A/N: Okay. I know I've been out for a while and I sincerely apologize for it. Just like last time, all the files on my computer were completely lost! I got so frustrated that I had put the computer down and my stories on hold for a while, which was totally unfair to those of you who anxiously await the updates of your favorite stories. So, after many months of moping, I'm finally picking up the pieces I left behind with ALL of my stories. Yah! In the meantime, I've composed this little future fic a bit prematurely but I think you've done enough waiting for now. This will be probably about 10-12 chapters long, so it's not a very long series.

So without futher ado, I present to you, my readers, Road Trip, starring Ash and May!

Takes place several years after the events in The More Things Change.

Warning: SPOLIER ALERT! This story contains events that are to happen in future chapters of The More Things Change. If you do not want to spoil the story, or if you want to be surprised and see the events for when the story is updated (which will is still a couple weeks away), DO NOT READ THIS! IT IS A MAJOR SPOILER! AGAIN, SPOLIER ALERT!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

May Ketchum stepped out the front door of her house and stared. The monstrosity sitting in their driveway represented one thing to her…

…defeat.

She sat down on the stoop, propping her chin on her upturned palm. At least it was a new model, with all the accoutrements expected from a high-end, late model such as she was staring at. There was a full satellite hookup with both onboard and remote navigation capabilities. The communications array could keep them in touch with virtually the whole planet if they wished to. The seats were not only wrapped in leather softer than any Italian made glove, but boasted the latest in computer controlled custom comfort appliances. Once the computer was made aware of her biometrics, it would instantly conform to her personal preferences, without so much as touching a button.

The cabin had separate climate zones, with heat or air conditioning delivered to any seat, be it in the front or the back. The front passenger seat could be tilted back almost all the way without interfering with anyone sitting in the back. Everything about it screamed comfort and luxury.

She still hated it.

Sitting in their front drive was the one type of vehicle she never wanted to own.

An SUV.

Of course, her feelings toward that class of vehicles really didn't apply. It didn't burn copious amounts of gasoline, nor was it noisy. It was designed to ride as if they weren't even in a vehicle. Her father's beloved Jaguar wasn't as smooth riding as the new Glissade parked in front of the house.

It still stood for the kind of environmental waste she always stood against.

Sure, in high-tech looking chrome letters it said 'hybrid' on the rear hatch. That had become a badge of honor among people like her. That in itself wasn't what put her mind at ease so much as the fact the gasoline powered engine that normally charged the electric motors in such a vehicle had been replaced with a special cold-fusion fuel cell. The 'truck' (as her husband Ash called it) would not need refueling for close to a century.

She remained tweaked at it simply because it was a large sports-utility-vehicle. Most people that saw it wouldn't get close enough to see the fake "hybrid" plate. They would simply assume it was just another gas imbibing monster that got only a dozen or so miles from a thirty-five dollar gallon of fuel. Her fear was that the moment she climbed into it, a photo of her would be flashed instantly around the globe, with thousands of irate fellow environmentalists clamoring for her virtual head.

It would have been so much better to fly. It wasn't like they couldn't afford the tickets. Ash had parlayed the small fortune he received from the trust fund his mother had set up for him into something much larger. He still worked as the executive massage therapist at Milotic's Palazzo, but that was sort of a personal indulgence.

She never once thought she would be in her position by the age of twenty-seven. She was well on her way to receiving her doctorate. For a while, after completing her undergraduate work, she thought she would return to coordinating, though in a much more professional role. Three months after her wedding, she learned that would not be in the cards for a while. Then, just as things were shaping up in the coordinating department again, she found out that she was once again pregnant.

At least this time it was planned. She and Ash had actually been trying for a little over a year. It seemed so easy the first time. In fact, the twins came along as a bit of a surprise. They wanted to wait a few years before they started having kids, but one journey kept them away from home for a while, and during that time they were together, her birth control pills sitting in a drawer, at home.

She rested her hands on her six-months pregnant belly for a moment, thinking about the little girl growing inside her.

The screaming in the house announced that her three-year old son had come down from his upstairs room and was chasing his sister and god-sister around the house, most likely with his specially modified super-soaker gun. It did little good to tell him not to use a water gun in the house, or to take it away. He always found it.

The door burst open and two girls came piling out of the house, flying over the steps and landing in a dead run. Wet streaks on their clothes told the tale. PJ was on the prowl with his favorite weapon. And his older brother was right there with him.

The girl in front was May's six-year old daughter. Mozelle, or Zelly as they called her, had May's sun kissed brown hair and round face, but everything else she had was strictly Ash. She had his ears, his nose, and even his trademark zigzag freckles, though very faintly. She always went on about becoming the first female Pokémon Master, another trait she gained from her father, but she also said she wanted to become a Pokémon Coordinator just like her mother as well. With her little Spheal, she was well on her way to obtaining either of those goals. The running joke between the two of them was that she should have been named ASHley, with the emphasis on the "Ash" part.

The other little girl was actually no blood relation to any of them, though she had spent the last few months with the young parents instead of her natural forebears. Her parents were actually away dealing with an important matter involving her mother and a lady named Jessiebelle.

Amethyst Rossdale was almost surreally pretty. She had her father's glittering green eyes, but everything else came from her mother, with the exception of her hair, which was periwinkle. She was four inches taller than Zelly and was clearly going to be a quite petite young woman some day, unless some strange growth spurt were to occur. Her hair was already down to her waist and not a day went by that May didn't think she looked just like a miniature version of her mother.

Jessie and James Rossdale had been given a second chance. Despite leaving their old ways behind, they would probably always be wanted criminals. A sort of truce had been called when they abandoned Team Rocket and when they became an home decorator/interior designer and university professor, respectively. Officer Jenny was still on the lookout for Team Rocket members. Only when Ash and May pleaded did the police look the other way. They had to write several statements saying that the two former Rocket grunts had given up on their lives as thieves and desperately wanted to live as "normal citizens". A judge ruled that as long as they didn't engage in anymore criminal activity, then they could have their freedom. It was awfully strange that the four of them had only a few years earlier been mortal enemies, but the fact remained that Ash and May were glad to take in their little girl.

Two more shapes came charging out the door. The one bringing up the rear was Ash and May's older son and Zelly's twin, Sebastian Ketchum. He had his father's auburn eyes and his grandfather's seal brown hair (Giovanni), only his was much longer, coming down to his shoulders. He was always very ambitious and eager to do anything. This boy was truly Ash's seed as he was like him in every way. Just like his father, he wanted to become a Champion and even Pokémon Master someday. And with his trusty Bagon, May believed he would soon be on the fast track to achieving his goals.

The other shape was bearing an air-powered water gun like it was an assault rifle. PJ was a straight cross between his parents. In shape and build, he looked just like his uncle Max when he was that old. He had Ash's spiky jet black hair and trademark freckles that formed zigzag lines just below his eyes and May's blue eyes. His complexion was a shade darker than May's, but not as dark as his father's. PJ was always finding a way to get into mischief. And I mean always! Every time Ash saw the little monster, he was always running around the house with May hot on his trail. But no matter how quick-tempered or disobedient their little offspring was, Ash and May loved him just as much as any parent loves their own child. He was named after Ash's own bitter rival Paul (though, reluctantly so), as a way to repay him for May giving birth in his very expensive Infiniti.

For a three-year-old, the charging little boy moved with power and confidence, and not the tiniest little bit of fear. The scrapes and bruises on his arms and legs were testament to his adventurous spirit.

PJ may have been fast, but his mother was even faster. One moment he was charging past her on the stoop, ready to blast his playmates with is aquatic assault rifle, the next he was empty-handed. He skidded to a halt and glared at his mother for a moment.

"Gimme that back! It's mine!" He stomped one foot, as if that would fracture the sidewalk in front of him.

"No, Paul." May was much more likely to use his full name rather than his initials. It was Ash's doing calling his son that. "We're going to be leaving in a little bit, and I don't want the four of you all sweaty and dirty. We're going to be in the car for a very long time.

"Well, dey starid it! Ammie twied to kith me!"

"Did not." The tiny nine-year old said, emerging from her hiding place.

"Did too! You were twying to gimme your icky gull germs."

"And Bagon and I were trying to shoo them away before they could contaminate us!" Seb added.

"Ba Ba!" Bagon cried.

"I don't get germs."

"Don't care. Ammie, you don't kiss Paul. Paulie, the water gun stays home." She pulled the stopper, letting the huge tank on top drain out onto the grass of their front yard. "Now, inside with all of you. I want you to take care of business before we leave, because Daddy's not stopping until we get to the hotel."

The four children trotted into the house. At least they knew what she meant, even if she sometimes had to explain it to Ash. Of course, they would very likely have to stop several times anyhow. The Glissade might not need gas, but with her expanding midsection pressing on her bladder, there was no way she was going to last the roughly one-thousand miles before they reached their planned stay at the halfway point.

She still would have thought it was a better idea to fly, but Ash was somehow enamored with the thought of cross-country road trips. He also kept making the argument that pregnant women shouldn't fly, but she still had three months to go and wasn't in danger of giving birth on the plane. He won the battle once he went to go pick up the new SUV.

One day May was going to discover where Max came up with all the materials for the gadgets they provided for them. Obviously he managed somehow to turn a great many of his inventions into income, but she never really had a handle on how much. Ash even said from time to time that he suspected the oil companies were paying him millions every year just to keep cheap energy technology like the power cells of their cars off the market.

Ash appeared at the front door, trying desperately to handle as much of their luggage in one trip as he possibly could. If this was an actual journey, he could have his gear pared down to what would fit in their small backpacks, yet on a 'normal' trip, he never quite got the hang of only carrying what they needed. She was certain their closet had literally been cleaned out.

"Baby, let me help you with that."

"No way, May. No heavy lifting. Doctor's orders."

She put her hands on her hips. "You know good and well Mom was exaggerating. I'm not having any complications this time around and there's nothing there that's over the limit."

"Okay, carry this." He handed her a canvas bag. Curious, she looked through it, pulling out a small red and white device.

"I thought we talked about this." She held the pokéball up, waving it like it was some contraband found in the children's things.

"Aw, come on, May. What if…"

"What if? Ash, we agreed. No extra pokémon on this trip."

"Seb and Zelly get to bring their pokémon? Pikachu's coming and I know you're not leaving without Blaziken's pokéball in your purse."

"That's different and you know it. The twins and their pokémon are inseparable. They wouldn't come along on this trip unless they could bring Spheal and Bagon with them. And Blaziken and Pikachu are our starters. They're family."

"And Lucario is member of this family too." Ash said, taking the pokéball from May and shoving it in his pocket."

"Ash, we agreed. No battles or training on this trip. Besides, you're the one who keeps after me about not overexerting myself while I'm in this…delicate condition, as you so chauvinistically put it."

"Think of it like this, May. I'm going prepared. You know as well as I do any time we go somewhere without our pokémon, something bad goes down. It's our lot in life. Some people are just born to get in trouble."

"Or trouble comes looking for us. Ash, I'm not even bringing my other pokémon. Heck, I'm not even bringing my cell phone. If somebody wants to get a hold of us, they're going to have to do it through the communications system on that truck thing of yours."

"Well, I'm taking it. Besides, I'm sure Max is tracking us, if he needs us, he'll know how to reach us."

May laughed softly. "Just make sure the pokéball stays put away throughout the entire trip. I don't want Sebastian getting any ideas. It's going to be enough fun driving cross-country with four kids. I don't want Max talking us into taking Midori too."

"Aw, Brock and Misty's kid is cute."

"Yes, but she's two, already talks like a six-year-old, can boil an egg and her mother is already training her to swim in water. I'm so not dealing with that, on top of our kids."

"At least we're not taking Dawn and Paul's kid. Sheila is more of a monster than PJ can be at times. She is Paul's seed in every way all right."

He shoved the last of their luggage into the back of the SUV.

"We'll be ready to go in a few minutes. Then we'll be outta here and won't have to worry about it." He looked around. "I could have sworn I heard the kids a minute ago."

May struggled to her feet, having a hard time despite her protests otherwise. "Sebastian Giovanni Ketchum! Paul Jameson Ketchum! Mozelle Diamond Ketchum! Amethyst Neil Rossdale!" May once was forced to read Dune and realized one particular part actually worked; The Voice. Of course, it could be just the simple fact she used their full names. In short order all four reappeared.

"In the truck, now!" She pointed at the vehicle. Wordlessly, all four obeyed. Well, except for PJ.

"I don wanna ride in da boos'er seat. I wanna ride wit Daddy!"

Ash picked his son up and put him in the seat, snapping the straps shut. "Not till you get bigger, squirt." He felt bad for the boy, but every single region they were crossing required children his age to be in them, whether they were the sons of internationally known heroes or not.

"Uncle Ash, I want to sit with Zelly." Amethyst pleaded. She and the other two were only just barely big enough they didn't have to ride in one themselves.

"Sorry, Ammie. The seat's made to fit in the middle, unless you two want to sit in the back row."

"No way." May said, climbing into her seat. "They're sitting right in the middle row where I can keep an eye on them." She smiled at the girls, knowing full well what kind of mischief they were capable of. If Zelly were alone, she tended to be quiet and reserved, but Amethyst had a tendency to bring out the worst in her sometimes.

"Just don't sit next to me, Ammie. I don't need any of your girly germs on me and Bagon." Seb said as he took his seat.

"Shut up!" She replied, shoving him roughly as she walked to the back of the SUV and took her seat beside Zelly.

Ash climbed into the driver's seat last. While he was half a head taller than May, he still wasn't an extremely tall man, so he looked lost in the spacious cabin. She took his hand and gave it a good squeeze as he put the big SUV into gear.

"Okay, let's go get Brock and Misty married." He drove out onto the street, heading for the highway.

"Hey, he's touching me!" Zelly whined as they made the last turn before the expressway.

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"More than two thousand miles, Baby, and we haven't even hit the city limits yet." May chided.