic somehow. Makes sense." He finally returned ninjask, as Keith did to crobat, and turned to the senior nuisance, taking a deep breath as he primed gardevoir's Friend Ball. "I hope your house can be repaired soon, and that you can find a safe place to stay while it's ongoing. Goodbye now."

And in the blink of an eye, they were back where they'd been before the attack. Gardevoir took their packs from the tree they'd hid them up, floette and quilladin coming down and returning themselves. "I… There's a cave not too far from here. I spent the night there once," Keith said before Max could ask for ideas. "Maybe an hour or three away?" He shifted as gardevoir read his mind. "That is getting easier."

Another Teleport, into a cave's twilight that manectric illuminated easily, finding that the entrance had been partially blocked in the intervening years. "Can you remove it?"

"It is only a boulder blocking the entrance. Debris from higher up, nothing structural, I think." Manectric's light dimmed, replaced with the soft glow of Psychic powers as the rock slid aside without a sound, that glow in turn replaced with a bit of daylight. "As I thought."

They walked out onto a west-facing ledge-path, about fifteen to twenty feet wide. "That was… Is it always like that?" Jane asked as she sat down. She was breathing a bit heavily, Max recognising it as adrenalin leaving her system. "Oh, guess I should check on noivern too, huh."

"Later," Max said before she could send the Dragon-type out. "Got some things to teach you now she's evolved."

"Always the teaching," Keith joked as his pack hit the ground a bit too hard; pots making noise. "Was it just me, or was this… Easy?"

"It was," Max agreed without hesitation as he asked manectric if she wanted to return with an offered pokéball. She did, and gardevoir twisted the Friend Ball on Max's belt so he, too, could return. "None of them were very strong, except for… What was that near the end, Jane? With the crater?"

"Dusclops. Annoying Pokémon and already attacked that house and nearly me." Keith drew in a sharp breath. "Had blaziken distract it while I got the man, then sceptile dropped Night Slash on it from above. Then blaziken did a Bounce and Blaze Kick combo."

That would do it. Especially against an immobile opponent, that combo was very, very powerful, and it was Jane's preferred finisher. "And blaziken was okay?"

A shrug. "Blaze second wind just kicked in as the attack stopped. Don't think sceptile was too far off that either."

Max wasn't so sure, if only because sceptile hadn't been at ground zero of something that exploded and caused a crater. He'd ask later. "It's like… It was an attack just because they could. It's a retirement village; you saw how many other Pokémon there were." Not many, to say the least. "Come over by night, put the machine in a hedge, scatter pokéballs with Ghosts around, then activate in the morning when you're not close."

"Why not stick aro… Oh, right. You."

"I'd like to think so," Max said, preening exaggeratedly. All of them chuckled. "People are fighting back. They don't want to get caught. That's why the machine self-destructed, I think. No proof, just… Debris. And if a lorry explodes, who cares, it's probably a Pokémon attack." No matter who was inside. "But yeah, I think that gardevoir and I going crazy was a part of this."

"Still can't get over you telling me to kick you in the balls if you're affected."

"Pain took me out of it," Max said, shrugging. "Anything painful enough works, probably, but, you know… Best way. Worst way. Whatever. We do what we have to."

"Just make sure gardevoir doesn't melt my brain after," Keith replied, shaking his head. "And groudon below I hope it's not needed anyway."

"You and me both. You and me both."

"Tell me, Max, is that why you didn't go after Paulson earlier?"

The mood soured palpably as Keith spoke, and from the way Jane was looking at him… They'd talked about this when he wasn't there. "Yes. Not completely like you fear, but yes." He stopped Jane interrupting with a look. "Serena said something about how she doesn't trust me to be alone, and… She's right."

"Because you'll be caught."

"There's more," Keith corrected his girlfriend. "Right?"

"Yeah." Clefairy appeared with a small tap. She needed to hear this. "I… I need people around. Not just to keep me safe. But to… To talk. To be around. I need friends. Human friends. Like you. Serena. Brock or Ash. Danny. They… I…"

A hug interrupted rambling and pacing, Jane first, then Keith joining in. It felt right, in ways that hugging some of his Pokémon had not been recently. "Silly boy. You always were with someone. Makes sense you'd be bad alone."

"Most Trainers…"

"Aren't you," Keith cut in decisively. "You're… Maybe you're the best in the whole world our age. And you've seen and done so much. But you never did anything alone. You're used to working together, to sharing things."

"To helping and teaching others," Jane added, clearly on the same wavelength as her boyfriend now. "Danny said you knew a lot, but you came up with that plan this morning in seconds. With Pokémon that suited us, even if they're not ours, because of the training we've done. And everything about how to beat regirock and regice and registeel, too. We actually stand a chance now. I hope."

"You and me both," Max replied reflexively, before shaking his head. "It's all… You know half this stuff is just taken from elsewhere, right? Tate's gallade gave me the idea to practice with other Pokémon; the Battle Frontier's final Frontier Brain has all three of the regis; and this was like the fifth time I've been in an attack. It's just –"

"Stuff you know. Cut the crap, Max. It's unbecoming for someone like you," Jane lashed out suddenly. "You've given me new ideas for my Pokémon daily and more for pikachu; noivern's evolved and you're probably dropping tons of knowledge on me for that later; you're helping us with fighting Legendary Pokémon. You. Are. Not. Normal. And I don't think you ever were."

"In a good way," Keith added seamlessly. "Champion. Frontier Brain. Gym Leader. 'Just' a professional Trainer. That's your future. You live every child's dream… And have seen far too many nightmares too. We're lucky to know you. Even if you're pushy at times."

"Pushy?!"

"Coumarine." The smile and tone took the sting out. Then Keith turned serious. "I know we don't agree on Paulson. But for you… For my friend… I promise I won't hold anything against you. No matter what you do to him."

"And I promise that too."

"Fairy!"

~~§~~§~~

"Well, if it isn't May Maple!" came a very recognisable voice as May exited the buffet area of the hotel restaurant, carrying a tray with her breakfast. She located its source quickly: Wattson had greeted her from a table not too far from the door, with an exasperated-looking Winona next to him, shaking her head even as she cradled a mug of something warm like a lifeline.

As an invitee of the League, she had been put in one of the more upscale hotels on the island, along with, apparently, the Gym Leaders. Probably the Elite Four too. Her Dad wasn't there, though.

"Morning Wattson, Winona," she greeted them back as she took the offered seat. A moment later, she realised she'd forgotten a drink, but there was an extra glass and a carafe of water on the table. "Mind if I..."

"Not at all!" the boisterous seventy-something said, and May hid her smile as she leant over the table to grab the glass. Some things never did change, and Wattson's enthusiasm was one of them. "It's been a few years since we had a Top Coordinator around. They usually aren't around when this is going on."

"Not every Coordinator likes battling enough to come here." May blew on her soup, but it looked too hot still. "And the other two times are mid-Contest season. There's no Contests within forty miles of here."

"There's barely any land within forty miles of here," Winona spoke up for the first time, before yawning. "Sorry. Flew here last night and I can never sleep after a flight. Was up until four."

"Who decided it'd be here anyway, then? If it's that far away."

As one, the women looked at Wattson, who sighed theatrically. "This predates me too, you know."

"Not by much," Winona quipped, and May nearly choked on her food. "Sorry."

"Ever Grande used to be part of a small island kingdom, back before Hoenn was unified the first time three centuries ago. Over the years, it grew closer to Hoenn. When the first League was set up, all the Gyms were on the mainland. Ever Grande offered to involved, so Trainers would have to conquer land and sea. They were denied then, and civil war happened half a decade later, but eventually, someone thought it was a good idea to do that." Wattson shook his head. "It didn't always work out, but they've stuck with it, and it's a good show, with Charles's help!"

May resisted the urge to groan, noticing Winona do the same by hiding her face in the mug she'd been cradling. "So it's history and tradition, huh."

"Most things are. Even a journey is just a modern version of old rites of passage," the Fortree Gym Leader said. "But enough about that. Quarters, had time to watch some earlier rounds?"

May had seen some. Not a lot, but one name had stood out to her. "That Wesley guy's gotta be the favourite. Already got second in Sinnoh and that dragonite's a beast. The meganium's nothing to sneeze at either."

"Both weak to Ice, and there's a specialist in the other half of the tournament. Rumour has it he'll be the next Ice-type Leader here in a year or so. You know anything about that, Wattson?"

"No… But Finn's a cool guy. Very different from Glacia, but she doesn't train lightly and he's picked up a lot of tricks from her. Brutal, too. Flash freezing a charizard's tail, flame and all? That takes skill."

~~§~~§~~

"Mademoiselle Galbena," a familiar voice greeted Serena as soon as she entered the interior room. Opposite her sat Kalos's ambassador to Hoenn, a man in his fifties, salt and pepper hair, surprisingly few wrinkles, and fit for his age. They'd only met in person twice, but they had spoken semi-regularly in the past year. One time, she'd been a bit intimidated, but the first in-person meeting soon after Yule in Viridian had put all of that to rest, career politician or not. "I trust you have recovered?"

"Mostly," she replied truthfully. "Food poisoning is no joke."

"Indeed. By all reports, your case was light; people had to visit the hospital for it as well." A man came in, placing a carafe of water on the table after pouring two glasses. "When are you leaving now?"

"Night boat after the Ever Grande finals. There's only one other before then, and that one goes to Cherrygrove. Already been there."

"Understandable," the ambassador said as he opened his briefcase. A small notebook and a larger binder appeared. "I have some good news for you. Last time, you expressed some fear for your friends, correct? Specifically…"

"Max and his bond with gardevoir leaving him vulnerable," Serena finished, sticking to what she'd told them before. It fit anyway, and it was familiar from Diantha. "And Danny too, but you told me he was seen in Slateport with a charizard nearby." Those two would keep each other safe, or put up a hell of a fight. "You found Max?"

"No." There was a smile on the man's face regardless. "But we didn't need to."

The binder was opened, and five newspaper articles – cut-outs – were placed in front of Serena. Two names were familiar: Cross Hollow and Rustboro. The other three weren't, but highlighted parts quickly revealed a common pattern of unknown people helping or someone not wanting to be named. "Where's this?" she asked, pointing at the third article.

"Small town north of Nightwind, west of Fortree. Some casualties, surprised you hadn't heard of it."

Serena did some mental math, before shaking her head. "Don't think that's Max. That was the day after he left me. He would've been too angry, and it was a Psychic-type attack. It'd be like this," she said, pointing at the Cross Hollow article. "And I was with May, and it was a few days until we needed supplies, so just missed it." Then she took a closer look at the last article. "That was this week?" She checked two more highlights. "Blaziken and skarmory, huh…" She recognised those Pokémon. And whose they were, most likely.

The articles were returned to the binder. "We suspect they're coming here to Mauville. Their purpose is unknown, but based on your words, we expect them to want to seek out Wattson and reveal everything."

"Will he listen?"

"We think so." No further explanation came forth. Instead, the ambassador opened the notebook and took a pen from an inner pocket. One page was also shifted up in the binder. "You were at the impromptu protest a few days ago, correct?"

"Yeah. We weren't involved in organising it, just…"

"Keeping it safe when someone tried to start something. The Jenny told us as much. Why'd you do it, and not May Maple?"

The Performer and Coordinator shrugged. "I was closer, and mareep are good at disabling people. Blaziken took care of the rest."

"Your braixen could have. They're better at protecting from fire than blaziken. Maple's blaziken certainly isn't a great pyrokinetic, that much is obvious to anyone with the skill or willingness to ask."

This line of questioning was getting a little weird. "I'm not giving them any chance if I can help it. Had the fire come closer, she would have stopped it, but a braixen's pyrokinesis has a lot to do with the Psychic powers that grow as they get ready to evolve into delphox. I'm not dealing with a Jenny trying to prove braixen's a pure Fire-type that happens to have an affinity for telekinesis and stuff." Serena blinked in surprise. "And that sounds like either of them could've said it."

"We are the sum of our experiences, Ms. Galbena. Yours are just a lot more extensive than most." The notebook was closed with a snap; Serena having missed him writing in it, but the pen was now on the table, instead of in hand. "I wish that, once upon a time, I had understood my braixen as well as you understand yours. Still, he would be glad to meet your delphox, in due time, I am sure of it. Do you have any idea when that will be possible?"

"Let's just say the Everstone is coming off in a few days." Or if they were attacked. Whichever came first.

~~§~~§~~

Ice Punch met Night Slash, swampert correctly reading absol's head feint to defend his left side, and Danny saw him open his mouth, ready to unleash a Mud Bomb that made absol dance away, only for a weak Bulldoze to come out and nail the light-footed quadruped just enough to unbalance her. Then a fast Mud Bomb came out; even Detect not enough to avert the full hit, but at least it didn't nail her in the side near where her lungs were. She summoned a Shadow Ball to get initiative back, simultaneously calling up thin white shards that coalesced into a Stone Edge attack, but a slightly blue-tinged swampert weathered both as he unleashed a Hydro Pump that forced a full-on Protect from absol.

But the Protect was still new to her, and it shattered under the might of swampert's own new attack. Ash quickly returned the Dark-type before she could be swept away, leaving the water to splash across the rocky plateau they were on. "Swampert took the attacks on purpose, didn't he?"

"Should have," Danny agreed, and a winded-sounding cry of agreement confirmed it beyond all doubt. "She's strong, even without Future Sight. In a battle, she would've been beaten him even with Hydro Pump."

"Battles aren't fights. That happens in a city—"

"Absol hits a wall or bench or something. I know, you told me. And in a city, swampert is now marked as nearly spent." Danny shook his head. "One last fight for today. No holds barred."

"Name 'em."

Previous no holds barred fights had been sceptile against swampert, who had been surprisingly matched in close combat, but Leaf Storm had been too much; Mega aggron against sceptile, which had been a narrow win for aggron; Mega absol against diggersby and klefki simultaneously, which had been a narrow win for the Mega after a faked Future Sight had forced klefki into wasting Protect; and aggron against feraligatr, ending in a dead draw. And by unspoken consent, neither charizard nor tropius engaged in too much fighting, both Trainers aware that they needed the flight-capable Pokémon fit. "Pikachu, I choose you."

The yellow Pokémon didn't seem surprised. Ash was. "You sure?"

Danny couldn't blame Ash too much. Pikachu was a force of nature, and his speed and size made him a very hard opponent to deal with for Danny's current team, but he'd never faced the Electric-type in a full-on battle before. There'd been a practice battle in August, which had seen dusclops lose, but that hadn't been as serious as it could have been. "Yes. I can't back down just because I know I'll lose. Don't make that face, pikachu, I've seen what you can do. My best Pokémon against you isn't here, and I don't even give froslass better than a one in three." He smiled, finding it surprisingly easy and genuine. "Just how our teams match up. It happens. Saw that back in August with Ivan."

"You think froslass is better than swampert?"

"Hail, make it freezing, and have froslass phase in and out of the ground a lot. Swampert can't avoid anything pikachu can throw at him and needs a lucky shot to hit except for Earthquake or Bulldoze stuff. Pikachu would be tired by the end, but I don't win. Froslass can do things back."

"Or she could lose horribly."

Danny shrugged. "One thing Sidney hammered home. There's a difference between battling to not lose, and battling to maybe win. Swampert's the former." He keyed the pokéball he was going to open, silently apologising for the inevitable defeat. "I'm ready. Pikachu?"

Yellow took the field, slightly hidden in the light of the setting sun to pikachu's left, behind Ash and Danny. So did brown: diggersby, determined and ready to scrap.

A twitch of ears and feet, and rocks appeared, but pikachu had vanished. Flickers on the plateau; snatches of yellow streaks in vision, circling diggersby, but keeping distance as rocks kept on appearing, seemingly at random, never a hit, but usually close to a flicker. "How is he…" Ash asked, but Danny glanced down, seeing a hand signal. A familiar one.

"Blind bulldoze!" Danny countered as he closed his eyes. He couldn't see if diggersby was fast enough to dodge the Flash that bled into his eyelids; half-turned as he was, closed as they were. "Defend!"

Rock Tomb went up around diggersby, and immediately, Danny heard it shatter from pikachu using Iron T… It had been obliterated by electricity? Pikachu surged forward, Iron Tail at the ready, diggersby hemmed in, but able to use Hammer Arm to block high, then low, then pikachu summoned more electricity, blowing up the rocks; spraying everything around them with shards, nipping at Ash and Danny's legs with debris barely more than dust.

The mouse vanished again, avoiding impalement, reappearing at a distance, instantly hailed by a flurry of mud and jumping out at speed.

But diggersby had read it correctly, and several smaller Mud Bombs connected, prompting an annoyed cry from Ash's starter. "You're cleaning him."

Powerful electricity incinerated another wave of Mud Bombs; the Ground-type energy suffusing the attack not nearly enough to deal with the sheer strength of pikachu's attack as something hit the ground behind the Trainers. "He's got no range."

Diggersby took the hint, creating a pair of Rock Tombs, one inside the other to explosively shatter it from a distance, but pikachu had seen it coming despite the distance and the blind spot, and he accelerated again, a corona forming around him as he started running away from diggersby; mostly white, some yellow. It was… "Finish it, pikachu."

"Full defence."

Two layers of Rock Tomb, and a Protect in between surrounded diggersby; pikachu needing just a bit too long to gain enough speed thanks to running away first.

And it was all for nothing.

The rocks might as well not have been there. The green shattered on, no, before impact, somehow, a green-yellow-white flash erupting the instant before a ballistic mouse one-seventh the weight of diggersby slammed himself into the Ground-type.

"What was that."

"Volt Tackle, toned down. Or Double Edge plus a bit extra," Ash said as pikachu walked up, not looking overly tired, but definitely not fresh any more either. He still looked a lot better than diggersby, who could fight, but whose fur was singed and scorched, ears held in a defensive posture; mud ready to be flung. "Let's stop. Diggersby did a great job, and we've got company."

"Noticed me, Ashy-boy?"

"I hoped it was you," the Frontier Brain admitted, and he drew Gary into a one-armed hug that Danny thought the other Pallet Town native didn't care for. They stuck with firm handshakes. "Something hit the ground behind us and klefki or charizard didn't cause noise. What are you doing here?"

"Being treated to that pikachu being out of his weight class, per usual. How'd that Protect shatter?"

"Burst of electricity at the front. Very wasteful, but Ground-type and all." Ash turned to Danny. "You asked for all out. Can't normally do it or pikachu runs out of electricity. Same for blasting rock that small, but Rock Tomb creating fodder for Stone Edge is one of Brock's and Brandon's tricks."

Danny knew that, but sadly, Stone Edge was one of the moves they'd never had any Pokémon learn, and the time with Brock had been spent on other things. "Should've known you'd have stuff against a Ground-type. Wasn't expecting this."

"You're the first pikachu's used it on. And not like diggersby just stood there." Ash and Danny both looked at pikachu, who'd sat down near diggersby, brown spots on yellow fur. "Pikachu didn't like going up with Iron Tail, that's why he went for this plan. But we'll talk more later. Gary, what's your excuse for being in Hoenn?"

"Getting some Pokémon for every other Home Region Professor," the future Pokémon Professor said. "Everyone wanted some, and while I can get some elsewhere – the Fuchsia Safari Zone has illumise these days – some of them are exclusive to Hoenn. As solid an excuse as can be. The border guards weren't happy. Gave 'em the slip two nights ago, though."

"Good. Butler told you where we were?" Ash asked as he sent out feraligatr. "Anything we need to know?" He opened his pack, looking for something.

"Lance thinks the League's stopping Santi from doing things, but they're made and they know it. Whatever they're trying, they're doing it soon," Gary stated. "The amount of Trainers in Ever Grande is a problem for them. They should wait for those to disperse. That gives you a few days to get into Mauville and do whatever it is you need to. Last day of the League is tomorrow."

"We know. We'll contact and convince Wattson first. Then hope the Gym Leaders can come before everything goes wrong," Danny said. He still didn't feel great about that plan, but it was the best there was: trying to take several golems off of the First Minister was not an option unless Phoebe was around to help them sneak around. "And protect the city if things do go wrong."

"Cornered Pokémon are dangerous. Humans aren't so different. You'll need to move fast when Wattson's back in Mauville. What's the plan?"

Feraligatr used Water Gun on pikachu, gently. "We'll cut to the route. Drop by the Center tomorrow for some supplies," Danny said, and he saw Gary's face darken. "Any Center is going to be packed tomorrow. Just two more faces in the crowd watching the finals. Won't know us from others, and it's weirder if you're not watching the finals. We leave after, then fly to Route 118's western part at night."

"They know we have charizard and tropius, but last quarter moon means moonrise is late and you know how dark it gets at night," Ash added, tossing a towel to Danny. "Easy to slip away unseen."

"Used that and the rain two nights ago to get rid of my tail, yeah. And good point on the not watching, Danny. I'll go to a Center tomorrow. Allow them to see me again. Draw their attention."

Feraligatr was done with the Water Gun, and Danny picked pikachu up, for now just cradling the Electric-type in the towel. "Unova taught me a few things about staying hidden. Hope it's the only lesson we'll need." Ash sighed. "City fighting is ugly. They can be everywhere, they probably know the area better, so many people around… It's a nightmare waiting to happen."

"Paulson nearly got me in Slateport. Electrode trap." He shifted pikachu to one side, using the other to raise his shirt up to show his back to Gary. The wounds had healed, but Ash had described the skin as still looking different. "And he had an aerodactyl use Hyper Beam and the controlled gardevoir got a Psychic through on a helping Trainer. And you know what they tried in Lilycove. Better than we do, probably." Pikachu sparked in his arms, comfortingly. "Trainer Handbooks always say you shouldn't have Pokémon attack other Trainers, because every attack can be deadly. There's no 'can be' here. They're trying to kill me. Us. So please, Gary. Don't hesitate. Go for them first if you can."

"Was planning on it."