Walking Wake and Iron Leaves left after that, saying that they'd probably turn up some other time but scheduling time travel required a lot of careful book-keeping to make sure you didn't screw up, and Ash spent the next few hours back at Alamos Town just… talking. Mostly to Dialga and Palkia, and partly to Cynthia when translating Dialga and Palkia, because Cynthia was doing her very best to prioritize all the interviews she wanted to do and Dawn was going to be right there for a while while Dialga and Palkia were short-term only.

It was interesting to hear about how his older brother and sister managed time and space, because it was a sort of mix of what Rayquaza did and what Mesprit did – a lot of what they did was to just be there, to be rather than to do, but they also had things to do to keep time flowing smoothly and space as it should be.

Eventually, though, it came time to leave, and the two older Legendaries exchanged glances.

"You go first," Palkia offered.

"Thank you," Dialga said. "Ash… brother… it has been a pleasure to meet you. It is clear that you are still young, but… that is not something I say because you have made many mistakes, or anything like that. You have been-"

He stopped, and readjusted.

"You're doing a good job," he summarized.

"Thanks," Ash said, ducking his head a little in embarrassment. "I… guess for a lot of this I've been trying to do what's right, and making sure I think about that. And I've still been travelling around as a Pokémon trainer because – well, uh, because it's what I know? I guess?"

He shrugged. "And I guess it's helped me… help people, humans and Pokémon, and learn a lot about how to do that. And-"

"You don't need to justify what you do to us, brother," Palkia said. "If you do not have any duties that are being left undone, then you have the space to do what you want."

"What you do with your time is up to you," Dialga added. "So yes."

Palkia gave Dialga a mildly annoyed look, then went on. "I don't know when we'll have the chance… all right, Dialga, the time to do it, but we might visit at some point. Would that be okay?"

"Sure!" Ash agreed. "Though, uh, if you're going to my home, let me know in advance so I can tell my mom, okay?"

Then he paused. "Oh! Uh, I should probably tell her about Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, so she can make them scarves. Do they already have scarves?"

"If they do, they might not have brought them," Dialga suggested. "So that your mother could design them as she wanted without being influenced by what you said."

"I'm really glad you understand this," Latias mumbled. "I'm trying to keep track of it, but it's hard."

"I was just thinking," Dawn said, on the road towards Hearthome. "I might have been responsible for some of the important details of the Sinnoh Contest style?"

She frowned. "But were those going to be there anyway? It's a tricky thing to ask about."

"How might you have done that?" Cynthia asked. "The Sinnoh style specifically is wearing outfits while performing, if I remember correctly?"

"That's right," Dawn agreed. "And I didn't do any actual Contests, but sometimes when I was trying to convince the people of Jubilife that Pokémon weren't as scary as they thought I'd turn some of our training into a kind of… well, Appeal, really."

She reached up to stroke Pachirisu, who was nestled into her jacket, then tugged at it a bit. "Speaking of outfits, I should really change into something more modern once I get hold of it… anyway, as part of joining in with my Pokémon, I put my own outfit on to make it a bit more of a show. And… I guess that might have been remembered? Or it could be a coincidence."

"That's a fascinating question," Cynthia agreed. "How bad was the reaction to Pokémon at the time? It can't have been new to them to be around Pokémon, can it? There are Pokémon everywhere, but accounts from the period do mention concerns over wild Pokémon."

"Some of the Pokémon in Hisui were quite protective of their territory," Dawn replied. "There were Alpha Pokémon who were bigger than normal, for example. I guess…"

She thought about it. "It might have been to do with Kamado, though. He had a bad experience with his hometown being destroyed, and he said he wanted to build a new home where people could live without being afraid of Pokémon… I guess someone like that founding a town could set how people think, at first, right?"

"Literally my main concern right now is working out how I could possibly source this in a way that people will accept," Cynthia said. "I don't suppose you know if there's any hard copy records from that time?"

"I did keep a journal," Dawn volunteered. "Actually several, but I know one of them got lost… oh, and I think I remembered it…"

She rummaged in her pockets, then brought it out. "Here we go! I helped Rei and Professor Laventon compile the Pokédex, and it was a real headache to not use any of my future knowledge… actually not using my future knowledge was a thing I had to deal with constantly because I didn't want to break something… but I stuck to field observations and let Laventon and Rei write it, and here's my copy of the first Pokédex."

Cynthia stopped, so suddenly that Ash walked into the back of her.

"Sorry!" he said. "...uh, are you okay?"

"Do you mind if I hug you?" Cynthia asked. "Laventon's first Pokédex is only not mythical because we have hard evidence that it actually existed, we just don't have any surviving copies."

"Watch out," Lucario warned. "You don't want to strain something."

Once Dawn had got that hug, Cynthia opened the Pokédex and went flicking through it.

"This is amazing," she said. "There's some misconceptions in here, but even those tell us how Pokémon were thought of at the time…"

Then she stopped on the page for Piplup, and chuckled.

"It's an adorable thing, as cute as any child," she read out. "But it's also prideful, unwilling to accept handouts from people."

Dawn hid a smile. "Okay, maybe I helped with one or two of the entries…"

Cynthia kept going, then stopped on a page near the end.

"Arceus is in here," she said, surprised. "There's less detail than the other pages, but that is a sketch of…"

She turned, comparing it to Ash.

"Hmm," she decided. "I don't think that's you exactly, Ash. It's a bit different."

"That one was all Laventon," Dawn said. "I definitely made sure not to help with that one!I think it was based on some of the old stuff he got from the Diamond and Pearl clans or the ruins, though I guess maybe Volo gave him some details too."

Ash stepped forwards, getting a good look at the sketch, and noticing the places where it was different to how he looked.

This… could be the first time he'd ever seen a picture of his dad? If that was what this was, anyway.

"Are you okay, Ash?" Latias asked.

"I'm fine," Ash replied, realizing he'd been staring in silence for a long time. "Sorry, I just… I guess it caught me by surprise."

"I know the feeling," Pachirisu said, prompting Lucario to snort.

"Okay, I think we've left off this question long enough," Turtwig said, at dinner.

He pointed at Sneasel. "What moves do you know?"

"Quick Attack and Rock Smash," Sneasel answered. "That's it, I'm afraid."

"Well, let's hope you don't have to go up against any Ghosts?" Pachirisu suggested. "Still, by the sounds of things… uh, actually, I don't know much about Sneasel in general."

"I do!" Piplup said. "They're good at Ice and Dark type moves."

Sneasel twitched an ear. "Wrong Sneasel."

"Then I'm out of ideas," Piplup shrugged.

Turtwig was thinking. "Hmm," he said. "So, obviously, there's the Appeal and the Battle rounds, and for now… maybe we should think about the Appeal. Quick Attack is good for moving around fast, obviously, and Rock Smash has impact, but what you're going to need is something with a bit of flair."

He nodded. "Piplup? Do you want to demonstrate?"

"Of course!" Piplup replied, and did a Whirlpool spin, then combined that with Bubblebeam.

"See?" Turtwig asked.

"I do see," Sneasel agreed, thinking. "Hmm… I guess it would help if it's something that isn't just on my fists or claws… right?"

"Probably!" Pachirisu said. "But if it extends off them, it could work, Piplup's got a really good Peck."

Sneasel inspected her fist. "I guess… does anyone know Shadow Ball? My mother used that once that I remember, when her opponent was too far away for Shadow Claw. And it would help with Ghosts too."

Piplup stopped spinning, and wobbled a little before shaking himself.

"I think Zorua does," Pachirisu said. "And Mew seems to know everything, but we shouldn't pester them too much."

"But I say you should learn Shadow Claw too!" Piplup said. "That way you can cut Shadow Balls to bits! Otherwise you wouldn't be able to do anything to them."

"Hmm…" Sneasel considered.

"So, how normal is this?" Buneary asked.

"Huh?" Pikachu asked, then flicked his ears. "Oh, right, the whole… thing."

He waved in the direction of Alamos.

"Yes, that," Buneary replied. "There was just so… much."

"It happens," Pikachu replied. "Honestly for a while when I was travelling with Ash we still thought he was human… he was still human? I don't really know how that magic works… but anyway, uh, my point is that this kind of thing happened a lot anyway. Or things like it, at least. And it helps to have an explanation."

He shrugged. "But… yes, it does. A lot."

"Right," Buneary said. "Right."

Pikachu turned to him. "Is that a problem?"

"No!" Buneary hurried to say. "It's not a problem at all! It's just… you know? It's one thing to meet a Latias, and be told that your trainer is an extremely important Legendary Pokémon. And even to meet a Mew. And it's another thing entirely to be right there when your trainer is talking to the gods of Space and Time, and they recognize him. And get it wrong at first."

The Rabbit Pokémon put his paws together, then flicked his ears down and up. One, then the other.

"But that's okay," he said. "Now I know what to expect… and I may not be the strongest member of this team, but I am going to keep up."

"Now that's a good attitude," Pikachu said.

Some time after sunset, Samurott lay back on the grass and looked up at the sky.

"It's weird," she said. "Back then, I would have given anything to get back here. And now I'm here… I feel nervous. I don't know what to do."

The Water-type reached for a Seamitar, shifting it slightly, then put it away again.

"I don't even know yet what to think," she added, then turned. "About any of this."

"I know the feeling," Mew replied, floating up a little and hovering next to her. "Or… I think I do."

Samurott frowned. "You do?"

"I think I do," Mew corrected. "Because of a good friend of mine… I don't know if you'd have heard of him, but I think maybe not."

Mew settled down onto the grass, and lay back next to the much bigger Pokémon. "He's called Mewtwo."

Samurott frowned, thinking, then shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

"He was made to be a weapon," Mew explained. "An artificial Pokémon, based on a Mew, and – once he escaped that, he hated everyone. Every human, every Pokémon… he wanted to destroy everything, and have just his own artificial creations, because they at least hadn't been involved with humans."

Samurott tensed, then let the tension flow out in a sigh.

"What happened?" she asked. "I… think I can guess, though. Ash, right?"

"Ash," Mew confirmed. "He showed Mewtwo, and then he and Mewtwo showed me, that… what matters is what you do with your life, not where you come from. And for Mewtwo that was about birth, but I think – well, I think that that applies to what you used to do, as well. If you make a real change."

Samurott considered that, then closed her eyes.

"I think I can get behind that," she said. "I'm a fighter, a real one, I know that… and there's less fighting here than Hisui. But… I don't know what to think about it."

Mew began to say something, then stopped before they'd actually shaped a word.

"And you know what the strangest thing is?" Samurott added. "I actually don't mind that. If Dawn needs me, I'm there for her, and if she doesn't need me… well, I'm having a rest whether I like it or not."

Another minute or so passed in silence, then Samurott shook her head.

"Not doing Contests, though," she added. "There are limits."

Mew stifled a giggle.

Gospel of Oops – 5

"And… there we go!" Latias said. "Thanks, everyone!"

Miraidon relaxed, lowering their head a little, and Mew remained floating there where their nibling's forehead had been supporting them a moment before.

Koraidon was already bounding forwards. "Can I see?"

"Of course you can," Latias replied, turning her easel around, and Koraidon made an impressed noise.

Ash joined in, because the picture looked quite nice. He wasn't exactly very good at telling how skilled an artist was, and if you asked him to paint something he'd only really get as far as knowing that the paint went on the canvas without any idea how to do that properly, but Latias had lived for years in Altomare with a talented amateur artist and had clearly picked up a lot.

Her work was somehow more personal than a photograph – and it showed him, Pikachu, and the others in a way that Ash really liked.

"Problem," Zorua said, frowning.

"Is something wrong?" Latias asked, tilting her head a little and looking at the painting again – then looking at Ash, Pikachu, Zorua, Koraidon, Miraidon and Mew. "Did I get something wrong?"

"Yes," Zorua replied, pointing at her. "Missing."

Latias blinked, then gasped. "You mean – oh!"

She immediately looked a bit awkward. "But I didn't – I mean, it felt like-"

"Latias," Ash interrupted. "You've been part of the team for a long time, and you've always been there to help out… if you feel like you haven't earned it, then that's not what I think and it's not what Zorua thinks."

"Me neither," Pikachu contributed. "Latias, no matter what the place is, you've earned it."

Koraidon and Mew nodded, almost in unison, and Miraidon made a pair of hearts appear on their eye displays.

Latias ducked her head, embarrassed but pleased, then scratched her head a little.

"I – thank you, everyone," she said. "But… if I tried to include myself, then I'd be painting myself in a mirror and I'd be detached from the rest of the picture. I can't paint and pose at the same time."

After several seconds of thinking, Miraidon raised their paw.

"Maybe you are in the picture already," they suggested. "Just invisible."

"...oh, yeah, good point Miraidon," Pikachu agreed.

AN:

A bit of a cool down chapter after the previous couple of bits of mayhem.

The Gospel of Oops results from two bits of lovely fan art (by nether-prince and Twain) that showed Ash, Pikachu, Mew, Koraidon, Miraidon and Zorua, so I decided that a good in-universe answer was that Latias had been the one painting them.

It's not quite canon and not really an oops either, but I included it as a bonus.