"Seriously. How does an entire metropolis just vanish, replaced by a huge skyscraper? Huge as in vertically and-"

"Horizontally," May finished for him. "You don't have to explain that, I have eyes, too, you know. Let's just say that Wattson's been a very busy man. He's been at this project ever since you last saw him, if I recall. Come on, come on! Let's go inside."

"What's the hurry? We don't even have to- ERK!" May yanked on Ash's arm so hard, pulling him inside the building, that the words got stuck in his throat. For once in a long while, after seeing the scene, Charizard was smiling at his trainer, waving a goodbye at the two of them as Ash and May disappeared inside. Of course, the malicious yet funny-looking grin on his face hasn't been completely wiped yet...


Entering from the north exit, the first thing Ash sees when they find themselves at an intersection was the new Mauville Gym to their right. Ash was inclined to pay Wattson a visit ("for old times' sake" was his excuse), but May, who knew better, had other plans. Plans that she'd rather do than visit a gym, of course. "Besides, it's League off-season," she pointed out to Ash. "Wattson's probably not even inside, since he won't be expecting any challengers any time soon."

Instead, May dragged Ash a couple or so doors eastward, arriving at a boutique shop. Ash was still taking in the sights around him, eyeing shops from all directions so he had no idea what the shop actually was until May pushed him inside. A split-second or so later, he immediately springs back out, red on his face (May effortlessly pulled him back in, though). That's the last place any male not named Brock would ever want to be, a shop that caters exclusively to females.

Ash knows this, but May apparently doesn't, or was it that she was just ignoring the fact? The irony...

Just as Ash expected, he's the only guy in the whole joint. Clerks and customers alike were all female. If he was Brock, he would proclaim that he's died and is in heaven right now; but he's (relatively) normal in comparison, so it just leaves him flustered instead.

"We flew from one city to the next, just to go on a shopping spree?!" Ash declared. Sitting on a stool he filched from near the cash registers, he was just watching May inspect a rack of chic clothes. "I thought we're going to do more than this!" Eyes glared in his direction, and he quickly quieted down.

"Oh, Ash, I have other reasons to be here in Mauville City than just to shop," May said; she didn't even turn to him to talk; she was busy examining two dresses and comparing it to her frame to see which would fit. "I just decided to stop by here first. Chez Liana's has the best fashion catalog in Hoenn." She headed straight for the changing rooms, without looking back. "Stay there," she told him over her shoulder.

No sooner had she vanished behind the curtains of the changing rooms of her choosing, did Ash sarcastically mutter, "Oh, she's right. There really is more to this trip than shopping. Oh whoop-dee-do-da-dey."

With May gone, Ash feels like his disposition has gone worse. Not only is he the only male around, but now he's in a shop full of strangers. Beautiful and cute strangers, mind you, but still.

...Wait, did those words actually come out of Ash's thoughts?

A couple of clerks seem to have been noticed him, too. Ash nearly jumped out of his seat when one of them called to him behind him. "Hello there, young man. May I help you with something?"

Trying to whirl around, Ash only succeeded in toppling himself from his seat. Quickly getting back to his feet, Ash still doesn't know what to say. "I, ah, well, um, you see-" His tongue was tied completely.

Then the other clerk stepped up. "You look like you need help, Gloria."

So now two attractive sales clerks are going to attend to him. If Brock could only see Ash now, he'd be...well, it's better not to describe it. "Umm, well, I'm here with a friend, and I'm not really into buying anything in this store...no offense. I'm a guy, after all."

Neither girl actually looked disappointed, actually. The second clerk wrote something down in a piece of paper and handed it to Ash. "Here, why don't you give me a call when you made a decision?" she told him with a wink. One quick look at it and Ash saw a Pokegear number.

To Ash's intense relief, a customer near the lingerie section (he only took in the sign hanging from the ceiling of that department; he dared not look underneath) was asking for assistance, and the clerks knew they were obligated to attend to her instead. "Waiting you has been real nice," Gloria added (no number, though).

And Ash was all alone again, staring after the two of them while absently crumpling the paper between his hands. "huh. Maybe going inside this store might not be such a bad idea," he thought to himself. Unfortunately, he was saying it out loud. Loud enough that...

"Is that so? I'm glad to hear you say that. WHY you said it, on the other hand, I'm not impressed."

For the second time, Ash nearly jumped. Ash's neck was creaking as he turned around to face May, eyes narrowed disapprovingly. 'May! How long have you been there?" Thinking quickly, he added, "You're not angry, are you?"

The sooner he said it, did Ash realize that he just dug his own grave. "Oh, I don't know. Do I have a reason to be?" May's eyes pierced Ash worse than a Beedrill's stinger when she asked that. "Hmmmmmmmmmmm?"

Ash started looking frantically around, trying to save himself by changing the subject, but then figured that the answer was right in front of him. May had a paper bag that has the Chez Liana's words gaudily decorating either side (in other words, she's already out of the changing rooms and made her purchase[s] long before he's even noticed), and that she was wearing new threads: a blue-and-white blouse with a knee-length frilly skirt. Add the sapphire ribbon on her hair, and a similarly-colored handbag slung over her left shoulder, she must be going for an ensemble.

"Is that what you bought?" Ash paused for a moment, putting his chin between his thumb and index finger while with a nod as if sizing her up. "Not bad, actually. It looks good on you."

May turned away, since she didn't want Ash to see her flushed face. "Li-Like I'd actually ask for y-your opinion on my new clothes!"

"But isn't that why you brought me here?" Ash replied, confused. "To get my opinion on what dress I'd like to see you in?"

"Th-That's n-not-" It's no use, Ash had her figured out, actually. So, to save face, without another word, she strode hastily toward the door, prompting Ash to go after her.

'Ah great,' he thought, wincing. 'She evolved from Type B to Type A without me noticing. Must have been spending too much time with Misty while I was gone.' And he never bothered to ask her what's in the other bag she's holding (yes, she was actually holding three: the new shoulder bag, the shop bag where she keeps her old clothes, and the third, unmarked one).

Once he stepped outside back to Mauville's street/hallway/whatever you call it now, May (who was waiting for him) shoved two of the paper bags into his hands. "This is the reason why I brought you along with me shopping, Ash. You shouldn't let a girl carry all this load if you're a gentleman."

"Probably going to be the beginning of my torture, isn't it?" Ash muttered.

"You don't say," May said, winking at him. And it wasn't exactly of the flirty kind.

And Ash was right. A complete revolution of Mauville City's first floor later, and he was now gone, replaced by a mountain of parcels with legs at the bottom. When asked what all these purchases are for, May actually brought up a list: wedding presents for Wallace, and Winona, and a third for them as a couple (as apology for playing hooky during the wedding when she should be performing), and another pair of "apology presents" for her parents (May predicted that her dad will be even less happier at what she did).

They were passing a video arcade when a familiar voice called out to them. Ash would use any excuse to drop his load, and when he got his arms to rest, he saw Wattson step out of the arcade. "Well, I'll be. It's Ash and May. How long has it been since I saw you last?" Nodding at May, he added, "Together, at least."

Before Ash could question this comment, May stepped up and shook Wattson's hand. "What are you doing here, Wattson? I thought you'd be vacationing, or, at least, be in your apartment in the upper levels, since this is off-season, right?"

Wattson pointed to a hight-tech gaming table just outside the arcade. "I was just dropping off my contribution to the Fun Corner in my New Mauville, y'see," he said. He inhaled aloud and then thumped his chest with his right thumb. "A simple game of switches and lights, and you can tell that I'm proud of it."

Both Ash and May eyed the table warily. The latter would soon turn away to ask, "Okay, so how do you play this thing?"

Wattson gave out a hearty laugh, for no reason. "Pretty simple, really. As you can see, there are ten switches, five lined up horizontally, and five vertically, and twenty-five lightbulbs. The objective is to press a certain set of switches until all the lights have shone the same color. The tricky part is that pressing one switch not only turns on one light, but the other lights on top, bottom, and either side of it. The player would have to press only six switches until I have to reset the table and give him or her a second try. Now, the trick-"

"I've done it," Ash said.

"Huh?" Both May and Wattson were astounded. Wattson whirled around to see the table, and there it is, in front of their very eyes: twenty-five lightbulbs, all shining a faint blue light. "I don't believe it." His mouth was agape. "How did you do it, Ash?"

Grinning, Ash only shrugged, cupping his hands behind his head, looking smug. "Like you said, it's all just a pretty simple combination, really. I'll even show you guys again. Wattson, if you'd please reset the table?"

Feeling like he's being challenged, the Mauville gym leader complied. His jovial expression gone, he turned dead serious as he flipped a switch from underneath the table, and so the lights "jumbled up" again, showing a random arrangement of rainbow colors again. Wattson dared not take his eyes off the table or Ash, thinking that the latter might be pulling something. But Ash pressed six switches without a hitch, and there it was: the table lit up with only one color, this time red.

Wattson shook his head. "Well, whaddaya know? You really did solve my puzzle table. Congratulations." He was trying (and failing) to hide the defeated tone in his voice, not to mention that his head was hanging low, not even facing Ash or May. Even in that same posture, he reached for the incubator on the table next to his game. "Here's your prize. Take good care of it once it hatches, you hear me?"

While he was still looking smug, Ash has trouble trying to look haughty while carrying that incubator on his back (Wattson provided a harness so the device can be held like a backpack; not that it helped Ash's situation), and the rest of his load on the front. "I don't remember incubators being this big, or heavy," he grunted.

After making sure that the two are walking out of earshot of him, Wattson went to a corner and started sobbing dramatically (as in exaggerated, that is). "He has soundly defeated me again, and in a completely unexpected way again, too," he was saying. "How does he keep doing it?"

"I'm actually impressed, Ash. Tell me, how did you solve it?" May was asking, thinking along the exact same lines as the Mauville leader.

"Eh. I just guessed."

May stared at him. "You're kidding, right?" she was legitimately shocked at what he said. "Wait, what about when you solved it a second time, with Wattson and me witnessing the whole thing?"

"That was where I found a one-time trick that Wattson probably didn't notice himself. Namely, that in the second puzzle he set up, the colored lights are placed in the exact same arrangement, except in how the colors are switched up. Example: the northernmost corner bulb shone blue, the one next to it is red, and the one directly underneath is yellow. In the second table, the northernmost bulb is now red, while the adjacent bulb is yellow, and the one underneath is green. It extends to the rest of the lights, really; you'd have to have the eyes of a Braviary to notice it,"

Ash noticed May cock an eyebrow at the name, so he quickly added, "Unova native. I'll show you in my Pokedex later." He continued his explanation. "So, since I saw the arrangements are the same in both puzzles, I guessed that the switches needed in order to turn them all the same color is probably the same, too. I guessed on the first puzzle, and applied the logic I told you in the second."

Shaking her head, May was now more impressed than before. "You actually outsmarted Wattson; never would have thought you'd have guile in you."

"Guile?" Ash repeated. "Isn't he a video game character or something?"

May stared, "And all that respect have gone up in smoke, again," she muttered. Embarrassed, she started walking away from him briskly.

"What? That quickly? How come?! Wait up!" He tried catching up to her but he's being sluggish lugging that incubator while walking, let alone running.