She wants to rip out the petunias.

An empty room, no trainers in sight, ideal conditions to prevent Charizard from feeling uncomfortable. So now he could relax a bit. It seemed that she was the one who made him anxious, and Serena really would end up taking offense.

"Do you have a music preference?"

"Cha... Zar."

If he could be any less enthusiastic, that would be perfect. She sat down at the desk and flipped through the compilation, wondering if she wasn't forcing her pokemon's hand. Just one dance, at least one dance to be sure. She pressed play, listened to the first few notes to get an idea of the choreography, then returned to her dragon.

"We'll start like this: cross to the left, then slide that foot to the right, two, three, four, five. Lunge on the right leg, six, then quickly turn the ankles to the left, seven, before bringing them back to the right, eight. Pause here and push with your left leg, nine, ten, and finally arrive with feet together and knees slightly bent. We'll repeat this sequence until you get it right, then we'll move on to the next one, how's that?"

"Char... Chari?"

"First the feet, then the rest, I promise," she smiles.

"Chari... charichar, Zar."

"It's true, it's always better to have the whole picture... Fine."

She leaned over the keyboard, the sleeve of her t-shirt sliding over her shoulder to reveal the top of her collarbone, causing the reptile to look away. For a moment, the speaker spat out a wave that stretched and relaxed like a rubber band as the girl took her place at the center of the dance floor. Ash's eyes widened; maybe he could get away with the first part, but the second suddenly accelerated, incorporating a few moves from what the other dancer had taught her this morning, her feet moving at full speed without losing her smile. He... Was he really supposed to be able to do that?

"We'll work on it bit by bit, but for now, the beginning: you cross."

"Zar."

"Other leg in front."

"Chari?"

"No... not that one, well, yes, but don't move it back."

"Charichar?"

"Hmm... Nice try with the U-turn, but you're still not in the right place."

She chuckled before realizing that the dragon was in no mood to laugh.

"Don't be discouraged, it will happen eventually, it's like..."

Like what exactly? He hadn't succeeded in anything for her yet, except for fighting, and they weren't exactly a success either.

"Looks like I have no choice," she murmured.

Still, she hesitated. The idea bothered her, probably wrongly, since there was nothing really extraordinary about it. However, she wasn't unhappy that no one was around to see her place the reptile's hands on her shoulders. On the other hand, if he could stop staring at her like she was the strangest person he'd ever seen, that would be nice.

"Don't look at your feet, it's important to keep your vision clear."

He lifted his head and found another focal point in his partner's eyes.

"Clear, I said," she tensed. "And softer shoulders."

The dragon made only indecipherable gurgles, so stilted and tense you'd think its life depended on it. In the end, her plan to help Charizard seemed to have backfired.

"Let's cross over," she tried anyway.

Serena felt him lean against her, reflexively lowering his head to make sure he wasn't making any mistakes with his steps, stopping just in time to realize he'd come way too close to Serena's face. Her cheeks flushed, she pulled her head back and touched the toe of her shoe to the monster's foot, which must have been moving.

"And we're slid-whoa!"

A low sweep like one rarely saw, and the reptile had kept his foot in the air in his confusion, shifting his center of gravity to follow that of the girl as she turned horizontally. Well, following a choreography was complicated, but accompanying her in her falls, he was the champion. And when it came to putting his paws or muzzle where they didn't belong and making her blush, he was the absolute master!

"We're... We're going to take a little break," she said at full speed.

She tugged at her shorts, as if to pull the fabric down over her legs, which still felt the friction of the scales.

"Char..."

It wasn't possible, don't tell her she managed to demoralize him even more than before!

"We'll start again later," she insisted.

He thought for a moment before finally helping her to her feet and shaking his head negatively.

"Why?" she despaired.

"Because it's not me."

Dormitories were always a good place to chat, and despite the general exhaustion, the ones at Pokemon Academy were no exception. However, Serena was soon tired of justifying that if she had to sleep on the floor, it was because she hadn't found enough pillows, and the bed next to her wasn't going to change anything! So, leaning back against the side of her dragon, the young girl concentrated on her embroidery, listening with one ear to the fact that coordinators who didn't have at least four ribbons and still thought they could qualify for the Grand Festival were beautiful dreamers - the Kalosian made no comment from the top of her two ribbons.

She picked up her work just as a reptile's head came to rest on her lap. She took the opportunity to scratch the back of its horns, knowing full well that her friend was fast asleep. It was something she'd learned from him: the more distant he kept himself during the day, the more he'd cuddle up to her after dark. Sighing, Serena tucked the fabric into her bag, praying that her gift, once finished, would cheer him up.

The chatter had died down for a while and it was time for the girl to put out the fires, or at least lean back a little more against the reptile while continuing her lazy caresses. If she had had to answer the others earlier in all honesty, she would have confessed that she couldn't rest without her favorite hot water bottle. But go and explain it to them without them getting any ideas.

"What ideas?" she murmured.

She closed her eyes, her hand resting on her partner's forehead, thinking that if he was going to cling to her, the least he could do was hold her.

Serena collapsed under the weight of all the accumulated fatigue, a deep sleep in which her body savored every second, instinctively knowing that it wouldn't be allowed to sleep in, so it had better recover as quickly as possible. But a certain coordinator decided to cut her rest short.

"May... May!" she woke up with a start.

"Shhh!"

With a knowing nod, Serena whispered to her dragon to wake up. He yawned for a long time before he too noticed the intruder.

"Char..."

"Come with me," May said simply.

Ash refused to move, hesitating to go back to bed and leave Serena with the coordinator. He didn't see how he could help them anyway.

"You'll like it," May promised him.

He hesitated a little longer before finally deciding to follow them to the field outside the school.

"We probably won't find a time to play tomorrow," May explained.

"Special treatment?"

"A little catch-up, nothing more."

Using a beautifly for this impromptu match was more than a little surprising. An excellent pokemon, to be sure, but it was still an insect against a fire dragon, which many would agree was perhaps not the wisest choice.

Still, it was one of May's pokemons, and the wings that sprinkled this late night with glitter as soon as it entered the field proved that this was not its first competition. Only here, there would be no judges, no scorers, just a tacit agreement between the girls to make it look like a contest. Charizard still had to understand that this was not a showdown, so he had to be wary of what he must already consider a weak opponent.

"Don't underestimate him," the girl said.

She had expected him to laugh in her face, and honestly, it would have hurt her, but she would have understood his reaction. However, to her surprise, the fire pokemon took her advice. More than that, he took a defensive posture, his muscles tensed, his nostrils dilated to the extreme, his scales raised to analyze the slightest change in the air, and his wings already in position in case of an emergency launch. Uh... had Charizard sensed something about Beautifly's dangerousness that she wasn't aware of? Mind you, she wasn't saying that he shouldn't be careful, but that might have been a bit disproportionate.

"I didn't think he was that cautious," May said. "And he does well," she smiled broadly.

Ash simply hadn't forgotten that Beautifly was May's first captured pokemon, the first to enter a contest, and the first of many subsequent victories, including over coordinators like Zoey and her Glameow. In short, he was a veteran, and the Shapeshifter was already anticipating Silver Wind, one of the first attacks his opponent had learned and mastered to near perfection.

However, pokemons were not limited to their attacks, something May had improved on during her journey after the Wallace Cup, and her former traveling companion would be able to measure her progress now. Ash's eyes widened as secretions engulfed his jaw, and he barely had time to raise his claws before Beautifly made him eat the dust with a shake of his head.

Ash was no stranger to Beautifly, but it didn't help much when someone threw a Silver Wind in your face and combined it with Psychic. The shapeshifter rolled several times before finally finding an opening.

"Flamethrower!"

Which the insect pokemon easily deflected, becoming the eye of the cyclone that swept over the reptile once again. It was clear now that if Ash wanted to get out of this, he'd have to use all of his strength and experience in the gyms. Not that he'd stop following Serena's orders, just that he'd subtly lead her to the best solution to win.

"PAUSE, PAUSE, PAUSE!" May stopped them, flapping her arms.

Serena stared at her, unable to understand what was wrong, and her fiery reptile didn't seem to know any better.

"Is there a problem?" asked Serena.

"Not really a problem," the coordinator quickly corrected. "More of an impression of... you know, the way you fight with Charizard."

"I'm not sure I get it."

May winced; she'd been through it herself and knew how uncomfortable it was to have it pointed out to you, and it would be even harder for Serena, considering how she felt about the Pikachu trainer.

"How can I put this," she thought, scratching the back of her head, "because deep down, I can see why you'd naturally start imitating him to get a better handle on Charizard. After all, it's the kind of pokemon that would suit him perfectly, but..."

"But...?" the Kalosian repeated.

"I want to see Serena fight with Charizard, not Ash."

The shapeshifter's face fell, suddenly remembering May's departure, for which he'd never asked himself why they'd parted, just accepted things as they came.

"What's wrong with taking inspiration from..."

"'You're sacrificing your own style,' May replied, 'the worst thing a coordinator can do.'"

Ash clenched his fist, understanding more and more what had motivated May to end her journey with him. Actually, she didn't need to say anything more, it was all very clear to him now. As for Serena... She had put her hand to her heart and thought about her friend's words. Oh, right, she too, she too had left because of him, he'd gotten the message.

"Charizard?"

He spread his wings.

"Wait, wait, wait! What's wrong with you?" panicked Serena.

Now that he was sitting on the roof of the school, the girl's screams had no effect on him. And why would she want him back? He was in her way and how could he not agree with her when he was obviously suffocating her with his fighting style.

"If you'd rather I wasn't here, you should have said so in the first place," he muttered.

"Come on, I think we can get to the rooftops via the stairs," May led Serena.

She felt guilty towards the dragon, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact reason. If anyone should be offended, it should be the trainer of Pallet Town, unless...

"Does he see him as his father?" she asked.

Serena stumbled.

"Huh?" she turned to the coordinator.

"Well, yeah, he knows what Ash means to you, so he must see him as his..."

"Stop, stop, STOOOOP! He's never met Ash, never even seen him!"

"But you've talked to him about it."

"Not like that!" she shouted. "All he knows is that Ash is a trainer who never answers when I call him," she admitted with a scowl.

"I don't hear much from him either. It's not really his style to give out news. "

Serena wasn't sure she could take comfort in that. On the one hand, if he had contacted the Hoenn Coordinator, Serena would have no doubt that he was avoiding her, but on the other hand, it only confirmed the boy's radio silence... Besides the letter, since when does Ash write letters?

"Are you mad at me?" asked May.

"Why should I be?"

"What I said about your style."

The girl sighed and slumped her shoulders.

"No, I'm not mad. And to tell you the truth, I think you're right. I... Pikachu and Ash's other pokemons, they were willing to do anything for him, and go beyond their limits to help him, you see, it was... It's just like Charizard to think like that, except I don't want him to. I want him to protect himself, I want the way I fight with him to help him protect himself."

May nudged him before smiling and saying:

"Looks like I was worried for nothing."

You couldn't really call it access to the roof, more like a dusty old Velux window that creaked ominously when Serena pulled on it and then when she clung to the ledges and peered out.

"Is it accessible?" May asked, frowning.

"Yes, it's accessible."

"I mean really accessible?"

Serena had already stepped onto the tiles and was crawling up the slope, telling herself not to look down. The clay pieces vibrated under her hands, and she regretted not asking Sylveon to hold her as she rappelled down, although that would have severely limited her area of exploration, and of course the pokemon would have to land opposite where she'd come out.

She huffed as she reached the top of the slope and began to carefully descend, feet first as in a toboggan, and if at first she had no intention of letting herself slide, a tile changed her plans a bit.

"Ah!" she hiccupped.

She tumbled onto her bottom and saw the tips of her feet go over the gutter, then her ankle, the beginning of her calves and... She was caught just in time, the dragon crashing halfway down on top of her, his tail wrapped around her legs to make sure she didn't escape.

"Rizar!" he growled.

"You didn't have to go on the roof!"

"YOU didn't have to go up on the roof!"

She puffed her cheeks, not wanting to hear the reptile's accusations. Ash huffed and carefully lifted the girl into the crook of his arm.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! I can go all the way down... All right," she resigned herself, looking into the void.

He pulled her back to solid ground, knowing full well that she'd do the same to him if he decided to climb back up.

"Can you explain now?"

"Zar. Rizard," he denied.

"Did you understand it wasn't against you?"

No, of course not, it was against Ash, certainly not against him, who was so good at cooking, performing, sewing and fighting with her. This had nothing to do with Ash!

He exhaled loudly. There was no need to get upset: Ash or Charizard, his rhythm didn't and wouldn't change, and if you couldn't do it, you just had to go back to what you were doing, pick up your usual pace, and forget the rest. Wasn't that what the Shalour Gym had taught him?

I will return to who I am. I'll get back to who I am sooner or later.

Mrs. Godeau, proud custodian of the Trainer Academy's astonishing book collection, glorious guardian of the library's entrance, superb organizer of a hundred or so exhibitions in its corridors, loved her job with one exception: Sundays. The sacrosanct Sunday, normally revered by every institution, except here, where she was obliged to return twice a month to watch the students cram (from 9 a.m.!) until exam time.

It wasn't for lack of trying to convince the headmistress - the headmistress's little brat, to be exact - of the heresy of such an operation. But Roxanne was a stubborn child, and even the gang of thieves that plagued the road adjacent to town wouldn't change her mind, so it wasn't the events at Devon Corporation that would convince her to give this brave Mrs. Godeau her week... to look out for the safety of the students by closing the library for an exceptional time.

Mrs. Godeau paused, breathless, as the few students still unaware of the disaster of moments before stared at her with wide, stunned eyes. She pushed up her glasses with trembling fingers, thinking back to the poor victim beside her desk, the horrible sight of that creature spitting out its last gasps in agony far too long.

"I warned her, I really did," she gritted her teeth.

Her support stockings, the kind that didn't have the slightest hint of glamour even with lace, were cutting into her calves already altered by the maceration. The murderers might have laughed behind this shelf or the next, but if they thought they could get away with it... Godeau took it personally.

Foaming with rage, she strode down the aisle, inspecting the cracks between the rows of books, though her instincts already told her where to go. Her heels clicked on the stairs, her complexion flushed, and she was out of breath as she jumped over the last step before ducking behind the bookshelves.

The pokemon she had excluded just thirty minutes earlier sniffed at the book covers, giving the librarian the horrible premonition of flames spewing from its nostrils, destroying the fragile pages of knowledge.

"Oh, no!" she bellowed.

Understaffed for the weekend, Godeau became the great (and only) guarantor of safety in the face of monsters who no longer needed to demonstrate their barbarity or malevolence. She pointed her finger at them, fidgeting with her official card to calm her fears, the memory of the tragedy on the first floor preventing her from going back downstairs and waiting for help, afraid that something even more terrible might happen and that she would regret all her life not having done something to prevent it.

"I made it clear," she burped. "No fire type outside their pokeballs, and if it doesn't accept that, it will wait outside."

Her arm had made a wide arc toward the window, her lips curled as if she were a houndour ready to bite. She approached the pokemon's owner, causing her to recoil, and she did the right thing, considering the nature of the crime she'd committed. And it wasn't the exasperated sighs of the students forced to look up from their textbooks that would save her.

"The headmistress is already doing you a favor by letting you use her facilities, but that's not enough for you, is it? You have to come here and disrupt our students, break every rule you can, and make sure you punish anyone who dares oppose you in the cruelest way possible."

Serena found herself unable to escape the librarian and the sprays now hitting her face. She glared at her fiery reptile, reminding him that she was in this situation because of him and his categorical refusal to wait outside. So he'd better save her, and... what's he doing with that book?! The pokemon flipped through the pages with a look of concentration, as if immersed in intense reading, making it impossible for him to see his trainer's distress, which was impossible since he couldn't read. How could he think he was an illusion, especially when...

"You've got it backwards!" she exclaimed, indignant that he would think her so stupid.

The pokemon hiccupped in surprise, and Serena could only widen her eyes in anticipation of the burnt leaves she would soon smell.

"Can you explain Mrs. Godeau?"

The newcomer had snatched the book from the reptile's hands just in time, her tone oddly authoritative for a student. Serena swallowed, expecting another outburst from the librarian in the face of what must have been labeled in her mind as a duvet-covered pimpin. But the woman just pursed her lips and adjusted her collar before turning to the one who looked only a few years older than Serena.

"Judge for yourself," she said, pointing at the reptile. The rules are pretty clear, I think.

"Is that why you contacted me in such a hurry?" she raised an eyebrow.

Serena couldn't believe there was a hint of annoyance in the student's voice, especially towards her older sister.

"No, Mrs. The reason is a most shameful act of vandalism, how shall I put it, a veritable assassination that endangers the mental health of everyone on campus, starting with my own."

"And who...?" the girl said impatiently, rolling her tie between her fingers.

"This," Godeau ordered, pulling three pieces of black plastic and a solenoid valve out of his pocket, causing Serena to blanch. "Oddly enough, it fell off just after I denied them entry... I told you, Roxanne! I told you it was impossible to run a library alone on a Sunday, and you didn't believe me!"

Roxanne held back an exasperated sigh. So this was the "disaster," as Mrs. Godeau had so aptly put it when she'd yelled at the videophone. The reason she'd stormed into the library, pokeball in hand, only to be met with surprised and slightly bored looks from the students, as if nothing had happened... Which, in fact, it was, despite those who worshipped half-price Persian coffeemakers as gods.

"Mrs. Godeau, some of the students would like to check out some books and are waiting impatiently for you," she kept her composure.

"But they..."

"Or perhaps you'd rather we discuss the students you've hired to 'help' you-and I mean 'help,' not 'do your job' while you go and buy your espresso machine."

Godeau tucked his head into his shoulders, hoping the child director didn't know about his morning coffee break (9:00 to 10:30), lunch break (11:30 to 3:00), and snack break (3:30 to 5:30) just before his shift ended (5:30) when the evening shift took over.

"Books... A Charizard... We can't go..." she stuttered.

"If that's what you're worried about, don't worry. I'll crush it before a single flame touches the covers."

"Well, Mrs. Roxanne," Godeau admitted defeatedly before trotting off.

Serena couldn't believe it, the headmistress, the highest authority in the school, was this girl who couldn't even be in her twenties!

"Chari," the pokemon thanked her, not at all surprised by the young age of the authority figure at the Trainers' Academy. In any case, if he knew anything about authority, Serena wouldn't have had so many problems during her journey, or even today.

"You still have to pay the machine back," Roxanne clarified.

Her small smile implied that she would believe them if they said they weren't guilty. Unfortunately, Serena had put her faith in her Pokemon and the 'good idea' he'd sold her to distract the guard. Something along the lines of throwing a pebble and sneaking away while Godeau searched for the source of the noise, which in itself had been the dragon's plan... except that he'd used the coffee maker.

"Can it wait a month... or two?" pleaded Serena, whose budget had already been cut by her previous bill.

Roxanne shrugged, having said this more for the sake of form than to play the clerk, her eyes already gliding over the newspapers at the foot of the table that Serena had been consulting just before Godeau interrupted her. Magazines with tantalizing headlines about the League, the return of Steven Stone as head of the Elite Four, various natural disasters, a hodgepodge of sensational events with no real coherence and whose existence would be forgotten by the end of the day. So what on earth could have prompted this coordinator to delve into these abandoned pages?

"If you want the latest gossip, I'd recommend this line," Roxanne joked.

Serena looked at her resignedly before crouching down to pick up the stragglers.

"Looking for something in particular?" the headmistress guessed.

The girl bit her lip, but somehow she had nothing to lose by asking for help.

"A friend told me she fought Team Aqua, but I find that hard to believe," Serena pretended.

"May?"

"You've heard of her?"

"As have most of the gym leaders... and people from Hoenn."

Roxanne had gone over to one of the rows of magazines and was flipping through them carefully.

"I'm originally from Kalos," she defended herself with a nervous laugh.

"Oh... Well, welcome to our region, and sorry that the current conditions aren't the most ideal for traveling. Ah, here it is."

She pulled out the newspaper and handed it to the young girl. Still unable to decipher the region's alphabet, Serena didn't dwell on the print, concentrating directly on the central photo of the two legends facing each other, or at least what could be assumed to be the legends, given the distance at which the photo had been taken and the yellowing of the paper. Next to it was a smaller photo showing the saviors of the region: May, of course, her little brother, another slightly older boy, and finally...

"Ash," she murmured, stunned.

"Do you know him?"

"He's a friend of mine."

Who had obviously fought other evil organizations before meeting Team Flare, which Serena found hard to believe unless you were a criminal magnet. Maybe that was why the Rocket Trio never left his side. That universal, unchanging constant that reassured you that everything was on track: Ash and Pikachu, Team Rocket, call one and you're bound to get the other. So what were they doing in Atellanes without Ash? And let's not forget the letter he had written when he supposedly didn't have time to call...

The bell rang, Serena thanked Roxanne and put the paper away before noticing another magazine in the next bin. She grabbed it mechanically and tried to read the few symbols she knew.

"Ten tips to make your Charizard love you?" Roxanne helped over her shoulder.

"Ah..." Serena choked.

"You two don't get along?" the champion wondered.

"Normally!" yelped the Coordinator.

"Uh..."

"No, what I mean is: we get along normally, so there's no need for anything more. Besides, who needs tricks to win over their Charizard anyway?"

"Not so loud," Roxanne reminded her.

The champion couldn't explain the girl's sudden enthusiasm, nor why she thought it was strange for trainers to seek the affection of their Pokémon. Serena offered no further explanation, and urged her Pokémon to leave the library.

Roxanne continued to watch them through the window, but the pokemon didn't seem too keen on following her, dragging its feet and keeping its head down, as if Serena needed those ten tips a lot more than she thought. The trainer turned the pages without lowering her head. No need for more, she repeated to herself, the strange certainty that the dragon wouldn't be satisfied.

Mrs. Godeau may have been dismayed to open the library while Team Magma was still roaming around, but in reality she had little to fear. Rustboro may have been a friendly town, but the bandits preferred the peace and quiet of the Rusturf Tunnel.

Blaise brushed the smoke from his pants with a flick of his sleeve. It had been some time since they had completed their mission, and he couldn't understand why his partner was so reluctant to return to headquarters. In fact, he couldn't understand why he hadn't just gone off on his own, leaving Tabitha in the lurch, especially when he had suggested that they go into those abandoned galleries as if they were two conspirators. Or... Tabitha had seemed very hesitant the last few days, as if he wanted to tell him something but was holding back, and finally he brought him face to face to this isolated place...

"I'd like some explanations," Blaise tensed. "Especially if you forgot to invite Courtney."

Tabitha looked away, doubling the blonde's concern. Come to think of it, the Admin had even baked him a cake while they were in Rustboro. And it was quite good, a truly amazing gesture from this self-proclaimed genius.

"That bitch..." the Admin swallowed before admitting: "She didn't want to come."

"And the cake?"

"What cake?"

"The one you made for me!"

"Well, I bake when I'm worried, and I don't want to eat it all alone, so... Wait, what does this cake have to do with Courtney?"

"Nothing."

Blaise relaxed a little, half reassured by his colleague - he remembered that it was bad form for an Admin to bake cakes. The blonde coughed a little, asking just to be sure:

"Are you sure you talked to her about this?"

"I tried!" he demurred. "But she just..."

Blaise rolled his eyes at the boy in front of him.

"What, Tabitha? Unable to understand your incredible talent, to admire your intellect? Oh yeah, but what an idiot!"

"I didn't say that," he grumbled.

He fidgeted with his fingers, having lost his beautiful assurance for once.

"Whether it's Maxie or Courtney... Don't you think they're acting weird?"

"Is that all you have to say?" the blonde sighed.

"Don't pretend you haven't noticed," Tabitha frowned. "Sure, I know Maxie has never been expressive and Courtney can throw the worst insults at you like she's telling you the weather, but the way they're looking at each other right now... Once in a while with her, although it's getting more and more frequent, but with Maxie it's all the time, absolutely all the time, like he's not with us anymore."

Blaise frowned. He couldn't deny that there was some truth in what his comrade was saying, but it was just an impression, and he'd let him hang around just for that: an impression.

"For people who are 'no longer with us', I think they're pretty active. I just don't think you like the fact that she's getting closer and closer to Maxie and you're being sidelined."

Tabitha grimaced in frustration. He had his differences with the woman, but still:

"When I say I tried, I'm not kidding. I went to see her and she was willing to listen to me, well, the usual: talk and then I'll see if I can laugh in your face. But I think she sensed from the beginning that I was serious and that's why... She told me that she had no time to lose, without even letting me speak, so that she could better dismantle me afterwards. She clearly cut me off before I could say anything, as if she was afraid to hear it, afraid someone else would hear it and... We were alone, I was sure, and she knows she can trust me on that - I fooled around with cameras and microphones before I knew how to talk, so you can't fool me on that - but she was still afraid. And that's not all."

"You're being paranoid," Blaise said.

Tabitha froze. He couldn't deny that he'd been wondering himself, being the good scientist that he was. And he probably wouldn't have made such a fuss if he hadn't discovered this:

"I have to tell you something," he sighed. "As it happens, I was a little miffed when Maxie turned all the analysis over to an artificial intelligence. I didn't mean any harm, but you see, to get the full effect of this thing, it's best to combine it with the brain of a genius in the field. But he wouldn't listen to me, so I figured I'd just have to prove him right."

"Get to the point," Blaise sighed.

"The thing this machine analyzes," Tabitha swallowed, "is waves. It studies waves, and they're not Groudon waves."

"Because you've seen a lot of Groudon waves?"

"No... but I know, I feel it's not."

His comrade's genuinely frightened expression confused the blonde.

"And so..." Blaise continued in the most detached tone possible. "What is it doing with those waves?"

"Neutralize them. The program is on a loop with that in mind."

Yes, that was it, every day Magnet analyzed this wave, deformed it, used it, failed, then tried again and... He was grabbed by the shoulder. Tabitha jerked his elbow back to free himself, but quickly regretted his action as he felt the pain increase. A reinforced jacket? Where do people get reinforced jackets?!

"May I ask what Magma's henchmen are doing here?"

Sitting behind him was a man about his size who seemed more than a little annoyed to see them. Tabitha had to admit that he had confidence, unlike the other guy in construction gear who was watching them from a distance, trembling.

"I was going to ask you the same question," Tabitha teased. "There are nicer places to walk. Oh, and for the record..."

The impostor dodged Torkoal's Gyroball attack by a hair's breadth, preparing to counterattack before quickly changing his mind as rocks materialized above him. His confident face fell as Blaise ordered his Slugma to release Rock Slide.

"We're not henchmen!" Tabitha shouted so he could hear him over the din... if he still had a brain to hear, that is.

Author's notes :I'm having a bit of trouble making Serena truly shocked to learn that Ash has taken on Teams Aqua and Magma, partly because she doesn't know how much he's involved, and partly because in the anime, I found that the Pokégroupe members, except for Pikachu, were mostly spectators of events. (Okay, and also because I'm too lazy to rewrite that part.)

I think you're starting to find some elements of the original fic, while realizing that a lot has changed. That's probably because I wanted to integrate them into a slightly larger part (more or less awkwardly ^^'). I hope I'm not too chaotic and that you can follow along, because it's a bit of a patchwork... But I hope you'll enjoy it!