May and Ash's Unova Journey

by NEBSparky86

May and Ash are a couple and Ash has won the Sinoh League. Now May and Ash are going to the Unova region on a new journey. How will the couple handle new Pokémon and new friends? Ash/May fanfic. Please read and review.

39. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and story elements of the Pokémon franchise. Game Freak, Nintendo and the Pokémon Company own all of that. I am just borrowing their stuff for entertainment purposes and have no intention of making money off of it. The OCs Abelia and Jonathan Seabright are owned by Lily Nadesico. Rena and David Patterson are owned by EmperorDraco7 and I have their permission to use them.

37: Running Wild in the Suicune Valley Conference

Cynthia Greyson's POV

"I gotta say that those couples were quite resilient going through the Royal Gym," my loving husband, Lucas Greyson, said to me as we got settled into to our hotel room in preparation for the Lily of the Valley Conference. "I'd sure hate to have to face them in the Royal Cup."

"I agree," I replied as I was sitting our bed feeding our firstborn daughter, Isabella. "But they haven't seen how much I've improved either."

"Yeah," agreed Lucas as he wasn't facing me while I fed our daughter. "Hey have you seen that someone named Paul Shinji is returning to the Lily of the Valley Conference? From what I heard of him from Ash, he sounded like he was a cruel guy to his Pokémon."

"Yes, but he has gotten a bit stronger and less harsh with his Pokémon after facing Ash here in the Lily of the Valley Conference," I said to my husband. "He might be a bit tougher to face should he get the chance of facing the Elite Four and then myself."

"I hope you're right about him, Cynthia," Lucas said to me as I was finished feeding Isabella and took care of her.

'There are times when those who are cruel have a change of heart,' Rika said to us as took Isabella out of my hands and finished taking care of her. 'But then again, who's to say this change of heart isn't a ploy?'

oooooooooooo

"Welcome one and all to the Lily of the Valley Conference tournament," the announcer said to the spectators and trainers as a lot of people had gathered from all around Sinnoh. "We've got quite a turnout here this year. Making a return to the Lily of the Valley Conference is Paul Shinji of Veilstone City and it looks like he's made some changes to his Pokémon lineup. Yet there's no sign of the Champion of Pallet Town, Ash Ketchum."

"Because he's challenging the Suicune Valley Conference," Lucas said as he was at my side with the other members of the Elite Four and the Sinnoh League gym leaders.

"I wonder how well he and May will do in the Suicune Valley Conference," I said as I was curious to know how he was going to do in the Atlantica Islands Pokémon League tournament.

"I gotta say Cynthia, you've got a good life," Candice, the Snowpoint City gym leader said to me as she had Isabella in arms with a grin on her face. "You've got a smoking hot husband and a beautiful baby girl."

"With another one on the way," I added with a slight grin.

"How many children do you plan to have?" Lucian asked me as I wasn't sure wither or not he was being sarcastic. "Are you planning on going back to Celestic Town to raise your family?"

"Actually no, we're not returning to Celestic Town to raise our family," Lucas answered for me.

"Lucas and I are going back to our new home on Tsunami Island in the Atlantica Islands," I explained to Lucian. "I've been constantly stalked by paparazzi wannabes and paparazzis themselves. There's hardly any privacy here and celebrities are always front page news."

"Not many fans will like your decision, dear," Elite Four Member, Bertha informed me. "They'll be quite upset."

"Well, it's not their decision to make," I replied calmly. "I can put the fans first and ignore the needs of my family or I can put my family's needs first."

"She does have a point," Gardenia, the Eterna City gym leader, said in my defense to the other gym leaders and Elite Four members. "Besides, if I'm a celebrity with a family and I wanna raise my family somewhere else, I'd do it somewhere I know I won't get hounded by the media."

"She's supposed to be representing the Sinnoh region," the Canalave City gym leader, Byron said to the others as the announcer was about to hand the greeting to me as I would speak on behalf of the Elite Four and gym leaders. "Shouldn't that mean staying in the region as well?"

"And now, Sinnoh's beloved champion, Cynthia Shirona… I mean Cynthia Greyson will now greet the trainers as well as give an important announcement as well," the announcer said as I had the microphone in hand.

I was a little nervous, but Lucas gave me a reassuring nod that he was with me and supported my decision. With the nod given to me by Lucas and even Rika, I was ready to make my announcement as well as greet the trainers. Taking a deep breath, I looked to the trainers and audience and said, "Welcome to all of the trainers and those who came to cheer them on. On behalf of myself, the Elite Four and the gym leaders of the Sinnoh region, we welcome you to the Lily of the Valley Conference. This year has a big turnout with trainers from all over the Sinnoh region.

"I also would like to announce that I am moving my family to a different region," I began to explain to the audience. "My husband and I feel that moving to a different region would be a smart move for the safety of our daughter and more children to come. I still have every intention to return to Sinnoh and represent this region."

Some of the fans and trainers were baffled by my announcement. I decided to leave out that Lucas and I were moving to the Atlantica Islands. I think a lot of them were also upset that I was packing up my family and moving away from Sinnoh. I still had every intention of representing the Sinnoh region, but I wasn't going to subject my children or my husband to the torment of the media.

oooooooooooooo

May's POV

"I also would like to announce that I am moving my family to a different region," Cynthia Greyson said as Ash and I watched the opening ceremony for the Lily of the Valley Conference over Pokénet. "My husband and I feel that moving to a different region would be a smart move for the safety of our daughter and more children to come. I still have every intention to return to Sinnoh and represent this region."

"Remove her as champion of the Sinnoh region then!" screamed one person as they were angry about Cynthia's decision to move to a different region. "Remove her and let her go play House in whatever the Houndour region she's gonna move to. Champions should stay put in the regions they represent until they decide to retire or get dethroned."

"My friends… my friends, have you not considered that the lovely and beautiful Cynthia is only thinking about the safety of her family?" a Pokénet user named, BabyBlueCharmer, asked others as there was quite a volume of bashing Cynthia for her decision to move away from Sinnoh. "From I've heard, there's hardly any peace of mind for celebrities in the Sinnoh. And that almost everything about a celebrity's life is pretty much plastered in the tabloids."

"Leave Cynthia alone, you guys," shot back another Pokénet user called AmberEyedChampion. "Why should Cynthia Greyson throw the needs of her family aside just so the fans can nosy and see everything about her life. Frankly, I don't think I could handle that at all. My life isn't there for every person to see and neither should Cynthia's private and family life be there for everyone to see."

"Oh man, Cynthia's getting a lot mixed comments about her announcement to move from Sinnoh," I said to everyone as we were on the royal jet heading to Denali Island for the Suicune Valley Conference. "And most of the comments are pretty harsh."

"I hope Cynthia is ready for the reactions," David said to us as we were all apparently watching the opening ceremonies of the Lily of the Valley Conference and seeing the comments flowing in about Cynthia Greyson's announcement to move away from Sinnoh.

"Cynthia's making the right decision," Abelia said as she was feeding Francesca. "It's better for her to think of her family before fame and fortune."

Rena and I gave a slight nod of agreement to Abelia's statement. Relena then told us that Cynthia and Lucas Greyson were making their summer home on Tsunami Island their permanent residence and had already filed the paper work to make it so and become citizens of the kingdom of the Atlantica Islands. It was going to be nice to have Cynthia and Lucas being so close to us, but their home was on the same beach that we all first entered the Atlantica Islands on and it was also an hour from our house. I turned to feeding my daughter as my motherly intuition told me that my little girl was hungry and would be waking up to be fed. I was sure hoping that Ash and I could handle taking care of our daughter, Cynthia, while we were competing in the Suicune Valley Conference. My mom and Ash's mother insisted that we back out of competing in the Suicune Valley Conference and battle in the Royal Cup since we got the Royal Trident Badge. But as always, Ash was being his usual self and letting them know that he wanted to compete in the Suicune Valley Conference for a chance to try and dethrone Relena and Richie.

oooooooooooooo

"Now that the flame has been lit," began Relena after the Flame of Akatsuki had been lit by my former Victini's mate, Katsumi, "the Suicune Valley Conference is now open to all of the trainers who have come from near and far in the Atlantica Islands. May you battle well and find victory as you strive to reach the top. My husband and I will be waiting for the final victor to reach us."

I let out a sigh of relief as the opening ceremony was finally finished. Ash was very excited to be participating in the Atlantica Islands Pokémon League and looked forward to facing every opponent. As we made our way to our suite, we met up with Hilda and Hilbert as we hadn't seen them in while since parting ways at Sol Palace. Hilda herself had an engagement ring on her ring finger as Hilbert had proposed to her while they had stayed on Emerald Cove Island before we got there. Of course Terrakion and Cobalion were at their side as they were still protecting them. Cobalion saw me and Ash and was happy to see us once again.

'Hello to you Princess of Hoenn and Champion of Pallet Town,' Cobalion said to Ash and I as Ash and I approached him and the others he was with. 'I see you have your offspring in your arms.'

"Yo Ash! Great to see you, man!" Hilbert exclaimed with a grin on his face as he and Ash high fived each other. "Saw your trek through the Royal Gym, man… that had to be quite brutal going through nine challenges and having to battle the Queen."

"Well, Her Majesty was a tough opponent," Hilda chimed in as she joined the conversation and hugged me. "I'd hate see how tough the Elite Four as well as Relena and Richie are. I'm sure they're quite tough to face."

Hilda then noticed baby Cynthia in my arms and watched as she opened her eyes from her nap. The Nuvema Town-born trainer smiled as she liked seeing my firstborn daughter. She asked me if she could hold baby in her arms and I allowed her to do so. My daughter cried when Hilbert tried to hold her, earning a good chuckle from the Rock/Fighting-type Cavern Pokémon. Once we met with everyone else, Ash and I headed to our suite so we could relax for the night and wait to hear about who our first opponent or opponents were going to be. Ash went over how the Suicune Valley Conference worked in his mind and aloud for me and our Pokémon to hear.

"Okay, so the first three rounds will be double battles with four Pokémon and the Quarter-finals and onwards will still be double battles, but with six Pokémon on both sides," Ash said aloud as he was looking to see which Pokémon he was going to use in the first round.

As for me, I chose my first three Pokémon I was going to possibly use in the first round. I know that I had to keep at least one Pokémon in reserve. I know that Amethyst was sure eager to get some time to compete in the Suicune Valley Conference. Plus she knew that I was going to keep her on as my team leader. So for the opening round, I wasn't going to tip my hand and bring out my heavy hitters just yet, nor was I going to any Pokémon I had that could use Mega Evolution just yet. As for Ash, I knew my husband was bound to tip his hand early on and possibly try to give the impression that he and I meant business. Thankfully, Pikachu was there to convince his human otherwise even though it meant Charizard was going to have to go home for the time being. Not that Charizard minded; he enjoyed his private paradise on our land. Ash had decided to bring his new shiny Mewtwo so he could gain experience in tournament play. As for my little shiny Celebi, she was more interested in being a sibling to baby Cynthia rather than battling and that was something that I could understand. Though it was going to be quite challenging for her as Victini was already baby Cynthia's protector. Not to mention that I could foresee Celebi and Victini getting into fights. But getting back to choosing my first three Pokémon, I chose Zeus, Elsa and my team leader Amethyst as my reserve Pokémon. The rest would stay on my belt while I had my Exp. Share turned on; at least my Pokémon would be gaining experience even if they weren't battling. As for Ash, his first three Pokémon were going to be his Lucario, Mewtwo and tried to get Pikachu to come to Denali Island, but was met resistance as Glaceon was keeping him home to be with his family a little longer. My husband tried to get me to convince Glaceon to let Pikachu come to Denali Island, but it seemed as if even Pikachu wanted to stay home with his family. [Sigh] Ash sure didn't understand the concept of being father right away and it was going to take some time until he would finally get the memo.

oooooooooooooo

"Let's see now, we're in the Hydro Pump Division," Ash said as he and I were finding out who we would be facing in the Suicune Valley Conference. "Oh man… our first match is an hour!"

"And we're up against a couple too," I moaned in exasperation as I saw who were up against. "Devon and Hannah Quincy are our opponents too."

"Well, let's see who they are and what kind of Pokémon they use," suggested Ash as he pulled up a new app he downloaded the night before on his cellphone. "Okay they use mostly Grass and Poison-type Pokémon with a few Fighting-types in reserve."

"So who's going to be your third Pokémon?" I asked my husband as he still hadn't picked who his third Pokémon was going to be since Pikachu refused to come to Denali Island. "Pikachu is out and my guess is that he'll be off the table for a while so he can be a father to his children."

"I'll use my Porygon then," answered Ash as he picked up the Friend Ball containing an outline of his shiny Porygon.

"You plan on evolving him into Porygon2 or Porygon-Z?" I asked Ash.

"No," answered Ash as he shook his head. "He said that he didn't want to evolve at all. You know me; I respect the wishes of my Pokémon."

I gave my husband a slight nod in agreement. Pikachu was one of those Pokémon belonging to Ash who had no intention of evolving in the first place. It certainly took a while for his Bulbasaur to evolve himself as well as his Bayleef, Cyndaquil, Gible and Squirtle and of course there was his Snivy, Scraggy, Totodile Buizel, Corphish, Palpitoad and his shiny male DW Chespin, Tangela, Joltik, Piplup and Kabuto who still remained unevolved. Even I had some Pokémon who remained unevolved or at least who weren't fully evolved. Looking at the lineup for our opponents, I was confident that I had the right Pokémon for our first match. If anything, Ash and I were determined to make it to the final showdown against Relena and Richie and that meant we couldn't slack off or look past an opponent. With our Pokémon ready and Cynthia safely with her grandmother and big brother, Victini, Ash and I headed out to field that we were going to be on.

oooooooooooooo

"Alright fans, you're about to get a special treat here," the announcer said as he spoke to an electrified and enthusiastic audience. "The first match of the Suicune Valley Conference is about to start and two rising trainers will take the stage on Sora Field. On Sora Field, things might be tricky if the trainers haven't chosen the right Pokémon or try to use Ground-type Pokémon."

Our first battle was going to be up in the air on floating platforms and the announcer was right about one thing, the field certainly wasn't favorable for Ground-type Pokémon. I looked to my husband and gave him a slight nod to show that I was ready to go for my first Pokémon League match at his side. Our opponents looked to be veterans of this particular Pokémon League conference and we thought things were going to tough for us. Their first two Pokémon that they called out were Pokémon that we weren't expecting to see right out of the gate. Devon called out a shiny Landorus in a different form then what we saw in Unova. It appeared to be a quadruped version of Landorus and it certainly looked intimidating as well. As for his wife, she had a shiny Cresselia for her first Pokémon. Ash and I cringed when the announcer made his explanation for both Pokémon.

"I must say that Devon and Hannah Quincy aren't pulling any punches with the Champion of Pallet Town and Princess of Hoenn," the announcer began as he got to his detailed explanation. "They're starting out of the gate with two extremely powerful Pokémon. We've got the Ground/Flying-type Abundance Pokémon from the Unova region, Landorus. And Hannah is calling on the Psychic-type Lunar Pokémon from the Sinnoh region, Cresselia. What kind of Pokémon will Ash and May Ketchum respond with?"

"I plan to respond with Mewtwo," Ash answered the announcer as he threw up the Dream Ball containing the young Genetic Pokémon with the Mega Stone that Ash found at the bottom of Trident Pool after I defeated Olette Kaiou.

The shiny Genetic Pokémon then opened his eyes to see Ash smiling at him. Mewtwo looked to Ash as to ask him if it was alright to battle in the first place. After returning home from Sol Palace, Ash was quick to begin training with his Pokémon especially with the Mewtwo that Her Majesty gave him. He taught him moves to be an all-around battler and be able to counter his weaknesses even when he mega evolves into the Psychic/Fighting-type Mega Mewtwo X. The young Mewtwo learned Aqua Tail, Drain Punch and Aura Sphere to counter Dark-type Pokémon, Shadow Ball and Foul Play to face Ghost-type Pokémon. Ash also taught his Mewtwo Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Poison Jab, Energy Ball, Ice Punch, Fire Punch and Thunder Punch which impressed me that my husband was planning ahead. If anything, he wanted his Mewtwo be ready for almost anything. As for me, I told my little shiny Celebi that I wanted her to be ready for anything herself if she ever had to protect baby Cynthia like Victini does. Celebi's Friend Ball was on my belt along with Manaphy's Cherish Ball, Blossom, Yuki and Shaymin as well. I knew that Shaymin hadn't been used in a battle yet even though I had been training her. Personally I had been saving her to battle here in the Suicune Valley Conference and I had been lucky that there were Gracidea Flowers nearby that she could be exposed to whenever I wanted to use her. Before getting to Sora Field, Shaymin had exposed herself to Gracidea Flowers in case I might change my mind and call on her. I had yet to call on my first Pokémon to use in the first match of the Suicune Valley Conference and I grabbed Zeus's Apricorn Pokéball and called on him as I planned on letting Ash and his Mewtwo deal with Landorus while Zeus and I dealt with Cresselia.

"The Champion of Pallet Town and Princess of Hoenn are starting out strong themselves," the announcer said to the audience and viewers watching our first match. "Trainer Ash Ketchum is calling on a heavy hitting Psychic-type Pokémon from the Kanto region, Mewtwo, the Genetic Pokémon. But I have to say, whatever moron said that Mewtwo has a savage heart, in their Pokédex entry, is a complete idiot. And the Princess of Hoenn, May Ketchum is calling on one of her many Eeveelutions, the Electric-type Lightning Pokémon Jolteon. People here are starting to call May Ketchum the Eevee Princess because she owns every single Eeveelution plus an Eevee too. How will the Suicune Valley Conference veterans handle two rising celebrities?"

"Like this, Landorus use your Earthquake attack," Devon answered as he started the match off.

"Zeus, use your Magnet Rise to avoid that Earthquake attack," I countered back in order to avoid losing my proud shiny male Lightning Pokémon.

'Excellent choice my mistress,' replied Zeus as he generated a magnetic field that lifted him off the ground.

"Cresselia, Mewtwo looks like it's young and inexperienced," Hannah Quincy said to her shiny Lunar Pokémon. "Use your Hidden Power attack. Let's take it down quickly!"

'As you command Lady Hannah,' acknowledged Cresselia as she began to use the supposedly Normal-type move and directed it at my husband's Mewtwo.

"Mewtwo, use Protect," Ash countered back as Landorus's Earthquake and Cresselia's Hidden Power attack came screaming in at Mewtwo.

The young Genetic Pokémon produced a powerful barrier that blocked both attacks and effectively cancelled out both attacks directed at him. Once the attacks were finished, Mewtwo looked to Ash and had a smile on his face.

"Alright Mewtwo, let's strike back," Ash said enthusiastically. "Use Ice Beam and then charge at Landorus with your Aqua Tail."

'Yes… I shall do so,' Mewtwo replied with a youthful enthusiasm before firing off his Ice Beam at Landorus.

"Zeus counter back against Cresselia your Pin Missile and follow it up with Wild Charge," I said to Zeus.

'At once, it shall be done,' replied Zeus as he did as he was commanded. 'For the glory of the Thunder Fang tribe!'

Mewtwo's Ice Beam attack caught the quadruped Ground/Flying-type Abundance Pokémon by surprise as it struck home and connected with double the effectiveness as both of his types were weak against Ice-type moves and not even Abundance Pokémon's Intimidate ability was enough to stop Mewtwo from bringing down the hammer with his Water-type physical attack and knocking him down to the field. Once the dust settled, the shiny Landorus was dazed and defeated with spirals circling his eyes. Seeing her partner's defeat left Cresselia in precarious situation as she relied on Landorus for most of the offensive power while she provided mostly defensive support. Zeus's Pin Missile struck the Lunar Pokémon as she was caught off guard by her partner's defeat at the hands of my husband's Mewtwo. The Pin Missile attack struck home four times inflicting critical damage on her three times. Once the Pin Missile had done its work, Zeus proceeded hastily to use his Wild Charge attack before Cresselia could have a chance to recover and strike back.

"Landorus and Cresselia are unable to battle," the referee announced to the audience and viewers. "Mewtwo and Jolteon are the winners!"

oooooooooooooo

After an explosive first match, Ash and I returned to our suite after we were congratulated by our opponents on Sora Field and given each an uncut fist-sized quartz crystal as a prize for defeating them. The announcer explained that there would be random fields that required the losing opponent to give a prize to the victor and apparently Sora Field was one of those random fields that required the loser to give up a prize. Ash and I had to dig into our storage back home and see what we could offer as a prize should we be defeated. Seeing as how we hadn't used our Master Balls yet, we decided that they would be the prize that we would offer should we lose. But Ash had no doubt that we weren't going to lose. Putting our first victory aside, our next destination was Subterra Field to watch Jonathan and Abelia face off against their first opponent who was quite tough himself. But he was no match for the married couple from Oblivia who would soon be taking up their posts as members of the Oblivia Elite Four. As Ash and I watched Jonathan and Abelia, we noticed that Relena and Richie were there behind them. They were watching their match and holding Francesca and Marco for them since Jonathan's parents were off on a mission for the Pokémon Rangers and couldn't come to Denali Island to help them watch their two children. I think Ash found Subterra Field be very interesting since it was located underground.

"Man, being underground will certainly hurt a trainer with Flying-type Pokémon on their team," observed Ash. "Doesn't look like there's much room on this field for maneuvering."

"Rhydon and Solrock are unable to battle," the referee announced to the audience. "Samurott and Scizor win! And the victory goes to Earl Jonathan and Countess Abelia Seabright of the Oblivia Islands!"

Jonathan and Abelia waved to the audience as Relena and Richie stood up as they were approached by the Seabrights. Both Abelia and Jonathan took their children in their arms right as a camera crew was about to do an interview with them. Both of them were startled at first with the camera crew, but still answered their questions. It was like Abelia said, they had to prepare for their positions as members of the Oblivia Elite Four. Once the interview was done, they came up to meet us in the audience as the next match was about to begin.

"Hey there guys," Jonathan said as he and Abelia came up to us. "We watched your first match on Pokénet. That had to have been a tough match, especially when they started with a Landorus and Cresselia right out of the gate."

"Well, at least they were victorious," Abelia said to Jonathan calmly right before her firstborn, Francesca, started to cry out because she was hungry. "I guess someone wants to eat."

Abelia started to get up when Relena said to her, "You don't have to feed your children in private. There's no law that says you have to go somewhere private. The ushers can't kick you out, otherwise there'd be an ugly lawsuit."

Abelia let out a sigh of relief and sat back down as she was about feed Francesca. Ash, Richie and Jonathan made sure that they were sitting in the row in front of us so as to be decent. We all looked to see who was coming up next as the third match on Subterra Field was about to begin. Much to our surprise, my sister-in-law, Anna was taking the field for the third match on Subterra Field against a tough opponent herself. Her opponent unfortunately was Jeanette and the Crimson City native wasn't going to be pulling any punches against Anna. We knew that Anna wasn't much of a match for Jeanette, but she was going to put every effort into against Jeanette. Anna was unsuccessful in getting the Royal Trident Badge and was going to have to finish in the Top 8 if she wanted to get into the Royal Cup competition. As for Jonathan and Abelia, they had told us that weren't going to be able to participate in the Royal Cup competition because their positions as members of the Oblivia Elite Four were starting a couple weeks after the Suicune Valley Conference ended and they needed to get settled into a home soon. It was a bummer to hear that they weren't going to participate in the Royal Cup, but it couldn't be helped as they had their jobs to think about.

oooooooooooooo

"I'm sorry that you lost, sis," Ash said to Anna after her tough loss to Jeanette. "You'll have better luck next time."

"Maybe," replied Anna. "Maybe not. Brendan asked me to marry him. So I may not get the chance to return for another shot."

"Congrats to you," I said to Anna as I hugged her.

"Just make sure that you take care of my baby brother, okay?" Anna asked me as she hugged me back.

I gave Anna a slight nod as I had always intended to make sure that I was going to take care of my husband, her brother. With that, Anna turned and left the arena to her dorm to pack up and leave. It was quite hard to see that one of our friends had been eliminated from the tournament. But we had other friends who were in Suicune Valley Conference tournament too. After Anna left, Ash and I headed back to our suite where Mrs. Ketchum and her shiny female Pikachu were waiting for us.

'Welcome back Big Brother,' Mrs. Ketchum's Pikachu said to Ash. 'Mother is waiting to see you.'

When I heard Mrs. Ketchum's Pikachu calling Ash her big brother, I slightly giggled in amusement. It was nice to see that Ash wasn't just a father, but now he was a big brother. I was also right about his mother raising her Pichu more like a daughter than just a Pokémon and her Pichu even got that impression too which led to her evolving into a Pikachu. We followed Mrs. Ketchum's Pikachu to where she was and found her asleep with our baby sleeping peacefully in her arms and Victini asleep on Mrs. Ketchum's lap with smirk on his face. [Sigh] He was definitely Lucas Greyson's brother alright especially since he was a little flirt like Lucas was when he was still my Victini.

The rest of the day was a quiet one for Ash and I as we stayed in our suite and tended to our daughter. Ash asked his mother why her Pikachu was calling her "mother" and him "Big Brother." There really wasn't any need to ask that question as Mrs. Ketchum answered his question.

"I'm raising her as a daughter rather than just a Pokémon," Mrs. Ketchum explained to her son. "I used to train Pokémon, you know that. I just didn't like that Pokémon were being subjected to being someone's property. Here in the Atlantica Islands, Pokémon are treated as equals and I've even seen a few couples raising a Pokémon as if they were their children."

'Yeah, Mother never treats me like property,' Mrs. Ketchum's Pikachu said happily to Ash and I with a smile on her face. 'She loves me just as much as you, Big Sister, Mimey and Minccino.'

"I saw you two win your first match," Mrs. Ketchum said to Ash and I. "I'm quite surprised that people in this region have such rare and extremely powerful Pokémon."

"Well, Relena did say that almost all the legendary Pokémon from the other regions aren't as rare here in the Atlantica Islands as they are elsewhere," I said to Mrs. Ketchum as I recalled wheat Relena told us.

"Plus Anna is out of the tournament too," added Ash as he was hoping that his mother wouldn't be too upset.

"I know dear," Mrs. Ketchum said as she gave Cynthia back to me. "Diana and I watched her battle on TV. She was up against the same opponent that you faced back at the Indigo Plateau."

"Diana? Who's Diana?" Ash asked his mother as he was confused as to who Diana was until he looked at his mother's shiny female Pikachu.

'I am Diana,' answered Mrs. Ketchum's shiny female Pikachu. 'Mother gave me the name Diana so I wouldn't be confused with your Pikachu.'

"Speaking of your Pikachu," began Mrs. Ketchum as she looked to her son, "he wanted me to tell you that after the Suicune Valley Conference, he's no longer battling. Nor is he going to frequently travel with you."

"What? But why?" asked a stunned Ash as he was shocked by what Pikachu had to said to him through his mother.

I had to admit that even I was surprised to hear that Pikachu wasn't going to be Ash's shoulder buddy as much as he used to be. But then again he took Glaceon as his wife… or mate and had children with her. So he wasn't going to be able to travel as much as he used to do with Ash. Plus I think he had enough with the traveling and wanted to settle down so he could be a father to his children. It was something that I hoped that Ash would do soon and not try to Buizel out of being a father to his children just so he could travel. At any rate, Ash and I got comfortable as we rested for the rest of the day. David and Rena certainly had tough opponents for their first match as like our first opponents, they pulled out their big guns right out of the gate. But like Ash and I, those two they won without having to resort to calling on their powerful 'legendary' Pokémon and that certainly caught the attention of the audience as they were impressed with the crop of trainers that came from outside of the Atlantica Islands.

oooooooooooooo

The first week of the Suicune Valley Conference was mostly preliminaries to decide who would go through to the next rounds. Plus there were also seeded opponents who had yet to go. Samantha and Olette Kaiou were among those who were seeded opponents that yet to face an opponent. Ash and I knew that we hadn't faced them in direct battle when we went for our Royal Trident Badge, but we figured that we were bound to face them in the near future. As expected, both of them made it through the seeded prelims and were placed into the empty slots that had no opponents. I prayed to Arceus that we didn't have to face them in battle just yet as Ash and I saw that there was an empty slot because the competitors we would've faced had knocked each other out of the competition and that meant we were going to have to face a seeded opponent rather than going through to the next round without having to battle anyone. The local Pokémon League commission here in the Atlantica Islands was sure strict about the Suicune Valley Conference competition, but it kept the competitors from being lazy and dropping their guard. As for us, we were going to have to bring Cynthia with us after Mrs. Ketchum became ill with a stomach flu. Not to mention we had Cynthia away from her grandmother while she was still ill. As for Mrs. Ketchum's Pokémon, they were quick to get to work in caring for her while she was sick. Diana stayed at Mrs. Ketchum's side while she was under the weather even though we tried to get her to at least stay a room away while Mrs. Ketchum rested and was cared for. Unfortunately, Diana made a… shocking protest to Ash as she had no intention of budging an inch. I was just thankful that he didn't have Cynthia in his arms, otherwise she would've gotten shocked as well.

Within the next day, the next round opponents were announced to the remaining competitors and audience. For my husband and me, our opponent was going to be the seventh seed while Jonathan and Abelia were stuck facing Nathaniel Kaiou as their next round opponent. I was hoping that Jonathan could keep himself in check when he and Abelia faced her. She is quite the eye candy for guys who have no self-respect and only focus outward appearances. Once the next round opponents were announced, I decided to take a look at Pokénet and see if things improved for the godmother of my firstborn daughter. She had taken quite the lashing on social media for her decision to move her family away from the Sinnoh region in order to protect her children and Lucas from the nosy media. Things seemed to have returned to normal mostly, but there was still the occasional bashing of Cynthia Greyson. Many parents who there to defend her actions said that she made her decision that was best for her family and even applauded her for putting her family before the fame and fortune. With the Lily of the Valley Conference having been drawn to a close, Cynthia sent a group text that she and Lucas were returning once one of my husband's rivals had been defeated in the semi-final match by someone named Cameron and then Cameron being knocked out by an Eevee trainer named Virgil. Virgil had opted to wait until after the Royal Cup to challenge the Sinnoh League Elite Four and Cynthia. That gave Cynthia Greyson the time she needed to go through the remaining gyms in the Atlantica Islands. I had hoped that she was going to be able to get through the gym on Phantom Ninja Island as that gym took a lot out of me, even after I gave birth to my firstborn daughter. I figured that she was most likely going to have to wait until she gave birth, but she had gotten pregnant a couple months prior to the start of the Lily of the Valley Conference.

oooooooooooooo

"Heatran and Mega Camerupt are unable to battle," The referee announced as Ash and I finished knocking down the seeded opponent we were up against. "Mega Blaziken and Mega Lucario win!"

Both of our mega evolved Pokémon then reverted back to their original selves after a harrowing battle against our opponent, an Imperial Duchess from Amber Island. She was quite tough and her Pokémon were no joke either. Poor Amethyst didn't have much of a chance and even when she managed to land a hit, her opponent struck back only harder and Ayame was taken down right before she could land her Phantom Force attack. The opponents we were facing were sure going to get more difficult. Though I was surprised Cynthia slept through the match. Probably because Victini put ear plugs in her ears and was rocking her while they were in the coach's seat behind us.

'Dear sweet little Cynthia,' Victini began with a grin on his face, 'my you will grow into a fine beautiful young woman much like your mother and be strong just like your father. But for now, sleep in peace, little Daughter of the Sea.'

Once I had Cynthia back in my arms, Ash and I left Subterra Field to go to the next battlefield where David and Rena were at. Jonathan and Abelia had followed us as their next battle wasn't until the next day. Abelia shook her head at me and Ash as she told us, "You know, I would've been more than happy to have Cynthia with me in the audience while you two battled. Francesca and Marco are back in our suite with Scizor and Jonathan's Greninja."

"Sorry," replied Ash. "We thought you had them with you and didn't want you to feel overwhelmed if we had asked you to watch her and her big brother."

"Meh, Abelia and I wouldn't have minded," Jonathan replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, I'm sure that your daughter would've slept a little better if she wasn't down there in the coach's seat."

"Or at least you could've had Meloetta watching her," Abelia chimed in before changing the subject. "We heard that your mother is sick. How is she doing?"

"She's getting over it," I answered for Ash. "She's got Diana with her keeping watch over her."

"Diana, that's her shiny female Pikachu she raises like a daughter, right?" Abelia asked me and Ash.

"Wow Ash, never thought you'd have a Pokémon as a younger sibling, man," teased Jonathan as he hooted like a Noctowl in laughter.

'Well, little Cynthia has Pokémon like me as her older siblings,' Victini said calmly to Jonathan before he kissed his wife's left hand and spoke to her. 'Your long flowing silver hair glistens in brightly in the full moon. You are truly blessed by Lord Arceus with beauty Bug Tamer.'

"Let's go Casanova, you've got a responsibility to your sister before flirting with pretty woman," I said to Lucas's brother as I pulled him away from Abelia by his left ear like his brother.

'Ow, ow, ow, ow, why must I suffer for appreciating female beauty?' moaned Victini as I let out of sigh of relief as things were normal once again.

"Um, why did you sigh in relief?" Ash asked me as he was confused as to why I had sighed in relief. "I would've thought you'd like having not to worry about a telepathic Victini hitting on girls and women."

"For a while, yes," I explained to my husband. "But it just got too quiet and I was starting miss that. I guess I got used to Victini's brother hitting on pretty girls and women before he got his human form and married Cynthia."

"That makes sense," Abelia said with a grin. "If you got something that's not broken, don't fix it."

"Speaking of which, what field are David and Rena competing on?" Ash asked me as we were heading towards the field that his childhood friends were competing at.

"They said Factory Field, some sort of field for Steel and Poison-type Pokémon," I answered my husband.

'I dunno if I wanna be on a field for Poison and Steel-type Pokémon,' Amethyst said nervously as she was uncomfortable at the thought of having to battle at Factory Field. 'Maybe if Mrs. Ketchum is still ill, I can care for my baby sister instead of being on battlefield.'

'Really? And what am I supposed to do?' Victini asked Amethyst. 'I am little Cynthia's protector after all.'

oooooooooooooo

"Dragalge and Bisharp are unable to battle, Delphox and Greninja win!" the referee announced to all of the viewers at Factory Field and those watching on whatever device they were watching the battle on. "The victory goes to Duchess Rena and Marquis David Patterson!"

'Something has been bothering me,' Victini said to me, Ash, Jonathan and Abelia, as the battle was finished. 'Why do the human referees use those titles? I would not think that your titles from the Trident Battle Palace would matter here in the Suicune Valley Conference.'

"It's quite simple Victini," Relena said as she and her husband came to join us for a bit, "Here, your titles from the Trident Battle Palace are recognized and are announced. This is the only region that recognizes your titles from the Kalos Battle Chateau and Trident Battle Palace in their Pokémon League."

'On top of that, your titles also determine who you face in the Suicune Valley Conference as well,' added Aurora as he was also present.

'Just be glad you don't have the title of Imperial Duke or Imperial Duchess,' chimed in Michiru as the shiny Gardevoir sat down. 'They have the most difficult opponents to face. Relena and Richie sure had difficult opponents to face when they first burst on to the scene in the Suicune Valley Conference.'

"Wow, I didn't realize that our battle was the popular place to be," David said as he and Rena saw us in the crowds and then sat down.

"The next battle here on Factory Field will determine who we face in the next round," Rena said as she received Ruby from the shiny Fennekin who was Ruby's older sister and protector.

'Ruby is hungry,' Fennekin reported to Rena. 'Plus, I think she needs to be changed to. Same with Joshua too.'

"Thank you Fennekin," Rena said to the shiny female Fox Pokémon.

'Hey! I'm doing my job as Joshua's protector!' protested Joshua's Froakie.

'I never said you weren't doing your job,' Fennekin said to Froakie after she had given Ruby back to her mother.

'You two should learn how to care for your younger siblings,' Michiru said to Fennekin and Froakie. 'Ronginku had to learn about such things as she took a hands-on approach to learning about caring for Princess Ren.'

'I'm not exactly able to care for Ruby whenever Mistress Rena isn't there for Ruby,' Fennekin replied to Michiru.

"I can teach you, Fennekin," Rena said to the shiny female Fox Pokémon in a reassuring tone. "Besides, it's a learning process for me too."

"Next match is pitting the champion of Johto region, Jeanette Fisher against one of the top contenders in taking on our beloved co-champions," the announcer for Factory Field said to the audience, present and on social media. "Miss Fisher will be up against the top pair from Amethyst Pink Island, the Dark Angels."

'Dark Angels? They don't sound too pleasant as an opponent for Miss Fisher,' Amethyst commented as she was still nervous about being at Factory Field.

"Oh I'm sure that Jeanette will win," Ash said to Amethyst confidently with a smile on his face. "Besides, I'd like to have a rematch with Jeanette."

"Dude, you may have to face us first before you get the chance to face Jeanette," David replied with a grin on his face. "Besides you'll have to get through us before you get chance to face Jeanette."

"Sorry David," Rena said to her husband as she picked up Ruby. "But the only way we'll get the chance to face Ash and May is if we make it to the final round. We're in opposite divisions."

"Not to mention you'll have to face us if you wanna get to Ash and May," Jonathan added with a grin on his face.

"Assuming that we can make it to the final match," Abelia said as she was trying to be realistic.

"Come on Abi, ya gotta think positive," Jonathan replied to Abelia replied cheerfully. "We'll make it to the final match and then it'll be an epic showdown for the people of the Atlantica Islands to see."

"I hope you're right about that Jonathan," Abelia said to her husband as the battle between Jeanette and the Dark Angels had already begun.

oooooooooooooo

Jeanette's battle against the Dark Angels wasn't as fierce as I thought it would be. In fact once the Dark Angels made the mistake hitting each other's Pokémon with attacks like Earthquake and Surf, it was all over for them. Neither of their Pokémon had abilities like, Storm Drain, Water Absorb, Levitate or even the Telepathy ability like Michiru has. In fact both of them started fighting each other, which confused Jeanette at first. But with the Dark Angels fighting each other, all the Crimson City native had to do was pounce while she had the chance. With both Dark Angels losing both of their Pokémon, Jeanette was well set to face David and Rena in the next round. Even if Jeanette lost to David and Rena, she was still guaranteed a position in the Royal Cup competition as she was the champion of the Johto region.

The rest of the day went by smoothly for us as we watched the rest of the competition whittle itself down once again. Ash's mother even got better once Her Majesty heard that she had fallen ill. The Queen used some herbal medicines to help Mrs. Ketchum recover and even helped make sure that Diana hadn't gotten sick as she remained at Mrs. Ketchum's side. Once Mrs. Ketchum was back on her feet and Diana on her left shoulder, like my husband's Pikachu used to do, she resumed being Cynthia's grandmother and spoiling her. As for my mother, she came to Denali Island to cheer me and Ash on as we intended to make it to facing Relena and Richie. Even if we couldn't dethrone our friends, I was at least hoping that we could take the positions from those two corrupt members of the Atlantica Islands Elite Four. We just had to battle our way through the Hydro Pump Division, defeat the winner of the Blast Burn Division and our final opponent before going before the Atlantica Islands Elite Four. Jonathan and Abelia were in the Grass Pledge Division while Jeanette, David and Rena were in the Blizzard Cannon Division.

oooooooooooooo

"Oh man, this is bad," my husband moaned as he saw who were facing as our next opponent. "Why do we have to face Olette? Couldn't someone else face her?"

'You should quit whining, Big Brother,' replied Diana as she didn't like hearing complain about Olette Kaiou being our next opponent. 'You two faced Princess Olette didn't you?'

'Actually, it was his wife who faced off against Princess Olette,' Ash's Pikachu and Diana's biological father said to Diana. 'I do have to admit that Princess Olette looked really cute, but I was more surprised that your older brother was able to keep it together for so long during the swimming relay.'

"I'm surprised that Glaceon let you come to Denali Island," I said to Pikachu. "Did you come to help Ash compete?"

'Yes and no,' Pikachu answered me. 'I came to help Ash for a couple rounds in the Suicune Valley Conference. And no because I mostly came to check up on Diana and make sure she was happy with your mother-in-law.'

'Of course I'm happy with Mother!' Diana exclaimed happily from Mrs. Ketchum's left shoulder. 'I love her very much. Plus she gave this Everstone to me after she asked me if I wanted to evolve into a Raichu and I told her that I was happy staying as a Pikachu.'

Pikachu snickered as he replied from Ash's left shoulder, 'You're a chip off the old block, Diana. Just like me.'

"Who are you up against, Rena?" I asked Rena trying to bring focus back on the subject.

"We're facing Jeanette, remember?" Rena asked me as her answer. "I know David and I are going to be in for quite a fight against her. Especially after we saw her battle you and just recently battle Anna and that last pair."

"But our battle is gonna be an evening battle," added David. "They couldn't have picked a worse time for new parents to have their battle."

"Around the time you have to put Ruby and Joshua to sleep?" Abelia asked David and Rena.

Rena gave Abelia a slight nod as her answer as she too was annoyed with the officials of the Suicune Valley Conference. They didn't seem to be flexible especially with couples who had children. Relena and Richie commented that it had been that way since the formation of the Suicune Valley Conference and that they were still trying to work out all of the kinks. For the time being, we didn't have a much of choice and Relena had volunteered to look after Ruby and Joshua for David and Rena while they battled against Jeanette. As for me and my husband, our battle against Olette was scheduled for the morning at 9:30. For Ash and I, it was perfect for us since Ash was usually awake and training his Pokémon early in the morning while I slept in. Heh, he was also the one who got stuck with dealing with a very fussy Cynthia whenever her father tried to sneak past her room just get outside. Mrs. Ketchum even mentioned that she had tried to do that when Ash was a baby and she could never sneak past her son without him waking up. Like father, like daughter I suppose. But my mind was on focusing towards the upcoming battle against Relena's half-sister, Olette. Our battle was set to take place in the underwater battlefield of Umi Field. With that battlefield in mind, I had to tailor my selection around Water-type Pokémon or at least have Pokémon that could handle battling underwater. One of my selections was of course Aurora's mother, Lady Kirei. I hadn't used her in any competitions since Fort Ruby Sword and I really needed her along with Neptune, plus Ash and I were going to need some scuba gear since we were also going to be in the water with our Pokémon too. If anything, we were probably going to have turn to either Relena and Richie for help or Lady Rhea as both of them were more than happy to help out.

oooooooooooooo

"Thanks for giving this scuba gear to us," Ash said to Lady Rhea as we had called the leader of Team Trident for help instead of troubling Relena and Richie for help. "We'll make sure you get it back after our battle at Umi Field."

"You two can keep it," Lady Rhea insisted to us with a smile. "Umi Field is a challenging field to battle on… or rather battle in. Sometimes it can even work against Pokémon that have the Levitate ability. So choose your Pokémon carefully you two."

"We're sorry for calling on you for help," I said to Lady Rhea. "We would've asked Relena and Richie for help, but we didn't want to trouble them. They've given us so much help."

Lady Rhea chuckled and then replied, "Our princess and prince are selfless and they give without the thought getting anything back in return. Besides, I never said that I was going to completely distance myself from you and the others.

Lady Rhea then gave us back our Trident uniforms as she finished by saying, "Your uniforms are more than just uniforms. They also help you adapt your body to the waters of the world. I already visited the others and gave them back their uniforms as well. Oh, I'll be watching your battle in Umi Field as well."

oooooooooooooo

'I'm going to so love to see the reaction of the young girls when they see me in my surfer outfit,' Pikachu said with a grin on his face as he was dressed in his surfing wetsuit and had a surfboard with him too. 'I remember Lady Jessica telling me that my surfer outfit allows me to become an Electric/Water-type Pokémon with the Water Absorb ability.'

"You guys ready?" Ash asked his other two Pokémon as they weren't Water-type Pokémon like Pikachu had now become with his surfer outfit.

'I am ready,' answered Mewtwo as he had the breathing device that Ash gave him to use. 'I hope that I can make you proud.'

'I'm ready too, Ash,' my husband's Lucario answered he had his breathing device ready too.

"You guys haven't let me down," Ash said to Pikachu, Mewtwo and Lucario. "Even if we don't make it, I'll always be proud of you. We got to the Suicune Valley Conference together with hard work and training. There's nothing you guys can do that'll make me unhappy with you."

'It has been a while since you've asked for my help.' Lady Kirei said to me as we getting on the elevator to take us up into the water of Umi Field. 'Even though you haven't called on me until now, I have been keeping up with my own training program and staying sharp. Neptune is also ready too.'

'I'm ready too, Mama,' Manaphy said from my left shoulder happily as Manaphy was my last selection.

"Let's give it everything we've got and send Relena and Richie a message that we'll be the top contenders and that they need to watch their backs while we're still in the competition," I said to my Pokémon, trying to follow my husband's example and prep my Pokémon for the underwater battle we were going to face.

'I am ready to send that message to my granddaughter,' Lady Kirei said to me with a slight nod.

'Let's go Mama!' Manaphy exclaimed happily with a smile on my face.

oooooooooooooo

"And now begins Umi Field's first battle of the day," the announcer for Umi Field said as Ash and I began to make our final preparations before the chamber we were in was going to get flooded. "The Champion of Pallet Town and the Princess of Hoenn are going up against Fifth seed, Princess Olette Kaiou and she's more than just a looker."

"Okay guys, let's get ready," I said to my husband and his Pokémon as I put on the Devon Scuba Gear we got from Lady Rhea.

Ash and his Pokémon gave me a slight nod as they put their gear on as well. Pikachu didn't need a breathing device since his surfer outfit made him part Water-type, but he still put on the breathing device just in case he needed it. If anything, Pikachu wasn't going to any chances for his last two battles. He had a wife and plenty of children to return home to and he hoped that they were watching him.

'Just remember Ash, after these last two battles I'm retiring from battling and being a family Pikachu to my wife and children,' Pikachu reminded his human partner.

"I haven't forgotten, buddy," Ash said to Pikachu as he was still a little disappointed that Pikachu was retiring.

'Maybe Brother Manaphy will take my place,' offered Pikachu as the chamber was flooding with water.

'Sorry Brother Pikachu, but you know I never leave Mama's side,' replied Manaphy right as the water finally engulfed us and was halfway done with flooding the chamber.

Within a few minutes, the chamber was finished flooding and it opened for us to exit and swim out of. Ash and I swam out after we had recalled our Pokémon, save for Pikachu and my little Manaphy. We were certainly met by Olette as well as a large audience that was watching outside of the tank. A referee was waiting for us to take our place as Olette was already waiting patiently… and smirking before putting her breathing device on. My guess is that Olette wanted to know if my husband could focus on battling instead of falling prey to her visual psychological tactics… aka her sex appeal. Oh, I was going to make sure that my husband didn't fall prey to Olette's tactics as I shot a very nasty glare to my husband and made sure he got the message I sent him. Ash's eyes widened in terror as he violently nodded his head to acknowledge he got my message.

oooooooooooooo

Cynthia Greyson's POV

Lucas and I were watching Ash and May's next battle in the Suicune Valley Conference on Pokénet and we were sure surprised to see that they were underwater. Even Rika was rather surprised to see such a battle taking place. For the three of us, we were rather confused as to why a battle was taking place underwater than on a normal battlefield used in other regional Pokémon League battles. But it also looked interesting to us at the same time. Ash and May's next opponent seemed to be quite the looker and I noticed the glare that May shot at her husband.

"Guess May wanted to make sure that Ash got the message not to focus on other things besides the battle," my husband said to me.

'Indeed, it seems to be the case,' replied Rika as she had Isabella in her arms. 'Though I do find this Pokémon League to be rather interesting. Battling in an underground battlefield, underwater, in the sky and even in a factory setting. I wonder why the Kalos region Pokémon League or any other region's Pokémon League isn't like the Suicune Valley Conference."

"The only regional Pokémon League that even comes close to the Suicune Valley Conference is would be the Indigo Plateau competition in the Kanto region," I said to Rika as I remembered traveling to Kanto one year just to watch the Indigo Plateau competition. "But even the Indigo Plateau competition pales in comparison to what we're seeing with the Suicune Valley Conference."

"Imperial Duchess Olette Kaiou is facing off against Duchess May and Marquis Ash Ketchum and might be in for quite the challenge," the announcer said to the viewing audience. "But it might not matter as she's starting out with her Carracosta, the Water/Rock-type Prototurtle Pokémon from the Unova region and Clawitzer, the Water-type Howitzer Pokémon from the Kalos region. Two powerful Water-type Pokémon that have good abilities. Her Carracosta has the Solid Rock ability that reduces damage from super-effective moves by 25%. As for her Clawitzer, it has the ability known as Mega Launcher, which used correctly can be devastating as Pulse and Aura moves have their base power increased by 50%. Only the mega evolved form of Blastoise is known to have the Mega Launcher ability."

'That does not sound good for your friends,' Rika observed to Lucas and me as she had paid attention to the announcer's explanation of the abilities of Olette Kaiou's Water-type Pokémon. 'I certainly hope that they can pull off an upset victory here. This Olette Kaiou seems to have chosen her Pokémon wisely according to the field they're in.'

"I wouldn't count May and her husband out just yet, Rika," Lucas said confidently to Rika with a smirk on his face. "Ash has had a considerable influence on May before. I know that his enthusiasm and confidence has poured over to her."

'I hope you're right… Victini,' Rika said to Lucas as she referred to his previous and original form.

"Looks like Marquis Ash Ketchum is starting out with Lucario, the Aura Pokémon," the announcer said as Lucas and I saw Ash's shiny Lucario with a breathing device to help him stay underwater. "As for Duchess May Ketchum, the Eevee Princes and Princess of Hoenn, she's starting out with Vaporeon, the Bubble Jet Pokémon from Kanto. This battle can belong to either side. How will this battle end up?"

Before any of us could answer the question, I heard my cellphone vibrating with an alert from Pokénet with yet more hateful messages about my decision to move my family to the Atlantica Islands. All I could do was sigh and shake my head in disbelief that fans were still angry at me because I want to keep my family safe from being exposed to the press. But the more I kept seeing hateful messages on social media, the more it made my decision to move to Tsunami Island rather easy. Plus, I was also intending to step down as champion of the Sinnoh region anyway. I had gotten to the top of the mountain like I had dreamed about, but I felt that my time had come and gone. I looked to my husband before I rested my head on his left shoulder as I sighed.

"You alright my love?" Lucas asked me as he laid his head on mine. "You seem distracted by what is being said on social media."

"I am a bit," I answered Lucas as we watched May's Vaporeon, Neptune, battling fiercely against Imperial Duchess Olette Kaiou's shiny Carracosta. "Lucas, would you still love me even if I stepped down from being the champion of the Sinnoh region?"

Lucas smiled and set me in his lap facing him with a big smile on his face as my adorable Victini answered, "My angel, I will always love you. I married you 'for richer or poorer' and that will never change. Besides, money has never been an issue for me for 870 years. But I have been thinking about starting a business in the Atlantica Islands if you'd be interested in working with me."

"What kind of business are you thinking about?" I asked my husband as he piqued my interest. "Not a matchmaking business, I hope."

"Of course not my golden-haired angel," Lucas answered gently before he kissed my forehead tenderly. "I was thinking about setting up a guide business. Hire Pokémon who know the Atlantica Islands like the back of their hands… or paws and provide a service of Pokémon guides to tourists or those dedicated to studying Pokémon."

"It sounds like something I could get behind while I'm not needed in the Sinnoh region for Pokémon League season," I said as the television had announced that Carracosta and May's Vaporeon had been defeated. "It'll also help me transition from celebrity life as well."

"When do you figure you'll retire from being the Sinnoh champ?" Lucas asked me as I inched closer to him.

"At least once Isabella is old enough to make her decision if she wants to go on a Pokémon journey on her own," I answered my husband as I settled into the most comfortable position for both of us.

"Sounds good to me, my angel," replied Lucas as he noticed the smirk that I had just put on my face as I looked down to his face. "Let me help you get comfortable."

'For the love of Arceus, not again,' huffed Rika as she took her baby sister and left the main room for the bedroom. 'Come my baby sister, let us leave your parents so they may be… comfortable with each other.'

oooooooooooooo

May's POV

I was a bit embarrassed with Neptune being defeated after he and I dropped our guard when Olette's Clawitzer dropped him with a powered up Aura Sphere attack. I apologized to Neptune for the blunder as I recalled him to his Dive Ball. Thankfully Ash was there to put down Clawitzer with his Lucario and their combined strength. However Ash had that look in his eyes that gave him a cocky attitude.

"Ash, don't give me that cocky attitude because I slipped up," I sternly warned my husband as I glared at him.

"I didn't say anything at all," replied Ash.

"You were thinking it," I snapped at Ash as I was still glaring at him.

'Mama… Papa, we need to focus on winning this battle,' Manaphy urged me and Ash.

Our little boy was right in that we had to focus on the battle. For us and Olette, having home field advantage on Umi Field was a big deal and I was kinda tired of going to different fields. Plus there was Amethyst still feeling uncomfortable with having the possibility of going to Factory Field. Ash and I were determined to get home field advantage and that meant we had to step up our game big time. The top swimmer in the Atlantica Islands wasn't exactly going to go quietly without a fight but neither were we. Olette's next two Pokémon were her Feraligatr and Swampert. Both of them looked very tough, especially her Swampert since it had a mega stone for mega evolution and a mega bangle located on her left leg near her thigh. I didn't have any of my Pokémon with a mega stone. I knew that with Pokémon that could mega evolve, they'd have the ability to fight against legendary Pokémon on equal footing and that could spell trouble for me.

'I should be thankful that Swampert's mega evolved form doesn't have Water Absorb or Storm Drain,' I thought to myself. 'Now I can use either Lady Kirei or Manaphy to go up against Swampert. I have no doubt that my husband will continue to use Lucario or switch him out for Mewtwo or Pikachu.'

"Lucario, mind if I give you a little break?" my husband asked his shiny Aura Pokémon.

'No, not at all,' answered Lucario as he looked a little worn out from having to swim around, constantly dodging attacks from Olette and her Clawitzer.

"Good job to you then Lucario," Ash said as he produced Lucario's Friend Ball. "Take a good rest until I need you."

Ash then produced the Dream Ball that Her Majesty gave Ash after we won our Royal Trident Badge. I knew I was right that my husband was going to go with his young enthusiastic Mewtwo who was ready for battle. Once Mewtwo came out, everyone saw that like Lucario and Pikachu, he too had a breathing device covering his mouth. But unlike Pikachu and Lucario, he had a mega stone set on a necklace much like Olette's Swampert had his own mega stone. The ref signaled for the battle to continue and both sides continue battling. I had chosen… or rather Manaphy had chosen to go out and battle.

"Imperial Duchess Olette Kaiou has chosen to go with very powerful Water-type Pokémon," the announcer said even through the bulletproof glass. "The princess is going with the final stage evolved Mud Fish Pokémon, Swampert from the Hoenn region and its packing a Swampertite for mega evolution. And her second stage evolved Big Jaw Pokémon, Feraligatr is no laughing stock either. Feraligatr is known to charge at its prey with blinding speed.

"As for the Champion of Pallet Town, he's calling on his Mewtwo again and it's packing the Mewtwonite X mega stone still," continued the announcer. "I wonder if we're gonna see a battle between two mega evolved Pokémon. If so, we'll have a titanic clash of the mega evolved titans. As for the Princess of Hoenn, she's calling on her adorable little Manaphy. This Water-type Seafaring Pokémon from the Sinnoh region has the ability to bond with any Pokémon… or this case with a human.'

Olette didn't waste any time getting on the offensive against Ash and I as she mega evolved her Swampert right off the bat. Ash responded in kind by mega evolving his Mewtwo and had him battle against Mega Swampert. Both mega evolved Pokémon were quite powerful and seemed to be evenly matched. But in truth, Olette's Mega Swampert was stronger in terms of battling physical strength and experience. The only thing that was keeping Ash and Mega Mewtwo X in the battle was their tenacity and determination. For my little boy and me, Manaphy's speed in the water, the Grass-type attacks I taught him and Grass-type Hidden Power attack kept us in the battle against Feraligatr. With one final Energy Ball attack, Olette's Feraligatr fell in defeat and floated in the water like it was outer space and no gravity could be felt.

Once Feraligatr was defeated, Manaphy turned to see that Ash and Mewtwo were getting overpowered by Mega Swampert. The mega evolved Mud Fish Pokémon had the biggest smirk on his face as Ash and Mewtwo were trying to outmuscle him and Olette. As for Olette, she said nothing as she had a smirk on her face just the same as Mega Swampert. To me, I had to give her credit for doing her homework. Especially when it came my husband Ash; he was always one to act impulsively first and think second. All my little boy and I could do was shake our heads and let out a huff of irritation.

'Mama, we need to help Papa and Brother Mewtwo,' insisted Manaphy as he knew that his Psychic-type brother definitely needed the help and that later both of them needed a stern talking to.

Giving my 'firstborn' son a slight nod, we swam over to help my husband and Mewtwo take down Mega Swampert. Both of them were surprised to see us swimming towards them. Ash tried to shake his head and wave us off, but he knew better to try and do so.

"I see you're trying to outmuscle Olette and Mega Swampert," I observed to Ash. "You ever consider coming up with a new plan?"

'We already have a plan,' the mega evolved Psychic/Fighting-type Genetic Pokémon said to me in an irritated telepathic voice. 'Attack!'

'We can see that Brother Mewtwo,' Manaphy said to his younger Psychic-type brother. 'But the mega evolved Water/Ground-type has you outmuscled and not to mention he's been battling a lot longer than you have. I'd wager that it's time for you to come up with a new plan besides 'Attack!'.'

Ash and Mewtwo weren't exactly taking our presence to help them out kindly. Both of them were acting like little boys trying to prove themselves as men. I gave Manaphy a slight nod as I had a plan to help and take down Mega Swampert.

'Brother Mewtwo, Mega Swampert is a Water/Ground-type Pokémon,' Manaphy said to Mewtwo.

'I know that already,' shot back Mewtwo. 'What's your point?'

'Maybe you should think about the one weakness of a Water/Ground-type Pokémon,' answered Manaphy.

Mewtwo looked at his older Water-type brother quizzically and confused at first, but then gave Manaphy a slight nod as he remembered the lessons that Manaphy and the other Pokémon taught him. Giving my little boy another slight nod, Mewtwo and Manaphy both readied an Energy Ball attack each and fired them at the charging Mega Swampert and connecting with precise precision and causing a deep green and yellow outline race down Mega Swampert's body to indicate that his Special Defense stats had been lowered by two stages as both Energy Ball attacks had lowered his Special Defense stats each. This sudden change in strategy surprised both Mega Swampert and Olette. By the time recovered, it was too late for them as Mega Swampert was down for the count and reverted back to his original form as Swampert.

"Swampert and Feraligatr are unable to battle," the referee announced to audience. "Mewtwo and Manaphy win! Marquis Ash Ketchum and Duchess May Ketchum win the round and gain home field advantage here at Umi Field."

The crowd was certainly roaring as they loved seeing our battle as fierce fight to the end. Mewtwo reverted back to his original self and was recalled to his Dream Ball as Manaphy came to my left shoulder. Ash and I swam back to the chamber we came out of and were certainly eager to get back to our child and rest off the rest of the day. If anything, we were really tired as we were constantly moving around and also having to dodge attacks just like our Pokémon. Even though my husband and I won our match against Olette, Ash and I needed to have a discussion about his attitude.

oooooooooooooo

"We won our match against Olette," Ash said to me as he wasn't happy that I was lecturing him after our victory. "That's the only thing that should matter."

"We might've won our match," I began trying to remain calm, "but you were acting like you were trying to relive your glory days when you were by yourself in the Pokémon League matches. We are competing together as a pair, not individually like you were in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn or Sinnoh."

"What's wrong with trying to help us win?" Ash angrily asked me. "I try to help us win and all you're doing is reprimanding like a little boy. I feel like you're holding me back."

My husband's last comment was enough for me to lose my cool. I then slapped him with as much force as I could, leaving a welted imprint of my hand on his face. After I slapped him I then kicked him out of our suite as I shouted at him, "Get out Ash Ketchum! Get out of here… little boy! Until the young man I married is back you'll be sleeping outside! With the Pokémon… where YOU BELONG!" I was even quick to force him out of the building with other trainers watching as I drug my immature husband and threw him out of the hotel. Some of the hotel staff were confused as to why I threw my husband out. But they shrugged their shoulders and went back to work as if it were nothing major. I went back to the suite only to find Cynthia and Manaphy both crying as they had heard our argument and shouting. I picked up baby Cynthia and calmed her down first as she was my first priority. However once Cynthia was calmed down, Manaphy calmed down as well. But my little boy was confused as to why Ash wasn't in the suite with me. Before he could ask me what happened, I picked up my cellphone and typed up a group text to Relena, Abelia, Rena and Hilda.

"I threw my husband out of the hotel, whatever you and your spouse/fiancé do, don't let him in the hotel for any reason at all," I typed in the group text. "The only person who can let him in is either me or his mother."

I sent the group text to my girlfriends in the hope that they didn't let him back in the hotel. Ash was acting like a little boy trying to prove he could win on his own and forgot that he was married, had a daughter and another child on the way. If anything, I hoped that throwing him out would help him realize that the Lone Mightyena routine had to go and go fast. I was about explain to Manaphy what happened between his papa and me when my cellphone vibrated and I looked to see responses to my group text.

"Oh, Jonathan and I heard the argument," replied Abelia. "But I'll make sure that Jonathan knows not to let him in the hotel."

"I take it Ash was trying to act like a tough guy again," responded Rena. "He never changes. Delphox and I will see to it personally that Ash doesn't step foot in the hotel if we have to."

"You got it May," acknowledged Hilda.

"Guess Ash better get comfortable outside," responded Relena. "I'll let Richie know not to let Ash in, but wouldn't the couch have been a better idea?"

"I'll save for the couch for when I start having pregnancy-induced mood swings again," I replied to Relena. "Until he learns to grow up and act like the husband I married, he's staying outside… with the Pokémon."

"That's kinda harsh, May," Rena said to me. "I do agree that Ash needs to grow up, but throwing him outside with the Pokémon, May?"

oooooooooooooo

Relena's POV

After seeing May's response to me, I just had to sigh and shake my head. Sure Ash can be immature, but I kinda thought throwing him outside to sleep with the Pokémon was a bit harsh. I was sure that May would get upset with me, but I figured that maybe Mrs. Ketchum could handle things with her son and daughter-in-law. I know Richie and I haven't had an argument yet, but I'm sure we're bound to have some here and there. While May was talking to Rena and Abelia, I decided to call Mrs. Ketchum and see if she could handle things. Since May said either she or Mrs. Ketchum were the only ones who let him back in the hotel, I figured that the situation called for… a mother's touch and dialed the number to Mrs. Ketchum's hotel room.

'Hello. This is Mother's room,' Diana said over the line as she answered the room's phone.

"Can I speak with your mother, Diana?" I asked the shiny female Pikachu.

'One moment, please,' answered Diana before she called out on the other line. 'Mother, Lady Relena wishes to speak to you!'

"Hello Lady Relena," Mrs. Ketchum said as she took the phone from Diana. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Me, not really," I answered Mrs. Ketchum. "Your son could use your help."

"Something happen to Ash?" asked Mrs. Ketchum as she was a little concerned.

"He and May got into an argument and May threw him out of the hotel to sleep with the Pokémon," I explained to Ash's mother. "I think it was something that happened on Umi Field earlier today."

"I remember seeing their match on Umi Field as well," said Mrs. Ketchum. "Alright, I'll talk to my son about what happened. [Sigh] Though I imagine he'll try to place blame on May."

"I'm not exactly in a position to make any comments about their relationship," I replied to Mrs. Ketchum. "But I certainly don't want to see them get a divorce over something trivial as what happened on Umi Field."

"Don't worry Lady Relena, I'll speak with my son," Mrs. Ketchum reassured me. "But he'll be sleeping on the couch rather than in a bed."

oooooooooooooo

May's POV

"Alright Ash, I forgive you," I said to my husband over the phone as he was staying in his mother's room for the night.

Mrs. Ketchum had a stern talk with me and her son on the finer points of marriage. She mentioned while I was right to be upset with Ash, it didn't exactly call for me to throw him out of the hotel. Mrs. Ketchum had talked to us separately as she wanted to speak to us separately. Of course she gave her son an earful when he tried to accuse me of holding him back. He ended up getting slapped by his mother and was told that he should be glad Diana wasn't going to shock him. He just wasn't used to having a partner in Pokémon League competition and yet it was something that I didn't understand. Once Mrs. Ketchum was finished with giving her son an earful, she came to our suite and then gave me an earful for throwing her son outside to sleep with the Pokémon. If there was one thing that I really needed to work on, it was developing a sense of patience with my husband, her son. I was lucky that I didn't get shocked by Diana as she wanted to shock me. I was thankful that Diana couldn't shock me because I was pregnant again and I certainly didn't want to have a miscarriage. If anything, Ash and I were going to have to communicate properly before my little boy Manaphy decided to use his Heart Swap on both of us.

The next day, Ash came back to the suite accompanied by his mother and Diana to make sure our friends got the message that she had let him back in the hotel. Ash knocked on the door hoping that I would be there to answer the door. But Cynthia's big brother, Victini, was there to answer the door as I was feeding Cynthia. The little Victory Pokémon led Ash to our bedroom as I was still feeding our firstborn daughter. My husband blushed profusely as he turned his back to me in embarrassment. All I could do was sigh and say, "Ash, you've seen me naked plenty of times. There's no need for you to be embarrassed at the sight of me feeding our daughter."

"S-Sorry May," Ash said to me as he was still a little embarrassed and blushing. "I'm sorry about accusing you of holding me back and acting childish."

"And I'm sorry too Ash," I replied to my husband as I finished feeding my daughter. "I should've known that you weren't used to battling with a partner in Pokémon League competition."

Once I finished caring for Cynthia and leaving her with her Pokémon siblings, Ash and I decided to make up in a… creative way before we had to get in the shower and make sure our swimwear was on our bodies since we had home field advantage at Umi Field. Both Ash and I were confused as to what having home field advantage meant. But we would find out once we got to Umi Field.

oooooooooooooo

Once Ash and I had showered, put on our swimwear and headed to Umi Field, we were ready to finally find out what it meant by us having home field advantage. Once again Pikachu was in his surfer outfit for his final match before he retired from battling. I took one look at my cellphone and saw that the Lily of the Valley Conference had ended when Ash's rival from Sinnoh had failed to get to Cynthia Greyson when he was defeated by the Ground-type specialist of the Sinnoh League Elite Four, Bertha. As for the Greyson family, they exited quietly once Paul was defeated. Cynthia Greyson sent a text to me that she got help from Candice, the Snowpoint City gym leader, helping her and her family leave Sinnoh quietly. Knowing Cynthia, she probably feared that the fans would then force her family as well as her out of Sinnoh. Plus she was also on her way back to the Atlantica Islands where she was going to settle down and plant her family's roots firmly in the ground.

'It's going to be nice to have Cynthia Greyson here in the Atlantica Islands,' I thought to myself with a smirk on my face. 'Cynthia will have her godmother here to spoil her just as much as her grandparents will spoil her. I just hope we can give the Sinnoh league champ a proper battle if we have to face her in battle during the Royal Cup.'

Once I put my cellphone away in my bag and put my bag in the locker, Ash and I grabbed the Devon Scuba Gear that Lady Rhea gave us. With our chosen Pokémon in tow, we headed to the chamber that led us to Umi Field. As we entered the chamber, the announcer then came on and explained how the whole home field advantage worked in the Suicune Valley Conference.

"For those of you who are new to the Suicune Valley Conference here is how home field advantage works," began the announcer for Umi Field. "As you've probably heard the officials for the Suicune Valley Conference have to arrange the brackets for the finals. While the officials are determining the final brackets, those who have home field advantage are subject to challenges from opponents who have been previously defeated in this tournament.

"Any eliminated opponent can challenge those who have home field advantage and regain a spot in the Suicune Valley conference," continued Umi Field's announcer. "This Battle Royale will last for a week and the final brackets will be determined by the final overall score of those still standing after the smoke of the Battle Royale clears."

'Oh boy, never thought my final battle was going to be the kick-off of a Battle Royale,' Pikachu commented before he put on his breathing device.

"Why not stay for the Battle Royale then, Buddy?" Ash asked his Pikachu.

Pikachu shook his head and answered, 'I'm sorry Ash. But I gave my wife, May's first Glaceon, my word that I was retiring after this battle. And I intend to keep my word to my wife.'

"It's not going to be the same without you on his shoulder," I said to Ash's Pikachu as I gave him a wink.

'Well… I'll be on his shoulder from time to time,' Pikachu replied as he had a sweatdrop on his forehead, 'but I just won't be battling like I used to do.'

"Let's just help you retire from battling on a high note, Pikachu," Ash said to his first Pokémon and longtime friend.

'That would be nice to go out on a high note,' agreed Pikachu before putting his breathing device on.

"I wonder who our first opponent is going to be," I said as the chamber started to get flooded with water as our first opponent was ready to face us in battle.

"Well… only one way to find out," Ash said as we readied ourselves. "And we'll find out… together."

"Together," I agreed with Ash as we held hands as the water rose above our necks and finally over our heads as it was time for us to swim out of the chamber and into the underwater battlefield.

Our first opponent was someone who had been eliminated in the first round by David and Rena. She was looking to eagerly take our home field advantage from us and thought that she could use her girlish charms and sex appeal on my husband in order to get him incapacitated. Boy was she wrong as Pikachu performed brilliantly and battled hard to help us secure our first win in the Battle Royale.

"We've just been informed that trainer Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, his first Pokémon, is officially retiring from battling in Pokémon League competitions so he can settle down with his family," the announcer for Umi Field said to the audience and viewers over social media. "Let's give a big standing ovation for the Pokémon world's finest and strongest battler, Pikachu, belonging to trainer Ash Ketchum."

Even in the water of Umi Field, we could hear the applause and cheers for Pikachu as he had battled for Ash for the last time. It was clear that Pikachu was quite the rock star as we waved to the audience and he blew flirty kisses to all of the pretty girls for the final time. After the battle and standing ovation for Pikachu, we returned to our suite getting a lot of trainers wishing Pikachu good luck at being a father to his children along the way.

oooooooooooooo

'It was great battling alongside you Ash, but it's time for me to return home to Glaceon,' Pikachu said to Ash with a weak smile. 'See you at home after the Royal Cup then?'

"You bet buddy," Ash answered Pikachu trying to fight back the tears… and disappointment. "We'll come back home as champions of the Royal Cup."

'As much as I would like to believe you,' Pikachu began as he shook his head, 'the Princess and Richie are going to be really tough opponents especially in the Royal Cup, if not here in the Suicune Valley Conference.'

"We'll certainly try our hardest," I said to Pikachu before Ash put him in his Pokéball and sent him back to our house on Tsunami Island and got Virizion instead.

"You going to be okay, Ash?" I asked my husband in a concerned tone as I set a hand on his left shoulder.

Ash received Virizion's Heal Ball and then looked to me giving me a slight nod. If anything, we were going to start needing some of our high powered Pokémon if we were going to be receiving challenges from eliminated trainers who were given a second chance. Fortunately for Ash and I we weren't going to have to face the eliminated opponents multiple times as they received only two chances to get back into the Suicune Valley Conference. I wasn't exactly sure why Ash had called on Virizion since we had home field advantage at Umi Field, the underwater battlefield. But then I remembered that each of us carried an Exp. Share to help our Pokémon that aren't battling gain experience. Aside from sending Pikachu home to Tsunami Island, he also sent Mewtwo home for rest and made it clear to the young shiny male Genetic Pokémon that the rest was mandatory and not up for negotiation. I was happy to see that Ash wasn't a slave driver to his Pokémon. He did however call upon his shiny Porygon, Corphish and Samurott in place of Lucario, Jade and his shiny Noctowl. My guess is that he was expecting the next opponent to be a tough one. During the day, no one else challenged us to another battle at Umi Field so we went back to the hotel and back to our daughter who was sleeping like angel in the arms of her godmother, Cynthia Greyson. But we also saw Victini getting dragged away from Cynthia Greyson by his brother, Cynthia's husband.

"You may be my little brother and I taught you everything about hitting on females for affection," began Lucas in an annoyed tone, "but my wife is off limits to you, bucko."

'Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,' moaned Victini as he was being drug away by his left ear like his brother used to be when he was a Victini. 'Yes big brother, I got the message. Your wife is off limits.'

I took a moment to enjoy the fact that I was once again annoyed by Victini's flirting. It was something that Lucas did… Lucas when he was my Victini. I was just glad things were back to normal. As for my goddaughter, Isabella, she was in the arms of older sister Rika. Rika studied me intently and then offered to let me hold Isabella. I guess since Rika is a Psychic-type Pokémon, she was intent on making sure that she could use her wide range of Psychic-type powers to protect Isabella.

"What's it like Cynthia?" I asked the Sinnoh League champion.

The blonde-haired Sinnoh champ looked to me and then asked as her answer, "What's what like?"

"You know," I began to answer Cynthia Greyson, "what's it like knowing your daughter is half human and half Victini? Like one of those… hybrids, like Relena said she, her husband and her daughter are."

"I don't think of Isabella as a hybrid or half human and half Victini," answered Cynthia with a smile. "I think of her as my daughter. I got pregnant with her by my fiery Lucas, carried her and then gave birth to her. What's it like knowing that your daughter is one of the People of the Water like you and has Aura powers like her father?"

"It's interesting," I answered Cynthia before changing topics. "But it'll be great that you'll be in the Royal Cup. I know I had thought about ducking out of the Suicune Valley Conference just so I could take care of my little girl."

"I guess you weren't going to be able to talk him out of competing, huh?" Cynthia asked me with a grin on her face.

oooooooooooooo

A few days went by and more eliminated opponents came after me and my husband eager to claim home field advantage at Umi Field. Even Olette Kaiou came back for a second helping to try and get the home field advantage from us. Each opponent was beaten back but they also battled us with everything they got, battering our Pokémon very hard. I never thought we'd have to constantly rotate and heal our Pokémon just to keep pace with the opponents coming at us. However there was one opponent we hadn't expected to see and it was quite the shock to see her.

"Anna?!" my husband asked in shock as he thought she had gone to Hoenn to be with her fiancé.

"Hey there little bro," replied Anna with a Cheshire grin on her face. "I'm challenging you and your wife for a chance to get back in the Suicune Valley Conference. How does 2:45 pm sound? I'm pretty sure you need to take care of my niece."

"2:45 pm sounds great," Ash answered his sister after getting a slight nod of approval from me.

"Great," Anna replied happily. "Just make sure you kiddies don't do any Mankey business before our battle."

Once 2:45 pm rolled around, Ash and I were ready to go at Umi Field for our match against Anna. This was going to be a tough fight for my husband and I though prior to this, Ash wanted to at least train his Swadloon, Krokorok, Gabite and shiny Mudkip so that he may be better prepared for the upcoming challenges to come, especially as he wanted to better bond with the four Pokémon especially his shiny male Mudfish. Heh, if only Brock could see that Ash has a shiny Water-Type that could make his Marshtomp somewhat jealous but oh well.

Fortunately Ash had given his Krokorok the Lucky Egg while Swadloon still had the Sooth Bell around his neck since both Pokémon and Gabite wished to fully-evolve into Krookodile, Leavanny and Garchomp for when they are needed in the tournament. Plus he and Jonathan had also been doing a bit of sparring and training of their Pokémon during their spare time since Jonathan and Abelia are going to be facing Georgia in their next round which made me a bit concerned since Georgia has gotten stronger since the first time we encountered her in Unova and when Dawn battled her in the Pokémon World Tournament as we heard the Dragon Buster's female Pawniard had evolved into Bisharp and her female Vanillish had become a Vanilluxe.

We shouldn't be worried too much as I'm sure Jonathan and Abelia will be fine against her, in fact during Ash's time training his Pokémon, his Gabite, Krokorok and Swadloon acted as backups for Mudkip when facing wild Pokémon and my husband would switch the shiny Hoenn Water-Type out a few times during the training in order to prevent him from being knocked out by the opposing wild Pokémon but he did manage to catch himself a Scyther with the Technician ability and a shiny male Litleo.

I on the other hand was training my new shiny female DW Scatterbug which held the Lucky Egg that I had with me in an effort to help her become a lot stronger herself plus like with Braxien at Castelia City, she and I became really close. She was even able to evolve into her next two stages which I learned from both Abelia and Jeanette that they were Spewpa and Vivillion, mine became a lovely Elegant Pattern Vivillion and she was really happy that she could soar to the skies, something that made me smile.

In fact, Ash's Mudkip was able to evolve himself and is now a Marshtomp which is something that made my raven-haired husband show his confident grin on his face as he was certain that we would be ready for the challenges to come and hopefully be ready to face them together, without repeating the incident from following our battle against Olette.

On the other hand, we were surprised when Relena mentioned how Bianca traded her Shelmet for Professor Juniper's Karrablast which caused the two Bug-Types to evolve into Accelgor and Escavalier respectively, something that could only occur if Shelmet is traded to another trainer for Karrablast and vice-versa and I'm pretty sure that Bianca will use her Escavalier rather well in the Suicune Valley Conference as would her Emboar, Minccino and newly evolved Mienshao, Chandelure, Stoutland and Musharna.

As we arrived at our position in the Umi Field, I knew which Pokémon I was going to use against Anna since I wanted to give Milotic and my Wartortle a chance to participate in the battle and show that I don't always need to rely on my Eevee Evolutions in every match… There was something waiting for us there and it wasn't Anna at all yet it was a familiar Pokémon that Solidad had used at the Kanto Grand Festival though this one looked familiar to Ash as well as it approached us. Long time no see Ash… began the Pokémon known as Lapras as I took Dexette out to learn more yet Manaphy and I were shocked that this one was familiar with my husband.

Lapras, the Transport Pokémon said Dexette revealing the Pokédex entry on Lapras. People have driven Lapras almost to the point of extinction. In the evenings, this Pokémon is said to sing plaintively as it seeks what few others of its kind still remain.

"Okay…"I began, then turned my attention towards my husband with a slight expression of annoyance as there were things that he should've told me while he sweat-dropped. "Ash, what exactly is going on here?"

"It's a long story but this Lapras was a Pokémon that I owned during my travels with Tracey and Misty at the Orange Islands though to be honest she was separated from her family when we first met her at the start of our travels…" he began explaining how he and Lapras knew each other, hoping not to leave anything out especially as she has always been his means of travel by sea in the Orange Islands events plus she had been beneficial in helping him win the Orange League in the end and ultimately reunited her with her family but managed to see her again temporarily when he, Brock and Misty were traveling through Johto. "Oh yeah, how did you find me? I thought you were staying with your family?"

'It's a long story but you could say a little Butterfree or two told me…' responded Lapras, making us wonder what she was talking about then suddenly two Butterfrees appeared from behind her and one was a strange pink Butterfree which looked nothing like the female Butterfree that Relena used against Skyla and the other Butterfree was a normal-colored one like the one Relena's husband and Drew used respectively yet this one wore what looked like a yellow scarf around its neck.

As my husband saw the two, he felt as if he was having a bit of a heart attack as he recognized these two Bug/Flying-Types with Lapras. "What?! Butterfree?!" he exclaimed, with the yellow-scarf wearing Butterfree happily greeting his old trainer.

'It's been a while hasn't it Ash!' said Butterfree as he spoke in the thrill voice that Ash had been used to ever since his evolution from Metapod at the Viridian Forest but then again, he was the very first Pokémon that he ever caught at the start of his journey ever since Butterfree was still a Caterpie. 'How did your travels go? Did you manage to become stronger ever since our separation at Kanto?'

"You could say that…" said Ash before explaining to Butterfree and his mate about everything that transpired following them leaving back in Kanto, starting with when Ash, Brock and Misty got to Saffron City, to the Indigo League, to the Orange Islands' events, to the events at Johto, the Hoenn Journey which included when he and I first met, the Battle Frontier, the Sinnoh travels, the travels through Unova and finally up to the present. "I take it you three came to cheer us on for the upcoming battle huh?"

'Well actually, Lapras and I wanted to join you in the battle maybe even all three of us moving in with the two of you as well afterwards,' responded Butterfree, glad that Happy and Lady Amelia were able to keep him, his mate and Lapras up to date on everything that occurred especially as while he is glad that Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle are now Pidgeot, Venusaur, Charizard and Wartortle, he seemed rather disappointed that he wouldn't be seeing Pikachu with us as the old team just isn't the same without him. 'Besides from what you said, you have plenty of room so it would be great to be by your side again.'

Ash and I remained silent, especially by the fact that Butterfree and Lapras were willing to rejoin Ash's team for the Suicune Valley Conference as well as the two and Butterfree's pink mate were also planning on moving in with us was another shocking revelation. 'Oh and you don't have to worry about my family… ever since our brief reunion in Johto, I had been doing a lot of thinking lately and I felt that my place has always been by your side since you've helped me become who I am right now. So I'm kinda hoping that you'll have me on your team again if you'll allow it…'

There was nothing but silence coming from the two of us, especially as hearing this caused Ash to feel somewhat better over the fact that Pikachu is going to be retiring from battling completely and I can't say that I blame him for feeling that way. "I would really be glad to have you two helping me out again… plus I'd like to see how much stronger you've gotten since well, you know…" he said, which caused both Butterfree and Lapras to be happy that they are going to be part of his team again and Lapras gave her trainer a small kiss on his cheek.

"Awww…. how sweet, don't you love it when a boy and his Pokémon are reunited?" came a voice that we had a feeling we knew who it was as Ash's twin sister Anna was watching the whole thing nearby alongside both her female DW Clefairy and her shiny male DW Glaceon Diamond with a light smile forming on her face to see that Ash had two more of his old Pokémon back. "Well now that this reunion is finished, what do you say we get on with our match?"

We nodded our heads and got ready for the battle with Anna, my lineup of Wartortle, Milotic and Manaphy were ready as was Ash's lineup of Lapras, his newly evolved shiny male DW Marshtomp and his shiny male Lucario, then turned his attention towards Butterfree with a worried expression. "Sorry, I'll have to use you some other time in the tournament since this is an underwater battle but if May and I end up in a battle that doesn't involve water then I'll make certain to use you for my lineup… I promise…"

'You better make sure you keep that promise, especially as my mate and I will remind you of that when the time comes,' explained Butterfree before he and his mate went to the sidelines while Lapras stood by Ash's side and hoped that Anna had her six Pokémon chosen carefully as if she wanted to get back into the Suicune Valley Conference.

"You ready for this Anna?"

"Anytime Ashy, and I think I know who I'm going to be using for this match!" Anna replied back, sending out two of her chosen Pokémon which was a shiny male Dragonite with the Dream World ability Multiscale and a shiny Ditto which reminded Ash of the shiny Ditto he saw back in the Sinnoh region. "Let's see how you do against them, especially as my Ditto has a few hidden surprises in store!"

Ash and I nodded to each other, especially as we saw that Anna was wearing her Mega Pendant which meant that she brought with her a Pokémon that is capable of Mega Evolving so we needed to act carefully. "Alright Manaphy, I choose you!" I said, deciding to send my son out to fight the two Pokémon chosen by Anna and my husband knew that Dragonite was a Dragon/Flying-Type which means he had an idea on who to send out first.

"Let's do this Lapras!" said Ash while Lapras nodded her head and got onto the battlefield while Anna smirked as did her Ditto before it soon transformed into my Manaphy much to our surprise since we didn't even hear Anna give a command to Ditto and yet it immediately transformed on its own accord. "Great, that Ditto just used its Transform attack…."

"Actually that wasn't Ditto's Transform attack little brother" responded Anna, correcting Ash as it was actually Ditto revealing one of the hidden surprises that she was previously talking about not too long ago. "That was just her Imposter Ability kicking in so she wouldn't need to use Transform in that case so let's just hope that you're ready cause I'm going to be making a comeback soon!"

"We'll see…." Ash spoke, though Anna's transformed Ditto was taking interest in my Manaphy and to be honest, he's really surprised that she decided to turn into him specifically as he never fought against another Manaphy before but he remembered learning how Pikachu had a hard time against Drake's Ditto at the Pummelo Stadium when it transformed into his Electric-Type Brother in the first round of that match but the good news was Lapras had the Water Absorb ability so she can regain health when hit by Water-Type moves but Dragonite is a Pokémon that can learn a different variety of attacks, including ones that can deal with Ice-Types and Water-Types. "Though I have to be honest, I never thought you would have a Dragonite like Rena."

"What can I say Ashy, I know where to look" commented Anna, especially as she had a feeling another old friend would be watching this match and she pointed to the person who was with both a normal colored female Dragonite and a shiny male Druddigon among the sidelines with a look of curiosity. "Plus an old friend of yours does know a lot about Dragon-Types in question."

"Huh? What are you…?" Ash never got to finish his sentence as he looked up at the sidelines to where Anna was pointing out specifically and he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw who it was as it was a lovely woman with blue eyes, light blue-hair tied into a Ponyta tail and donning a black-and-white cape, a blue bodysuit that was a lighter blue down the center, blue gloves and blue boots, more so as it didn't take him this long to recognize who it was. "Clair?!"

"At any rate, you have a battle against me," Anna said to us. "So let's get it started. Ditto, use Energy Ball on Manaphy!"

'Here I come to get you Seafaring Pokémon!' exclaimed Ditto as she launched the same Grass-type attack that my little boy knew.

"Dragonite, use Extreme Speed on Lapras!" exclaimed Anna.

'It's on the way,' acknowledged Dragonite as she rapidly charged at Ash's Lapras.

"Manaphy, dodge that Energy Ball," I countered back, "and use your Energy Ball on Ditto."

'At once Mama!' exclaimed Manaphy as he dodged Ditto's Energy Ball and countered back with his own Energy Ball.

"Lapras use your Ice Beam on Dragonite," ordered Ash as he looked to his Water/Ice-type Transport Pokémon.

'Just what we were hoping you'd say!' exclaimed Anna's Dragonite as he revealed a Yache Berry and consumed it before the Ice Beam struck him.

Lapras's Ice Beam struck Anna's Dragonite dead on, but the damage was reduced thanks in part to the Yache Berry he ate. As for my little Manaphy his Energy Ball connected, like Lapras's Ice Beam, the damage was reduced thanks in part to a Berry that reduced the damage of super-effective Grass-type moves. Anna's Ditto had a berry shaped like a pea pod called a Rindo Berry. Like Dragonite, Ditto survived taking major damage from a super-effective attack. The exchange would go back and forth as Ash and I would have my sister-in-law on the brink of defeat only for her to turn the tables on us and put us on the defensive. Our battle finally ended as Dragonite and Ditto were getting worn out and could go no more as an Ice Beam and Signal Beam took them both down and finally ended the Double Battle.

"Dragonite and Ditto are unable to battle," announced the referee. "Lapras and Manaphy win! The winner is Ash and May Ketchum of Tsunami Island!"

oooooooooooooo

"Not bad little bro," Anna said to my husband. "But don't think I'm giving up on the Suicune Valley Conference. You'll be seeing me back in action real soon."

"May and I look forward to your return," Ash replied to his sister with a grin on his face.

"Oh… I got one more chance to get back in the Suicune Valley Conference," Anna said before she swam away.

"Well… let's get back to our quarters and call it a day," suggested Ash. "Lapras and Manaphy look tired after getting banged up pretty badly."

Giving a nod to my husband, I was in agreement as we left Umi field at least for what we thought would be a good rest. But we were sure that someone else would try to challenge us. It was quite awful that most of our Water-type Pokémon and Pokémon that could swim well in the water were the ones getting banged up. After getting Lapras and Manaphy healed up, we tried heading to our suite for well-deserved rest and so I could take care of my daughter, Cynthia. Unfortunately for Ash and I, another challenger came and challenged us to a battle. I certainly felt uncomfortable leaving Cynthia without her mother, but she was also with her godmother, the Sinnoh champ. After Ash and I had swapped out our Pokémon for Pokémon that were ready to fight we headed for Umi Field.

Arriving back at Umi Field, Ash and I noticed that the field had expanded and now included islands for non-Water-type Pokémon to battle on. Even though there were islands for non-Water-type Pokémon, there wasn't any space for trainers to stand and issue commands from. That meant our place was going to be in the water or at least join our Pokémon on the islands. Actually, I noticed that with all of the fields. That meant the Suicune Valley Conference was more of a hands-on type of Pokémon league that required the trainer or trainers to experience what it's like to battle alongside their Pokémon, having to dodge attacks just like our Pokémon. At any rate, we got ready for the next challenger as I was sure that the challenger in this week long Battle Royale. Our next challenger was quite the opponent as he had wanted only one of us to battle him. Naturally, Ash was wanting to battle our opponent but our opponent chose to battle me. My woman's intuition told me that he probably figured me for an easy target and the weakest of the pair. Boy was he ever so wrong. My little boy and I proved that he couldn't hold a candle to us as we defeated him with little difficulty even he had a Houndoom that could mega evolve. Not to mention he didn't realize that Mega Houndoom's ability Solar Power was only hurting him even though his Ninetales had used his Drought DW ability to provide the boost in Special Attack. I even had Kirei backing Manaphy up even though my son didn't need it. A couple well placed Surf attacks from both Manaphy and Kirei and a powerful Scald attack from Manaphy was enough to bring down the Fire-type duo with little trouble at all. The challenger was horrified that my happy little Manaphy was able to bring down his Pokémon with Kirei's help of course.

oooooooooooooo

'We won Mama!' Manaphy exclaimed happily as we returned to our suite where the Sinnoh champ was still staying.

"Welcome back you two," Cynthia said to Ash and I as we entered our quarters. "Your Manaphy seems to be quite the battler and not just for the contests you two participate in."

'Cynthia, little Isabella is hungry,' Rika, the shiny female Meowstic reported as she carried Cynthia's firstborn to her. 'You might want to feed her before she tries to get food from me.'

"We're sorry you had to watch Cynthia a bit longer," I apologized to Cynthia as I received my daughter from her godmother.

"Its fine, I don't mind at all," Cynthia replied calmly and with a smile. "Besides, it's giving me good practice for when I have to take care of two bundles of joy, soon."

"Yeah, I'm gonna have a second bundle of joy too," I said as I rubbed my stomach. "No thanks to the ding dong next to me."

"Hey, it's not all my fault," Ash shot back at me. "You were practically begging and pleading for more."

"Yeah, but it was you who tripped backwards causing us to fall in the pool," I lashed back to Ash, much to the enjoyment and amusement of Cynthia.

After Rika had us floating in the air for a couple minutes to end the argument, I took Cynthia so I could take care for her. I was thankful I had her and Mrs. Ketchum to help me for the time being. Though I wondered why my mom hadn't shown up at Denali Island. The only thing that I could do then was call her to see what was happening.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but we haven't heard from Max or Garnet," my mom explained to me. "I've tried reaching out to Garnet's mother, Twilight, but I don't exactly know where the Lavender Amethyst tribe is at. I'm just worried about Max and Garnet. I was told that Garnet would take good care of Max."

"I'm sure that Max is fine," I reassured my mom. "Besides, Max said that Garnet was taking good care of him. Even mentioned that he was going to be here at Denali Island for the Suicune Valley Conference."

"Alright then," my mom said to me. "Call me if you see your brother in the stands… your brother and Garnet."

"Sure thing Mom," I replied to my mom before hanging up and then received a text from her.

oooooooooooooo

"Max, you need to call Mom and let her know you and Garnet are here at Denali Island," I told Max after I spotted him and Garnet two days later after Mom called me. "I think she and Garnet's mother are worried about you two."

"Alright Sis, I'll call Mom," huffed Max as he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Hey, I'm not the one who went and disappeared sending Mom into a panic," I shot at Max. "You should be thankful Mom hasn't told you to go back home yet."

"Look, I told you that I would be fine and that Garnet and I would look out for each other," retorted Max as Garnet hugged him warmly.

'There was no need for you to worry about us,' added Garnet in agreement.

"I think your mother, Twilight, was worried about you too," I informed Garnet. "She had my mom ask me to make sure you two called in… like as soon as possible."

"[Sigh] Come on Garnet, let's go call my mom before she starts sending the Hell Houndoom after us," Max said as he and Garnet walked towards the nearest video phone so he could talk to Mom.

'Ugh… I think my mother would join yours in sending such a creature after us,' Garnet replied as she followed my brother.

oooooooooooooo

"You called Mom, right?" I asked my little brother an hour later.

'Yes, Max called his mother,' Garnet answered me instead of Max. 'My mother was with her with enjoying tea.'

"We're just lucky they didn't send the Hell Houndoom after us," Max added as he was a bit upset after the apparent scolding he and Garnet got from our mother and Garnet's mother, Lady Twilight. "What's wrong with wanting to be a little disconnected from the world for a couple months anyway?"

'Calm yourself Max,' Garnet replied as the female Gardevoir lightly wrapped her arms around Max's neck. 'At least… we should be thankful that we got off with just a scolding and not worse, my precious brother.'

"Uh… do I even wanna know what's going on between you two?" I asked my brother a little disgusted by what I saw Garnet doing.

"Not really," answered Max as he gave a cocky smirk to me. "Anything new with you? I hope Ash isn't being a dork."

"Well… other than Ash getting me pregnant again," I began to answer my little brother, "I'd have to say 'No. Not really'."

"Seriously?" Max asked me as he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "How did he get you pregnant again?"

"Sorry… not until you're old enough to understand," I answered my brother before changing the subject. "At any rate, how are you liking the Suicune Valley Conference? Is it a lot better than back in Hoenn?"

"Oh, it's a lot better than Hoenn," Max answered with grin on his face that even Garnet had too. "This has got to be the best regional Pokémon League competition EVER!"

'You got that right!' Garnet happily exclaimed in agreement with Max. 'I'm sure that not even Kalos could top the Suicune Valley Conference!'

oooooooooooooo

Once the week long Battle Royale was completed, the standings were made official and Ash and I were still at Umi Field with home field advantage because of our top score. During the week, my mom and Lady Twilight came to Denali Island for the finals of Suicune Valley Conference. The Pokémon tribal leader of the Lavender Amethyst tribe was welcomed by those who knew her. Many of the vendors even knew Garnet's mother and had offered her a nice space for her and her mate, a male Kirlia named Tanaka. Garnet explained to them that she had come with my mother to Denali Island to check in with her firstborn while Tanaka was overseeing the tribe. It was great to see my mom and meet with Lady Twilight again. The female Gardevoir seemed happy to hear that Ash and I got married as well as have one child born and another one on the way.

oooooooooooooo

"Well, the final match is upon us," I said to my husband as we headed to the chamber leading to Umi Field to face our first opponent in the final round. "Never thought that we would have to face Jonathan and Abelia Seabright."

"Me neither," agreed my husband, Ash. "But if we're going to face Relena and Richie, we gotta go through Jonathan and Abelia. Not to mention the Elite Four too."

Ash and I looked back on our trek to get to the final match of the Suicune Valley Conference. Our first match in quarterfinals had been against Ash's sister, Anna. Anna had changed her lineup completely and the quarterfinal match was set to be a one-on-one match and Anna wanted to battle against her brother to see who the better Ketchum sibling was. The quarterfinal match was a fierce battle between them both. Both Ash and Anna battled hard to gain the upper hand against one another, exchanging the lead twice. Anna had gained home field advantage at Sora Field during the Battle Royale and never let go of it once she obtained it. Anna was trying hard to get to the finals, but in the end Ash prevailed over the older Ketchum thanks to a couple lucky breaks he got with Jade and his Porygon.

The semifinal match for us was against Ash's childhood friends, David and Rena Patterson. Like Anna, they didn't pull any punches as they went all out and showed no mercy whatsoever. Their last two Pokémon were kind of obvious as they had saved Delphox and Greninja for the last round. David and Rena managed to force us down to our last two Pokémon even though Ash and I had been constantly switching out our Pokémon to keep them fresh and as rested as possible. But in the end, we were forced to use Latias and Manaphy as our final Pokémon. Both Latias and Manaphy battled hard against Greninja and Delphox. With their combined strength they were victorious in helping us to get where we were in battling the soon to be members of the Oblivia Elite Four. Once I had let out a sigh and looked to the three Pokémon that I had chosen to bring with me, the water began to fill the chamber for the last time during the Suicune Valley Conference this year.

"Well I guess the time has come for us to see who will battle the Elite Four and the co-champions, eh?" Ash asked me with a smile on his face.

"I guess so," I answered my husband as the water had reached to our neckline and we were about put our scuba gear on. "Let's give it everything we've got. All of our problems and worries, they get washed away here in this chamber."

Once our scuba gear was on, Ash and I gave each other a slight nod. Manaphy let himself out of his Cherish Ball in order to remain at my side as we were preparing to swim out into the underwater battlefield of Umi Field. Once the chamber had been completely flooded, it opened up for us to exit into wide open space of Umi Field, the battlefield in the water and on the islands. Here would be mine and Ash's final test to see if we were worthy enough to face the most difficult group of Pokémon trainers in the world. Ash and I would be victorious or we would go down while someone else took our place against the Elite Four of the Atlantica Islands.

oooooooooooooo

Author's Note: And cut! That's the final chapter for the main story to be posted in the year 2015. The next one will be another special Christmas chapter to close out 2015 in style. Please review and favorite this fic if you like it. We're closing in on the finale and I'm very happy that you all have stuck with this fic, favorited it and given it a lot of reviews. Seeing all of you like one of my fan fics makes me very happy. Stay tuned loyal Advanceshipping fans… the Christmas chapter will be out by Christmas… if not a few days before Christmas. Until then See ya all later! ^_^