We made it. We finally made it. Azalea Town! But what's with all the Slowpoke? There are literally hundreds of them everywhere! I looked around curiously, seeing their blank expressions then looked at the ground.
With a sigh a pinched a little of Ash's jacket and pulled him to the left, making sure he didn't tread on the Slowpoke's tail. "Hey what…oh." Ash said as he looked down, his foot lifted up in the air as I kept him leaning towards me. "Thanks Ruby."
"Don't mention it." I said. "Come on, let's go meet Kurt." I said so we head further into the town centre to search for his house. It was easy enough to find, seeing as it was so big, but also we only had to ask and someone pointed it out to us.
When we knocked on the door a little girl opened it for us, blinking sweetly as she stared. "Hi, my name's Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I have something for Kurt, it's from Professor Oak." He said and the girl instantly gasped.
"Oh! You're finally here! Grandpa said you'd be arriving any day now, come on in." She smiled, standing aside and let us all in. "This way! You can come and join us for some tea! My name is Maisy and it's nice to meet you all" She said brightly and showed us through to the front room where a severe looking old man sat sipping a cup.
"Ah. There you are. I was beginning to think you had gotten lost." He said and I smiled, rubbing the back of my head.
"We did. Several times." I answered then gave a respectful bow. "My name is Ruby, this is Ash and our friends Misty and Brock." I introduced. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you sir." Everyone else called out a hi as he stood and bowed back.
"Welcome to my home. Now, young man, I've heard much about you from Professor Oak. I believe you have something for me." Ash nodded and drew out the G-S ball, handing it over to Kurt who gave it a quick inspection. "Ah! This ball is…"
"I'm going to explode if I have to wait another second!" Brock declared as we all leaned forwards.
"You've just got to tell us everything you know about it!" Misty agreed, hardly able to contain her excitement as Ash and I spoke together.
"The suspense is killing us!"
"Alright!" Kurt said, hushing us down. "It's clear that the ball is…"
"It's clear that the ball is…?" We echoed as he paused, still inspecting it closely before he put it down and sat up straight.
"Some kind of Pokéball." We all collapsed and groaned, Misty throwing Togepi up into the air before stretching out her hands and catching her again.
"Next thing you know he'll tell us it's round." Ash said as Misty continued her disappointed and blank expression.
"Or yellow." Kurt gave a guilty laugh, scratching the back of his head as he continued.
"I'm so sorry, I really hate to disappoint you children. Once I've had a closer look at it I might be able to say more." He said but then Ash turned to me.
"Hey Ruby, why don't you just do you magic thing?" He suggested. "Why didn't I think of this before? I'm a genius!"
"Because genius…" I said, smacking him on the back of the head. "Professor Oak told me not to try and tamper with it. I tried to suggest that idea back at the lab but he said no. Remember?" Ash frowned and thought deeply.
"Oh yeah, something like that."
"Don't worry you guys. If anyone can figure this out it's my grandpa!" Maisy said optimistically so I smiled and nodded to her.
"You're right Maisy."
"Thanks a lot for trying to help us out, Kurt." Ash said as Pikachu leaped off his shoulder to chase after Togepi. "We'd better call Professor Oak to tell him we got here safe." He said, standing up and we followed suit.
"Good idea. You can use my phone, it's by the door over there." Kurt directed so I made the call and waited for it to be received. When Professor Oak's face appeared I smiled and waved at him.
"Hey Professor Oak! We're here!" I cheered to him and Ash beamed.
"We're calling you all the way from Kurt's house in Azalea Town."
"Ah, so you finally made it. Have you had a chance to give Kurt the G-S ball like I asked you to?" Professor Oak asked and we all nodded our heads.
"We gave it to him right away like you said." Misty told him so Professor Oak gestured for more information.
"And? What happened?"
"He's never seen anything like it so he doesn't know what it is either." Brock said and Professor Oak sighed in disappointment before perking back up again.
"Oh really?"
"He did promise us he'd try to figure it out though." Ash said so Professor Oak nodded his head.
"In that case I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know if you learn anything new. It's good to know that it's in capable hands even if Kurt didn't know what it was right away. Whilst your there I suggest you ask Kurt about apricorns. I think you'll find the experience and education fascinating." Professor Oak said before nodding his head. "Take care all of you. Oh, and Ruby, your egg is picking up a little. It's finally beginning to stabilise at a good level."
"Awesome!" I breathed happily, grinning from ear to ear. "Thanks professor! See you soon!" With that he cut the call and I stood up. "Anyone have any idea what he was talking about with the apricorns?" I asked and the others shook their heads.
"Not a clue." Ash said before smiling. "Let's go ask! Come on!" With that he rushed off to find Kurt and we followed after him though he wasn't anywhere in the house. Strange, he was here a minute ago. "Hey Maisy!" Ash called, waving a hand to her. "Where's your grandpa?" He asked and she turned around to look inside the door she was guarding.
"He's crafting a Pokéball, so keep it down all of you! It's hard enough to work without all that noise." Ash blinked in surprise.
"Oh…sorry."
"What's he doing?" Misty asked as she peered inside, seeing Kurt as he began to hammer away at a glowing round object. We watched him hammer away before he dipped it into clear, fresh water to cool it down until finally, he put it back in the furnace.
"I think that should just about do it." Kurt said, wiping his brow as he stood. "Huh? Hi kids." He said as he turned around and spotted us. "I thought I heard something."
"Hi Kurt, I was wondering…"
"You'll have to give me a little more time to get an answer on that G-S ball, I've fallen a little behind in my work you see." Kurt told him but Ash shook his head.
"Actually I was going to ask about something else. If you make special Pokéballs, I was wondering if you would give me one to catch Pokémon with." Misty squeaked then glared at Ash.
"Ash! Don't be so rude! You don't just announce that you want something like that." Misty scolded him.
"Yeah, I thought we were going to ask about them first." I agreed then turned to Kurt. "How do you make your Pokéballs so different Kurt?" It was Maisy, however, who answered.
"Well you see, grandpa makes Pokéballs out of apricorn, which comes in seven different colours. White, red, blue, black, pink, green and yellow! There's a different Pokéball made from each different coloured apricorn, and each special Pokéball has its own name, its own special colours and its own specific uses." Maisy explained and Ash nodded his head.
"I get it, there's more than one kind of Pokéball! In that case I want one of each colour!"
"You don't have to be so greedy about it Ash." Misty said to him but Kurt shook his head.
"If you really want some then I'll be happy to make some for you." Ash's face lit up and he stood up straighter as he looked at Kurt.
"You really mean it?"
"Sure I do Ash, all you'll have to do is bring me the apricorn." Kurt explained and I saw that gleam grow in Ash's eyes. "Here, how about you take these as your first samples." He suggested, holding out four strange looking Pokéballs. "These are known as Fast Balls, you use them on Pokémon who are likely to run away before you can battle them or the Pokémon is just too fast for you to keep up with." He told us and we each took one with a thank you.
"In the backyard, we only grow white apricorn. All the other colours grow up on the hills behind the house." Maisy told us. "I can take you there if you want me to."
"Sounds great! Right Pikachu? You wanna come into the hills with us to help find some apricorns?" He asked and Pikachu nodded his head.
"Pika Pika!" So Maisy squeezed through us and ran off down the patio to lead us towards the hills.
"Come on! I'll show you the way!" She called and we had to run to keep up with her as she didn't stop until we stood before an apricorn tree, a pink one to be exact. It was a light and pleasant shade of pink and the leaves whistled softly in the wind. "This one's a pink apricorn tree." Maisy told us.
"Cool!" Ash said as we all looked up at them.
"It's easy to see where it got its name." Misty noted and Maisy explained what they were used for.
"These are used to make Love Balls, they work best when you're trying to catch Pokémon of a different gender." Instantly Brock was wide awake and alert.
"Hmm…do you suppose a Pokéball made from this tree would help me catch Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny?" Brock asked but Misty grabbed his ear to snap him back into sense.
"She didn't say they were magic!" Misty said as Brock groaned in pain.
"Cool, I'll just take a couple." Ash said but Maisy called out and folded her arms.
"No you won't!" She told Ash firmly and he looked back at her. "Don't even touch them! Those apricorn aren't ripe enough yet!" She wore an angry expression so Misty tried to cool down the situation.
"Maisy he didn't know!" But Maisy continued to glare.
"Never pick an apricorn before its ready and never ever pick too many at once! Otherwise you'll just end up damaging the whole entire tree!" She directed as Ash came humbly back.
"Sorry about that."
"You sure know a lot, don't you Maisy?" Misty noted gently.
"Well what do you expect? She is Kurt's granddaughter after all." Brock reminded us and Maisy smiled proudly.
"That's right!" The next we found was a yellow apricorn tree which Maisy instantly began to teach us about. "See that one? That's a yellow apricorn tree and it becomes a Moon Ball. They work on Pokémon that use Moon Stones to evolve." She told us. Speaking of which, I have a few of those in my bag.
"You could use one of those to catch a Clefairy." Brock said and Ash smiled excitedly.
"This should only take a second!" He darted forwards but Maisy glared at him.
"Get back here!"
"Now what?" Ash asked so Maisy pointed upwards.
"Look there, see anything else in the tree?" I turned and looked a little closer to see little bunches of something that didn't look like leaves sticking out from one of the trees.
"What's that thing?" I pulled out Dexter and he showed me a picture of a Pokémon that looked exactly like a pinecone.
"Pineco, the Bagworm Pokémon. Appears calm as it hangs quietly on tree branches, but it will self-destruct at the slightest provocation." It informed me to I looked up at the Pokémon curiously.
"I think it's scary, it looks like a grenade." Misty said but Brock merely smiled up at them.
"That's why it's cool! I want a Pineco!"
"And how are you going to keep it from self-destructing?" Misty asked him with worry but Brock looked as calm as usual.
"What sort of breeder would pass up a challenge like that?" He answered simply before looking up to the sky with a lifted fist, smiling in wonder as he spoke. "Sometimes a breeder's road is a rocky path, but it's important to meet all challenges head on!" With that he darted forwards in a much similar fashion to Ash, which instantly told me that this was headed for disaster.
"Hey stay away from there!" Maisy called but Brock was still running, lifting up a Pokéball.
"Ready or not, here I come Pineco!" With that he tripped over on a small rock and went splat into the tree trunk with his face. Yup, exactly like Ash. The Pineco began to glow, three of them dropping down and they blew up in Brock's face, tossing him backwards with a little singing on the side.
"Brock! Are you okay?" We called as we raced forwards.
"He met it head on alright." Ash said as we helped Brock to stand up.
"Like I said, it's a rocky path." He excused, shaking himself off as Maisy sighed.
"In his case it's more ways than one." Now that the Pineco had been disturbed they were watching us all like haws so we backtracked a little.
"Come on Pikachu, let's get those apricorn!" Ash said and charged forwards but with my eyes closed I reached out and snagged his collar, keeping him still despite the fact he was running as fast as he could on the spot. "Just a little further!"
"Cool it genius, leave this one to me." I said, reaching back and pulled out my flute. Turning around I began to play a soothing melody and the Pineco all began to sigh and relax at the sound, drifting off to sleep as I walked forwards with Maisy and Misty, my music keeping them still as Misty helped to pick the apricorn down from the tree at Maisy's whispered direction.
We picked no more than four before Maisy tugged on my jacket and I looked down at her, smiling as I played the flute then followed her out of there. "That was awesome! How did you learn to play like that?" Maisy asked me and I shrugged.
"I learned to play when I was little kid with a recorder, and I love music so I just practiced until I got the notes right." I explained, putting the flute away. "So, where next?" Maisy showed us to a grove which was full of green apricorn.
"These are the kind used to make Friend Balls. They make the Pokémon you captured much friendlier towards you." Maisy said with a smile. "Go ahead and pick some, these ones are ready." Maisy said and Ash bounded forwards.
"Alright!" Suddenly a hoard of Beedrill appeared and everyone screamed in fear but I already had my flute in hand and was playing another melody. The Beedrill stopped their aggressive stance and just sat there in the air, buzzing quickly as Ash slowly and carefully slipped around behind them, going over the nearest tree to grab a couple then raced back with all haste with a panicked look on his face as the others ran for cover too.
I stepped back slowly, watching the Beedrill then ended the song, regarding them carefully and calmly as they did the same, their wings buzzing sharply in my ears but after a moment, they turned and flew back to their nests.
"Wow, that was awesome too!" Maisy said to me as I returned to them. "How did you do that?"
"Ruby has a really special connection with all Pokémon." Misty said proudly. "Sometimes she can even hear their thoughts." Maisy's eyes sparkled as I blushed modestly.
"That's only happened once and it was an emergency. Please Maisy, don't ask me questions about it because I honestly can't give you an answer." I told her. "Let's go find the next tree, shall we?"
"Okay then I won't. The next tree is this way." She pointed and began to lead us uphill. It was a steep climb and Ash began to groan, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"I'm starting to get really tired. I didn't think it would be this hard."
"Grandpa says picking Pokéballs is much more complicated than people think it is." She recited with pride before opening her eyes and looking ahead. "That tree right there is a red apricorn tree. That's what we use to make Level Balls. They're better used on Pokémon that have less experience than others might."
"Alright, nothing's going to stop me from getting one of those apricorns!" Ash yelled and he ran on ahead with the others whilst I walked calmly behind. Suddenly the ground gave way and the group dropped down into the ground with a yell, making me surge forwards.
"Hey! Are you guys alright?" I asked as I looked down with a frown. Well, it looks like history repeats itself. Repeatedly. How come I never fall down a hole?
"We're alright, just toss us a rope or something so we can get out!" Misty called up from the bottom.
"Right." I nodded then unslung my backpack to pull out my rope.
"You should watch where you're going, it'll prepare you for…hey! How come this twerp didn't fall into a beautifully placed trap?" Jessie yelled in rage as Team Rocket appeared. "How dare you foil our perfect plan, get down there!" She moved to try and shove me in but I flipped back over my head, glaring at her.
"I don't think so. I've had enough of your stupid pranks Team Rocket!" I yelled, flicking out the rope then tossed one end to James who caught it then held on, blinking in confusion.
"Hey? What are you giving me this for?" He asked so I smiled to him.
"Just stand right there." I said then began to race around the two of them, gluing them together with the rope. "And suck it in!"
"How dare you?! You little brat!" Jessie yelled as I secured the rope in then pushed them over to the ground. "Meowth get us out of here!"
"Looks like we're a little tied up at the moment!" James complained as he kicked and struggled to get out. I looked up to see Ash's Bulbasaur helping to pull out the others so I quickly grabbed my Bulbasaur's Pokéball.
"Bulbasaur, let's lend a hand!" I called, throwing the Pokéball up into the air with a spin. "Come on out!"
"Bulbasaur!" He called as he appeared. "Bulbasaur Saur!" Meowth leaped forwards, claws extended as he glared at me.
"You've meddled with our plans for the last time kid, meet my Fury Swipes!" He yelled and leaped through the air towards me.
"Alright Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!" I directed and Bulbasaur instantly shot its vines up at Meowth, snapping them around his middle. "Now take him for a spin!"
"Saur!" Bulbasaur nodded then began to spin Meowth through the air as he yelled.
"Me-OWOWOWOW!" Meowth cried as Bulbasaur kept him busy.
"Meowth! What are you doing?" Jessie yelled as she and James struggled in my trap. "Stop playing around and untie us!"
"Now Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!" Bulbasaur let go of Meowth and sent a Razor Leaf attack at him, hitting him with each leaf causing him to yelp aloud. Somehow Jessie and James managed to untie themselves the same moment Brock was pulled up from the hole they dug.
"That's it, I've finished with you twerps!" Jessie growled as James pointed to us.
"You'll regret ever trying to stop us!"
"Meowth that's right!" Meowth groaned as he landed in front of them. "These apricorns here are ours and we're going to make them into a big money bundle!" He told us but I shook my head, Bulbasaur leaping to stand in front of me.
"I don't think so!" I yelled back at them and was about to call out a new attack for Bulbasaur when Team Rocket suddenly looked at the ground.
"Huh?" Then it collapsed underneath them. "Argh!" The three of them dropped down into the ground. Huh? What happened there?
"They're gone! Just like that!" Maisy said as we all stared down into the bottomless pit that Team Rocket had fallen down.
"I wonder who dug this hole." Misty said as we continued to look down. I don't know. Wouldn't put it past Team Rocket to fall down one of their own holes. Suddenly the ground in front of us popped up with little Diglett, bouncing up and down in the soil.
"Digle-dig! Digle-dig!" They sang and I smiled at the little cuties.
"Diglett!" We all chorused as they continued to stare at us.
"I get it! The Diglett must guard and protect the apricorn tree." Brock said and Maisy lifted her head with a smile.
"That's because if the apricorn tree gets hurt then the forest will be ruined, and if the forest gets ruined then the mountains do too! And if the mountains get ruined then none of the Pokémon will have a place to live!" She realised and Ash looked up with a smile to the apricorn tree.
"That makes sense. The apricorn trees and the Pokémon rely on each other." Maisy picked up her basket of apricorns then together we added a sparse few of red ones before moving onto the next one.
"You can probably tell by looking at them that these are blue apricorn." Maisy said to us and Ash laughed.
"Wow! Just look at them!" Maisy nodded her head as we stood there admiring the trees.
"Grandpa uses the apricorn from these trees to make Lure Balls, which are the best kind for water Pokémon." Instantly Misty squealed, beaming from ear to ear.
"Oh! I wish I could have one of those!" In answer Maisy peered closely at the trees, searching for any ripe ones.
"You see those at the front? Those are all ready to be picked!" Misty and Ash ran forwards and grabbed one each with excitement, twisting them from their branch before returning with their prizes. Suddenly Maisy gasped and I looked to her and then to where she was looking, over to a single tree up on the hill.
"Look at how big that black apricorn tree got!"
"What kind of Pokéball do you make with those?" Misty asked so Maisy looked up at her.
"Those are used to make Heavy Balls, they're great to use on Pokémon that weigh a lot."
"Oh?" Ash said then smiled over to the tree. "I bet that would come in handy!" He put away his blue apricorn then raced over to the tree, intent on grabbing one of the black apricorns but was stopped in his tracks when a group of Pineco dropped down to watch him carefully.
"Whoo! Now's my chance!" Brock said, leaping forwards again for a second chance at catching a Pineco. "Eenie meanie minie mo! Catch a Pineco by the toe!" Suddenly a large wind built up, enough so that the Pineco began to fall out of the tree. "Argh!" Brock leaped forwards and caught the first one that dropped, setting it down carefully on the ground then lunged to catch another though at the third that dropped the wind halted and laughter rang out instead.
"Team Rocket!" We all echoed one another, glaring up on the rise where Team Rocket sat on a weird bike machine which obviously powered up the fan. Don't they ever give up? We've already got rid of them once today! Obviously they just can't take a hint.
"Behold! Team Rocket's new and improved technologically advanced economy model apricot harvesting machine!" James called down to us, trying to paint up the fact that it was just a fan.
"No it's not! That's just some crummy old fan!" Misty shouted back but Jessie wouldn't hear it.
"If you speak so unkindly about fans then you'll never be as famous as we are." She replied and I arched my eyebrows.
"As for this machine we have an unlimited power supply!" James added.
"Ha! We're just hoping this scheme will make us so much money that this bike will be the last thing we'll ever have to pedal." Meowth told us before they began to pedal. Light bulbs began to light up and the wind picked up again and I grabbed onto Maisy to keep her safe, though she turned into me and held on tight so I didn't worry about her blowing away.
"Hey you! Get back here!" Brock yelled, chasing after a Pineco as it tried to hop away whilst Brock was helping to save the others from hitting ground and exploding.
"Stop it it's bad for the apricorn!" Maisy yelled so I hugged her a little tighter to try and comfort her.
"I'll handle this! Pikachu, get them with your Thunderbolt!" Ash called so I let him deal with Team Rocket. Pikachu leaped forwards and shot a bolt towards the machine but the lights only shot further up the board. Hey…was it absorbing Pikachu's electricity?
"Hold on!"
"Stop it Ash, it's only hurting us!" Misty said to Ash but then Brock called out.
"No!" I looked to see Pineco charging up the hill then smash into Team Rocket, knocking them off the bike and stopping the fan.
"Change of plan, get that thing!" Jessie growled, pointing at Pineco with a hiss. That's the last I heard until I saw Pineco come hopping down the hill with Arbok chasing after it. Suddenly it stopped and jumped up, letting Arbok slide underneath him in a missed Tackle before it turned and began to climb back up the hill again.
"What's that Pineco doing? Is it Self Destruct?" Ash stepped forwards as we all watched as events unfolded.
"We've got to figure out a way to stop it!" Misty called ahead to Brock who shouted after Pineco.
"Pineco get back here right now!"
"Use the Fast Ball! You can catch that Pineco with the Fast Ball!" Maisy shouted wisely and Brock nodded his head before drawing out the Pokéball then threw it forwards. It bounced off Pineco and sucked it inside just as Arbok lunged for it, making it miss and crash into Team Rocket and the bike.
Brock caught the ball as it flew back to him, watching it quiver in his hand before it bleeped, signalling Pineco had been caught. Ash and I ran forwards, standing protectively in front of the tree. "You might as well give up now Team Rocket!" Ash yelled.
"You've got nothing left now, so just leave it alone!" I agreed as Jessie and James sat up.
"You twerps are really trying our patience!" James yelled at us.
"Time to go back to our original plan!"
"It's tired and true." Meowth said before hastily correcting himself. "I mean tried and true!" Suddenly we had both Arbok and Victreebel bearing down on us, aiming mainly for Pikachu who leaped back at the last second so they crashed into the ground.
"Pikachu use Quick Attack!" Ash called and Pikachu darted forwards, easily slamming into the stunned Pokémon and they flew back to their trainers, crushing them back into the ground. "Now use Thunder!"
"Pika…CHUUUUU!" Pikachu threw out his arms and shot the powerful bolt of electricity at Team Rocket, shocking them and the bike so that the lights shot up the scale before the whole thing exploded.
I laughed, racing forwards and yelled to the sky. "Altogether now! Team Rocket's blasting off again!" I chorused as they rushed off for their next appointment in style. "Woo! That's the way to do it Pikachu!" I cheered then whirled around, punching both fists into the air. "I love Pokémon journeys!"
"We did it!" Ash celebrated as we turned to each other and high fived then gripped each other's fist.
"Now all the apricorn trees are safe." Misty smiled with Maisy who exhaled a big sigh of relief. Brock looked to his Pokéball then smiled.
"It's over now, Pineco, come on out." Brock invited and the Pokéball opened, Pineco settling in his arms. "I know I caught you under strained circumstances, but I think it's safe to say that we're going to be good friends." Brock told him and Pineco smiled. Suddenly he began to glow, making Brock's face drop but it was too late. Pineco used Self Destruct and blew up in Brock's face. "Uh…I guess it wasn't safe to say."
We all laughed at Brock's expense until Ash got hit on the head by a black apricorn, which only made me laugh harder. "Ow! Hey what gives?" Ash groaned, catching the apricorn in one hand.
"Be careful! They're very valuable!" Maisy warned him, holding out a hand.
"In that case, maybe I should place this in more capable hands." I said, plucking the apricorn out of Ash's hand as he blinked.
"Hey! My hands are capable!" He argued but I merely smiled and turned to face Maisy, holding it out to her.
"Here you go, you take care of that." I said and she giggled before putting it carefully into her basket. "Let's get these back to Kurt, I can't wait to see how they turn out." I said then began to run away. "I'll race you Ash!"
"No you won't! It won't be a race because I'll beat you easy!" He yelled back to me, running at full pelt to try and catch up so I laughed then ran faster. We made it all the way back to Kurt's house without breaking stride but when we got to the door we were puffed out completely.
When the others got back we quickly handed over all the apricorns we had collected and Kurt nodded his head approvingly, inspecting them all before smiling at us. "All you have to do is leave it to me, I promise you that when I get through with them, these'll be the finest Pokéballs yet!" He vowed and I smiled with excitement. I can't wait to see what they all look like at the end!
"I can't wait!" Ash smiled but then Brock brought our excitement down to a more serious level.
"Speaking of Pokéballs, did you happen to find out anything about the G-S ball yet?" Kurt handed the apricorns over to his granddaughter to pull the G-S ball from within his robe, looking at it with deep thought.
"It's simple yet complex, classic but bold, advanced whilst somehow primitive." So…a paradox within a paradox. Right? "In other words, I don't have a clue." Ash groaned, clawing at his face.
"You're kidding right?"
"I simply don't know who designed this thing but it's protected by a very powerful lock. There must be a way to break that lock but I don't know what it is." Maisy looked up at her grandfather with surprise.
"You mean there's something you don't know, grandpa?"
"I mean I don't know yet!" He corrected quickly. "I'm positive I could get to the bottom of this with enough time. Would you kids mind terribly if I kept this G-S ball just a little bit longer?" Kurt asked and we all shook our heads.
"Of course not." I assured him then looked to Ash.
"It's fine with me." He agreed.
"Just make sure you let Professor Oak know whenever you find out anything new." Brock said and Kurt nodded his head.
"Sure!" He told us and I exhaled softly. Glad that's all over with, now we can head to the Azalea gym and win some badges!
"You ready for another tough battle Ash?" I asked him and he nodded his head.
"You bet! Let's go!" He called then raced off, Brock running after him but both Misty and I stayed back, torn between going and leaving.
"Oh…uh…guess we'll be coming back for the apricorn balls later." Misty said with a smile before turning around. "Wait for me!"
"Thanks a lot Kurt, Maisy, see you soon!" I bowed to them both then hurried after Misty. "Wait for me too!"
"Bye! Good luck with your gym battle!" Maisy yelled and I waved over my shoulder before racing out the house to follow Ash and try beat him to the gym. Because I want to go first this time!