Gabby and Ty were driving in their van. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, it was more like Gabby was raging behind the wheel while driving probably double the speed limit.

The reason she was so mad was because today she had yet another great scoop. She had found some of those Team Aqua guys doing illegal things, so this was a perfect opportunity to spread the word.

But unfortunately, when they sent the news in for review, they got a message from the higher-ups telling them the story clearly wouldn’t sell and that they should find something else instead. After months of hearing the same thing over and over, Gabby had finally had enough.

She dragged Ty with her, got in their van, took the wheel, and started driving toward the Lilycove station, where they knew the Boss was attending a meeting.

"The chief better have a GOOD explanation for this!" Gabby snapped, gripping the wheel hard enough that Ty worried she might rip it off.

Ty, meanwhile, held onto his seatbelt and tried not to faint from how recklessly they were driving. Not only did he hate sitting here, but he also wasn’t looking forward to the upcoming conversation. Still, he knew Gabby would never let this go.

Gabby kept muttering angrily under her breath the entire time, "Months of this...every single Aqua story gets buried...meanwhile, they’ll run a twenty-minute segment about a Wingull stealing someone’s sandwich..."

Ty nervously laughed, "Heh...maybe the sandwich was really good?"

Gabby shot him a look so sharp that he immediately straightened in his seat, "Ty."

"Right! This is serious!" Ty gulped.

But just then, a flash of orange light blasted across the road ahead of them, and the sudden brightness in the dark caused Gabby to instinctively shut her eyes.

"WOAH!" Gabby yanked the wheel hard.

The van screeched violently as it fishtailed sideways across the street before barely stopping short of the curb.

Ty slammed face-first into the dashboard, "Owww..."

Then another distant boom echoed through the night.

Gabby blinked, "...What the heck was that?"

Ty slowly lifted his head, "I...I think it came from the TV station parking lot..."

Another flash lit up the night sky, but this one was followed by a burst of steam rolling upward into the air.

Gabby’s reporter instincts immediately kicked in, "No way."

She was about to start the van again when Ty suddenly grabbed her arm, "Wait!"

Before Gabby could question him, Ty carefully cracked the van door open and stepped outside.

"Ty?" Gabby whispered.

But Ty immediately crouched behind some nearby bushes and frantically gestured for her to get down.

Now confused, Gabby turned off the van and quietly joined him. The two of them slowly peeked through the bushes toward the parking lot.

There, they saw the entire lot covered in thick steam. The orange flashes were coming from fire, and they heard the voices of two men yelling through the mist.

"HOUNDOOOOM!"

"WALREIN!"

The steam blasted apart as the two Pokémon clashed, flipping a car over in the parking lot. Now that the steam had cleared, they could finally see who was commanding them.

Gabby’s eyes widened as she recognized one of them, "Chief?"

Archie stood there calmly, his suit jacket fluttering slightly from the force of the attacks, with his Walrein positioned protectively in front of him.

Meanwhile, across from him, Ty called out, "A man in a red and black uniform!"

Since they were basically forced to only investigate Team Magma, they were well aware of the ’team in red uniforms’ and all the evil things they’d been doing around Hoenn.

Before they could continue trying to figure out what was going on, the two men raised their hands again.

"Houndoom, [Fire Blast]!" Maxie commanded.

"[Hydro Pump]," Archie countered.

The attacks collided again with a deafening BOOM that shook the parking lot, causing steam to explode outward.

Gabby quickly covered her mouth to stop herself from gasping too loudly, while Ty tried to make sure she didn’t speak too loudly and expose them.

As the steam finally cleared again, Archie and Maxie stood facing one another. Archie had to admit that Maxie was holding his own surprisingly well despite the type disadvantage.

The reason was simple: Team Magma specialized in raw power, and they had dedicated so much time to learning how to fight Water-types that they could battle Team Aqua on nearly equal footing despite the disadvantage.

Not that Archie minded. In a weird way, he and Maxie had developed a sort of co-dependence. Despite being the leaders of opposing evil teams, Archie had to admit that if he had to call anyone on the planet a friend, Maxie would probably be the closest thing.

As he focused back on the battle, Walrein was launched backward by Houndoom once again and crashed into a car, tearing the roof clean off.

Archie frowned and looked down, "I give up," he said slowly.

But then he suddenly flipped his arm upward, and Walrein jumped back to its feet, "Ha! That’s what you wanted me to say, isn’t it? Too bad. Walrein’s Ability is Thick Fat, so your fire is useless."

Maxie narrowed his eyes before calmly adjusting his glasses and raising his hands in mock surrender.

"Look, Archie," he said with a smirk, "you know we have that submarine, don’t you?"

This time, Archie frowned for real. He’d expected to keep fighting, not start talking, "...Yeah?"

Maxie continued, "But Team Aqua has the special device we need to use the submarine’s full potential."

"Yes," Archie confirmed, wondering where this was going.

Maxie began pacing back and forth.

"On the other hand, that special device is useless to Team Aqua by itself."

"You have a point there..." Archie admitted.

Maxie stopped pacing and looked directly at him.

"Both you and I want to go to the Seafloor Cavern, and neither of us can do it alone."

Archie narrowed his eyes, "What are you getting at?"

Maxie stepped closer, "I’m suggesting a temporary ceasefire. Just long enough for us to travel to the bottom of the sea aboard the Submarine Explorer."

"Of course, we both know we’ll start fighting again the moment we get there," Maxie said with a shrug. There was no point pretending otherwise. Permanent peace between the two of them would never happen.

Archie stood there for a moment, thinking it over. Honestly, it made sense. Though it also felt like Maxie wasn’t telling him everything.

Then again...Archie wasn’t telling him everything either.

Finally, Archie nodded, "Deal." He returned Walrein to its Poké Ball.

"Good choice. I’d hate for us to actually start trying," Maxie replied, recalling Houndoom as well.

They both knew neither of them had been fighting at full power. If they had, there was a good chance they could’ve destroyed the city.

Archie glanced at the shattered window of his car before pulling out the broken horn and tossing it back to Maxie.

"Well, there’s a hole in my window now, but do you need a ride? We’ve got more to talk about. I know a bar that serves that sissy alcohol you drink."

Maxie, never one to turn down free drinks, calmly walked over and entered the passenger seat, while Archie climbed into the driver’s seat after pushing the broken glass out of the way. Then he started the car and drove off into the night.

Meanwhile, Gabby and Ty had heard everything.

Gabby nearly jumped out to demand answers from Archie, but Ty managed to grab her and cover her mouth before she exposed them.

Only once the car disappeared into the darkness did Ty finally let go.

Gabby dropped to her knees, staring at the ground in shock, "This can’t be happening..."

Then she looked up at Ty, "The chief made some kind of deal with that man...and he has the device Team Aqua stole...that must mean..."

They both realized it at the same time.

Suddenly, everything made sense. What happened to President Stone in Petalburg City. Mt. Chimney. All the stories that never made it to the news. Archie had been covering all of it up.

Gabby immediately jumped back to her feet and grabbed Ty, "Come on! We need to follow them! Maybe we can get more information at the TV station too!"

But this time, Ty pulled her back, gripping her shoulders firmly, "Those are both terrible plans! Let’s say we do catch up to them, what exactly are we supposed to do then? You saw that battle! We can’t beat them, and they’ll definitely get rid of us if they find out we know the truth!"

Then he pointed toward the TV station, "And going back there might be even more dangerous. If he’s powerful enough to become the chief of Hoenn TV and control the media, then there’s a good chance there are others at the station working for Team Aqua too. Going back means walking in blind without knowing who we can trust!"

Gabby pulled herself free and grabbed Ty’s wrists, "But we can’t just do nothing!" she shouted, panic creeping into her voice. This was completely outside her area of expertise.

"First, calm down," Ty said, grabbing her wrist again, "We don’t have anywhere to run, and we definitely don’t have the power to fight him ourselves. But there is still one thing we can do!"

Ty pulled Gabby back toward the van and climbed inside, "And that’s spread the news. We can tell people who actually have the strength and the will to stand up to evil!" Ty explained as he started the engine.

——

{With the gang}

It was the next day, and the sun had risen once again.

After everything that happened the previous night, everyone had slept in. Ash had already made the necessary arrangements for the group: Brendan had a ship ready to take him back to Littleroot, while Ash had bought tickets for the rest of the gang to sail to Purika.

Anyway, after brunch and saying goodbye to Tate and Liza one more time, the gang headed toward the docks to board their ships.

Brendan stretched his arms behind his head with a yawn.

"Man, mornings should be illegal."

"You woke up at noon," Max deadpanned.

"Exactly," Brendan nodded seriously, "Still too early."

May snorted, while Brock walked behind them carrying a sleepy Wally. Unlike everyone else, Brock had dark circles under his eyes, yet somehow he still looked the most energized out of the group.

Ash glanced at him, "Bro, did you even sleep?"

Brock proudly pulled out his phone, "Lucy texted me goodnight at 2 AM."

"...So that’s a no," Ash sighed.

Pikachu and Vee simply stared at Brock while silently considering throwing him into the ocean to cool him off.

Meanwhile, Brendan looked over at everyone, his usual grin softening slightly, "Well...guess this is where we split up for now."

He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "Honestly, traveling with you guys was way more fun than I expected."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Max narrowed his eyes.

"You know exactly what I mean," Brendan shot back with a smirk.

Max gasped dramatically, "I’m being bullied."

"Hey Brendan, don’t bully Max. That’s my job," May said while ruffling Max’s hair.

"Wow..." Max looked at her with betrayal in his eyes, "Betrayed by my own sister."

"As Ash has taught me, it’s my right as the older sibling to bully you," May declared proudly while sticking her tongue out.

Brendan laughed as he walked toward his ship. Before boarding, he waved back at the group.

"Hey May, you better win your contest! And Ash, you better not lose before I get the chance to beat you!"

Ash snorted and saluted from his own boat, "Then I guess I’ll just never lose, since you’re never gonna beat me."

"And I’ll do my best, you’ll see! Oh, and tell Professor Birch we said hi!" May waved back.

Brock carefully set Wally down in a nearby chair, while Wally weakly waved goodbye as well.

"Yo, Wally, you good? Wanna sleep some more?" Ash asked, looking down at their green-haired friend.

"No, no, I’m good," Wally yawned, "Sometimes it just takes me a bit to wake up..." He stretched his back but still didn’t try standing yet.

Not long after everyone boarded, both ships departed in opposite directions. Soon, Mossdeep disappeared behind them, along with Brendan’s ship.

Now they were simply stuck on a cruise ship until they reached the next island.

They found a table on the upper deck where it was mostly empty. There were more people onboard, but most weren’t trainers, so they rarely used the open battle area at the top.

Nearby, Brock continued texting Lucy beneath the table.

Max leaned over his shoulder, trying to peek at the messages, "Are you seriously sending heart emojis?"

"They’re tasteful heart emojis," Brock defended immediately.

"There’s a difference?" Max asked, genuinely confused.

"There absolutely is," Brock replied confidently.

Max immediately started listening closely. Maybe this information would help with his plans later.

Meanwhile, Wally had finally woken up properly and was quietly sitting near the edge of the deck, watching the ocean pass by.

Ash noticed him nervously glancing around every now and then.

"You okay?" Ash asked.

Wally looked up quickly, "Hm? Oh yeah...Sorry."

"Okay. By the way, you haven’t really said much. Are you fine coming with us to May’s contest, or do you wanna go somewhere else?" Ash asked.

"Oh, no, I’m happy to go," Wally quickly explained, "I mean, I’m only missing two badges, but I can always get them later."

Ash nodded, "It’s fine. Don’t worry about it, Wally. We’ve still got plenty of time left, so we might as well have fun along the way."

Wally smiled a little and relaxed further into his chair.

"Besides," Ash added with a grin, "May’s contests are fun. There’s usually explosions, screaming, dramatic speeches, crying, and—"

"ASH!" May immediately yelled.

"What? I’m advertising."

"You make it sound like a disaster zone!"

Ash smirked, "Should I bring up Rubello Town?"

"You...you shut up!" May pointed accusingly at him before huffing dramatically, "Fine! If you’re gonna be like that, I’m gonna go train over there. I need to make sure I’m completely ready!"

May stormed off toward the open practice area of the ship to train with her Pokémon.

Since Ash was supposed to help train her today, he begrudgingly followed after her.

She wasn’t actually upset, though. She’d more or less accepted what happened back then and moved on. Sure, she still thought about it sometimes, but everyone had helped her recover, Ash constantly encouraging and pushing her forward, Brock and Max supporting her, and, ironically enough, Spenser helping quite a lot during their time at the Battle Palace.

Though she was still curious about what Spenser meant when he said he noticed something within her. She’d like to know someday, but it was probably too late now. It was probably something small anyway.

Meanwhile, someone else on the ship had been watching May this whole time, Harley. He’d recognized her immediately from Rubello.

The girl who’d looked so depressed and unmotivated that even he couldn’t find any dirt on her to chea-I mean, totally accidentally expose embarrassing secrets for an easy win.

But now she looked completely different. She was smiling brighter than ever, especially while training with that boy.

And frankly, Harley couldn’t allow that. Because he still remembered what she’d done, not only did she not understand Cacturne, not only did she think Cacturne was scary, not only did she say his cookies were "not half bad"

But there was one more unforgivable offense, something that was worse than all 3 combined. She kind of looked like a girl he knew back in kindergarten, a girl who "stole" his last Octillery hot dog.

Of course, there was absolutely no way that girl was May, considering Harley was in his twenties while May was twelve, but still, completely unforgivable.

Originally, Harley had let things go because May seemed like she’d already lost all motivation before he’d even done anything. That had honestly been weird for him. He was used to crushing people’s spirits himself, not comforting them afterward.

But now? Now she looked happy again. He thought she would’ve given up being a Coordinator after last time, but apparently not.

Which meant Harley needed to prepare a way to crush her again.

Though honestly, even if he didn’t come up with anything special, he was still confident he could beat her.

As he watched May perform a beautiful combination attack with Bulbasaur and Squirtle, petals and ice sparkling together in the sunlight, he saw her jump excitedly before running back toward that same boy in the cap, Ash.

They high-fived, laughing and smiling together. Harley’s eyes locked onto Ash as a grin slowly spread across his face. Looks like he’d found exactly the weakness he needed. The only question now was how to use it. He rubbed his hands together and immediately started planning.

Meanwhile, as May ran back to continue training, Ash glanced over his shoulder and frowned. He knew perfectly well Harley had been watching them, the real question was what Harley wanted.

Ash was about to try following him when May suddenly tugged on his sleeve, "Hey, Ash...can you, y’know, do ’that’ again?" she asked nervously.

Ash immediately looked at her, "What? No! That was a one-time thing!"

"Come on, pleaaase," May begged, clasping her hands together as she stepped closer, "You’re really good at it, and it helps a lot. Just this once, I promise I won’t ask again."

Ash kept backing away while May continued stepping closer until Ash’s back hit the wall and May stood directly in front of him, giving him full puppy-dog eyes.

Ash finally sighed, "Fine, okay. I’ll do ’that.’ Just stop looking at me like that."

May immediately celebrated by giving Ash a quick hug before running back to her spot. Yeah...after spending so much time around Ash, a quick hug like that didn’t even make her blush anymore.

Meanwhile, Harley continued rubbing his hands together so intensely that he didn’t even notice a wild Max suddenly spawned beside him...also rubbing his hands together and watching

The two slowly looked at each other after realizing they were both spying on the same scene. They narrowed their eyes looking back and forth

"I didn’t see you, and you didn’t see me," Harley said.

"Deal," Max replied.

Then, while maintaining direct eye contact, the two of them slowly backed away from each other.