"Fire the laser," a man who went by Professor Lund said, standing behind a glass container.

At his word, his lab assistants activated a machine, directing power into it as it began charging up.

Professor Lund was a scientist who lived in LaRousse City. He specialized in studying phenomena like space and the Aurora Borealis, but unlike the original timeline, he never went to the Arctic, meaning he wasn’t the one who found Deoxys or witnessed the battle.

That also meant his son, Tory, was never traumatized. As of today, he was doing his own thing as a Pokémon Trainer with his trusty Plusle and Minun. In fact, right now he was heading off to another battle in the city’s Battle Tower.

Lund would have loved to go watch his son’s battle, but he had recently come across something that excited him, and it was also a favor. You see, a few years ago, Colress did something for Lund. Of course, Colress wasn’t using his real name at the time, he was going by an alias, but still, he helped him.

Then recently, Colress contacted him and offered him a chance at something big. He had found a newly undiscovered Pokémon, dubbed Deoxys, and needed Lund’s help to study it.

Needless to say, Lund was more than eager to accept. Not long after, he received Deoxys, meanwhile, Colress came along as well to "help," but also to satisfy his own thirst for knowledge. He would have preferred to run his own experiments on the other one, but Sird had once again removed him from that project.

Honestly, he was getting annoyed with her constantly telling him what to do. If he didn’t have such good composure, he might have tried to take her down himself.

However, while he was confident in his strength to overpower her, he needed to keep his cover a secret. On the other hand, the way she acted made Colress suspect she might have a secret up her sleeve.

Whatever, it wasn’t his problem.

He walked up next to Lund just as the laser finished charging. Then it fired, striking Deoxys’s green core. At first, it looked like it didn’t do anything, but the scientists around them seemed very pleased with the result.

The core pulsed faintly, but Deoxys didn’t move or react, still seemingly unconscious.

Professor Lund looked at the readings flying across the monitors as they came in, "Energy absorption confirmed..." he muttered, almost breathless, "Incredible. It’s converting the photon stream directly into cellular restoration."

Meanwhile, Yuko heard the lab’s phone ringing, so she stood up and picked it up, "Excuse me, I’ll see who it is," she said, walking into the other room.

Colress smiled at the results, but if things continued like this, he wanted to collect some extra DNA for his personal stash before anything else happened.

"Professor Lund," Colress said smoothly, "perhaps we should lower the output before proceeding further."

Lund barely glanced at him, "Lower it? We’re on the verge of waking it up."

"That," Colress replied, "is precisely my concern."

Lund laughed lightly, "Oh, come now. It’s restrained. Besides, if your information is accurate, this creature was heavily weakened when it was found."

"Information can become outdated," Colress replied, hands behind his back, "Besides, we are not in a hurry. Why don’t we wrap up for today? After all, I hear your son, Tory, is battling today. Why don’t you go? I’ll handle things here."

That struck a soft spot for Lund. He loved research, but he loved his son more. He sighed, "You’re right. We’re in no hurry. Everyone, shut it down."

As the assistants began powering everything down, Yuko walked back in, looking worried, "Professor, I just got a call from Harmony. She said the hospital is losing power for some reason, and the robots are malfunctioning."

Lund immediately turned to her, alarmed, "What?!" After all, if the hospital lost power, many patients could die.

But just then, the assistants finished shutting off the laser. As it powered down, the green core stopped glowing.

Yuko paused, listening to the phone again, then sighed in relief, "Ah, thank goodness. She says the power is back."

Lund and the other assistants all exhaled, relieved. None of them connected what had just happened to Deoxys. The lab was on the other side of town, and as far as they knew, Deoxys wasn’t an Electric-type, so no one suspected a link.

Well except for Colress. He knew this wasn’t a coincidence. It had something to do with Deoxys, he just didn’t know how yet. And that only excited him more.

One of the assistants spoke up, "Should we go check what caused the hospital’s power loss, just in case?"

Colress nodded immediately, stepping forward, "He’s right. I can handle things here. Why don’t you all go and see what you can find? If you need my help, just call, I’ll do whatever I can."

Lund had no reason not to trust him. After all, Colress was the one who brought Deoxys to him, and he had made a good impression. Lund nodded and began organizing teams to investigate.

Colress moved to a computer and began working. He didn’t even need to pretend, he knew exactly what he was doing, which only added to his credibility. Then, once everyone had left, he smiled and activated a small virus he had planted in the system, looping all the camera feeds so he could act without risk.

With that done, he stood and walked toward the container. Opening it, he stepped into the glass containment chamber. He pulled out several syringes and began filling three large ones with Deoxys’s DNA.

What he didn’t notice, however, was that near the door to the chamber, a single small cell had slipped inside and was now hiding in the shadows.

Once Colress had what he needed, he stepped back and turned, walking out and immediately sealing the container behind him. The looped video would continue for another minute, so he left without fear, exiting the lab.

He needed to store these somewhere safe so he could use them later, and in fact, he already had a plan in mind for one of them.

As he walked out, the metal door of the lab sliding shut behind him, the single cell that had slipped into the container began to move. It slithered up toward where Deoxys was being held, climbing all the way to its core.

The moment it reached it, it merged. And for just a second, the green core turned red. Then it slowly faded back to green.

No one was around to see the change. Oh, but there was a change. Now, it was only a matter of time.

—

{In Fortree City}

It was the next day after the battle, and everyone was enjoying the final day of the Feather Carnival. Of course, Ash’s group, Winona, and Flannery were off doing their own things.

When night fell, Flannery said goodbye to Winona and headed out. She texted Ash, and he sent Abby to take her home, so everything wrapped up without any problems.

Then there was Molly.

Since it was the weekend, Delia said Molly could stay with Ash for another night, and Molly was more than happy, she missed him whenever he was away. So after one more night, everyone was getting ready to head out.

Ash was fixing Molly’s jacket, adjusting it carefully, then trying to pack her bag with all the plushies he’d won for her. It was a lost cause.

"I’ll just send them with Abby later," he muttered.

Meanwhile, everyone else was preparing to leave. They had already decided their next stop would be Lilycove City, after that, they’d figure things out.

Ash moved on to Molly’s hair, braiding it while she played with Pikachu and Vee.

May peeked in from the doorway, leaning against the frame as she watched, "You’re weirdly good at that."

Ash didn’t even look up, "Green," he said flatly.

"You know what, that actually makes sense," May replied immediately.

Max, who had finished packing ages ago, wandered over and dropped into a chair with a loud sigh. He leaned back, watching Ash braid Molly’s hair like this was somehow completely normal. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"You seriously know how to do, like, everything," Max said.

Ash tied off the braid neatly, "Not true."

"You can cook, battle, camp, fix machines, sew clothes, braid hair—"

"I can’t sing," Ash said.

Pikachu immediately looked at him, knowing full well he was lying, "Pika."

May snorted, "Wow. Even Pikachu called you out."

Ash ignored them and turned Molly slightly to inspect the braid, "There."

Molly beamed, hugging Pikachu with one arm while trying to look at her hair at the same time, "It looks pretty!"

"Mmhm." Ash patted her head, then reached into his bag and pulled out an envelope, the one with the all-expenses-paid trip to Lavaridge that Flannery had given him. He handed it to Molly.

"Can you do me a favor?" Ash asked.

Molly nodded immediately, "Yep!"

"Give this to Mom when you get home," he said. Then he grinned and put a finger over his lips, "It’s a surprise."

Molly’s eyes widened dramatically, like he had just entrusted her with state secrets, "A surprise..." she whispered.

"Top secret mission," Ash added, completely serious.

"I WON’T FAIL!" she saluted, then grabbed the envelope with both hands and carefully shoved it into her little bag between two plushies.

Ash chuckled and tried one more time to close the bag. He failed, one of the oversized Skitty plushies immediately popped back out.

He sighed, "Okay, that’s staying out."

Molly hugged the plush tighter, "She gets lonely."

"Right." Ash chuckled, ruffling her hair again.

At the table, Max rested his chin in his hand, watching the disaster unfold, "You know, normal people probably wouldn’t let a six-year-old pack twelve plushies,"

"Counterpoint," Ash said, grabbing another bag, "I’m not carrying them, Abby is. Also, I don’t think you have any room to talk. Molly is one year younger than you."

Max huffed and quickly looked away.

May leaned out from the doorway again. Seeing Brock busy with his own bag, she looked over at Ash, "Hey, Ash, can you come here for a second?"

Ash glanced over, "What?"

"I think this thing is broken or stuck or something." May nudged her bag with her foot, "The zipper won’t move."

"It’s because you packed your entire room into it again," Max said immediately.

"I did not."

"You packed three pairs of the same shoes,"

"They’re for different outfits!" May shot back defensively.

"Alright, alright, give me a sec," Ash said, standing up and patting Molly’s head, "Give me a second." Then he walked over to help May with her bag.

That left Molly and Max alone.

Well...mostly. Pikachu and Vee were sitting there too, but they weren’t exactly participating.

Max watched Ash disappear into May’s room and gave a small, satisfied nod. Then he looked back at Molly, who was already looking at him.

"...So," Max started casually.

"...So," Molly replied just as casually.

They stared at each other for a moment, like they were both plotting something.

Max leaned forward slightly, "You like Ash a lot, huh?"

Molly immediately narrowed her eyes just a bit, "Obviously," she said, "He’s my big brother."

Max nodded slowly, like this was very important information.

"I call him big bro sometimes too," he said.

Molly gasped dramatically and clutched the Skitty plush tighter, as if preparing to throw it, "There can only be one."

"I said sometimes."

"Oh." Molly relaxed, "Okay."

Pikachu glanced back and forth between them, while Vee trotted over with some leftover candy popcorn from yesterday, dragging it toward him. The two Pokémon sat side by side, quietly watching the exchange like it was a TV drama.

Max adjusted slightly in his chair, folding his arms like he was preparing for very serious negotiations.

Molly mirrored him immediately, still hugging the giant Skitty plush like a shield.

Max cleared his throat, "Hypothetically."

Molly narrowed her eyes instantly, "Hypothetically what?"

"Right," Max admitted, "But, hypothetically...if Ash and May got together someday..."

Molly immediately narrowed her eyes further, like she was trying to glare straight through him, and the look made Max shiver slightly.

Molly slowly set the Skitty plush in her lap.

"You’ve been planning this the whole time," she said quietly.

Max froze, "I don’t know what you mean," he said quickly, lying immediately.

Pikachu actually paused mid-chew like this was some massive plot twist, while Vee looked delighted, closing Pikachu’s mouth with his tail and eating the popcorn faster.

Molly pointed dramatically at Max, "You keep trying to leave them alone together."

Since last night, Max had tried to convince Molly to go on rides with him, but she refused. She’d rather stay with her big brother, which completely ruined Max’s plans. At first, he thought she was just being stubborn.

"That proves nothing," Max insisted, "And how would you even know what I meant anyway?" he added, like he wasn’t only one year older than her.

Molly leaned back in her chair and pointed at her head smugly, "I’m smart."

Max squinted at her suspiciously, "You don’t look smart."

Molly gasped like he had just insulted her entire bloodline.

"I am smart," she declared proudly, "Daddy was a professor."

"Just, hypothetically," Max said quickly, holding up a hand, "If they, you know...got closer..."

Molly’s expression instantly shifted into a knowing squint, "You want him as your brother."

Max flinched, "No," he said so fast his voice cracked.

"You do."

"I don’t."

"You literally just thought about it."

"I did not—!"

"You did," Molly said, pointing at him again, "You got that look."

"What look?!"

"That look!" Molly said like it was obvious, "The ’this would be perfect’ look!"

Max looked genuinely offended, "I do not have a look."

"You do."

"I don’t!"

"You’re doing it right now!"

Max immediately froze his face and looked away.

Molly leaned forward again, pointing at him, "There it is again."

"I’m not doing anything!" Max snapped, still refusing to move a single muscle.

"You’re thinking too loud."

"That’s not even a thing—"

"It is for smart people."

Max’s eye twitched.

Across the table, Pikachu leaned slightly toward Vee and whispered, "Pika..."

Vee nodded seriously, mouth full of popcorn. This was getting good.

Max finally dropped the act and leaned forward, lowering his voice like this was classified information, "Okay. Fine."

Molly leaned in too, matching his tone perfectly, "Fine."

Max glanced toward the hallway where Ash had disappeared into May’s room, then back at Molly.

"You already figured it out, didn’t you?"

"Yes," Molly said seriously, "I won’t let your evil plan succeed. You won’t take away my big brother!"

Max flinched like he’d been punched in the face, "W-I’m not trying to take away Ash—"

"That’s exactly what someone stealing him would say." Molly pointed at Max accusingly.

"You’re thinking about this all wrong," Max tried again.

"And you’re thinking about it too much," Molly fired back.

Then they both stopped and glared at each other, as if lightning passed between their foreheads.

Max folded his arms again, determination returning in full force, "So that’s it then?"

Molly mirrored him instantly, "That’s it."

"You’re against it."

"Yes."

"Completely."

"Yes."

Max nodded slowly, "Alright."

Molly nodded back, "Alright."

"Then I guess we’re enemies," Max said, holding out a hand, still glaring at her.

Molly didn’t even flinch, "Guess so." She shook his hand as they leaned closer.

Immediately, they both tried to squeeze the other’s hand, but since they were both kids, they let go just as fast, clutching their hands in pain...while still glaring at each other.

Right then, Ash and May walked out of the room.

May looked relieved as she held her bag, while Ash just shook his head, "You sure you don’t want me to teleport that stuff back to your place?"

"No, it’s fine. Besides, I need all my outfits just in case," May said confidently.

The moment Molly saw them, she ran up and quickly hugged Ash’s leg, "Big brother!" she said, slipping right between Ash and May.

As she did, she shot Max a smirk. Though she also felt a little bad. She liked May, May gave her candy, after all. But if she let this slide, that would be like letting Max win, and she couldn’t allow anyone to take away her big brother time.

"Hey, Molly," Ash said, steadying her, "Alright, ready to go?"

"Hmm, okay, but you have to promise, big brother: come visit soon, and call every day!" Molly said.

Ash snorted, "Alright, alright, I’ll do my best, okay? Now come on, grab your backpack."

Molly nodded and shot Max another smirk as she ran to grab her bag.

Meanwhile, Max bit his knuckle, trying to hold himself together. He distracted himself by tending to his egg, rubbing it vigorously with a towel. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Molly and Ash talking.

Then, crack.

Max froze. Everyone’s attention snapped to him.

Max immediately panicked, thinking he’d broken his egg, but when he looked, there was a crack. Then it spread. The egg shook, cracking further as a bright light began to shine from within.

"Wa—" Max started, but he had to cover his eyes as the glow intensified.

Then, as the light finally faded, Max slowly looked down.

There, sitting in his hands, was a small purple Pokémon with two tiny black eyes, a baby Kangaskhan.

"...It hatched," Max said slowly, like his brain hadn’t caught up yet. Then, "IT HATCHED?!"

He jumped out of his chair so fast it nearly tipped over, his hands hovering uselessly like he didn’t know whether to pick it up or salute it.

The baby Kangaskhan squeaked again, then toddled forward and bumped right into his leg.

Max froze, "Hi?" he said, his voice cracking again.

"Congrats, Max," Ash said, walking over and ruffling his hair. He pulled out an empty Poké Ball and tossed it to him, "Here."

Max barely reacted, he almost dropped it, but managed to catch it at the last second. He stared down at the Poké Ball, exhaling slowly.

Ash crouched slightly next to him, resting an arm on his knee, "Go on."

Max hesitated, then took a breath. He tapped the Poké Ball gently against the Kangaskhan. The little Pokémon didn’t resist as it was pulled inside.

The ball dropped to the floor.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Click.

Max stared at it, "I got it..." he said quietly. Then it hit him.

"I GOT A POKÉMON!" He jumped again, pumping his fist so hard he nearly hit the ceiling.

May laughed, "You’re going to scare it when you let it out again."

"I am NOT-" Max stopped himself immediately, lowering his voice, "-going to scare it," he said, clearing his throat.

"Sure," May teased, "Well, you’re going to have plenty of time to bond on the road."

Ash patted Max’s head one more time, which made Molly pout slightly. She quickly walked up and tugged on Ash’s sleeve.

"Big brother, can we—" she started, about to suggest playing more

But then Abby teleported into the middle of the room, casually eating rice crackers.

Molly deflated instantly, "Oh...hi, Abby," she said, disappointed, realizing that meant she had to leave now.

Ash noticed her expression and sighed. He glanced at Abby and gave her a small nod.

Abby understood immediately and saluted, picking up all the plushies and Molly’s bag, but not Molly.

Molly was about to ask why, but before she could, Ash scooped her up and lifted her onto his shoulders.

"Come on, Molly. We’ve still got a bit more time together. Don’t tell me you want to leave your big brother already."

Molly blinked, then broke into a bright smile, giggling, "Okay, big brother! Let’s play some more!"

"Alright, whatever you say, Captain Molly," Ash said, taking off his hat and putting it on her head, "Mom can wait a little longer."

Brock let out a helpless sigh at the sight, but he smiled, "Then I suppose I’ll start making some snacks for the road."

When May heard that, she realized, oh no.

Now she was the only one without anything to do. Ash had Molly. Brock was cooking. Max was busy with his new Kangaskhan.

She scratched her cheek awkwardly. Molly noticed. She might not like Max’s plan, but she still liked May. May was nice to her.

So she waved, "May, come play with us too!"

May lit up instantly, "Okay! Let’s go!" she said, hurrying over to join them.

Max, meanwhile, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Maybe he could still use this. Perhaps Molly wasn’t as much of a threat as he thought. But only if he played his master plan right.