New Chapter up hope you enjoy, Please leave a review if you'd like! Stay safe, wear a mask, BLM.

Chapter 9

"I can't believe he did that…" Brock mused in distain at Drew's actions.

"What a disgusting thing to do! He completely used that poor girl." Leaf spat angrily.

"I never really liked Drew, whenever we ran into him in Hoenn he was always so cocky and pretentious." Max spoke up, his voice dripping with rage. "If I had known that he was just planning to use my sister then I would have…"

"Calm down Max, it's okay." May spoke sadly.

Ash stared at the fire in the centre of the camp, his thoughts accompanied by the rhythmic sound of sparks shooting from the flames. The blaze burning in front of him could not hope to match the burning hatred rising within him at the thoughts of Drew's actions. He had pretended to be May's friend for so long just to try and lure her into a relationship where he completely controlled her! It was a despicable act! To take someone who values you as a friend and use that friendship against them to further your own goals.

Ash's eyes turned to Gary, his first rival.

Ash reflected on how important a part he played in his life. He was always someone Ash looked at as a guideline, someone who's footsteps he should be matching and surpassing with every stride. Ever since the two fought over that empty pokéball, Ash was always motivated by the desire to beat Gary at everything the two did.

Growing up Ash and Gary always had this rivalry but beneath it both valued each other as friends. Ash was always grateful that the first rival he ever had on his journey was Gary Oak. This feeling was only enhanced after hearing May's story.

If Gary had turned out to be a bad person, Ash felt his life would be very different. Ash always counted his friends as incredibly important to him, losing even one would be devastating to him. He couldn't imagine how it would feel to have one fake the friendship for their own gain.

Ash stood up and walked over to where May was sitting and took a seat beside her, she turned to look at him with her sad sapphire eyes wide with curiosity. Ash placed his hand on her shoulder and returned her stare.

"I'm really sorry about what Drew did May, and I know that he was a big part of your growth as a co-ordinator that we can't match, but I promise you that all of us here care about you more than you know and we'll always be here for you to try and fill the void." Ash kept eye contact with the Petalburg co-ordinator the whole time, despite his face becoming increasingly warmer knowing that everyone else's eyes were on him.

Suddenly May's eyes began to well up with tears and Ash was beginning to panic thinking he said something wrong.

"Oh no May, I didn't mean to-" He was cut off by brunette throwing her arms around the Pallet Town trainer.

"Thank you, Ash." She whispered in his ear.

"My pleasure." Ash replied, his face an even darker shade of red than before.

They broke apart after hearing the giggles of their companions around them.

"So, May, if you don't mind me asking how did Brianna take it when you told her what had happened?" Iris asked.

"Well as much as I hate to it admit it Drew was right; she didn't believe me. When I told her she just thought that I was trying to break her and Drew up so I can have him for myself."

"How could she be so blind to fall for him and all his tricks?" Misty said while shaking her head.

"She's always had a huge crush on him, ever since our first trip through Hoenn and it seems like those feelings weren't lost on Drew. I guess he just had to tell her a few lies about how he felt the same in order to have her completely fall for him." May explained.

"I agree with Misty I still don't see how you could still go along with someone who is clearly exploiting you." Iris remarked.

"Well, you need to put yourself in her shoes." Brock spoke, stroking his chin in deep thought. "She's probably spent years hung up on the thoughts of Drew and then one day he shows up and declares he feels the same about you. You'd be over the moon, wouldn't you? You would be so happy that they look at you the same way you look at them that there's a chance you'd overlook them mistreating you because you're just happy being with them. The last thing anybody wants is to admit that their feelings over the last few years have been misplaced and you were wrong about someone."

Upon hearing these words May glanced beside her at Ash.

What if he doesn't feel the same? What if he still thinks of her as just a friend? Or, even worse, what if he is like Drew and only sees her as an object? No, Ash isn't like that, she knows he isn't. Yet, she also thought Drew wasn't either and she was wrong about him. Could she be wrong about Ash too?

No, she can't be. There's no way she can be sure, but she didn't care. She must believe in Ash, because Ash always believed in her, and because she can't lose someone else.

"It's been a really long night," Gary yawned. "We should probably turn in."

The gang began clearing everything away and preparing the clearing for the night. After everyone was all settled there was one final conversation

"So, Max," Cameron spoke up. "How have your travels been since you've become a trainer? I heard you've only started recently."

Max immediately looked at the ground so no one could look in his eyes through his rimmed glasses.

"I finished in the Top 16 in Hoenn and then the same in Johto, it's not the way I pictured starting my journey," He explained.

"What are you talking about Max? That's not bad at all." Ash told him.

"I'm the son of a Gym Leader and I spent the year before I started as a trainer I was traveling and learning from you Ash, I should've done better." Max said through gritted teeth.

"Max not everyone moves at the same pace, you're still young, you're going to get better." Gaz told him.

"Max we've all seen you improve over the years, and that's going to continue. Back to back Top 16's for a starting trainer is great." Brock consoled him. "It's good to be ambitious and want to be better but that doesn't mean it should consume you and to get ahead of yourself. Patience is a virtue as a trainer."

"Ash learned that the hard way." Misty remarked.

"What are you talking about? I have a lot of patience." Ash protested.

Max looked a bit happier after this exchange but once the conversation died down again, he turned his back to the group and pretended to be asleep. He was still lamenting over his losses in his league challenges.

Before long, all the traveling group fell asleep.

They awoke the next morning and began their preparations for departing for their next stop.

"How many years has it been since we first went through Kanto? How have they not made a detour around Mt. Moon since?" Ash complained loudly as the group made their way through the cave. They had gotten up as early as possible that morning in order to make as much progress as they can. The cave was very dark, so the group decided to let out a couple of their fire-type Pokémon in order to get better sight.

Ash had his Quilava leading them, Gary had his Arcanine and Serena's Delphox was walking side by side with May's Blazekin. The natural flames coursing from the Pokémon danced effortlessly in the humid air of the black, narrow cave.

"It's a landmark of Kanto Ash," Brock explained. "They don't want to direct any people away from here.

"Especially since there's a Pokémon Centre at the entrance to it that does pretty good business." Misty added.

"Also doing something like that would require a lot of construction." Gary began. "That can't happen around here because this is the natural habitat for Clefairy, Clefable and even a few Cleffa. It's against all environmental laws in Kanto."

"Okay, I just said that as a complaint I didn't need a presentation." Ash muttered while shaking his head.

"After all these years I still need to educate you." Gary joked.

"I agree with Ash on this one, that was incredibly boring." Dawn spoke while Piplup nodded in her arms.

"Shouldn't we be careful around here guys? When I was talking to Giselle at Pokémon Tech, she said a lot of shady business happens around here." Iris mentioned her eyes darting back and forth with Axew doing the same on her head.

"Did she really?" Serena squealed, suddenly becoming afraid herself.

"It makes sense, like how much of this cave is actually discovered? There's probably levels underground that no one has entered before." Max mused.

"Let's just hope the worst we run into is a few Zubat." May hoped.

"Me too but odds are those three from Team Rocket will probably show up." Dawn remarked.

"Are they still chasing you guys?" Gaz asked curiously.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, they haven't been around for a while." Ash answered, this was the first he really thought about it.

"Do you think they're planning something?" May asked suspiciously.

"If they are, I won't let them fool me." Ash shouted determined.

"Really? Because if I remember correctly all they had to do is wear stupid disguises and it fooled you every time." Misty taunted as the rest of the group laughed.

"Hey those disguises they use are good how was I supposed to know it was them after they put on them glasses?" Ash protested which only led to more laughter from his friends.

"Wait, wait shhhhhhhhhh." Gary attempted to quiet everyone down.

"Thanks Gary I was getting tired of everyone laughing at me." Ash huffed.

"Nothing got to do with you loser, don't you hear that?" He asked.

"I heard you calling me a loser." Ash sulked.

"Shut up!" Gary demanded adamantly.

The group went silent and began listening intently. They heard something in the distance, it sounded like a faint song being performed by a choir or something.

"What is that?" Iris asked cautiously.

"Whatever it is I think we should avoid it." Serena suggested scared.

"I think we should run there quickly before whoever or whatever it is stops." Cameron stated.

"I agree, let's go!" Ash added and the two attempted to run off before being stopped by Serena and May respectively.

"Will you two calm down!" May told the eager pair.

"We need to be careful about this." Max told everyone. "We don't need to run into anything that could cause us trouble."

"Max is right." Brock nodded. "Let's go forward carefully and everyone stay aware."

The group began to creep forward as the eerie sound began to become louder and clearer.

"It sounds like a sort of chant or something." Gaz stated.

"It doesn't seem human though." Dawn pointed out.

"What could whatever it is be saying though?" Gary wondered.

The group continued to move forward slowly, keeping very aware of their surroundings in case any sudden movements were made towards them. After another five minutes of cautious progression, the crew reached a curve in the path. They knew they had to take a right to continue in the right direction but straight ahead there was a big gap in the wall, and this happened to be where the mysterious sound was coming from. From where they were standing, they could hear the chanting clearer than ever.

"It sounds like… Clefairy." Brock noticed.

"Come on, let's have a look." Ash suggested and the group approached the gap in the rocky surface and stared down at the events unfolding.

What they saw was a huge chasm of rough, rocky substance. It was not empty though as the space was crammed with Cleffa, Clefairy and Clefable. They were all chanting in unison.

"Clef, clef, clef, clef, clef."

The sound bounced off the coarse walls of the cave as the echo's reached the young group of trainers.

"What is happening?" May asked, with her hand to her mouth.

"They look sad." Serena noticed.

She had a point. All the Pokémon in there looked to be feeling a sense of sorrow or worry and the chant they were performing was very melancholy.

"This is weird. Clefable and its pre-evolutions don't like being seen by humans. They should've sensed us and went into hiding."

"Why haven't they then?" Misty asked curiously.

"They must be distracted." Brock mused.

"Distracted?" Cameron asked, confused.

"I agree." Gary nodded. "Look at them they're all facing towards the centre of the chasm. They must see something there."

"I don't see anything." Iris said as she squinted at the crowd of Pokémon below them.

"There's nothing there physically." Gary muttered.

"Then what makes you think they're even looking at something if nothing's there?" Gaz asked the trainee Professor.

"We don't fully understand Cleffa line." Gary explained. "They are very rare so there's little opportunity for us to study them. However, there is one popular belief that they are an extra-terrestrial Pokémon, meaning they don't come from earth. Their abilities still may not be fully revealed or even fully formed. Evidence of this being how they changed into a Fairy-Type not long ago."

"They're not from this planet?" Serena asked, shocked.

"What does that have to do with what they're looking at though?" Asked Max.

"it's just a hypothesis but I think that these Pokémon have the ability to see beyond what's in front of their eyes, to sense and view events from somewhere else." Gary told the group. "Whether they had this ability all along or whether they just developed it. Plus, judging by the way they're all gathered here I'd have to guess there has to be a large number of their species together in order to do this."

"So, if they are seeing something that we can't, it must be something grim." Misty spoke sadly.

Gary just nodded his head solemnly.

"Isn't there anything we can do to help them?" Ash asked, he looked on in pain as he saw the sorrow on the faces of the Pokémon. Pikachu nodded as he sat on his trainer's head.

"We can't do anything to help if we don't know what's wrong." Gary said through gritted teeth.

"He's right Ash," Brock agreed. "If we were to just run down there the Pokémon would just panic and with that many of them, they could get hurt or hurt us. They don't like being seen remember?"

Ash clenched his fist in frustration. He hated being helpless in these kinds of situations, he wanted to do all he could to help all Pokémon but now he just felt useless.

May, seeing that Ash was in pain, walked up to the Pallet Town trainer and squeezed his hand gently.

"I know you want to help them Ash and we will find a way, but we can't right now. We'll just end up causing them more trouble. Trust me."

Ash kept his eyes on the hand May held and realised that she was right. He looked up into the sapphire eyes of the Petalburg co-ordinator and gave a nod.

"We should get going, just to be sure they don't see us." Misty suggested.

The group continued forward towards the exit of the cave. As they walked down their path, Serena had a question.

"So, the Cleffa line is an extra-terrestrial species, is there any other Pokémon like that."

"Just one." Gary answered.

"What is it?" She followed up.

"Deoxys."

"So, could there be a connection between the two if they're both from outside our world?" Serena asked.

Gary stopped walking and realised that the Pokémon Showcase competitor could be on to something.

"Maybe, now that you mention it. It's highly unlikely but it's possible."

Gary began walking again but he still ran Serena's idea around his mind.

"That's one to ask Grandpa about."

The group were so transfixed on strange occurrences in the chasm that they didn't realise an orange and black pumpkin like Pokémon disguised behind them listening to their conversation.

The Pokémon turned around and floated back to her trainer and her two companions who were further back in the cave.

"Good job Gourgeist, did you hear all they said?" Jessie asked her Pokémon.

Gourgeist nodded and began speaking to Meowth, who had the job to translate what the Pokémon was saying.

"Huh, apparently the twoips think the Pokémon in the chasm feel that there's something wrong nearby that they can sense and it's possible that Deoxys is involved." Meowth translated.

"Hmmmm perhaps we should report this to the boss." James suggested.

"Good idea, it's been a while since we updated him."

James took out the Holo-Caster and dialled Giovanni's number. After a good while of ringing the trio faced the grizzled face of the Team Rocket boss.

"What do you three want?" He asked in a tone of annoyance.

"Sir, we're here in Mt. Moon and there's a suspiciously large grouping of the Clefable line and they seem extra worried about something." James spoke while giving a salute.

"Why should I even care about that?!" Giovanni shouted.

"We feel it's something got to do with Deoxys sir." Jessie gulped after being shouted at. "We think that because of their possible connection as extra-terrestrial Pokémon."

"There could be a Deoxys nearby." Meowth suggested. "That could be a powerful asset for Team Rocket if we capture it.

"Not a bad deduction from you three." Giovanni laughed. "However, we're one step ahead of you."

"What do you mean sir?" Jesse asked curiously.

"Never you mind it's above your payroll." Giovanni snapped. "Still that's good instinct by you three, keep that up." With that he hung up the phone.

Giovanni was closer to the trio of Jesse, James and Meowth than they realised. He sat comfortably in his office at Team Rocket's temporary headquarters.

"Now with Deoxys transported here successfully, things are really coming together." His laugh rang loudly throughout his office at his plan forming beautifully.

Hope you all enjoyed that, please leave a review if you like. Yurt.