During the events of the Masked Man's attack, you didn't think that was the only thing happening, did you? You already learned that Ultra Wormholes were opening outside of Johto, but that is not all that happened.
Remember, Professor Oak was in Johto for the Silver Conference, so then, who was at the lab in Pallet Town?
Well, first we need to go back about a year, after the main Kanto trio of Ash, Gary, and Green went off on their journey.
Oak wanted to prepare some things for the day they returned, so he got help from an old friend. Well, that's not entirely true, he didn't actually ask. She just butted her way in. That woman's name was Ultima.
Ultima was a woman who lived in the Sevii Islands and an old friend of Oak. Actually, Ash hasn't even met her yet, since he never went there, but she was an interesting character.
The thing she got for Oak was a tablet full of information, containing data on Legendary Pokémon that she obtained through some...questionable means.
What Oak wanted from the tablet was information on Celebi and Mew, but it more or less contained information on all Mythical Pokémon, from Mew to Victini.
But even Oak couldn't decipher it. It was written in an ancient language, and he had other responsibilities, so the project was put to the side. It's not like it was a world-ending threat that needed immediate attention, he just wanted the information for...reasons he would explain when he got it.
However, when he had to go to Johto, he left Tracey in charge of the lab, along with his personal Kangaskhan.
And during that time, the Masked Man's attack happened, making all contact from outside Johto impossible.
Someone took advantage of Oak not being in the lab, and that someone was Guile Hideout. During the chaos in Johto, he snuck into Professor Oak's lab and stole the tablet containing all the information.
While Oak couldn't decipher everything, the only part he had translated was the very first entry, which was, conveniently, Jirachi. And that was exactly what Guile was after.
Of course, it wasn't clean. While Guile was taking it, Oak's Kangaskhan rushed in for a sneak attack and tried to strike the intruder. But with his special sword, Guile countered, hitting Kangaskhan back with double the force. While Kangaskhan had once been Champion-level in its prime, it had grown rusty, so at best, it was around Elite Four level.
The commotion made a lot of noise, and all of the Pokémon at the lab at the time, including many of Ash's Pokémon, rushed toward it. Since Tracey was already in the lab, he was the first to run upstairs to see what was happening.
But when he reached the top of the stairs, there was no one there, only Kangaskhan, knocked out on the floor, the original tablet crushed, and the manuscript gone.
Now, obviously, Oak had cameras in the lab, he'd have to be stupid not to. So when he returned, he saw everything, Guile taking down Kangaskhan, destroying the tablet, stealing the manuscript, and escaping, all while clad in literal armor.
Now, obviously, Oak wanted to find this person, since, one, he broke into his lab; two, he injured his Pokémon; and three, if he knew what was on the tablet, there was a chance he knew more. And since the only thing he took was the information on Jirachi, Oak knew exactly what he was after.
But there were also some problems. First, whoever did this knew Oak was not going to be in Kanto and would not be able to be contacted. He does have an Alakazam, after all, one call from Tracey and Oak would have been back in five seconds. So whoever did this either knew about the Masked Man's plan or had someone who did.
Second, he didn't know what the sword did or what it was made of. He was already studying small fragments of silver residue left behind, but the fact remained, this person was able to take down his Kangaskhan. Now, Oak is rusty. The last time he fought an actual one-on-one battle was about fifteen years ago, when he fought Red and Blue, and by then they were both Champion-ranked trainers.
At Oak's current level, he hasn't actively trained his Pokémon in years. Sure, they train themselves, but that's not perfect. Only his Dragonite is still Champion rank, his other Pokémon have dropped to low-to-mid Elite Four level. So there was a real chance that if he came face-to-face with this person, he would lose.
And one more thing, he didn't tell anyone, especially not Ash, Gary, or Green after they returned from Johto. Because he knew that if he told them, the three of them would stop at nothing to track down that man. And while they were strong, they were not at Elite Four level.
So that's why he made a call to an old friend, Scott. They knew each other, Scott had actually funded a few of Oak's projects, and Oak knew Scott was gathering powerful trainers. So he told him the situation.
Scott kept his signature smile, but it carried a more serious undertone. The Frontier Brains were strong, but not Elite Four level...yet. The closest ones were Brandon, with the Regis, and Spenser, with his experience, but the rest were high Gym Leader level at the moment.
Even so, Scott said he would help stop this man. And that's when they came up with a plan, a plan that was kept secret from everyone. Even now, only Scott and Oak know what it is.
And that's where we return to the present, in the Battle Frontier. After Scott finished explaining everything, none of them spoke for a moment, all in pure shock at what they had just heard.
Eventually, Tucker was the first to say anything. He grew visibly angry and raised his voice.
"Why didn't you tell us all this before?! We would have been better prepared if we'd known. And Noland wouldn't have been attacked!"
"You think so?" Scott replied, his expression stern.
"Let me ask you something…" Scott continued, narrowing his eyes, "Would telling you earlier have enabled you to defeat this intruder?"
Tucker opened his mouth, but no sound came out. None of the other Frontier Brains spoke either, because they all knew the truth, even if they had known about Guile, they would have had no way to counter his sword. Just knowing there was someone in armor wasn't enough.
"Even if you had known, you would have been defeated if you were weak. And even if you didn't know, you would have won if you were strong. Aren't those the principles of battle?" Scott said, not sugarcoating it at all.
Tucker's fists clenched at his sides, his jaw tight, but he didn't interrupt this time. Lucy looked away slightly, her eyes shadowed as she replayed the fight in her head. Spenser simply closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. Brandon...didn't move at all.
And Anabel kept her gaze locked on Scott.
Scott let the silence sit for a moment before speaking again, "…So let me ask you something," he said.
That got their attention.
Scott adjusted his sunglasses slightly, "What will you do...if he shows up again?"
The question hung in the air.
Tucker was the first to answer, nearly shouting, "We'll defeat him!"
Greta cracked her knuckles, "Yeah, once and for all." Everyone shared the same idea; they didn't even need to say it.
"Exactly," Scott said, before pointing toward them, "But in order to do that, you all need to become stronger than you are!"
"And don't think you're doing this alone this time," another voice cut in from behind them.
They all turned quickly. Standing in the doorway, they saw Noland leaning against the frame, smiling at them, even with the bandages still wrapped around his head.
"Noland!" Brandon finally spoke as he nearly ran over to his old friend, "It's great to see you up and about!"
Noland smiled helplessly, "Scott filled me in on the situation, so I hear you all tried to go avenge me, huh?"
Anabel sighed and looked down, "We tried...but in the end, Scott's right, we were too weak."
Her mind replayed it over and over again, she'd been too weak.
Too weak to take care of herself. Too weak to stop Team Rocket that time on the ship. Too weak to stop the armored man. And too weak to save D.
She raised her hand, gripping the scarf...then finally looked up.
"But next time, we will win!" Anabel said, her voice firm. She was done being weak.
Noland smiled, "Well, if we're gonna do it, we should all get stronger together."
Then he looked over at Scott, "Mr. Scott, when you told me earlier...do you happen to have a copy of the notes?"
"You mean this?" Scott said, holding up a notebook. Guile may have stolen the original and destroyed the rest, but Oak wasn't stupid, he knew his memory was getting worse as he got older, so he made backups upon backups of all his notes.
Noland nodded, "I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I'd like a chance to reanalyze a report generated by the greatest authority on Pokémon. If we do, we might find some clues on where Jirachi will appear."
Brandon rubbed his chin, "I see...that would certainly be helpful."
"We might be able to get the jump on Guile," Lucy added with a nod.
Tucker raised his hands, "Oh yeah! Then that means next time we'll be the ones to win!" He threw an arm around Spenser, who was closest to him, "Hey, Spenser, if we gotta train, you're the one who knows the most, so can you teach me a thing or two?"
"Apologies, but not at the moment," Spenser said, slowly pulling his arm away, "I am tired right now. I will go rest, but I'll join you all tomorrow."
"O-oh, right, yeah, that's a good point. We are all pretty beat up," Greta said, suddenly remembering they had just gotten back from a serious fight. They couldn't really train like this.
"Alright then, new plan! We get a good night's rest, then come back and train!" Tucker said, not losing his enthusiasm.
"Sounds good to me," Lucy nodded.
"And don't think you can leave me out, I've got a score to settle too," Noland smiled, holding the notebook, "But for now, I'll go analyze this and see what we can learn."
While they all talked, Scott got his signature grin back. With this, the first phase of the plan was starting. Now it was just a matter of Professor Oak handling his side of it.
—
{Meanwhile}
Back with the group, Ash returned and pretended he hadn't done anything. It took a bit of convincing, but he managed to pull it off.
They spent the day in Verdanturf Town watching the contest, since May couldn't participate in this one. May and Max also picked out a gift for their parents' anniversary. As for what it was, Ash had no idea, by the time he got back, they had already put it in a gift box. Not that he cared; it wasn't for him, so he never asked.
Anyway, Ash asked if they wanted to walk or have Kirlia teleport them. It would be about a three-day walk, and May and Max wanted to walk since their parents' anniversary was in three days. They wanted to arrive on the exact day for maximum surprise.
Even if May would have preferred staying in Verdanturf for three days and then teleporting, Ash shut that down. In his words, they could be lazy or they could be thoughtful, there was no in-between. So, begrudgingly, she packed to leave.
To be fair, though, Ash was doing this for her sake...even if he would never admit it.
So they headed through the forest. May decided now was as good a time as any to start training her Skitty, but Skitty seemed far more interested in getting training from Vee.
Skitty bounced in place, its tail swishing back and forth as it stared up at Vee with sparkling eyes.
"Skittiii!" it chirped, clearly excited.
Vee, meanwhile, sat calmly on a small rock, ears twitching slightly as it looked down at the eager Normal-type.
Vee let out a soft "Vee…" as if sighing at a responsibility it didn't ask for, especially since it really seemed like Skitty had a crush on him, and Vee definitely didn't want to end up like Pikachu.
Even as Pikachu laughed like a goblin at Vee's misfortune.
May crossed her arms, watching her Skitty be more eager to chase Vee than practice, "Hey! I'm supposed to be the trainer here, you know!"
Her new Squirtle sat on a rock nearby, casually eating a cookie while watching the whole thing.
Squirtle just took another bite, completely unbothered by May's frustration, while Pikachu was still snickering at Vee's situation.
"Pika pika…" he chittered, barely holding it together.
Vee shot Pikachu a flat look, "Vee…"
Skitty, meanwhile, had zero intention of giving up. It hopped closer, circling Vee with bright, determined eyes.
"Skittii~!"
May pinched the bridge of her nose, "Unbelievable...I just got you, and you're already ignoring me…"
"Ash would say that means you've got competition," Brock added with a small grin.
"I do NOT have competition with my own Pokémon!"
Ash, walking ahead with his hands behind his head, didn't even turn around, "You kinda do."
May huffed, "Whose side are you on?!"
"Mine."
"…Of course you are."
As May started thinking about how to get her Skitty to listen, maybe bribing her with treats, they heard a faint, weak chirp.
"Eh, did you hear that?" May asked, looking around.
"I think so," Max muttered as he started thinking about the Pokémon in the area that could've made that noise. Most of the native bird Pokémon should have already migrated to a warmer climate.
Sure, Kanto and Hoenn have slightly different weather, but they're still close enough geographically. With summer starting to end, migration would already be underway.
But Ash didn't say anything yet, he already had a pretty good idea what this was. He just gestured with his head, "We can check it out if you want."
"Go ahead, I'm gonna make lunch," Brock said, already setting up a campfire.
Seeing this as another chance to push the agenda, Max looked up innocently, "I'll stay with Brock, big bro Ash. You and May go ahead."
May let out a long, tired sigh. She still wasn't used to Max calling Ash "big bro," and especially not to Ash cackling every time, "Fine, let's go. Skitty-"
She tried to call Skitty over, but Skitty was too busy chasing Vee, while Vee was actively trying to run away.
"…Never mind," May sighed.
Then she felt a tug on her leg. Looking down, she saw Squirtle. At least her Squirtle listened.
"Thank you, you're so cute," May said, picking Squirtle up into her arms.
Meanwhile, Combusken watched, definitely not jealous that she was now too big to be carried like that. She huffed and went over to take care of May's egg instead.
Ash just grabbed Pikachu by the tail, interrupting his midday nap, and dragged him along, "Come on, let's go."
Pikachu begrudgingly woke up and yawned, climbing up Ash's arm before settling lazily on his head.
Ash and May made their way toward the source of the sound, near a lake. Ash leaned against a tree while May searched the area, pushing through the bushes, until she found it.
Hidden within the brush was a small Swablu, shivering.
"Swablu…" it chirped weakly.
May immediately knelt down, her expression softening, "Oh no...hey, it's okay...I'm not gonna hurt you…"
The Swablu flinched at her voice, trying to scoot farther back into the bush, but it didn't have the strength to get far.
Ash pushed himself off the tree and walked over, his expression shifting from relaxed to focused the moment he saw its wing, "…Yeah," he muttered, "That's not good."
May glanced back at him, "What do you mean?"
Ash crouched beside her, keeping his movements slow so he wouldn't scare it further, "Swablu should've already migrated by now. Summer's ending."
May blinked, "…So why is it still here?"
Ash's eyes flicked to the injured wing, "Looks like it got hurt in a storm or something. Can't fly."
"…It got left behind?" May asked quietly as she moved closer and knelt beside the Swablu. It didn't move, because it couldn't, and May gently patted its head.
Ash gave a small nod, "Happens sometimes. If they get hurt or too weak, the flock keeps going. That's just how nature works, not always sunshine and rainbows."
Ash grabbed some supplies from his backpack, then sat down cross-legged. Carefully, he picked up the bird, set it on his lap, and began wrapping its wing with bandages.
"Looks like a minor fracture," Ash said after a quick glance.
May let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, "That's...good, right?"
"I mean, yeah. Even if we didn't come along, it would probably heal in a couple of days. But the problem is...food and predators," Ash said as he finished tying the bandage snugly, making sure it wasn't too tight.
"There," he said, pulling his hands back slightly, "That should help for now."
The Swablu blinked at him, then looked down at its wing like it didn't quite understand what had just happened, "…Swablu?"
May smiled softly and leaned in a little closer, "See? We're helping you."
The Swablu looked between the two of them, still nervous, but not as scared as before.
May glanced at its wing, then over at Ash, "Can't you, you know...heal its wing now so it can catch up with its friends?"
"I mean, I can," Ash shrugged, "But do you know where they went? Because I've got no idea where they are. And if they're not back right now, they probably aren't coming back. So even if I do heal it, at best it can try to go on its own."
The Swablu seemed to understand. It gave a small, sad nod, confirming it didn't know which way its flock had gone.
May's expression softened as she looked at the bird.
She bit her lower lip, then slowly reached out her hand again.
"Hey…" she said gently, "You don't have to be alone anymore, okay?"
The Swablu flinched slightly, but didn't move away this time.
"I can take care of you," May continued, "I'll help you get better...and when your wing heals, you can decide if you want to stay with me or go back to your flock."
Ash snorted slightly, "Wow," he said, "That almost sounded like you knew what you were doing."
May shot him a look, "I do know what I'm doing!"
"Mmhm."
"Do you wanna get hit?"
"Depends," Ash shrugged, "Are you gonna miss again?"
"…Ash."
Pikachu snorted, and Ash stuck his tongue out.
May huffed, then looked back at the Swablu, her expression softening again almost instantly, "…What do you think?" she asked quietly.
The Swablu stared at her for a long moment.
Then, slowly...it hopped forward, right into her hands.
May's face lit up, "Oh!"
"Swablu…" it chirped softly, nuzzling against her fingers.
May smiled, holding it carefully, "Don't worry...I've got you now."
She reached for a Poké Ball, hesitating for just a second, "You okay with this?" she asked.
The Swablu looked up at her, then gave a small, soft chirp, "…Swablu."
May smiled.
"Alright then...Poké Ball, go!"
The Poké Ball tapped gently against Swablu and pulled it inside in a flash of red light.
It rolled once.
Twice.
Click.
May stared at it for a second, then broke into a smile, "I caught it!"
"Yeah, yeah, so you got a Swablu," Ash said with a grin, "A pretty good Pokémon, but you sure it's not just so you can copy Lisia~?" he teased.
"Wh—no, not at all," May quickly looked away.
"Sureee. So the next time you see her, you're not gonna show her that Swablu?"
May's eye twitched, "I am NOT!"
"Uh huh," Ash nodded like he'd already accepted it as fact, "You're gonna walk up like, 'Oh wow, Lisia, I just happened to catch a Swablu, what a coincidence~'"
"I do NOT sound like that!"
"You do when you're lying."
"I am not lying!"
Pikachu lifted his head from Ash's hair just enough to snicker, "Pika pika…"
May pointed at him accusingly, "Don't you start too!"
Ash just grinned wider, clearly enjoying this way too much, "You even did the dramatic pause before throwing the Poké Ball. That's how I know."
"That was NOT dramatic, that was respectful!"
"Mmhm. Respectfully trying to one-up a Coordinator icon."
"Ash!"
He laughed, hands up in surrender, though the grin never left his face, "Alright, alright, I'm done...for now."
"…For now?" May repeated flatly.
"Yeah," he shrugged, "Gotta save material for later."
May huffed, crossing her arms, but there was a faint pink tint on her cheeks now, "…You're the worst."
"Yet you keep traveling with me," Ash shot back instantly.
"…I question that decision daily."
"Wow, that hurts," he said, completely unbothered.
"Good." May huffed, but a small smile formed as she bumped shoulders with him, "Let's go."