Disclaimer: Pokémon is 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 26: Denouement

"Mum, I'm home!" Ash called as he closed the door, shaking his boots to dislodge the light dusting of snow. He placed the paper bags on the floor, re-placing one when it threatened to fall over and spill all the contents.

"Did you find everything you wanted, dear?" his mother said as she walked down the stairs, a levitating laundry basket and Mimey following her. "Certainly looks like it. Are you sure you didn't spend too much?"

"Don't worry Mum. I didn't go over my budget at all." On his shoulder, pikachu agreed. "Where's the wrapping paper?"

"Wherever you left it last night, dear." Delia walked up to her son and gave him a fierce hug. "Oh, it's so good to have you home again for Yule. I missed you last year." She took a step back, looking up at Ash's face. "Oh, Professor Oak wanted to see you around five. Will you be able to wrap everything before then?"

A look at the clock told Ash it was about three, and he nodded. "I think so," he said, taking the bags up to the dining room table. "Did he say what it was about?" he asked, but he mother didn't know, and so he would have to wait.

Wrapping presents was never fun, but Ash was halfway decent at it after lots of practice, and some of the presents were easy to wrap, like the second hand rare book on breeding Ash had found to give Brock. Then again, the starmie figurine he was sending to Cerulean took the better part of half an hour to wrap.

At least he didn't need to wrap the presents for May, Max, Danny, and Professor Birch. He'd already handed those off before leaving for home after the Ever Grande Conference, and they, without fail, had presented him with their presents. Ash could guess what they contained, but that would ruin all the fun of opening the presents.

Dusk was near when Ash left home for the Oak ranch, paper bag carrying the Professor's gift – a bottle of excellent Lavaridge cider – in hand. Snow had stopped falling, but every roof and bush around town was covered in a thin white layer. A few children were trying to make snowballs, but the snow was too powdery.

At the foot of the stairs to the Oak Laboratory, Ash met a familiar face, albeit one he hadn't seen for a quite a while. "Hey Gary, good to see you."

The brunet smirked when he saw Ash walking up. "If it isn't the Sinnoh League Champion himself. I was wondering if grandpa invited you too. C'mon, you're going to like this." The duo walked up to the entrance in silence. "After you."

"Ah, it's good to see you both again," Professor Oak greeted them as Gary closed the door behind them. Ash figured the older man had seen them coming. "Come, walk with me."

The trio moved deeper into the building, passing several of the Professor's assistants working on various things as they did. There weren't many: the holidays were nearly upon them and it was the Friday before Yule as well. Ash knew Tracey was visiting family in the Orange Islands. "Where are we going, Professor?"

Just then, Professor Oak stopped, and Ash recognised the locked door as the access to the storage room. One punched-in code later, and they entered, the door locking behind them automatically.

The room hadn't changed since Ash had last been here, mew only knew how long ago, except for one thing. There hadn't been two metal containers there the last time he was here, and it was to those boxes that the Professor walked. "Now, Ash, a quick question. Do you remember what my field of study is?"

"That's easy," Ash said. "It's… It's…"

"Not as easy, huh," Gary finished for him, not waiting too long. "Grandpa studies how humans and Pokémon interact with each other. There's more to it, but you might not understand."

Ash just rolled his eyes, and he knew pikachu was doing something similar. "Gary is correct," the Professor said. "And one of the things that was discovered just recently is one of the biggest things yet in human-Pokémon interaction: Mega Evolution." The older man grabbed one of the boxes. "I had to pull a few strings to acquire these, but nobody begrudged me getting some, considering what I do." He slid the lid back, and offered Ash the metal container.

Inside the box, laid out on foam padding, were three things. One was a metallic-looking ring, one was a small, multi-coloured ball, maybe as big as one of bulbasaur's unopened Leech Seeds, and the third was a larger ball, about as large as a shrunken pokéball, of speckled off-white, with a blue-and-white symbol inside; a symbol that matched the one seen on the smaller stone. "A Key Stone and a Mega Stone?" Ash ventured. "What's the ring for?"

"That's a Mega Ring," Gary answered, opening his own box and taking the ring out. Ash saw a hole in the ring's surface. "It's where you put your Key Stone. All the latest rage from Kalos, y'know."

"Again, my grandson is correct," the Professor spoke up. "And that Mega Stone is an Absolite. It's yours now."

Ash's box would have fallen to the ground had Gary not intercepted it. "But..." Ash trailed off. He had a million questions running through his mind. "I've only had absol for a month. Our bond is nowhere near strong enough."

"Then you'll have to work on that, won't you?" the elder Oak said, grinning, before turning serious. "Actually, if you could keep me up to date on the Mega Evolution, that would help me greatly. We know it works, but we don't know how strong the bond needs to be. Of course, it's rather unscientific, but that can't be helped."

Ash placed the box back on the shelf, taking the Mega Ring out. It wasn't made from metal, but rather from a hard plastic-like material that made it lighter than expected. It was a bit like wearing a bigger wristwatch. He could get used to that. "Thanks Professor." Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder, reminding Ash that he, too, had something. "I think my gift is a bit simple now."

"On the contrary, my boy. If this is what I think it is, it'll be just fine for an old man like me."

~~§~~§~~

It was just over two weeks until Keith would be leaving for Kalos, and already, his mother was on his case about packing and preparing. "Keith?" she shouted from downstairs, the moment she returned home from her work, "did you buy suitable clothes for Kalos yet?"

"Yes Mum," he shouted back, pushing his unfinished model space shuttle back carefully and grabbing the three bags he had walked away with. The clerk had been very helpful when he said he'd be going to Kalos, giving him a list of what was recommended and telling him which part of the list was good and which part was tauros shit. "I'm coming down," he added as he stepped onto the first floor landing in their small home.

Why had he taken the bags up again? Going down the stairs with them in hand was annoying, and he barely managed to not tumble down the thin steps.

His mother looked a bit tired, like she usually did after work, and she waited to hug him until he'd placed the bags on their dinner table. As soon as he had done that, she put her arms around him, the smell of lavender-y perfume filling his nostrils. It was comforting, but also a little overbearing. At least they were home, and not outside. "Are you sure that's enough?" she asked as she peered into the bags afterwards. "This doesn't look like much..."

"It's plenty Mum. It'll only be cold for like two or three months, and then the weather's going to be like it is now here, and only getting warmer. It's not Sinnoh."

"Okay…" his mother said, hesitatingly, looking at a warm sweater. "Is this your size?"

"It's a bit bigger," Keith replied, remembering how comfortable that particular sweater had been. "That way I might be able to wear it next winter, the clerk said."

"Oh, of course, growth spurts. I keep forgetting you haven't had one yet. You're so big already." She put the sweater back in the bag after folding it so fast Keith barely could see what she did. "Have you finished wrapping your Yule gifts yet?"

That had totally slipped his mind. "Eh… No?"

"I'll go make dinner. You go do that, mister," his mother ordered before giving him another quick hug.

His mother meant well, Keith thought as he caught his reflection in the hallway mirror. A slightly annoyed angular face underneath a wild mop of dirty blond hair peered back at him until Keith rolled his eyes and went back up. "Too bad she's so hovering."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Even if the gift-wrapping had slipped his mind, he didn't have a lot left to do. It was just the CD he'd be giving Danny – the second-hand shop he'd found it at was out of wrapping paper – and the charm for Jane's charm bracelet. He finished that task before dinner, and once he'd eaten, he took a plastic bag, filled it with the gifts for all of his local friends, and stepped out their front door.

Jane's house was closest, and Keith knew a shortcut or two. One he couldn't take: he couldn't climb fences with stuff in his hands, and the alley was too narrow, but onix could serve as a bridge over a ditch.

About twenty minutes after leaving home, he walked into the street that held Jane's home, in a better part of town. The streets were cleaner, the hedges were actually trimmed everywhere, the houses were bigger… Keith knew his mother tried his best after his father up and left, but that didn't mean he liked being poorer than most of his classmates.

He was the better trainer than most of them, though. Only four of them had made it to Ever Grande, including him. Talent beat riches any day of the week there.

Rain started falling as Keith walked up the garden path, and he thanked arceus that Jane's family had a small roof to shelter under at their front door. He rang the bell.

The door opened, revealing Jane herself, carrying a bowl of something with lots of vegetables. "Hi," she said, trying to look around Keith as he returned the greeting. "Come in."

Jane led him to the living room; warm, comfortable, two of Jane's Pokémon lying on the rug. "Your parents let you keep Pokémon out in the house?"

"Yeah?" Jane appeared confused as her houndour padded over to Keith, sniffing the hand he lowered as they sat down. The plusle remained where she was. "Your Mum doesn't?"

Keith shook his head. "No. Not even sableye." Not that he hadn't sent sableye or staryu out after his mother went to bed before. "You mind..."

"Go ahead," Jane said, and so Keith did. Sableye was happy to be out, and took a seat on the arm of Keith's chair.

Keith waited for Jane to finish her food, instead looking around the room. He'd never been here before, but he liked it. Tons of pictures and paintings hung on the walls, most of the pictures featuring Jane and her older brother, and the occasional Pokémon. The picture nearest Keith looked newest: it was Jane in Professor Birch's laboratory, smiling as she carried her torchic in her arms. She hadn't really changed much since: still the same long brown hair, same face, same smile…

A bowl being set on a coffee table broke his train of thought, and Keith saw Jane look at him, head slightly cocked. His face warmed up a bit. "Where are your parents and brother? Yule's only in three days."

Jane sighed deeply. "Work. Mum should be coming home soon, Dad's got a shift until midnight." She looked at the wall, and Keith followed her eyes to a picture of Jane's parents standing in front of Petalburg hospital, wearing their work clothing. "Justin's going around with presents for Yule. Like you are."

Keith plunged his hand into the bag, quickly locating the smallest box there. "You're right on that. Here. I hope you'll like it."

Jane accepted the tightly-wrapped gift, giving it a quick look before placing it in her lap. "I will, and I'm sorry I can't give you yours. Justin has it."

"Then I'll wait, and see what you got me. Waiting's half the fun, right?"

~~§~~§~~

Jirachi his parent's cooking was great. It normally was, but they had really gone all-out for the Yule dinner now that both Birch siblings were home again. "Thanks Mom," Max heard his sister say from his left. "I think I won't have to eat for a week now."

"You did have three servings," his father said, a twinkle in his eye, "as did Max, and I don't know where you put it all." A chair scraped over the wooden floor. "Let's get all of this in the kitchen. Max, it's your turn to help your mother with the dishes, and May, I need you in the greenhouse for the Pokémon."

Fifteen minutes later, after all of the leftovers had been collected and stored, Max stared at the mountain of dishes and pots awaiting them. "Why didn't you ever buy a dishwasher?" he complained half-heartedly.

His mother laughed as she fiddled with the taps. "Never felt the need to. It's only this bad a couple times a year." She slid a few plates and most of the cutlery in. "You want to do or dry the dishes?"

"I'll do them." The less he moved the better. He still felt a bit bloated from eating too much, but it had been so good.

They laboured in silence for a while. "So," his mother said as Max finished scrubbing a casserole dish, "are you excited to go to Kalos?"

"Uhuh. Lots of cool Pokémon there, and it's even got two Conferences a year. One's in May, and one's in November. No Contests though. Instead, they have Pokémon Showcases, and it's not just about your Pokémon, but about presenting yourself as well."

"Sounds like something you're probably not going to do," his mother teased. "My not-so-little battle-happy son."

"Well, it's only for girls, but I wouldn't want to do it anyway," Max agreed, ignoring the blush on his face. "Give me the chaos of battle any day."

"Chaos?" his father broke in, opening a cupboard near Max to put the Pokémon food away. "That's not something I saw in your battles. You seemed to want to control it like I do. Set the pace."

"And I told you Dad, I just do what I think is the best thing to do," Max replied. "Blame yourself if you think I stole that from you."

A hand gripped his shoulder, and Max turned his head, seeing his Dad send him a look of disapproval before schooling his features into something more neutral. "There's no such thing as stealing a style. That's called 'inspiration', and unlike in Contests, it doesn't matter if you're repetitive." He broke into a small grin. "Besides, it got you quite far, so keep it up."

Max was certainly planning to.

An hour or so later, Max was up in his room, all the presents he received laid out on his bed. All of his family's gifts had been practical: a new pokéball belt; a new backpack; a coupon for the Holo Caster; clothes, that sort of stuff. The Professor had given him a subscription to one of the Pokémon research magazines, which was way cool, but it really didn't hold a candle to what he got from his friends, and in particular, Keith and Jane.

Both of them had run with the ralts story. Keith had given him a small glass figurine, maybe three inches high, of a ralts, carefully painted in the right colours, down to the smallest detail. Max wondered if Keith had painted it himself, vaguely recalling his classmate being great with fine motor work like that. Jane's present was a drawing of Max's face wearing a ralts hoodie, the Feeling Pokémon's front horn and bowl cut casting a hint of a shadow over drawn-Max's glasses. It was a beautiful thing, and Max's gift for Jane – a sketching set – felt almost inadequate. His gift for Keith definitely was, because he hadn't known what to give. He'd gone for a new pokéball belt as well, having noticed that Keith's looked decidedly second-hand.

Someone knocked on his open door, and Max heard, and saw, May walk up to him. "You should really buy a frame for that. It's gorgeous."

"Dad said he had a frame in the attic and he'd get it out tomorrow," Max replied as he got up, swiping the figurine and placing it on his desk. "And yeah, it's beautiful."

May closed the door. "So. How much trouble did you get into this year? Stuff you didn't tell the rest of the family over lunch."

"Trouble?"

"The stuff we never told Mom and Dad about."

Oh, right. That sort of trouble. "I may have skipped the details of how Danny got his masquerain." And of how Max got vulpix, or that raid with Ash. "Some poacher decided he wanted to capture some of the masquerain, we were close and you can probably guess the rest." He shrugged. "Fairly tame, I know, but not something you just tell."

"No Legendaries?"

"None," Max confirmed. "Kind of boring, actually. Did have the whole Pokémon rampage thing once, but I told you about that already. You meet any in Johto?"

"No. Seems we can't find any without Ash." May smiled fondly. "If nothing else, he was good for seeing Legendaries."

"And a lot of trouble. I kind of missed that. Kept us on our toes, and it always worked out in the end. Somehow."

~~§~~§~~

As he had done the past two years, Danny spent the day after the Yule feast at his uncle's laboratory while his parents visited friends. None of their friends had children anywhere near Danny's age – the oldest was seven this year, he thought – and spending time with his uncle just felt better, and it was more fun as well. "Anything that really needs to be done?" Danny asked after they had exchanged a hug. Behind him, his father's alakazam Teleported back to Petalburg.

"It's feeding time, so let's go outside and feed some Pokémon."

Danny was okay with that, but the food his uncle was loading into the back of his jeep made him wonder where they were going. "What type is this for?"

"We're going to the Rock and Steel-type area today," his uncle told him. "It's Andreas's turn to do that, but he's taking care of some injured Pokémon. Territorial Bugs," he added with a shrug, as if it explained everything. "So we are just doing that."

The main group of Rock-types was just under ten minutes out by car, or five minutes by Birch jeep. Danny was very glad that the car had top-notch seatbelts and locks, or something would have bounced out at some point. He wasn't sure if it would be him or the food in the boot.

They made it to the general area in one piece, and the first thing Danny heard when they exited the car was a rather loud and angry roar from their right. "Oh, please tell me it's not that time," his uncle pleaded. A second roar followed the first. "Apparently, it is." His uncle sighed, unclipping two pokéballs and tossing one to Danny, who caught it without a problem. "That's swampert. Just send him out when we get close, and follow my lead."

The noise was the result of two tyranitar posturing at each other near a cave, about two minutes of walking away. The armoured Pokémon didn't appear to notice the newcomers, instead roaring again, and one of them moved forward. The other didn't step back, and a hint of orange built up in its mouth. "That's enough. Machamp, go!" Professor Birch ordered, and Danny hastily threw his pokéball as far as he could. "Focus Punch!"

"Ice Beam!"

The Focus Punch stopped the Hyper Beam from forming, and the Ice Beam made sure the other tyranitar didn't jump in. Both of them were glaring murderously, but machamp started wrestling one away, and the other didn't even attempt to follow after breaking its feet out of the ice. It still looked angry, but tyranitar always did. "Trouble averted. I'll go get the food. You stay here."

His uncle left, leaving Danny with machamp, swampert, and the relatively docile tyranitar. The Armor Pokémon paid Danny no heed, giving the teen a chance to study the rare Pokémon up close, Its skin was pockmarked, scars criss-crossing its scaled belly, and both of the holes on its left leg were jagged around the edges. It had battled hard, and often, to be marked like that: tyranitar were some of the sturdiest Pokémon around.

It suddenly slammed its tail into the ground twice, and swampert instantly formed the start of an Ice Beam, but let it fade once the tyranitar made no hostile move whatsoever, instead continuing to ignore everyone else.

Then a second tyranitar walked out of the nearby cave, and Danny noticed something on its shoulders.

Larvitar. Two tiny larvitar, maybe a foot tall if that. They clung on as the second tyranitar lumbered in Danny's direction, stopping next to the first tyranitar and assuming the same sitting position as it. Both tyranitar then started… crooning?

"Amazing," Danny's uncle said from behind him, making Danny jump. He had not heard his uncle coming. "So that's why she wasn't here. I'll have to call Sidney about this."

"Sidney?" Danny echoed, confused.

"They're his tyranitar, and he's been adamant about breeding some larvitar. Looks like his patience paid off. Now come," his uncle told him, grabbing Danny's shoulder, "we've got food to give out and pictures to make."

An hour later, they were back in the laboratory. His uncle walked over to one of the computers, plugging the camera in. "What's going to happen to the larvitar?" Danny wondered.

"I think Sidney has some family who might take care of them until his nephew and nieces are old enough to maybe want them," his uncle answered, opening a drawer in the desk. "Here, catch." Danny caught the small rectangular object with ease, and found it to be a pocket Trainer's Guide to Kalos. "Came in last night. Has all the usual information."

"Cool!" Danny said, checking the table of contents. Cities, Gyms, common Pokémon, history, traditions… Everything was there. "Have you ever been to Kalos, uncle?" he asked as he flipped to the part on Lumiose City, where they'd be landing.

The Professor lazily stretched in his seat, turning around. "A few times for scientific conferences, but never really stayed long. If you could catch some common Kalos Pokémon..." he trailed off, winking. "There's about six of them at the lab at most, and three of them are vivilion."

"And the other three?"

"Sylveon and two of the starter evolutions, but they're not here right now," his uncle told him, getting up from his chair. "You'll have to tell Sycamore if they're for me, so he can transfer ownership."

"Oh, right, can't send Pokémon here directly," Danny said, remembering something about that. "Where can we find Professor Sycamore?"

"Lumiose," came the dry reply. "Pretty much everything important can be found there, with exceptions." The adult let out a sigh, getting up and clasping Danny's shoulder. "It's a gorgeous city, by day and night, and far larger than anything you're used to. They also have amazing fireworks at New Year's."

"So don't leave Lumiose until next year?"

"You could spend a week and still only have seen half of everything tourists go there for."

~~§~~§~~

Whichever idiot thought seven o'clock in the morning was a good time to start boarding should think again, Alice thought as she yawned in the unheated waiting room. Her twin brother Paul was attempting to catch some more sleep on a nearby chair, and her friend Linda was nursing a cup of coffee. It smelled great, but Alice knew she shouldn't fall for that: it tasted terrible.

They were waiting for the sign to board a boat on a trip that would take them to Vermillion City in Kanto: a trip that would take the better part of three days. First they'd have to go to Littleroot, and then tomorrow, on the 29th of December, they'd leave for Vermillion itself. They could also have gone to Pallet Town, but then they would either leave in the new year, or they would have had to leave home on Yule, just to catch one of the boats to Littleroot. Vermillion also had a Gym, meaning Paul and Linda were all for going there.

Alice wondered what Kanto was like. Colder than Hoenn, probably. Maybe she'd see actual snow for once: she heard there was a cold front over the region right now. Hoenn was always so warm, and you had to go out of your way to see snow. "Hey Linda, does it snow in Unova?"

"Yeah," Linda said. "There's this big area in the north-west that's always frozen in winter, and there's tons of snow there. Makes travellin' and workin' outside hard, my Da says, and he's happy he moved to Castelia with Mom. It only gets snow if it's really cold, but there's some every winter." The Unovan teen smiled at Alice. "You never seen snow?"

Alice's reply was stopped by the speaker crackling to life. "Passengers for the 7:30 ferry to Littleroot can now start boarding. Please keep tickets ready."

Alice woke Paul, and together, they found a corner of the luggage area to drop their backpacks off in. Paul immediately went deeper into the ferry, intent on seeking breakfast, but Alice joined Linda in walking up to the deck.

Grey as far as the eye could see greeted them, but the sea was fairly quiet, unlike the return journey from Ever Grande. "What's it like? Goin' to a different region, I mean."

Linda took a few moments to answer Alice's question. "Weird, but fun, excitin', and cool, all at the same time. It's easier than I thought to understand all of ya, too. I'm sure we'll find our way in Kanto without a problem, and if there is one, we can just ask for help somewhere. Not like we don't know people, and Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy are always helpin' trainers like us."

Alice stayed silent, thinking, staring out into the grey ahead of her without seeing it, until a hand on her shoulder made her jump. It was Paul, carrying a few sandwiches. "Thought you might want so-ome," he said, voice cracking, making him blush and sending the girls into giggles. "Sodding hell," Paul added, and the higher pitch did little to stop the giggles.

"Don't worry Paul," Alice said, throwing an arm around him and giving him a quick hug, "you're still my big brother." She winked at Linda, who was standing behind the two. "Even if you sound like my little sister."

"Hey!"

~~§~~§~~

Gregory's alakazam delivered all of them to the Mauville Airport entrance, far away from everyone else. Norman enjoyed the look on his son's face: the last time they had taken a plane, Max had been only three, and he didn't remember that. May did, but she was sulking because of having to get up early. Teenagers and their sleeping habits…

The group, minus the returned alakazam, found their way inside. For nine in the morning in the Yule holiday season, it was busy, though that still meant only four of the nine desks were manned, without too much of a queue. "Well, my lads, there she is," Gregory spoke up, leading them to the side. "The plane that'll take you to Kalos."

"Actually, Dad, that's an Alolan plane," Danny said, pointing at something. Norman followed the imaginary line his finger made. "See the company? Alola Air?"

Norman had no doubt Gregory knew that, nor did he doubt Danny knew his father knew. That apple didn't fall far from the tree at all, but he also knew that underneath the joking exteriors were two loyal hearts. "I'm certain you'll find the plane soon enough, and boarding is not for another hour and fifty minutes in any case. You have plenty of time." He spotted a new check-in desk opening. "Come, let's get you checked in."

After the boys had been relieved of their luggage, except for a small bag slung over the shoulder each, all of them walked back to the wall-sized window. "Is that it?" Max wondered, spotting a Kalos Airline plane taxiing on the runway. "It's smaller than the Alolan one."

"Ah," Gregory broke in, "but the Alolan airplane is one of the biggest ever produced, seating over 500 people. This one has a capacity closer to 275 people, but it is every bit as impressive an engineering feat as any other plane. Did you know this build can also be converted to a cargo plane?"

Norman hid a smile when Danny interrupted his father, calling him out on having read that the night before, and he didn't even try to hide it when Max not-so-innocently wondered if that had been the reason why Gregory had been the last one to get ready for leaving, just half an hour back.

Arceus he would miss his son's remarks. He had definitely grown used to hearing them in the past month, and even before that, during their many calls. There wouldn't be as many now: Kalos was eight hours behind Hoenn, meaning that calling had a limited window in which both of them were actually awake, unless one of them wanted to start burning the midnight oil. Norman wasn't inclined to do that, even if Max was. "Come. Let's drop these two miscreants off at security. Maybe they will know what to do with them," he offered, interrupting the light banter that had been going on.

"Capital idea. Lead on!" Gregory said, grabbing Danny by the back of his coat, lightly.

All too soon, they were at the barriers that forbade the family entry, but would let the pre-teens through, and the farewells began. May and Max exchanged a snarky comment or two, referencing something Norman didn't understand. Nor did he care to understand it, for that matter. Some things parents didn't need to know. Caroline did a brief hug and a long shared look in silence, and then it was Norman's turn. He held out a hand, and Max took it immediately, grip nice and strong. "Best of luck, son. Go show those Kalosians what Hoenn Trainers can do."

"Will definitely do." His son let go. "Call tomorrow?"

"Call whenever you'd like."

His son gave a nod before turning around, poking Danny in the shoulder. They exchanged a final few words of farewell, and stepped forward.

Ten minutes later, Norman and Gregory were waiting for their orders in one of the airport coffeehouses. The others were in charge of finding seats for five, which was easier said than done when most tables sat two or four without movable chairs. "So, Norman," Gregory started, "how far will our sons go this time? Kalos's Conferences only accept 128 per half a year, so a good result could be truly excellent."

"I honestly don't know. Not because I don't want to fall into the trap of high expectations," he added quickly, seeing Gregory look at him weirdly, "but because I'm not sure where their limits are." He sighed deeply. "The last month has been eye-opening, to say the least."

"You did beat both of them in battle."

"For now. Come another year, that could actually be hard." Norman shook his head slowly. "And for now, I'm not sure whether that will make me unfathomably happy, or a little sad."

"The two aren't mutually exclusive, my friend. All the best tales contain both, in varying amounts." The stage manager wanted to say more, but it was interrupted by a call from the bar. "Ah, coffee. Danny was right, you know. I did stay up too late for that information. I trust you won't tell him or Max?"

"Of course not. Us old folk need to have some secrets still."

~~§~~§~~

Two men and a gardevoir materialised in a remote location on an already remote island. Several Pokémon lounging nearby looked up, but most of them ignored the duo once they saw who had arrived. One flew over, and was rewarded with a hand under its chin. "The die is cast now. I look forward to seeing what comes of it," said one of the men, the one whose hand wasn't preoccupied. "Thank you, noble gardevoir. You can leave now."

The Psychic-type left with a soft expression of gratitude before vanishing, Teleporting halfway across the region to her Trainer. "What we did," the other, slightly taller, man said, "is something I am at once reluctant and hopeful about. Politicians, other prominent figures, a select few chief among them, will have my head if the particulars of this mission see the light of day, yet I now believe as you do that it was the right thing to do despite its drawbacks."

"Sometimes, the only way to move forward is to tread outside what is acceptable, and accept what must be done." Both men sat down as the floating Pokémon went and rejoined its family. "Both of us know those rumblings cannot be ignored. There have been too many incidents in the past five years."

"Yes," came simple agreement. "Would it that everyone stuck to poaching plans, rather than grand schemes. It would make our lives less stressful."

"Quite."

Silence fell, and the shorter man retreated into thought. Five years ago, when he first rose to this particular position, he would have balked at what he had done just now. Myriad events had opened his eyes to this possibility, and even though even he had minor doubts, he did feel they made the right choice in the end. And if diplomatic fallout was the trade-off for avoiding global peril, then he would bear that burden. Gladly.

~~§~~§~~

Many tales make up the Pokémon world, and only a minuscule minority of them ever include conflict on a scale that exceeds the Pokémon and their Trainer in scope. On December 28th, at around noon Hoenn Standard Time, it was no different.

In a Petalburg ice-cream parlour, two teenagers met to discuss their upcoming travels to Kalos, and the fact that their friends were leaving for it already. One of them was a tiny bit distracted, but his friend didn't notice.

Ten miles north of Rustboro, a Gym Leader walked up the drive, noting that the well-trimmed hedges were slightly less full than the last time he had been there. He carried a briefcase, writings outlining the findings his client had asked him to present held within.

On route 107, a ferry adjusted its course by thirty degrees north over the span of several minutes. On board, a brother, a sister, and their friend, sat down for lunch, eagerly discussing what would await them in Kanto, just two days onward.

In Kanto, at an undisclosed location only a few were aware of, a trio listened. Their time away from their previous pursuits had caused them to rise in stature, and they were rewarded for it now. Come the next year, they would be thousands of miles away, expanding infrastructure in a new region.

Just outside Pallet Town, also in Kanto, a teenager sent out two Pokémon. One was one of his oldest friends, having been with him for nearly five years already, while the other was his newest Pokémon, white fur gleaming in contrast to the mottled green of his opponent. Without delay, they sprang into battle.

Inside a laboratory, hidden underneath a respectable veneer of capitalism, a proud man read the newest message he had been sent in the dead of night. His heart lifted as he did so, for the easiest, yet hardest, part of his endeavour had been completed.

Inside another laboratory, this one in Littleroot, a Professor had no time to think about anything else but taking care of the wounded cubone that had been brought to his place. Tersely, he instructed his assistant to go fetch the newest member of Hoenn's Elite Four and a Nurse Joy, tossing a claydol's pokéball over. This was beyond his considerable expertise.

Guards in a hidden jail reported nothing new about their once-escaped prisoner. The ritual had been the same for over three months: a litany of curses and threats, followed by delusional begging and praying to a Lady, with the occasional insane ramblings interspersed. However the man had once got away, nobody knew.

At Mauville Airport's observation deck, two families stood side-by-side, watching as a plane finished taxiing to the runway. Their emotions were mixed, though pride shone brightest, as it had done only nine months back for four of them. In that time, so much had changed, yet the sorrowful joy of watching their children leave on their journey remained the same. The sole teenager there felt similar, albeit without the frame of reference.

A freshly repainted lorry pulled into a Slateport parking lot, en-route to one of the many islands of Hoenn's south-eastern region. Supplies had been asked for, and this was the easiest way to transport them. With any luck, the driver thought, this would be the breakthrough needed.

Inside the plane, a pair of pre-teens looked at each other as they felt their bodies start to be impacted by increasing acceleration. Both of them felt the same excitement of going off to a new region, and the same sadness of having to leave family behind. They'd get through that, together. It wasn't anything that they hadn't done before, and above all, they were Trainers. They were meant to travel the world, to encounter new and exciting Pokémon. It was the only way to sate their wanderlust.

It was right.

FIN

~~§~~§~~§~~§~~

My Lord,

We have found Project Y, hidden inside caverns north-west of Location 21. We dare not detach the cocoon from the ground, but X-ray work has revealed it is only lightly rooted. Segmenting a slab of rock should be of no issue if we so need.

Project X remains to be found, although we have increased our manpower at Location 21, pursuant to your Directive XIV.

Beauty above all!

Author's Note: And thus it ends. This book, at least. The first chapter of the sequel will go up alongside this chapter, though it'll also be the last chapter for a while. My buffer is spent right now, and I want to rebuild it. Most of the first arc has been plotted out, but the actual writing takes time. If you want to know when the next update comes out, swing by Evolving Stratagems and put it on alert.

There is absolutely nothing strange going on in this chapter, by the way. No sir/madam, nothing at all. Ignore any evidence to the contrary.