-Sinnoh Region-

Dragonite was tired.

It was an inconvenience, albeit an understandable one. The Dragon Type had been flying nonstop for the past four hours. Even the strongest Pokémon had to tire eventually, especially when they were carrying a passenger, who more than likely hadn't been helping, what with his insistence on the speed of his Pokémon. It wasn't fair to Dragonite to presume that his friend could make such a trip and not be affected. Not fair at all.

That didn't mean Lance didn't have to be annoyed whenever the pace was slowed.

The Dragon Master reached up and patted Dragonite's neck, saying something nigh undecipherable over the roar of the wind in their ears. The orange dragon huffed a reply, which was likewise lost to the whims of the breeze.

Lance considered telling Dragonite to rest and return to his Pokéball while he continued on someone else, Flygon maybe, but shrugged and said nothing. His Dragons were strong. Proud, too, and they'd be damned if something as trivial as fatigue got in their way. No, at this rate, Lance would be better off letting Dragonite finish the job. They were close enough to their destination, anyhow. Another few minutes, and they'd have arrived.

Another few minutes to sit here and think, the Dragon Tamer thought to himself. Down to business, then. No point in wasting any more time. This Red character… there was something about him that just seemed… off. As though the mystery Trainer were putting on an elaborate façade, and only just managing to pull it off. Lance's instincts told him that Red was almost certainly not who he says he was.

And Lance's instincts were never wrong.

That left the question of who. Also why, but that could wait until later. There were too many possibilities to consider why this early, too many reasons, too many people. In order to know the motive, one must first know the perpetrator, and Lance did not yet possess that information. Lance had a few hunches in the making, but they were only guesswork. He couldn't proceed without cold, hard evidence.

Which was why he had bothered making this trip. If there was one person who could answer his questions, it would be him.

Dragonite perked up underneath Lance, alerting his Master that they had reached their journey's end. The Kanto Champion nodded, patting his Pokémon's neck once again. The Dragon Type swooped down and flung open his wings, landing smoothly on the bare rocks.

Lance leapt off his tired Pokémon, stretching his cramped legs. "Thank you, brother," he said, returning Dragonite to his Pokéball. The exhausted dragon nodded sleepily as it was reabsorbed into the ball. "Rest well," Lance said to the metallic sphere, receiving a small twitch of the Pokéball in response. The Dragon Tamer grinned, clipping the ball back onto his belt.

Taking a moment's pause to crack his back, Lance frowned at the empty landscape before him. That was odd. They should have sensed him by now. They were never this off-guard. Lance knew that firsthand, and his frown deepened as the seconds stretched into minutes, and still no one appeared to greet him.

Lance scowled, walking forwards anyhow. Maybe they were ignoring him… but they had never done that before. He usually barely had time to dismount and return Dragonite before they would appear, bringing smiles and bone-snapping Ursaring hugs. Lance's Instinct began to gnaw at him once again, and with great reluctance the Dragon Master began to allow the possibility.

Something must have happened.

A house appeared, nestled up underneath the shadow of the mountain. It was a fairly normal-sized house, nothing too extravagant, but against the rocky backdrop it nevertheless felt out of place. The door was ajar.

"Hello?" Lance called. "Is anyone there? It's me! Lance!"

"Is anyone there?" his echo replied. "Hello?" it mocked before fading away. Lance's voice was replaced by the soft whistling of the ocean breeze. Silence.

Lance swore. "Xerneas help the two of you if this is some sort of joke," he announced to the island as he pulled a Pokéball from his belt, approaching the entrance. Slowly, he pushed the door fully open, and his eyes widened at the scene before him.

The house looked as though Tornadus had stopped by to say hello. The usually neat entryway had been all but destroyed. Papers littered the mud-stained floor; desks had been flipped and splintered; there was a damn hole where a wall had once stood. It looked like chaos.

It looked like a war zone.

Lance expanded the Pokéball in his hand. His eyes analyzed everything in sight, every single detail, every piece of evidence. He stepped through the hole in the wall into the kitchen. It was no less destroyed as the room before.

Lance's attention zeroed in on a patch of hardwood floor just below the sink. The Dragon Master swallowed, and he could feel his heart start to race and beads of sweat start to break out on his forehead.

The ejected bullet casing rested calmly on the cold floor next to the puddle of blood. Lance all but raced over to the pool, kneeling down and staring at the crimson staining the checkerboard tiles. He dipped a finger in the puddle. Still warm. This had happened not long ago, forty minutes at the most.

The Champion stood, eyes sweeping across the black and white floor for traces of blood. He found one, leading away from the destruction and towards the stairwell. Lance followed it, his knuckles whitening on the Pokéball in his fist.

Whoosh.

Lance stopped. His eyes narrowed, and his gripped even harder on the Pokéball. He exhaled, closing his eyes and focusing on the sound.

Swish.

There. His eyes snapped open, and he turned halfway, eyes sweeping across the empty room.

Nothing. Was he imagining it, then?

No! his Instinct screamed as he heard the noise yet again, behind him this time. He whirled around, arm poised to throw.

The Jackal roared and attacked.

-Trainer House, Pokémon League Village -

Max ran a hand through his olive-green hair, eyeing the door with more than a fair amount of trepidation. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

Beside him, Grace rolled her eyes and nodded for what must have been the seventh time that morning. Yes, I'm sure. We have to do this, Max. You have to.

Max stopped staring at the door long enough to glance at his partner. "Can't argue with logic like that," he said, sarcasm dripping onto his chin. He looked wistfully back at the door. "But if you say so…"

I do.

"Dangit, Grace, I know that! Just let me get ready. Y'know, psych myself up."

You've been 'psyching yourself up' for the past five minutes. Open the bloody door already.

Sighing visibly, Max opened the door.

Now go inside.

Max went inside.

Now close the d-

"I get it, Grace!" Max yelled, glaring at the Embrace Pokémon. "I'm perfectly capable of shutting a door! Now, for the love of Mew, shut up for two seconds!"

Grace snickered and stuck her tongue out at Max, who made a subsequent silly-looking face back at her. Max took a step forward, turned around, shut the door, turned again, and continued on. "Not one word, Gardevoir. Not. One. Word."

Grace chuckled quietly behind her Trainer, who grumbled anxiously to himself as the two made their way down the hall, stopping when they finally reached the end of the hallway.

Of course they would be at the very end of the hall, Max thought, swallowing hard. Probably think it makes them more dramatic somehow. Well, it does. So what?

So… Grace said after a moment or two, are you going to knock, or..?

The door swung open. Max shot Grace a look, sighed, and entered.

The room was dark. Of course it was. An eerie silence filled the dark expanse as Trainer and Pokémon stood in the doorframe, waiting for whatever lay ahead.

The door swung shut.

"I told you he'd come," said a voice that spoke both aloud and in Max's mind.

"I never doubted you, brother, though I'll admit it didn't take as long as I'd expected," replied a second voice, more feminine and graceful sounding than the last.

"Indeed." The lights flickered on, revealing two figures, neither much larger than Max, who grinned at the sight of the Petalburg Trainer.

Welcome, Max Maple, said the two voices at once within Max's mind.

"Hello, Tate. Hello, Liza."

-Pokémon Center, League Village-

Misty collapsed into the chair next to Brock, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. "Mornin', guys."

"Good morning, Misty," Brock replied, not looking up from the newspaper he was reading. "Have you eaten yet? The Center's giving away free breakfast until the end of the Tournament."

Misty grunted, resting her head on the table. "Mm-mm."

"Tired, Misty?" asked May, taking a sip from a water bottle.

Misty glanced up, raising an eyebrow at the Coordinator before letting her head fall back onto her arms. "What do you think?"

May shrugged.

Misty sighed again and sat up, stretching and yawning. Cracking her back, she looked around the Pokémon Center. "Where's Dawn?"

"Bathroom."

Figures. "Max?"

"He and Grace went to see Tate and Liza." Brock turned a page. "Something about learning to be Psychic."

"Tate and Liza? The Mossdeep Twins?"

"The one and only. Er, two and only, rather."

Misty considered this. "Good for him, I guess? Tate and Liza are around his age, aren't they, May?"

May thought for a moment. "Uh… I think so. Let's see. They were eight or so when we saw them with… with Ash… and Max was seven, so yeah," she finished quickly, looking down at her meal. "Same age."

Brock folded his newspaper and stood. "I'm gonna get some more food. The Nurse who's serving is gorgeous. Want anything, Misty?"

"Sure. Get me some eggs and a bottle of water, would you?"

"No problem. Be right back," the Pokémon Doctor walked towards the buffet, humming to himself.

Misty looked over at May. "So, what's the plan for today? You and Dawn going shopping again?"

The Hoenn Coordinator shook her head. "Nah. We've... ah… well, the selection here is pretty… lacking, I guess you could say." May averted her eyes and glanced at her Pokégear.

"You're broke, aren't you?"

"What!? Why would you say something like that? What makes you think that that's why we would… well…" May trailed off and grinned mareepishly. "Yeah. We're broke. Me and Dawn have maybe fifty Poké between the two of us."

Misty facepalmed. "May! Fifty Poké? We've only been here a week! This Tournament won't be over for who knows how long!"

"I know, I know. Chill out, Misty. We'll be fine. We've done worse. Ask her to tell you about the time we were stuck in Goldenrod for two and a half weeks for a Contest. That was brutal. We had the clothes on our backs and the Pokéballs on our belts. That was it."

"Ooh, are we talking about Goldenrod?" Dawn asked, sitting down beside May. "Remember that one guy we met in the GTS?"

"You mean the blonde one with the hat?"

"No! The dreamy one!"

"Oh, him. Yeah, I remember him. He was great."

Misty sighed, shaking her head. "You two are impossible."

Much to the Water Type Trainer's relief, Brock appeared, juggling two plates of food and drink. "Here you go, Misty," he said, placing a plate of hot eggs in front of her, "and your water, too."

"Thanks, Brock." Misty said, taking a bite of the eggs. "Hey, these are pretty good. Do you know what kind of eggs the Nurse used?"

Down nodded. "I think they were Togepi."

"What!?" Misty spat out the food and coughed. "That's disgusting! Why would they –" She paused. May, Dawn, and Brock were trying not to laugh.

The key word here being trying.

"Dawn, that was beautiful," May said between gasps, fist-bumping the Sinnoh Coordinator.

Brock was laughing out loud at Misty's reaction. "You gotta admit, Misty, we got you good. They're only Slowpoke eggs. It's nothing to worry about."

Misty blushed, looking away from the table. "You all are such assholes. That was no funny at all." Inwardly, though, she was chuckling. They had gotten her pretty good. "I just hope you all know that you started this war. It is so on."

The four grinned at each other, then parlayed to finish their breakfast.

"You never answered my question," Misty said after a moment. "What are we doing today? None of us have battles. Max doesn't, I don't, Red doesn't, heck, not even Forrest."

Dawn grinned. "Well, since you asked, Misty, May and I decided that all of us are..."

Misty preemptively groaned, knowing nothing good could come of this. "Oh Phione, why did I have to ask?" She braced herself for the worst.

"Ahem." Dawn cleared her throat. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, we decided that Misty is…"

Misty squeezed her eyes shut. Oh Mew. This couldn't be good.

"…going to take us all to see Red!"

"What!? I am doing no such –" Misty stopped midsentence. Perhaps she had misheard. "Wait. Go see Red? That's it? That's the worst you can come up with?"

Dawn beamed. "Misty, I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about. May and I just thought it would be nice of all of us to goo hang out with Red today. I mean, he's our friend, right? Isn't that what friends are for? Besides, it's not like you have anything better to do, right, Misty?"

Misty opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, and closed it again. She sighed. "Right."

Brock chuckled. "Well, that's settled. How about we all go and get ready, then meet back here in half an hour? Dawn, you can be ready in half an hour, right?"

Dawn smiled sunnily. "Why, of course I can, Brock. I'll see you then."

Misty groaned, standing and making her way back up the stairs. It was all of nine o'clock in the morning, and she knew that today was going to be a long, long day.

-Trainer House-

Max waved awkwardly at Tate. "Hey, Tate. Long time no see."

The Psychic grinned. Yup. Too long.

"So… I take it the two of you know why I'm here?"

Liza nodded. Yes. My brother foresaw you coming here to train under us, to learn how to unlock your potential and become Psychic. Was he correct in this?

"I'm here, aren't I?"

So he is, Sister. I have seen this much. Will we train him? He is a friend of ours.

A friend of yours, perhaps. I am not so easily swayed. I have no reason to accept him as a student.

We saw him –

Battle? Yes, we saw it. He –

Spoke to his Pokémon telepathically. That alone is –

Enough to merit our teaching? Perhaps. But how much more is –

He capable of? There is only one way to find out, sister.

The Twins fell silent. Then, they simultaneously turned to look at Max and Grace, who shivered under the weight of their stare.

He is afraid, Liza said with disdain. Fear –

Dulls the blade, yes, but also –

Heightens the senses. Very well, little brother, you have convinced me.

Max grinned. "That's great! When do we –" Liza raised an eyebrow, and his mouth stopped moving. Max tried to open his jaw, but it held fast, as though it had been glued shut. "Mmph!"

Be silent, Max Maple. You have not convinced me of anything yet. My brother has vouched for your potential as a Psychic, but I am less sure. He has earned you the right to prove yourself to us.

Max tried to talk again, but his mouth was still held shut by an invisible force. Wh… what do I have to do?

Liza seemed surprised when he spoke. Perhaps you were right, little brother.

Tate grinned, giving Max a small thumbs-up. Are you ready, Grace? He asked, looking to the Embrace Pokémon.

For what?

You must prove yourself as well, Gardevoir. A Pokémon is only as strong as her master, and a master is only as strong as his Pokémon. I ask again: Are you ready?

Grace took Max's hand in hers and nodded. I was hatched ready.

And you, Maple?

Max nodded. Let's do this.

Liza and Tate locked eyes. A sly grin spread across the Twin's faces. They looked to Max and Grace and both raised an arm. Then let us begin.

An overwhelming force slammed into Max and Grace, sending the two flying back into the wall. The Gym Leaders' eyes glowed deep violet, and they laughed. May the best win.

-Indigo Plateau-

"Now, Eve! Ice Beam!" Ash called, ducking underneath the kick and lashing out with an open palm.

Flamethrower! Athena ordered, spinning to the left to avoid the blow. She leapt up and over Ash, spinning into an axe kick aimed straight for his head.

"Eon!" the Eeveelution cried, charging a sphere of ice on her lips. Running forward, she leapt into the air and released the attack skyward.

"Mance!" Spectre countered, letting fire pour from his maw, melting the supereffective beam of cold into a mere puddle of water.

Ash dropped to the earth, dodging the kick by inches. He waited for Athena to land, then spun his body and kicked the Lucario's feet out from underneath her. He pounced as she fell, grabbing her shoulder with one hand, pinning her to the earth, and using the other to gather Aura into a sphere that he held next to her face. "Yield," he gasped, sweat pouring from his brow.

Nearby, Jessie looked on, chewing thoughtfully on a sandwich. "James, remind me sometime to ask Ash to teach us how to fight like that."

"Jessie, you should ask Ash to teach the two of us how to fight like that sometime." James replied instantly, not taking his eyes off the two Aura Users.

"Pi, pikachu Pikapi chu Chukapi chuka pi pika pi pichu," Pikachu said, looking over at the two ex-Rockets.

"Persian?" Jessie asked.

"Pikachu says dat dis ain't even close to da Twerp's and Atena's full power. Dey're jus' sparrin' now, puttin' on a show," the Classy Cat translated, flicking his tail back and forth.

"Oh really?" Jessie glanced over at her own Pokémon. "Hear that, guys? We need to do some catching up."

"I'll say."

Yield!

Athena's command brought everyone's attention back to the battle. The Aura Pokémon had Ash pinned against a boulder, one arm twisted behind his back, the other held at his side. Don't make me say it again, Ash! Yield!

"Never!" Ash yelled, kicking at Athena's legs. "Eve! Blizzard!"

"Vaporeon!" Eve shouted, her body glowing pale blue. The temperature of the clearing dropped several degrees as an icy wind was released from her body, forming great crystals of ice that flew in all directions.

Spectre! Use – gah! Athena dropped Ash, bringing both arms up to protect her face form the biting cold. Seizing the moment, Ash grabbed the Aura Pokémon's wrists and forced her to the ground, bringing a knee up to her stomach and pinning her down.

"Yield!"

Athena struggled underneath her Trainer, but to no avail. She could hardly move. She sighed. I yield.

"Yes!" Ash released his Pokémon, jumping up and pumping his fist in the air. "Victory is mine!"

You cheated, Athena grumbled, standing and dusting herself off.

"Did not."

Did so. Eve attacked me.

"Umm, nope. Eve attacked Spectre, which had the unfortunate consequence of affecting you as well. It was a happy, though entirely unexpected, coincidence."

You do realize I can tell when you're lying, right?

"Yeah, I know." Ash grinned at the ex-Rockets. He opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly his head snapped to the left. "Did you feel that?" He asked Athena, who nodded and ducked into a defensive stance.

Yeah. I count three… no, four humans and their Pokémon.

"Feels about right. Soul, Pikachu, defensive positions."

The Electric Mouse sprang to his feet and raced towards Ash, stopping about fifteen or so feet in front of him. His cheeks sparked aggressively as Soul joined the Electric Type a moment later.

"Ash?" Jessie asked, a little nervously, "what's going on?"

"Intruders. Four of them, about a hundred yards away…" Ash's brow furrowed. "Hold on. Athena, are they who I think they are?"

The Aura Pokémon closed her eyes. … Yeah, that's them.

Ash visibly relaxed. "It's okay, guys. False alarm. Stand down, it's Misty and the gang." He paused. "Oh, crap! It's Misty and the gang!" He spun on his heel and all but flew towards his backpack, propped up against a nearby tree, and fished out the black cloak he had discarded for the training session. Throwing it on, he turned to James and Jessie. "Remember, you guys: I'm Red. Not. Ash. You haven't seen him in years, got it?"

The ex-Rockets nodded. "You haven't told them yet?" James asked.

Ash – er, that is, Red – shook his head. "Not yet. I'm waiting until the top 16. There's gonna be an interview of all the Trainers who make it that far, and I'm gonna do this big reveal thing, and –"

Master, they'll be here in five seconds.

Ash nodded. "Right. Gotcha." He took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. "Okay. I'm Red. Got it."

Persian raised an eyebrow at Ash. "Is he always like dis before he talks ta da Twerps?" he asked Athena.

She shook her head. Nah. He's usually a lot more relaxed. They just caught him off guard and out of character. Give him a second, he'll be fine. Probably.

-Indigo Plateau-

Misty turned back to the others, pointing at a clearing not far ahead. "We're nearly there, guys. Just a few more feet."

"Thank Palkia," Dawn complained. "My feet are killing me."

"What?" Brock glanced sidelong at the Sinnoh Coordinator. "We've been walking for all of an hour and a half. This is nothing. Remember that time when we walked across, I dunno, the entire Sinnoh region?"

May snickered. "He's got you there, Dawn. Once you've legged it across an entire region, you can't really complain about a little walk like this."

Misty grinned as Dawn gave May a look of betrayal. "C'mon, Dawn. We will literally be there in five seconds. See? Five."

"Okay, I get it! Don't patronize me, Misty!"

"Four."

Brock held back a laugh and joined in. "Three."

It was May's turn now. "Two."

"One."

Everyone jumped at the voice that finished the countdown, coming from the center of the clearing. They looked and saw the hooded figure of Red, grinning and waving hello at the four of them. Pikachu was perched on his shoulder, and Athena stood beside him, talking to a nearby Persian.

"Right on schedule. Nice timin', Atena," said the Classy Cat Pokémon.

Thanks.

"Hello everyone," Red said, approaching the group. "Misty, Brock, May, Dawn. What brings you all the way out here?"

Dawn was the first to speak up. "Oh, it's not that far a walk, Red. None of us had any battles today, so we all thought it would be nice to drop by and say hello."

Red nodded. "Cool. So where's Max?"

"He's at the Trainer House with the Mossdeep Twins. He took your advice and went to ask them about becoming a Psychic," Brock answered, his gaze sweeping over the clearing before landing on Jessie and James. "Hey! What're they doing here!?"

Red cocked his head to one side. "Hmm? Oh, you mean Jessie, James, and Persian? You've met, then?" He asked, suppressing a grin.

"Met them?" May cried, reaching for a Pokéball on her belt, "They stalked us all over the world!"

"I wouldn't say that," James said, standing and stretching. "We never followed any of you specifically. We were just following your little friend and his Pikachu. What was his name again? Ace? Ass?"

"Why, you-!" Misty grabbed a Pokéball of her own, as did Dawn and Brock.

Red shot James a look, trying to contain a snicker. "All of you calm down. There's no need for fighting. Misty, May, Dawn, Brock, I don't care what happened in the past; so long as you're here, you'll treat Jessie, James, and Persian with respect. They've given up crime and atoned for their sins. They bear none of you any ill will; I'll vouch for that. Right, guys?"

Jessie nodded, elbowing her partner. "Of course, Red. We've nothing against you Twerps."

Red shook his head. "Alright. Good." He turned to his Pokémon. "Change of plan, guys: no more training today. You all can go do whatever." He pursed his lips, turning back to the group, "Y'know, you all should release your Pokémon too. It's a nice day, let them out of there balls, let 'em stretch their legs. You too, Jessie, James."

Reluctantly, everyone accepted. How could they not? Soon the clearing was cluttered with Pokémon of all shapes and sizes. Red grinned, seeing all the familiar faces, and began to introduce his own Pokémon to them. "Guys, come on over here, say hi."

Eve, predictably enough, was the first to answer Red's summons, all but racing towards the group and babbling excitedly at her new friends. Soul followed afterward, not as outgoing as the Vaporeon – the Fire Type was more wary and reserved – then came Spectre, who locked eyes with Gyarados and grinned a feral smile. Athena hung back, staying at Red's side, taking in the new appearances, studying them, mentally analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. Pikachu stayed perched on his friend's shoulder, sharing the Trainer's grin at seeing all their old partners.

"It's been too long, hasn't it, Pi?" Red sighed, taking a step back and observing his friends.

"Pi, pikachu," the Electric Mouse agreed, sprawling out atop his hood.

"Yeah." The two watched on in silence for a moment as the Pokémon and Trainers mingled. "We'll tell them soon enough. They'll understand, right? We'd understand, wouldn't we?"

Pikachu didn't reply. Red crossed his arms and nodded, watching the people and Pokémon.

-Sinnoh-

Lance leapt backwards, narrowly dodging the Lucario's attack. "Lucario! Is that you? Thank Arceus you're alright! Where's R-"

The Aura Pokémon launched into another attack, pulling back a fist that glowed deep blue. Get out! It roared, rushing the Dragon Master. Leave us!

Lance took another step backwards, tripping over an overturned desk and falling to the floor. "Lucario? What are you doing!? It's me! Lan-"

The Lucario silenced Lance by grabbing the Kanto Champion by his shirt and throwing him across the room. Lance crashed into and through the sheetrock wall, landing heavily on the other side. "Lucario!" He gasped, climbing to his feet. "Stop! I'm here to help!"

Lies! Treachery! The Aura Pokémon would not be sated. Lucario seethed with unkempt rage, clapping his hands together and forming a deadly sphere of Aura.

Lance swore. "Flygon! Help me!" He cried, tossing the Pokéball at the floor, where it exploded in a flash of light. The Mystic Pokémon appeared, looking curiously at the destroyed house and tilting its head at Lucario.

"Flygon fly?" it asked curiously.

"Fly! There's something wrong with Lucario! I need your help calming him down!" Lance cried, pointing at the Aura Pokémon. "Dragonbreath!"

"Gon flygon!" the Desert Dragon replied, releasing a stream of blue flame at Lucario without hesitation.

Lucario roared, releasing the Aura Sphere and diving to one side to avoid the attack.

"Dodge, then Flamethrower!" Lance commanded, gritting his teeth. With any luck, defeating Lucario would bring the Pokémon back to his senses, and would lead them to his wounded Master.

Flygon chirped an affirmative, rolling away from the attack and letting another plume of fire, burning bright red this time, pour from his lips. The flame snaked towards Lucario, knocking the Pokémon to the ground and setting its fur alight.

"Finish him with Dragon Tail!"

The Mystic Pokémon sped towards Lucario and spun, slamming his purple tail into the Aura Pokémon. Lucario landed in the rubble of a destroyed desk, his blue fur smoking.

Flygon winced and returned to his master, who patted his neck. "Good job, Fly," he murmured, returning the Dragon to its Pokéball.

Cautiously, Lance approached the downed Pokémon, pulling a small syringe from a pocket in his coat. Grabbing the Aura Pokémon's arm, he stabbed the needle into its shoulder and pressed down on the plunger, wincing as he did so. Lance didn't much care for needles, but he'd hadn't the foresight to pack any standard medicine, so this would have to do for now.

Lance sighed, standing up and wiping dust off his pants. It would take a good few minutes for the Revive to kick in; time the detective wasn't planning on wasting. There was something very wrong going on here, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

-Trainer House-

Max fell to the floor, all the air leaving his body in a great gust that left his gasping for breath on the cold hardwood. Colors flashed before his eyes, purple and pink, and something like static sounded in his ears. Grace fared no better, sliding down the wall, her eyes open wide and her mouth a perfect circle.

Max tried to crawl to his feet, but an invisible weight slammed down on him from above, pinning him to the ground.

I told you, brother. Max could feel Liza rolling her eyes. He is not worth our time.

Come on, Max! Tate urged, ignoring his sister. You can do this.

Max grit his teeth, struggling under the psychic pressure. "G-grace." he winced, forcing his neck to turn and look at his Pokémon. Her eyelids flutter, and she, too, wrestled against their invisible captor.

Max, Grace said, locking eyes with her Trainer, we can do this. We need to focus.

Max nodded, squeezing his eyes shut and concentrating. He pushed back at the weight around them, and slowly the pressure began to recede. With shaking hands he climbed to his knees, his head pounding.

I told you, sister.

Liza growled. I'll concede he is stronger than I assumed. That does not mean that I was wrong. We have shown but a fraction of our true power. Her eyes flashed brighter, and the weight doubled, forcing Max down again.

Grace swore. By the Lakes, these two were strong. But we're stronger, she told herself. The Embrace Pokémon closed her eyes, seeing the room in her Mind's Eye. The Mossdeep duo shone with invisible light, their auras radiating Psychic energy, Her own Psyche glowed alongside Max's, but nowhere near as brightly as the combined Gym Leaders'.

Combined. Max! She pressed back against the energy, slowly floating towards him. Give me your hand!

Max's eyes narrowed, but he didn't argue, grasping the outstretched palm and squeezing onto it.

Across the room, Tate's eyes narrowed. What are they –

Stop her! Liza yelled.

Max gasped as he felt the pressure ease around him. "Wh-what are you doing?"

Helping Hand, Grace intoned, her eyes flashing white. I'm combining our psychic energy. Now, use Psychic! She commanded, flinging out an arm.

Max watched his arm move, stretching out as though of its own accord. He was suddenly aware that his body shone with a multicolored light, and felt himself growing stronger. He squeezed a little tighter on Grace's hand and pushed out with his mind, beating back the pressure.

Liza's mouth opened slightly. No way –

I told you, sis. Tate managed a grin. But let's finish this first, yeah?

Liza nodded, retracting her arm and placing her hand to her temple. "Imprison!" She yelled.

No! A wave of energy rippled around Grace, crawling up and down her body. The barely visible attack solidified around the Embrace Pokémon, and Max could feel her energy draining. "Devoir!" She cried, shaking as she did so.

"What did you do to h-uff!" Max gasped as Tate rushed in, slamming his head into Max's stomach.

Imprison, Liza repeated, flicking her wrist. Max slammed into the ground as Psychic energy pushed on him once more. A move that prevents an opponent from performing any move known by the user. A high-level Psychic such as myself can use this to completely mask one's Psyche, rendering them all but useless. I've effectively taken Grace's Psychic powers away from her.

"Well," Max wheezed, barely able to breathe, let alone speak, under the immense pressure, "give them back!"

Liza laughed. Not yet, I'm afraid.

Tate looked uneasy. C'mon, sis. We won already. Let her go.

I think not. Liza made a fist and opened it. Grace crumpled, joining Max on the floor. Consider this a first lesson, Max Maple. Being a Psychic is no easy task. Only a select few have what it takes to unlock their full potential. This is but a taste of the true potential of a fully realized Psychic. There are those who could literally rip you apart without so much as batting an eye. Liza gestured with her hand, and Grace rose up into the air as though snatched by a hungry Tyranitar.

"Let... her... go," Max demanded, pushing himself upwards.

Tate looked from Max to his sister, to Max again. "Liza," he said aloud.

Come now, brother. Our apprentice will have to learn this someday. It might as well be now.

"At least let the two of them go!"

Brother, you are being foolish. But as you wish. Liza snapped her fingers, and the energy receded. Grace was lowered back down to the floor, where she massaged her aching temples.

"You okay, Grace?" Max asked, breathing heavily as the pressure subsided.

I am all right. The block was only temporary.

"You're sure?"

"Max, it's okay. Imprison only lasts a few minutes, maximum. Grace will be perfectly fine," Tate said, helping him up and patting him on the back. "Sorry 'bout the Zen Headbutt, by the way."

"Is that what that was? But, that's a Pokémon move!"

Imprison isn't? Or Psychic? Liza queried. That's the idea a lot of people seem to have about the way Pokémon battle and how it corresponds to humans. Tell me, Maple, where did humans first learn to fight? And I don't mean Pokémon battles. Those came much later.

Max cocked his head. "I don't know. We just kinda, figured it out, I guess."

Wrong. We learned from Pokémon.

"From Pokémon?"

Tate nodded. It makes sense, if you think about it. Why else would martial artists share similar techniques and fighting styles as the Pokémon they train?

Max nodded slowly. "Because they – I mean, we – learned from them?"

Precisely.

Grace glanced at Max. Is it really all that difficult to believe? Remember Red's explanation?

Red? Tate asked.

"Yeah. Me and Misty went and talked to him before my match. Did you know he's an Aura User?"

The Mossdeep twins shared a glance. Really? They said.

"Yeah. He's the one who told me I was Psychic, though I didn't really believe him 'till my battle with the girl from Olivine. But hey, he was right!"

Grace rolled her eyes. So what happens now? You will train us, yes?

The twins nodded. Of course. You have –

Shone great promise, the both of you. We –

Hereby accept you as our students, and will –

Do all we can to learn you in –

The ways of the Psychic, as we ourselves –

Learned under our own teacher. Max Maple –

Grace –

You are now Psychics.

-Indigo Plateau-

"Mance salamence!" Spectre slammed his forelegs into the earth, kicking up dust and shaking the ground.

"Gyaaaar!" Gyarados retorted, baring his fangs .

"Oh, great. This again." Red crossed his arms.

"You're telling me," Misty agreed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"There's a lake not two minutes away from here. It's fairly deep; more than enough for Gyarados," Red suggested, quirking an eyebrow at the Dragon. "Much as I'd love to have my campsite destroyed, it wouldn't be a fair fight otherwise."

"You'd be surprised."

"I very much doubt that, Ms. Waterflower. I haven't made it this far by underestimating people's abilities."

"Fair enough. Gyarados, return!" Misty gestured for Red to lead the way, tucking the Pokéball into her pouch. The two, accompanied by Athena and Spectre, vanished into the trees.

There was an odd moment of silence. "Wait... what just happened?" Dawn sweatdropped.

"I tink A – er, Red an' Misty are gonna battle wit' Gyarados an' Spectre," Persian answered, scratching the back of his head with a paw.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Brock asked. "I want to see this!" Pikachu waved for him to follow, and took off into the trees after Red, Brock and the rest of the gang right on his heels.

"This battle is between Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City and Red of the Kanto Region!" Brock announced, waving two flags he'd gotten from his bag for just such an occasion. "This will be a one-on-one single battle with no substitutions and no time limit! Trainers, are you ready?"

"Let's do this!" they replied together.

"Alrighty then," Brock grinned. "May, you got that Vs. Recorder running?"

"I got it!" She replied from somewhere behind him. "Max's going to be sorry he missed this!"

"Trainers ready! Begin!"

"Bring the rain, Gyarados!" Misty called, hurling the Pokéball into the lake.

"Ride the wind, Spectre!" Red answered, pointing out towards the water.

"GYAAAAAAAR!" Gyarados roared, erupting out from his Pokéball.

"MAAAAAANCE!" Spectre replied, spreading his wings and taking to the sky.

"Dragon Dance!" Misty ordered.

"Aerial Ace!"

Gyarados became engulfed in blue light as it twirled back and forth in an elegant and powerful dance, his speed and strength rising dramatically with every passing second.

Salamence looped around in the sky, shining silver as his scales sharpened. He soared towards Gyarados, a savage grin on his lips. The Dragon Pokémon extending his wings as he flew by Gyarados, his wings meeting the Sea Serpent's scales with a metallic hiss.

"Ice Fang!" Misty called.

"Thunder Fang!" Red countered.

The two Dragons dove for each other, jaws opened wide. One crackled with electricity, the other with searing cold. The enemies found each other and latched on, pumping the other full of the respective attack's element.

Dawn blanched. "This is... intense," she whispered.

"No kidding. I've never seen Misty battle this hard."

"I don't think it's just Misty though. Look at Red. He's so focused. He wasn't like this two minutes ago. I think this is the first real battle he's had this whole tournament."

"Fly, Spectre!"

"Oh no you don't! Ice Beam!"

Spectre released the Sea Serpent and shot upwards, climbing higher and higher. Gyarados fired off and Ice Beam, but the Dragon Pokémon dodged it easily, flipping in midair and begin his descent.

Misty grit her teeth. "Hold, Gyar!"

The Atrocious Pokémon nodded its serpentine head, waiting as Spectre drew closer... closer...

"Dive!"

"Gyaar!" It cried, diving headfirst into the water.

"Spectre, pull up!" Red yelled, his eyes wide. The Dragon Pokémon angled his wings, trying to ease up before it was too late, but he was going too steep too fast and smacked heavily into the water.

"Now!"

With a roar, Gyarados arose from the lake, head-butting Spectre square in the chest and sending him skipping across the lake.

"Finish this, Gyarados!" Misty commanded, throwing out an arm. "Hyper Beam!"

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" The Sea Serpent roared, charging a sphere of golden light in his mouth. The beam of energy shot towards the prone Dragon and exploded in a flash of brilliant light. A shockwave ripped through the forest, and a nearby tree cracked and toppled.

In the middle of the smoking crater, Spectre stood, breathing heavily, his eyes shining crimson.

"What!?" Misty cried. "How on earth is he still standing?"

Red didn't reply, merely grinning and giving a thumbs-up to his Pokémon. "Double-Edge!"

Spectre nodded, taking to the sky once more. His body began to glow golden.

"Gyarados! Get out of there! Use Ice Beam!"

The Sea Serpent opened his mouth, but nothing came out save a few flakes of snow. The Hyper Beam had drained his energy, and he needed to recharge.

Spectre let out a roar of his own and shot towards the exposed Gyarados, radiating light as he flew. Then, with a sound like a clap of thunder, the two collided.

Gyarados and Spectre both fell, unconscious.

Brock shut his open mouth and raised both his flags. "Both Pokémon are unable to battle! This math is declared a draw!"

-Sinnoh Region-

Lucario woke to pain. His chest felt like it was on fire, and his shoulder felt as though he had decided to dip it in lava. He winced, rubbing the aching limb. What on earth..?

"So you're awake," came a voice. Lucario's head whipped around, taking in the intimidating man in a black leather trenchcoat. "Long time no see, Lucario."

Lance?

Aaaand done. Finally. This chapter took me ages to work out. But then, you already knew that, didn't you?

Sorry for the delay, blah, blah, blah, etc., etc. Thanks to Effina Solaris, who finally shot me a PM telling me to get off my lazy butt and write. Well, not in so many words, of course, but you get the picture.

I tried something new format-wise this time around, but I'm not exactly sure if I like it. Tell me what you guys think. Also, I should note that we're finally getting somewhere plot-wise, thank Arceus. Only took us nine bloody chapters. So there's that, too.

Writers are like cats. They only come around every so often, always looking for attention, and you'd better hope to god they don't walk in whenever you're doing something important because they will walk over to you and sit on your keyboard until you review their stories.

See you next time,

-Wolverinejoe