Okay, now it's Chapter 4 and we're bringing back the last member of the original group. Enjoy.Warning: Lemon in this.
The Old Gang Reunites!
At Zyon's cabin, Zyon and May were trying to comfort Lillie after her traumatizing experience. Naturally, she was distraught, but luckily, both the egg she was taking care of and the present she gave Ash were both intact. May and Zyon tried talking to her, but she inadvertently zoned them out, unable to speak due to the tears in her eyes. Ash, Kiawe, and Mallow made Team Skull look like chumps that she forgot that they were still a dangerous group. They set Lillie on the couch as Raichu jumped up. When he was about to pat her head to try and comfort her, May, to Ladychu's amusement, swatted his paw, reminding him that it was not a good idea for a Pokémon to touch her, especially when she was in this state.
Naturally, Raichu was not thrilled. Using Thunder, he fired at May. Ladychu tried defending her trainer with Thundershock, but it wasn't strong enough. She and May both wound up shocked. "Raichu!" Zyon exclaimed, getting Raichu to stop. "Stop treating May like a lightning rod! I got you one for your birthday, remember?" Raichu gave a cheeky grin and scratched the back of his head.
"I don't think he even uses it," May said.
"Pika Pi!" exclaimed Ladychu.
"Is that the Pikachu that Ash helped you get?" Ladychu answered Zyon's question by smiling. "She's cute."
"Yeah. I named her Ladychu. She and I are going to have to start training with Ash and Pikachu, though. It'll be just like old times."
"Let's worry about that later." May nodded, knowing that Zyon was indicating Lillie's condition. He set a plate of food and a glass of water in front of her, hoping that she'd at least eat up. Zyon was surprised that she got over it long enough to give Ash his gift, as was May. She knew to put her jealousy aside long enough to worry about her. They knew that she couldn't do anything right now, including, as they saw, eating. This left May and Zyon with only one option. Seeing as how the cabin only had three rooms and they knew it was no time to fool around, May guided the light-blonde girl to her feet and slowly walked her to what would be Dawn's room if she were around. The coordinator slowly sat Lillie down on the bed, helped her legs up, and tucked her in as Zyon put the egg in her arms. "Here's hoping that that little one can help Lillie through this trauma. I know I can't," Zyon said. May knew he was right.
As they went back to the living room, the two of them mulled on the horrifying experience with Team Skull. Brock had made his battle look so easy that they forgot never to underestimate any criminal organization, even one that looked like they were a bunch of Hip-Hop wannabes who were turned down for a record deal. Contrary to her annoyance, he knew he should've been there sooner. May felt bad, but didn't regret that she went off to get a new Pokémon, also enjoying her renewed bond with Ash. What they didn't know was that there was an old friend of theirs hiding behind the kitchen counter. Taller than May, slender, with long legs, orange hair grown to her back and no longer in its ponytail, she was dressed in a yellow shirt, yellow short shorts, a red swimsuit underneath (similar in style to Lana's blue one), and sneakers. While May had her back turned to them, she snuck up to Zyon, tapped one shoulder, and moved to the other side. "What the-? Who's there?" he asked, getting May's attention. They turned around at the same time and were shocked at who it was.
"It's Misty!" they exclaimed.
"Hey, guys," she greeted. May glared over at Raichu, knowing that Misty told him not to give her away. "What's going on?"
"Not much, Mist," Zyon greeted.
"But...I thought you were running the Cerulean City Gym back in Kanto," said May.
"Daisy volunteered to take over while I was gone. A Gym Leader needs a break once in a while. And what about you? I thought you were traveling with Ash."
"Yeah, until his Battle Frontier journey ended."
"Battle Frontier?" Zyon asked, having not heard of it.
"Yeah," Misty said. "It's this set of seven facilities around Kanto with only one being on the move once in a while. Ash managed to beat the first five facilities in one try, but it took him two to beat the Battle Tower's Salon Maiden and three to beat the Pyramid King."
"And how come I haven't heard of the Battle Frontier?"
"Probably because Scott couldn't get a hold of you," May answered.
"Is there any possibility for me to crash here tonight?" Misty asked, knowing that it was dark out. Zyon and May looked at each other, knowing that they had to tell her the truth.
"We'd offer you the third bedroom, but it's being occupied at the moment," he said. "The intended occupant was supposed to be our friend Dawn, but she's been spending time with Ash. In fact, this is the second time in a row that she spent the night with him." This stunned Misty, as she didn't know that Ash was there, nor did she know that he was spending time with a girl that she didn't know. It was then she realized that she hadn't spoken with him since after the Battle Frontier, something that hurt her a little. May didn't even have the heart to tell her about Serena. "Are you okay, Misty?"
"If you want," May said. "You can spend the night bunking with me in my room. Sleeping on the couch isn't recommended."
"Thanks, but I'll pass," Misty said. "I'll take a hotel room for the night if the third room's taken." As Misty and Azurill left, May and Zyon couldn't help but feel sad for her, though they were still worried about Lillie. May decided to tell her about Lillie tomorrow.
The next day, Ash and Dawn were out doing some morning exercises. They were worried about Lillie as well, but knew she was in good hands. Dawn wanted to try a combo out that she told Ash about the previous night. She had Piplup get in position as Ash sent out Rowlet, who was clearly awake. Dawn had Piplup prepare a Whirlpool as Ash began the process of a Z-Move. He brought his hands to his lower right side before moving his left arm to his upper right. He balled up his fists as he put his left arm on his forehead and his right arm at his stomach, forming a 'Z' and powering up Rowlet. He announced his motto as Lana, to their ignorance, looked on. Piplup fired the Whirlpool towards the water in a drill-like manner as Rowlet surged for the center with the Z-Move, Breakneck Blitz. This pushed the Whirlpool more before Rowlet broke through the point and flew above the walls of water that formed. "Alright!" Ash exclaimed.
"It actually worked!" added Dawn, to her surprise and joy. Brock came and smiled at the sight as Lana and Popplio looked on, amazed at the instant teamwork between the two birds, and even more at the result. She knew what it was, though: Even though Rowlet and Piplup had just met, Ash and Dawn knew each other for a long time. This went without saying, but it meant that Piplup could work with any of Ash's Pokémon, even his elder Pokémon like Greninja, Sceptile, or even Charizard. "That's some power!"
"Z-Moves typically require a great deal of energy. Pikachu's used to using them, but I'm still getting some training in with Rowlet." Dawn smiled as Rowlet perched on Ash's shoulder and fell asleep. She couldn't help but admire Ash in every way, something her fellow bluenette agreed with. "Speaking of training..." Dawn nodded, knowing what Ash was talking about. They started exercising with a race. He put Rowlet in its Poké Ball again and raced on the beach with Dawn, Piplup, and Pikachu as Lana and Brock looked on.
"You think he's something else, don't you?" Brock said, getting Lana's attention. "I can tell you admire him as more than just a school hero and as more than a friend."
"You caught on to that, huh?" Lana asked, remembering how she kissed Ash on the cheek more often.
"Yeah. The thing is, Ash may be like nothing you've seen before, but to me, Dawn, and May, he's still the same as he's always been: Compassionate, caring, friendly, and yet courageous, reckless, and completely devoted to his training. I'm amazed he's found the time to spend with someone other than his Pokémon. Ash is Ash, no matter how you look at it. Though, what's got him to spend time with Dawn is something I'll never figure out."
"Mallow told me that there was another girl that introduced Ash to the concept of romance." Lana's statement surprised Brock, knowing how dense Ash was before. "A girl from the Kalos region kissed him before they parted ways and Ash wound up here. Apparently, he knew this girl before he even got Pikachu."
"So he's not totally dense after all." With that, they went to rejoin Ash and Dawn. "Does Ash know that you know?"
"He does. The only ones who still don't, at least as far as I know, are Kiawe, Lillie, and Sophocles."
"Speaking of Lillie, did you hear what happened to her?" Brock asked.
"I heard. Such a horrible thing to do to someone who wasn't a threat to them."
"These Team Skull guys are confused, though. They know that Ash and Mallow are usually rescuing Lillie at every turn, but somehow, they knew that Ash was in the forest with May helping her catch a Pokémon."
"Maybe they've gotten more clever since losing to Ash and Mallow," Lana said. "Or they might've met Team Rocket."
"I doubt it on both conclusions. Criminal organizations don't get along well with other criminal organizations. You can tell that from the interactions Team Aqua and Team Magma have had in Hoenn before they got disbanded. So how Team Skull knew Ash would be in the woods with May is up in the air." They arrived at the rocks that Ash and Dawn stopped at and spotted them doing their exercises with Mallow looking on, bottles of water ready for the both of them. "When did Mallow get here?"
"I've been here. Ash and Dawn told me about their workout plan last night, so this is the spot where we'd agree to meet at," Mallow answered. She went over to Dawn to hold her feet down while she did sit-ups. Ash, on the other hand, was doing another exercise that surprised everyone that he could do. He even had the girls blushing as he had his shirt off while doing this.
"All this time and you never told me you could do one-handed push-ups, Ash," Dawn said, getting him to pause a moment to flash her a grin.
"Talk about keeping a secret," Lana said, getting up close to him as he was doing the push-ups. "Look at all this."
"Don't touch, Lana!" Mallow scolded, knowing that Lana was about to poke him.
"I think I'm inclined to agree," said a voice that Ash and Brock knew sounded familiar. Ash saw a familiar pair of red sneakers, so he looked up to see the wearer, shocked at who was present.
"Misty!" he exclaimed, shocked to the point of his arm giving in.
"That's Misty?" Mallow asked, getting nods from Dawn and Brock.
"All this time, Ash, and I've never seen you pull off a one-handed push-up before," said the Gym Leader. "Very impressive."
"I'll say," Dawn said. "I guess traveling with Serena really had its benefits." This got Ash and Mallow to cover Dawn's mouth and shush her, but it was too late.
"'Serena'? Who's Serena? In fact, the only other two here that I know are Brock and Pikachu, but I don't know any of you."
"That's understandable," Mallow said. "I'm Mallow. And this is Bounsweet."
"Bounsweet!" Bounsweet exclaimed.
"I'm Lana, and this is Popplio," Lana said, introducing herself and her starter.
"And I'm Dawn. This is my Starter, Piplup."
"Piplup," Piplup said with pride.
"It's nice to meet you all," Misty said. "I'm Misty, the Cerulean City Gym Leader. And this here is Azurill."
"Nice seeing you again too, Azurill," Ash said, getting a smile from the blue Normal/Fairy-type.
"So back to my previous question: Who's Serena?" Ash, Mallow, and Dawn knew that it was time to spill the beans.
"She's no one you have to worry about," Dawn said. "She's just Ash's girlfriend." This stunned Misty greatly, as never in her mind did she expect Ash of all people to get a girlfriend. "Misty?"
"Ash...got...a girlfriend?"
"And to top it off," Brock said. "I think he's also got a small harem here. Lucky kid." This got Lana, Mallow, and Dawn to blush so bright, they would make a Christmas light look dead. Of course, they'd never admit it to Misty, but they did have a crush on Ash, each of them trying to get real cozy with them.
"But...how...?"
"You're the one who told me to get a girlfriend, remember?" Ash said, reminding Misty of their meeting with Melody at Shamuti Island.
"Yeah! One! The way I'm hearing it, you've got four, three of which are here! Ash, I don't know any of these girls! The only other person I know that's here right now besides you is Brock!"
"So what?" Brock asked, butting in. "Misty, Ash has grown into his own person. I stopped traveling with him after Sinnoh, after his and Dawn's respective tournaments. He didn't need either of us in Unova or Kalos."
"Nobody asked you to butt in, Brock!" Misty exclaimed before taking a few deep breaths. Ash and Brock sat her down on a rock so she could settle down, both shocked at the outburst. Now the other girls felt guilty for causing this tension, but remembered that Ash and Misty frequently argued when they traveled together. They didn't expect her to snap at Brock, though. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"I suggest you worry less about that and more about your blood pressure," Ash said, feeling her pulse.
"He's right. Something like that's not good for your health or your Pokémon. You know this."
"I know. I'm sorry," Misty said, slowly regaining her composure. She then looked at the other girls and found Dawn to be the most experienced of them due to her travels. However, she knew that using a Water-type against Piplup was nearly pointless since it was a Water-type as well. The same went with Lana and Popplio. She also came to the correct conclusion that Mallow's Bounsweet was a Grass-type, which was stronger than a Water-type. "Can I change the subject?" she asked.
"Sure," Ash answered.
"Did you bring any of your other Pokémon with you, Ash? Or are they at Professor Oak's lab?"
"They're at Professor Oak's lab, but I do have a second Pokémon with me." He then tossed a Poké Ball into the air and brought Rowlet out. "This is Rowlet. He's a Grass/Flying-type that happens to be one of Alola's Starters, just like Popplio."
"How much has Rowlet battled?"
"Ash pointed out that he hasn't battled much yet," Dawn said.
"Okay then. How about it, Ash? A battle between Rowlet and Starmie?" The proposition shocked Ash and the others, as they figured that Starmie was more powerful than Staryu, especially given its Psychic-type abilities. Ash and Brock knew why Misty suggested Starmie, though: It was because she didn't see Rowlet as much of a challenge.
"You're on!"
The two old friends made their way to the main beach part, leaving Brock, Dawn, Lana, and Mallow to look on. Misty took a Poké Ball and threw it into the air, unleashing a purple Pokémon that looked like a ten-pointed starfish with a red jewel in its center. Dawn got her PokéDex out for a bit of info. "STARMIE, THE MYSTERIOUS POKEMON, A WATER/PSYCHIC-TYPE. STARMIE'S CORE IS SAID TO EMIT ELECTRICAL WAVES THAT REACH THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE AS WELL AS FUNCTION AS COMMUNICATION TO MEMBERS OF ITS SPECIES."
That's very impressive," Dawn said.
"What'll be more impressive is how Rowlet will be able to handle itself against a Gym Leader's Pokémon," Mallow said. "Given that the only Trainers Ash had ever faced with him are Team Rocket, Lillie's butler, and the Island Kahuna Hala, this is a real challenge."
"Starmie, use Water Gun!" Misty shouted.
"Rowlet, dodge it!" Ash ordered. Rowlet flew up into the air to dodge the Water Gun, making Misty wait in anticipation at what it was going to do next. "Okay, Rowlet, use Tackle!" At Ash's order, Rowlet swooped down and used its foot on Starmie, sending it back to the rocks behind Misty.
"Starmie!" The Water/Psychic-type got up, showing Misty that it was ready to continue. Misty breathed a sigh of relief as she turned back to Ash. "What do you say we make this a two-on-two? I want to see what Pikachu's learned as well!"
"Fine by me!"
"Starmie, Psybeam!" Rowlet, on Ash's orders, spun around Starmie's attack and got behind it, to both Starmie and Misty's confusion.
"Rowlet, Leafage!" Ash exclaimed. Misty, shocked, turned around and saw Rowlet with his wings glowing a bright green. From those wings, he fired a flurry of leaves around Starmie.
"Starmie, take control of those leaves with Psychic!" Starmie did as was told, but this gave Ash an opening.
"Rowlet, use Peck!" Rowlet went for the Peck as ordered, but because of the speed and precision, Ash and the others knew he learned a new attack, which he used to knock Starmie out. "That was Aerial Ace..."
"You did well, Starmie," Misty said, returning her Pokémon. "Now rest." She then turned to Ash and Rowlet, the latter of which, to her surprise, was asleep.
"AGAIN!?" Rotom asked, bringing up the same question that Lana and Mallow had on their minds.
"That's right, Ash. I forgot. Thanks to Swellow, you're all-too-familiar with Aerial Ace." Misty smiled, both at the fact that this battle was bringing back memories, and that Pikachu was ready to battle. He and Ash, as well as Brock, knew who she was going to send out next. "Go, Staryu!" What came out of the Poké Ball was one that looked like a normal starfish with a spherical core.
"Who's that one?" Dawn asked.
"That's Staryu," Brock said. "It's Starmie's pre-evolved form, but it's more powerful than Starmie is. Misty made a mistake in choosing Starmie to go up against Rowlet because she underestimated him. She knows not to do that with Pikachu. They're both very fast, but Pikachu's got the type advantage, being an Electric-type."
"And of course, given that Ash has been on more journeys, Pikachu would be more powerful as well." As Brock and Dawn had their conversation, Ash and Pikachu had the same smirk on their faces that Misty had on hers.
"Staryu, Rapid Spin!" Misty exclaimed. Staryu hopped into the air, angled itself horizontally, and spun rapidly while aiming towards Pikachu.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash ordered. Naturally, Pikachu's trusty Iron Tail came in handy, as it swung at Staryu and sent it towards the cliff that the others present were on.
"Okay then. Staryu, Dive!" Staryu did as ordered, diving into the water. To Ash and Pikachu, it was the same as using Dig, meaning that Staryu could pop up anywhere. Ash, Dawn, and Brock noticed a slight hill popping up and heading towards Pikachu.
"Pikachu, jump!"
"Now, Staryu!" As Pikachu jumped, Staryu popped out of its hole using Rapid Spin. Upon Ash's order, he used an Electro Ball for a quick counter. However, Staryu and Pikachu both wound up hit. Pikachu and Staryu landed on their feet, both bruised up by the collision, but up to continue. "Staryu, Tackle!"
"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!" Ash's command shocked Misty, as well as Brock, Mallow, and Lana, as none of them knew that Pikachu had it back in his arsenal. Misty cancelled the attack and got Staryu to jump up, dodging the Volt Tackle. "Big mistake, Misty!" Ash pointed out, as Misty forgot about one attack Ash had yet to call out. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" he exclaimed, getting Pikachu to fire off his signature technique. The attack hit Staryu on point and pushed it upwards a little before it fell down, knocked out. "Way to go, Pikachu!"
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed as he jumped into Ash's arms.
"You did well, Staryu," Misty said as she returned her signature Pokémon to its Poké Ball. "That was a great battle, Ash. It certainly helped."
"With what?" Ash asked.
"Easy," said Brock, who was coming down with Dawn, Mallow, and Lana to rejoin the two. "It was to relieve the tension between the two of you."
"Oh yeah. Sorry about that. I haven't seen you since before the Battle Frontier journey, have I?"
"Well you could've sent a postcard, even one with you and Serena together," Misty said. "Did you invite her down here?"
"I did, but Zyon also invited his irritating cousin Iris here as well. My arguments with her are about ten times worse than the ones I had with you and I went on three journeys with you." The revelation shocked Misty, as Zyon hasn't even mentioned Iris one bit to her.
While Ash was filling Misty on who his other traveling companions were, even mentioning Clemont, Bonnie, and Cilan, May was simply relaxing on the beach with Ladychu. It was a nice day for it too, especially since she found a secluded spot for them to relax at. However, Zyon also gave them the task of watching over Lillie, who was still traumatized. She didn't know if she should pass her off to Ash and Dawn, especially after Dawn sent her the video of Ash and Misty's battle. This reaffirmed her decision to look after Lillie herself since she figured Zyon went out on the town to find a way to get her through it. She was happy to know that Pikachu and Staryu were in top shape to battle one another, especially after all that time they were away from each other. May was also happy that Rowlet was a good fighter in his own right, even though Starmie was the weaker of the two Pokémon in the Gym Leader's current arsenal, unaware that Misty brought her secret weapon with her.
May took a glance over at Lillie and decided to move over next to her, sharing an umbrella with her. Lillie wasn't aware that her classmate was there, however, still suffering the nightmare in her head. This told May to not let Lillie anywhere near a Darkrai anytime soon. Carefully, she wrapped an arm around the surprised blonde's shoulders, causing her to jump. She looked to see May offering a friendly smile and a glass of Pinap Juice. Lillie took the offer and drank a few sips from the glass. She found it to be helpful to her relaxation, but it only helped a little. "I'm sorry," Lillie said softly, causing May to look surprised. "I'm sorry to make you worry about me so much, especially after last night."
"Hey, don't worry about it," May said. "We're always happy to help, Lillie. If I didn't lose my virginity, I'd be about as scared as you. Of course, I'd still be scared if it happened to me, so I don't blame you. In fact, the only thing that I do blame you for is that you're too beautiful and innocent, just like Dawn."
"Yeah well, Dawn's more confident than I am. Plus, she's one of three girls Ash has on speed dial for a good time now, so that might mean that she, Mallow, and Lana may not be so innocent."
"Actually, they're still innocent, but Dawn's semi-corrupted. Have you seen her advances on Ash? It's no wonder you got her room."
"I slept in Dawn's room?"
"It was supposed to be, but she's been spending so much time with Ash that it practically became a guest room. Had you not have been there, we would've let our friend Misty sleep in it."
"Misty?"
"She's the Cerulean City Gym Leader and her skills are as sharp as ever. In fact, she and Ash had just had a battle. Two-on-two." May showed the battle to Lillie. The blonde was amazed at Starmie's power when it used Psychic to capture Rowlet's Leafage, but was even more impressed at the battle between Pikachu and Staryu. She was amazed at the latter's abilities, but wasn't too surprised that Ash, one of the school heroes along with Kiawe, had won. "Ash already won the Cascade Badge there, but it wasn't for beating Misty. Instead, it was for saving the Gym's Pokémon. Back then, Misty's sisters were the Gym Leaders, but Misty was allowed to serve as a proxy, especially since she's more battle-ready than they are. In fact, from what I hear, four of the first five Badges he ever got were given to him. Brock gave the Boulder Badge to him when Ash initially declined it due to an unfair advantage. The Rainbow Badge was given to him for saving the Grass-type Pokémon from a fire. And the Marsh Badge was given to him by Sabrina for a Haunter making her laugh."
"What about that fifth badge?" Lillie asked.
"The Thunder Badge was earned the old-fashioned way. He and Pikachu had beaten Lt. Surge and his Raichu at the Vermilion City Gym on their second try. It was Pikachu's first win over his evolved form. According to Dawn, he repeated this same feat at Sinnoh against a trainer named Sho. Their most recent win against a Raichu was against Zyon's, which is a rare case for him."
"What do you mean?"
"Zyon's Pokémon, as you could tell from last night, are extremely powerful. Raichu's no different. In fact, he frequently tells his Pokémon to fight at half of their strength."
"Oh, so that's why Zyon lost to Ash."
"And Ash knew it. Raichu was actually fighting at three-quarters of his strength, but they still weren't helping him. In fact, they were only hurting themselves by doing that." With that, the two girls looked towards the sky with May having a smile on her face. "Ash and Zyon are something else for different reasons. However, it's those different reasons that make Ash Zyon's biggest challenge. I'm sure Kiawe can provide a challenge if he faced Zyon, but I don't know what Pokémon he has."
"He has a Fire/Dragon-type named Turtonator that he uses as his signature Pokémon. If you ever see him battle, you'll know how Ash got to wanting to do his Island Challenge." May merely smiled, happy that Lillie was getting over her trauma. She knew it was still there, though. The girls shared a smile and turned back to the water, which they noticed was bubbling. They hear a sound that was familiar to May, so she signaled Lillie back into the house with Raichu. As Lillie did what she was told, May got ready. A forty-foot whirlpool rose from the water before it burst apart, revealing a dark Pokémon with a purple stomach and folds and dark grey everywhere else. He was a bird-like Pokémon with hands at the end of his wings and a face and tail more resembling a dragon.
The Pokémon used Aqua Jet to zoom past her, narrowly avoiding her. "Dammit, Lugia!" May shouted, running after the Shadow Pokémon and not knowing that she was being baited. She chased Lugia through the forest, jumping over a log in the process. Ladychu was following as well, not wanting her trainer to leave her behind. They came to a clearing and saw that the environment changed a bit. Now they were getting a bit of a chill since they saw an icy environment around them. "Mewtwo..." She then felt something soft touch her cheek very briefly. With that touch, she felt an energy boost. She looked and saw a canine-like Pokémon dash through the cliffs. "Lucario?" May asked herself. The Pokémon had blue fur with certain spots being black. He had spikes coming from his paws. Since it was Lucario who had given her the boost, she knew it was for her speed. Ladychu hung on as May sped through the cliffs at superhuman speeds.
She got to a warmer part of the natural obstacle course when she was suddenly blinded. She used her senses to get her around like she was taught to do. She sensed her way through, but didn't expect a log to get in her way. She tripped over it and fell into some mud, disgusted by it. She was helped up by a familiar hand on her arm. "Zyon. I should've known," she said, disgruntled.
"You know, you look cute like that," Zyon said. "Maybe you should take more mud baths."
"I really hate you right now." With that, Zyon smiled and let her go, making her fall in the mud again. Ladychu got mad and fired a Thundershock at Zyon, surprising him that she actually hit her target.
"Sorry, Ladychu. I've been on the business end of Raichu's Thunder before, so this is more like a small pinch." After that, Zyon left, forcing May to have to find him on her own.
"Bastard." With that, they got back up and started to follow Zyon's psychic trail. "He is right, though; Raichu's arsenal consists of Thunder, Volt Tackle, Iron Tail, and Hyper Beam. And we've been on the receiving end of that first one."
"Pika!" Ladychu exclaimed, letting May know that she wanted to learn Thunderbolt, not Thunder, which meant that they needed to do their own training with Ash.
After a while, May reached a cave, her eyesight clearing on its own. She wasn't too happy that she was sweaty and muddy. Zyon was leaning against a wall holding a staff in his hand while Lugia was curled up in the cave and Lucario was sitting on a rock. "Hey, sexy," he greeted in a flirting manner. "Enjoy your trip?"
"How would you like to end up like my bike?" May asked in a threatening manner.
"What did happen to your bike?"
"Ash and Pikachu happened. They were trying to get away from Team Magma and my bike got caught in the crossfire." May knew she was lying, but she didn't want Zyon to know that it was actually Team Rocket that was chasing him. "Still, that's off-topic! That was not cool how you left me and Ladychu to deal with the harsh environment that Mewtwo created!"
"Hey, you have to learn to deal with bad weather."
"Maybe, but I don't need to deal with total assholes!"
"Sorry." May only showed more of her temper before realizing that she was well on her way to becoming a Master Psychic. She realized that Dawn was still a step behind, but even with her training with Ash, she would still practice a bit. "Figured it out yet?"
"Yeah, I did."
Back with Ash and the others, Dawn was on the balance beam. The previous night, Dawn had informed Ash about her psychic training, which Ash volunteered to help her with. Misty had gotten Staryu and Starmie healed up while Ash did the same thing with Pikachu. Right now, Dawn had a blindfold on so she could use her other senses to find her way around. Ash had noted that she had taken her socks and shoes off in order to do this. She was approaching another balance beam, so she moved her foot to it and continued without losing her balance. Luckily, Ash was there in case she did. Ash noticed Pikachu's eyes glow blue, so he knew it was Zyon. What he didn't know was that it was happening to Piplup as well. "Is that you, Zyon?" he asked. "How's Lillie?"
'She could be better,' Zyon said. 'Raichu's looking after her right now. How's Dawn doing?'
"She's doing alright. She told me about that psychic training you were putting her and May through, so she's on the balance beam with a blindfold and no shoes on. She hasn't even fallen off once."
'That's impressive, especially since she's a step behind May.'
"I heard that!" Dawn exclaimed. They heard a different laughter besides Zyon's coming from Piplup, which they recognized as May's. "Did May show you Ash's battle against Misty?"
'Ash battled Misty?'
"I'm going to guess you pissed May off today, so she didn't even bother to show you. Ash battled against Misty and won."
"True story," Misty said. "In fact, I beat Ash in a battle at the Whirl Cup. I think that's it."
"Yeah," Ash said. "You almost had me at the Gym Battle."
"And don't forget your battles over Togetic and Totodile," Brock pointed out.
'I figured Ash could be beat,' Zyon said. However, Pikachu held his head as the psychic yelled out in pain. 'May!'
'Quit teasing Ash, will you!?' May scolded.
"She's right, Zyon," Dawn said, still keeping her balance with Ash behind her. "Anyone can be beaten, even you. Ash did beat Gary at the Johto League. To top it off, he got farther than he did in the Kanto League, won the Orange League, and got in the Top 8 at Hoenn and Unova, as well as the Top 4 in Sinnoh."
'Top 4 in Sinnoh? Top 8 in Johto and Hoenn? Champion of the Orange League? And you won the Battle Frontier when I wasn't even invited?' Zyon asked, shock and surprise clear in his voice. 'Ash, what else did I miss?' Ash looked to Mallow.
"You might as well tell him," the green-haired girl said, Dawn agreeing with her.
"Well...I may have made it to the finals in the Kalos League," Ash said, scratching the back of his head. Zyon and May weren't the only ones surprised by this, as Misty and Brock made it clear that they were unaware of that achievement as well.
'Ash, you failed to tell me about that part!' May exclaimed, getting Ash to scratch the back of his head. Dawn took one last step before sensing that she was at the end of the balance beam. She put one foot behind the other and spun on the balls of her feet with ease. 'Way to go, Dawn!'
'Nice spin!' Zyon said. They decided to say their 'See you laters' and let Pikachu and Piplup have their consciousness back. That way, Ash could focus on catching Dawn should she fall. She walked on the first beam she started on and got to the end. She then let out a small, devious smile, which was only noticed by the other girls. She 'fell' off towards Ash's direction, causing the Kanto trainer to react quickly and catch her in his arms.
"Are you okay, Dawn?" he asked, unaware of the knowing smirks between Brock and Misty. Mallow had an amused look on her face while Lana was still a bit envious.
"I'm fine, especially since you went ahead and played the hero," she said, taking her blindfold off and showing Ash the flirting look in her eyes. "Thank you, Sir Ash of Pallet Town." She then rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek. Misty chuckled slightly at Brock's reaction, still jealous that Ash could land a girl before he could.
"She did that on purpose," Lana mumbled, pouting about the whole thing.
"Yep," Mallow said, still amused by the sight. They heard some footsteps, so they looked, expecting Team Skull to go after Ash for payback for what Zyon did to them. They were shocked to see Lillie and Raichu approach them. As usual, Lillie had her egg in her arms. "Lillie?" She looked towards Ash and Mallow and saw the former still holding Dawn in his arms. "Is something wrong?"
"Rai Raichu," Raichu said, getting Pikachu to jump off of Ash's shoulder to talk to him. The two brothers continued talking, but because of the close bond Ash had with Pikachu, he knew what was going on.
"Is there a translator around?" Misty asked. "Raichu's not using much body language."
"He's saying that he wants to find Zyon ASAP," Ash said, relaying what Raichu told Pikachu. "Apparently, he hates being separated from his trainer. No surprise there. Apparently, Lillie also wants to go back to her own house." They looked at the platinum blonde, who nodded. Raichu waved goodbye and went to sniff around for his trainer, starting back at their cabin. Ash set Dawn on her feet and joined Mallow to get a closer look at Lillie, who just noticed what Ash was wearing. It was the fedora she bought him from the mall, which brought a smile to her face as her eyes brightened up a little more. She handed Lana the egg so she could hug Ash and Mallow, who came to be her two best friends.
"Thank you," Lillie said, a happy smile on her face. She didn't even have to ask Ash if he liked the hat. It made her day to see him wearing it. Ash and Mallow also knew what she was talking about: the walk home. "I love you guys. I don't think I have ever had any better friends."
"But...Zyon's the one that saved your life," Ash said. "Me and May saw it. It's how Dawn ended up sleeping with me for two nights in a row. Really, I should thank you."
"Nonsense, Ash. I owe Zyon more than I could give him, yes. You don't need to thank me because I owe you two a lot as well. And I may let you have me at some point."
"After what you went through last night, I don't know if a romantic romp is such a good idea for you right now," Mallow said. "Besides, Ash is waiting for someone."
"Who?"
"His Queen."
"You have a Queen, Ash?" Lillie asked.
"We'll...talk about that later," he said. "Let's get you home. Mallow and I will walk you there." Lillie smiled and nodded at that, happy that she had friends to support her. Lana handed her egg back as the three went to Lillie's mansion, with Pikachu and Bounsweet on their trainers' shoulders.
"What about us, Ash?" Misty called out.
"Don't worry," Brock said. "Remember that Ash is more than capable of taking care of himself, meaning that Mallow and Lillie will be just fine as long as they're with him. In fact, so will we. From what I hear, Lana and Popplio make a pretty good team. And I've seen Dawn in battle too."
"Not remotely what I meant, Brock. I mean, we hardly know these girls. Sure, you know Dawn, May, and probably Zyon as well, but what about these Alola girls Ash knows?"
"I've only seen Lillie once. Unlike Mallow and Lana, her feelings towards Ash are unclear."
"That's right," Lana said. "However, Lillie does consider Ash and Mallow to be her best friends. She loves both of them as such, but whether or not her love for Ash is romantic is still up to her. If so, Ash is in for some competition."
"What do you mean?"
"What she means, Misty," Dawn began. "Is that Zyon fell in love so hard when he saw her that he could hardly move. I started flirting with Ash because of that."
"No kidding," Lana said with a jealous pout. "I lost count how many times you kissed his cheek." This got Misty's eyebrow to twitch as Brock started holding his ribs due to all the laughing he was doing. Dawn was also sticking her tongue out as well. Sophocles was passing by and shook his head.
Back with Zyon and May, the latter cleaning up and changing back into her normal clothes, May was continuing her training. She, so far had been able to spot Zyon, even with the blindfold on her head like Dawn had. She kept calm and listened for the footsteps of Zyon's Pokémon as well as Zyon himself. She picked up a psychic trail in the air, knowing that it was Mewtwo. She picked up a lighter one, guessing correctly that it was Mew. She also found some flapping, telling her that Lugia was near. Now, Lucario was the tough one. He was always able to sneak past May and Dawn both. He's even managed to sneak around Zyon as well. She felt a power increase, so she timed her dodge in time to avoid an Aura Sphere going past her. They were about to unleash more attacks when May sensed another presence. She knew it wasn't Zyon though. "Raichu?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Rai Rai!" Raichu said, pointing to Zyon. She took off her blindfold so she could see the interaction between Zyon and Raichu. They both probed Raichu's mind and found that he left Lillie with Ash and the others.
"Well that was nice of you, Raichu," Zyon said before turning to May. "Nice work on reading his mind. You just took the first step to learning telepathy. Now you need to learn how to communicate with your Pokémon using it."
"Okay, I'll try..."
"Don't try. Just do it or don't. If you try, you're bound to struggle. Just let the telepathy flow naturally. Trust me, you'll get less headaches." May nodded and relaxed. She put the focus on Blaziken, who waited patiently behind Zyon.
'...Can you hear me, Blaziken?' she asked mentally. The Fire-type gave his trainer a nod. She then decided to pull one on Zyon. 'Good...Now use Blaze Kick on Zyon...' Blaziken complied with a smirk, ignited his feet, and kicked Zyon in the rear end, causing him to hit his head on a branch and fall into a lake.
"What was that for!?"
"For putting me through hell with the whole environment thing while I was still in a bikini, dropping me in the mud, falling head over heels for Lillie to the point where Dawn had to be the one to give you the incentive to check on me and Ash..."
"If that's all, then a Double Kick would've done the trick."
"...AND making it feel like you're trying to get ahead of Ash ever since your guys' battle!"
"Sorry..." Zyon murmured.
Ash, Pikachu, and Mallow got Lillie to her home. It was an extravagant mansion with a lot of land around. Luckily, they didn't run into any problems. If Ash and Mallow had to guess, they'd say that Team Skull knew not to mess with Lillie when they were around, Zyon, Mew, the Mewtwos, and Raichu messed them up bad enough that they needed more time to recover, or that Team Rocket was working on their base. Ash figured that it was a mix of all three.
Once they got to Lillie's mansion, her butler Hobbs greeted them, happy that Lillie was safe and sound. Ash helped Lillie to her room while Mallow went to the kitchen. Much to the servants' chagrin, Mallow made herself at home by doing what she enjoys doing: whipping up a nice meal for everyone. Luckily, she found the ingredients for a delicious potato soup. "As if the Aina Cafeteria and her own house weren't enough," the maid said, a little disgruntled. "But now cooking in Miss Lillie's home? In our kitchen?"
"Miss Mallow is only concerned about Miss Lillie," Hobbs said. "Plus, it saves us from cooking up something." This was one of Mallow's specialties, so naturally, the aroma was alluring. She chose it for two reasons: To make sure Lillie had something to eat, and because she really wanted Ash to try it.
After giving the servants a bowl, she took a serving tray up to Lillie's room. It had a bowl for Lillie, one for herself, and one for Ash, as well as Pokémon food for Pikachu, Rowlet, and Bounsweet. She entered the room and saw an unexpected, but pleasant sight. Lillie was lying down with her head on Ash's lap. Ash, being the good friend that he is, didn't move. "Aww," she said, getting Ash's attention. "Maybe you might have a rivalry with Zyon yet."
"Yeah well, I don't want to lose Serena because of Lillie," he said. "I'd hate to imagine what Zyon's doing now with May."
"He's probably pissing her off even more during their training. Still, it was nice of them to look after Lillie. However, I have this funny little feeling that Melemele Island is about to get crowded."
"I wouldn't doubt it. May, Dawn, and Zyon are here. Then you've got Brock, and now Misty. Since Zyon invited some friends of his, including that irritating cousin he's got, Serena and I won't be able to have a moment to ourselves." Ash and Mallow heard some moaning from Lillie and found that she was stirring awake. "Look who's awake."
"Is that...Mallow's potato soup I smell?" the blonde said, sniffing the air in her room. She looked at the serving tray and saw two of the bowls on it. Mallow had one in her hand, ready to eat it. "It smells so delicious..."
"You can have one bowl," Mallow said. "The other one's for Ash. He and Dawn only had breakfast today."
"It's okay," Ash said. "Lillie can have it. I love to eat, Mallow, especially yours and Brock's cooking. On the other hand, Lillie does need her strength, especially after what happened last night."
"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask. Do you know the full details of what happened?"
"Those goons at Team Skull were using me to get to Ash," Lillie explained, a little frustrated that it was brought up. "They even tried to..." At this, Mallow gasped.
"Zyon had Raichu, two Mewtwos, and Mew unleash a combined assault on them and sent them flying away."
"And where were you, Ash? Even with all that happened, you're still Lillie's favorite."
"I-It's okay, Mallow. Ash didn't know it was going to happen."
"She's right. Remember that I was helping May catch an Electric-type Pokémon."
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Mallow said. "How did that go?"
"Just great. She got a Pikachu of her own. It's a female, so she calls her Ladychu. The trip wasn't perfect, though."
"Why? What happened?" Lillie asked.
"We had a little run-in with Team Rocket. Speaking of which, we can't mention the Rockets around Zyon. May told me that he has a severe hatred of them after they killed his parents in cold blood."
"He'll have a heart attack if he found out that you fought the Rocket Boss," Mallow said, shocking Lillie. "Oh it's true. He fought him in Unova and the Flare Boss in Lumiose City."
"I actually lost against Giovanni, remember? That Persian of his is way too strong."
"Yeah, but if you had another chance to face him, would you? That Charizard of yours would really come in handy."
"Isn't that the truth?" Ash asked rhetorical as Lillie ate her soup in earnest. She finished both of her bowls in a speed that would rival Ash's usual speed-eating contest, much to his and Mallow's surprise. "Boy, it's a good thing I let you have my bowl."
"Thank you, you guys," Lillie said with a smile on her face. "I feel much better now."
"Glad to hear it. The next time we see Zyon and May will be at the Pokémon School. You can thank him as well."
"Right."
May was having a harder time focusing on her training with Zyon. As they kept on, he just continued to irritate her more. As it turns out, she tried her hardest to tune him out, but it was to no avail. As she was concentrating on trying to connect with her other Pokémon with her psychic abilities, Zyon kept tossing a pebble onto a wall. The only thing that could make it worse is if Jessie and James showed up.
Luckily, that wasn't the case. However, the pebble was really getting on her nerves. She tried successfully with Ladychu, Blaziken, and Munchlax, but that was it. "C'mon, May," Zyon said, getting her reluctant attention. "You have to focus, even with something like a pebble hitting the wall."
"Maybe I would if you didn't keep it up," she said, trying to use her telepathy to communicate with Glaceon, who was an Ice-Type Eeveeloution with light blue fur.
"What did I just say?"
"How would you like for me to knock you out?"
!LEMON WARNING!"
"And how do you plan on doing that?" May answered his question by returning her Pokémon, grabbing his shirt, and tossing him to the ground. She then got on top of him with a menacing look. "Uh...May?" he asked fearfully.
"I should consider Ash lucky," she said, malice clear in her voice. "I'd hate to be rough with him." Before he could voice his concerns, Zyon found his mouth smashed by May's lips. May then bit and pulled on Zyon's bottom lip hard, something she knew well enough that he wasn't crazy about. She then engaged in a sloppy Kalosian kiss before he could protest. After that, she began sucking on his pulse.
"May...stop," he groaned weakly.
"What are you complaining about? You're the one who pissed me off. I'm just blowing off some steam."
'Great,' he thought. 'I piss her off and I may die from snu-snu. Ash, if I do die, May, Dawn, and Lillie are yours.' Either May didn't hear his thoughts or she didn't care, because she practically tore off his pants. She figured out that, despite his fear that she might kill him like this, he was hard. She removed her biker shorts and lined herself up. "Can't you just...let me take over?"
"Not. A. Chance." She then made the impact as her pussy enveloped his member. As she rode him, May threw off her tank top and pulled Zyon towards her breasts, forcing him to lick and suck on them. She let out a satisfied moan and shoved him back to the ground. She heard a groan from him, tell her that he was about to cum. When he did, she knew he wasn't prepared for this. As he caught his breath, he looked at her in fear, letting her know that she was the dominant one today. "Don't think I'm letting you off that easy," May said, much to his dismay.
'Great...I created a nightmare.'
!LEMON END!
Meanwhile, Mallow filled Professor Kukui in on everything that has happened. This prompted Dawn and Lana to head over to Lillie's mansion, the latter having to tell her parents about what happened. This also gave Lana a good reason to get away from her sisters, but it also left Misty and Brock behind. When Dawn and Lana arrived, they saw Ash and Pikachu doing push-ups with Mallow lying on top of the Kanto trainer and Bounsweet on top of Pikachu. Lillie was looking at them with amusement.
Mallow was happy that she and Ash could get her through her Team Skull trauma. "Well, ain't that something?" Dawn asked rhetorically, alerting them to her and Lana. "No sign of Kiawe or Sophocles yet?"
"They said they couldn't come," Ash answered. "Kiawe's helping out at his family's farm on Akala Island."
"As for Sophocles," Mallow began. "Apparently, he had a science project he and Togedemaru had to get done."
"So it's just us?" Lana asked. "No Misty or Brock?"
"What about Zyon and May?" Lillie asked.
"He's too busy irritating her," Dawn answered. "Of course, Ash, you could get lucky. You do have four lady friends here." Of course, Ash and Lillie knew what she was implying, made obvious by the blushes on their faces.
"P-p-p-please! Not here!" Lillie stammered. "I-I-I'm not ready yet!" The plea fell on deaf ears as Mallow and Dawn pushed Lillie towards Ash. He caught her in his arms as she blushed up a storm. Dawn did May's signature picturing pose as she smiled. "Please. At least keep the sex out of this, will you?" she pleaded.
"Aww, but sex, if it's consensual, can be a beautiful thing," Dawn said. "Don't you want to have it? Don't you want Ash? After all, you two look so cute there."
"I-i-isn't he waiting for someone?"
"Seriously, if she doesn't want to, she doesn't have to," said Ash.
"Yeah yeah, you're waiting for Serena," Dawn said, putting her arms down. "Ash, you need to get laid. If not by her, then maybe by me, Mallow, or Lana. Obviously, Lillie's still recovering, but we'd be more than happy to strip down and let you..."
"Dawn!" Lillie exclaimed, getting a laugh from the other girls. Ash and Lillie knew they were in for a long night.
CHAPTER 4 END
Okay, that was a long one. Just so you know, Lillie's not an official part of Ash's harem. She's unsure at the moment if she likes him. I may do a separate three- or four-shot featuring Ash with Serena, Lana, Lillie, and Mallow.