At the clinic, May and Max sat in the waiting room, surrounded by the faint hum of conversation and the occasional cough. Max fidgeted in his chair, glancing nervously at the colorful posters on the walls, which showed cartoon organs and cheerful reminders to brush your teeth.

“Why are doctor’s offices always so weirdly cheerful?” Max muttered, crossing his arms.

May ignored his grumbling as the nurse handed her a clipboard with a patient intake form. She smiled politely before settling back into her chair, scanning the form.

Name: Max Maple.
Age: Easy.
Address: Easy.
Parent or Guardian’s Name: Easy enough.

But then, as she read further, her expression shifted into confusion.

“Uh, Max?” she said, glancing over at her brother.

“What?” he asked, slouching lower in his chair.

May squinted at the form. “Do you know your blood type?”

Max blinked. “Do I what? How am I supposed to know that? You’re supposed to know that stuff!”

May sighed and muttered, “Of course you don’t.” She scribbled a quick “N/A” and moved on.

“Allergies?” she read aloud.

“Does homework count?” Max joked, earning a glare.

“Be serious!”

“No allergies, I think,” Max said with a shrug.

May scribbled it down, then froze at the next question.

“Uh, Max... do you know your medical history?”

Max frowned. “I had chickenpox when I was five?”

May groaned, rubbing her temples. “That’s not helpful! How am I supposed to fill this out?”

“Just write ‘healthy,’” Max offered.

“That’s not how it works!”

As May continued struggling with the form, she encountered more confusing questions.

“Does he have any chronic conditions?”
Max: “No, unless being awesome counts.”

“Last vaccination date?”
Max: “Uh... probably sometime when I was a kid?”

“Do you experience stress?”
Max: “Define stress.”

By the time May reached the last page, she was ready to pull her hair out. She handed the clipboard back to the receptionist with a sheepish smile.

“Here you go. It’s... uh... mostly filled out,” May said.

The receptionist gave her a polite nod, but May couldn’t help noticing the raised eyebrow as she scanned the form.

“Max Maple?” a nurse called out.

“That’s me!” Max said, hopping up from his seat and grinning. “Guess it’s showtime!”

May rolled her eyes as she followed him to the exam room, silently praying the doctor wouldn’t scold her for all the missing answers.

Gary stepped into the exam room, clipboard in hand, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Hi, kiddo," he greeted Max, ruffling his hair as Max scowled and ducked away. Then he turned his attention to May, his smile turning slightly amused. "May, you forgot a few sections on the form."

May groaned, slumping into one of the chairs. "I knew that was going to happen. Some of those questions were impossible, Gary. Who even remembers the last time Max had a vaccination?”

Gary raised an eyebrow. “You could have called your parents. That usually works.”

May crossed her arms, cheeks slightly red. “Well, I didn’t think of that, okay?”

Max snickered. “Sounds like May needs a check-up for her memory.”

Gary smirked but decided to spare her further teasing. “Don’t worry, May. I’ll go through the basics with you now. Let’s start with the easy stuff.”

He glanced at his clipboard and tapped his pen. “Any allergies, Max?”

“Nope,” Max said confidently.

“Last serious illness or injury?”

“Uh... chickenpox when I was five?” Max offered.

Gary nodded, jotting it down. “Vaccination history?”

May winced. “No idea. Can we just assume they’re up to date?”

Gary sighed. “That’s not exactly how it works, but I’ll look up the records later.”

He glanced at Max. “Do you get stressed often?”

Max grinned. “Only when May’s yelling at me.”

“Not helpful,” May muttered, glaring at him.

Gary chuckled and continued his questioning. “Do you eat a balanced diet?”

Max shrugged. “If chips and soda count, sure.”

Gary pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why am I not surprised?” He scribbled a note before looking at May. “And here I thought you were in charge of him.”

“Hey, I try!” May shot back defensively. “But he’s impossible to manage!”

Gary smirked, flipping the page. “Alright, Max. Time for the check-up. Let’s get started.”

Max gulped, his earlier confidence fading fast. “Uh... what exactly does that mean?”

Gary’s grin widened as he snapped on a pair of gloves. “Oh, you’ll see.”

May leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, watching Max squirm with a satisfied smirk. "Payback time."

As Gary began taking Max’s vitals, the sound of Max’s phone vibrating in his pocket interrupted the otherwise calm moment. Max glanced at the screen and frowned.

"May, I think it’s for you," Max said, handing the phone over with a bemused expression.

May grabbed it, glancing down at the caller ID. "Drew?" she muttered under her breath, a little surprised. She answered the call. "Drew? What’s up?"

“May!” Drew’s frantic voice came through the speaker, sounding like he was in full-on panic mode. “May, you’ve got to come quickly! There’s, like, a whole situation with Ivy!”

May’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean, a situation? Is Ivy okay?”

"She’s fine! Sort of... But listen, I need the law of supernatural something or other, and only Max knows about it!" Drew was practically screaming into the phone.

May blinked, holding the phone away from her ear for a second. "Law of supernatural what? Drew, slow down."

Max, who was now sitting up straighter in his chair, began to chuckle under his breath. “The Law of Supernatural Situations,” he said matter-of-factly, as though this was common knowledge.

May shot him an incredulous look. "Max, what the heck is that?"

Max rolled his eyes and began to ramble in his usual fashion. “It’s basically the rulebook for any weird magical or supernatural event that happens. You know, like when you accidentally turn into a giant bug or summon a pet that’s too wild.” He paused, looking at May like she should already know this. "You know, just casual things."

Gary, who had been quietly taking notes, looked up with a blank expression. "Wait... hold on. Did you just say you accidentally turned into a giant bug?"

Max waved him off, his attention back on his phone conversation. “Yeah, a couple of times. It’s no big deal.”

Drew’s voice blared out of the phone. "Max! May! Please! The situation is escalating fast! I think Ivy might’ve—"

Max suddenly jumped up from his seat, his face serious for the first time. "Okay, okay. I know what to do, but you need to do exactly as I say, Drew. No interruptions, no panicking, got it?"

May stared at her brother, wide-eyed. "Max, you seriously know how to handle whatever this is?"

Max gave her a confident nod. "I know all the rules. You’d be surprised what you learn when you hang around weirdos like Drew and Gary."

Gary, still in the background, muttered under his breath. “Weirdos? I’m a doctor, not a weirdo.”

“Yeah, whatever, old man,” Max replied, completely unbothered.

"Okay, Drew!" Max continued, switching gears and talking into the phone. “First, do not let Ivy get near the artifact. You know which one I mean. Keep her away from it for now. Don’t make eye contact with the guardian spirit either. And most importantly, no sudden movements!"

May’s eyes were now the size of saucers. “Wait, what artifact? Guardian spirit? Max, this sounds... I don’t even know what to think about this!”

But Max was in full problem-solving mode, pacing around the room as if he were the most knowledgeable person in the world on the subject. “It’s okay, May! It’s just a little thing with Ivy’s magical connection. Nothing we can’t handle. Just keep the ritual book in the right spot, and everything will go back to normal.”

Drew, still panicking on the other end, somehow managed to get a word in between Max’s instructions. "Wait, what ritual book? What am I supposed to do with that?!"

Max didn’t even hesitate. “Just set it on the table, open to page 312, and then leave the room. The rest will work itself out.”

May blinked, speechless for a moment. “Page 312? Max, how do you know all this? This isn’t even—this is insane!"

Max gave her an exaggerated look of patience. “You know what they say: ‘Knowledge is power.’ I’ve read everything. And Drew—well, Drew has this thing for getting himself into magical chaos.”

Gary, still standing there with a raised eyebrow, folded his arms. “I’ll admit, I’m intrigued by all this... but I can’t help but think you’re both insane.”

Max gave him a deadpan look. “Gary, it’s called 'being prepared for the weird.' You might want to try it sometime.”

May, still holding the phone to her ear, whispered to herself, “I just wanted a normal day with no chaos. Is that too much to ask?”

Gary, now thoroughly entertained by the absurdity of the situation, chuckled under his breath. “Looks like normal doesn’t exist in your world, May.”

“Tell me about it,” she muttered, glancing at Max.

Max was now waving his hand dismissively as Drew frantically tried to speak on the other end of the line. “Don’t worry, Drew. I got this covered. We’ll be over there soon. Just do exactly what I said. We’ll get this sorted out.”

May, still trying to process everything, just sat back in her chair and sighed. “I need a vacation.”

Gary, with a smirk, leaned against the wall. “Good luck with that. Sounds like your vacation time just got cancelled.”

No sooner had Drew’s frantic call ended than Max’s phone buzzed again. He glanced at the screen, sighed dramatically, and answered.

“Max here. What now?”

On the other end of the line, Ash’s voice came through, sounding hesitant. “Uh, hey, Max. Sorry to bother you, but—”

Max interrupted, already switching into his know-it-all mode. “Let me guess. The laws of physics combined with the superlaws of gravity? Something went haywire, and now you’re in a paradoxical loop of chaotic energy, right? Or maybe a time distortion caused by Pikachu overloading the molecular grid of a space-time anomaly?”

May and Gary froze mid-conversation, turning to stare at Max as if he’d just started speaking a foreign language.

Ash stammered on the line. “Uh... what? No! I mean, kind of? Pikachu did use Thunderbolt, and now Brock’s frying pan is stuck in mid-air, and it’s glowing for some reason...”

Max clapped his hands, grinning. “Exactly! A classic case of cross-dimensional electromagnetic interference! I knew it! Don’t worry, Ash, I’ve dealt with this kind of thing before.”

Gary leaned against the wall, watching Max with an amused smirk. “Do you just make this stuff up as you go, or are you actually serious right now?”

Max ignored him and kept talking into the phone. “Okay, Ash, here’s what you do. First, you need to locate the point of energy disruption. It’ll look like a shimmering ripple or a faint glow—like when water reflects sunlight. Once you find that, do not touch it directly. You need to neutralize it with an equal and opposite charge. Pikachu’s Thunderbolt won’t work because it’s already caused an imbalance, so you’ll need—”

“Max!” Ash interrupted, sounding completely lost. “I have no idea what you’re talking about! Can you explain it in simpler terms?”

Max rolled his eyes. “Fine. Find the sparkly thing. Don’t touch it. Use something made of rubber or wood to poke at it gently until it stops glowing.”

Ash sounded skeptical. “Rubber or wood?”

“Yes! Rubber neutralizes electricity, and wood doesn’t conduct it. Trust me, it’ll work,” Max said confidently, as though this was common knowledge.

Gary raised an eyebrow. “He actually has a point there, but the way he’s explaining it makes it sound like he’s saving the world.”

May shook her head, sighing. “This is just another Tuesday for Max.”

Ash hesitated. “Okay... but what happens if it doesn’t stop glowing?”

Max grinned. “Then you run. Fast. And call me back so I can come up with Plan B.”

Ash groaned. “I don’t know how you’re so calm about this.”

“Years of experience,” Max said smugly. “Now, go fix it, and call me if you mess up. Later!”

He hung up the phone and looked around, clearly pleased with himself.

May crossed her arms. “Max, are you just making all of this up as you go?”

He smirked. “Of course not! Well... mostly not. But hey, I’ve never been wrong yet!”

Gary chuckled. “That’s not exactly reassuring, kid.”

Max leaned back in his chair, grinning. “Reassuring or not, you have to admit—I know how to get things done.”

May shook her head, muttering under her breath. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or terrified.”

Before anyone could settle down, a loud whoosh echoed through the clinic hallway. A flying Pikachu zipped past the room, sparks trailing behind it.

Everyone froze, staring at the open doorway. Moments later, Ash and Misty sprinted by, Ash waving his arms wildly and Misty looking like she was ready to strangle someone.

“Pikachu! Get back here!” Ash yelled, panting as he ran.

“ASH! If your Pikachu fries me one more time, I swear—!” Misty’s voice trailed off as they rounded a corner in pursuit.

Max stood up from his seat, utterly unfazed. “Knew it.”

May blinked. “Knew what? That Pikachu would go flying through the halls of a medical clinic?!”

Max adjusted his glasses with a smirk. “Obviously! Flying Pikachu incidents are classic symptoms of dimensional distortions. I told Ash this was going to happen if he didn’t neutralize the ripple properly.”

Gary rubbed his temples, staring at the door like he was reconsidering every life choice that had brought him here. “Dimensional distortions? Really? You expect us to believe this nonsense?”

Max ignored him completely, launching into one of his infamous rambles. “It’s simple, really! Pikachu must’ve been caught in the residual electromagnetic charge from the spatial anomaly Ash caused. When the energy interacts with Pikachu’s natural electrical field, it creates a temporary gravitational disruption, giving Pikachu the ability to fly! Classic textbook case of quantum-field manipulation—”

“MAX!” May snapped, cutting him off. “English, please!”

Max sighed, exasperated, like he was explaining something obvious. “Pikachu got zapped and now it’s flying. You’re welcome.”

Gary muttered under his breath, “I don’t get paid enough for this.”

Suddenly, the flying Pikachu zipped back into view, this time trailing a paper towel roll it had somehow snagged along the way. Ash and Misty stumbled into the room, out of breath.

“Max!” Ash wheezed, leaning on the doorframe. “Do something! Pikachu’s—!”

Max held up a hand, cutting him off. “Relax. I’ve got this.” He strode to the middle of the room, looking every bit like a seasoned professional. “Now, Ash, did you bring the stabilizer like I told you?”

Ash blinked. “The what?”

Max groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The rubber object I specifically said to use to fix the anomaly!”

Ash scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Uh... I forgot?”

Misty threw her hands in the air. “Of course you did! Why do I put up with you?”

Max rolled his eyes and pointed at Gary. “Gary, you’re a scientist. You must have something rubber around here!”

Gary blinked. “You want me to save the day with... a rubber glove?”

“Exactly!” Max said, grabbing a pair of gloves from a nearby counter. He tossed one to Ash. “Put this on, grab Pikachu, and ground it against something wooden or non-conductive. That’ll fix the charge!”

Ash hesitated, looking at the glove like it was a venomous Pokémon. “Are you sure about this?”

Max crossed his arms. “Do you have a better idea?”

Ash sighed, slipping on the glove. “Here goes nothing.”

As he cautiously approached the flying Pikachu, Max began rambling again. “This is exactly what happens when people don’t listen to me. Dimensional anomalies are serious business, and now we’ve got flying Pokémon disrupting clinics! Honestly, if people just followed the laws of supernatural science—”

May groaned, covering her ears. “Max, please stop talking.”

Misty, glaring at Ash as he wrestled with the still-flying Pikachu, muttered under her breath. “I can’t believe this is my life.”

Gary, now leaning against the wall with a bemused expression, chuckled. “I’m starting to think Max should open his own hotline for this kind of chaos.”

Max puffed out his chest proudly. “I do have a gift for solving problems.”

May glared at him. “You are the problem half the time!”

As Pikachu zipped out the window in a golden blur, Max sighed heavily, crossing his arms like this was just another typical inconvenience in his life. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it fly out the window? Luckily, I brought Drew’s Flygon.”

May’s head snapped toward him, her eyes wide. “You what?!”

Max smirked, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “I borrowed Flygon. Figured I’d need a backup plan if something like this happened.”

“You stole Drew’s Flygon?!” May shouted, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Do you have any idea how mad he’s going to—”

Right on cue, May’s phone started ringing, Drew’s contact photo flashing across the screen. She groaned and reluctantly answered, already bracing herself. “Hi, Drew—”

“May!” Drew’s voice came through, panicked. “I can’t find Flygon! He was here five minutes ago, and now he’s gone! Please tell me you didn’t—”

May shot Max a glare that could’ve burned through steel. “I didn’t. But Max did.”

Drew let out a strangled sound somewhere between a groan and a scream. “MAX?! Why does he have Flygon? What is he even doing with it?”

Max leaned over, casually speaking into the phone. “Oh, you know, just saving the day as usual. Flygon’s helping me with a little Pikachu-related emergency. Don’t worry; I’ve got it covered.”

Drew’s voice rose several octaves. “You stole my Pokémon for a Pikachu emergency?! Max, do you even know how to handle Flygon?!”

Max smirked, unfazed. “Relax, Drew. Flygon likes me. And besides, I’m basically an expert in this kind of thing.”

May, rubbing her temples, interjected, “Drew, I promise I’ll make sure Flygon gets back to you safe and sound.”

Drew groaned again. “He’d better, May. I swear, if Max gets Flygon into trouble—”

“I won’t!” Max interrupted, clearly offended. “Geez, have a little faith in me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a flying Pikachu to catch.”

Max hung up the phone before Drew could argue, and May stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. “You’re unbelievable.”

Max shrugged, already heading toward the door. “What can I say? Genius comes at a cost.”

May followed him, muttering under her breath. “The cost is my sanity.”