Chapter Eight: A lot happens!
"Azumarill, Hydro Pump go!" Paul demanded his water Pokemon. Azumarill nodded and used Hydro Pump on Geodude, which would've been a direct hit, however...
"Wow - Paul's going to defeat this one easily" Dawn said thinking that's how he was going to win.
"Geodude, use Hidden Power!" Roark commanded. Just as the water from Azumarill's Hydro Pump neared Geodude, Geodude used Hidden Power, timing it nicely to blast the water right back to Azumarill which was a direct hit.
The move from Geodude sent Azumarill flying down to the ground - which surprised Ash, Pikachu, Dawn, Max, May and Brock.
"It beat back the Hydro Pump" Ash said staring at the results in disbelief.
"And that was a water type move" Brock added.
"Alright, Geodude, Rollout!" Roark ordered. Geodude obeyed and curled up into a ball and used Rollout.
"Azumarill, Water Gun!" Paul simply replied.
Azumarill obeyed and got up, however, Geodude's Rollout attack was a direct hit and got Azumarill sending the water Pokemon flying into the air - and with another Rollout attack, it knocked Azumarill out - the water Pokemon landed on the ground and fainted.
"Not giving his challengers any time for counter attacks is how Roark keeps up the pressure!" Brock said as he studied the battle.
"WHAT?!" Paul said in disbelief and annoyance that his water type lost. He expected it to win.
"Azumarill is unable to battle - Geodude wins!" The gym keeper announced.
Max and May were both impressed and surprised as well as their friends.
"A water type Pokemon just lost to a rock type!" Dawn said in disbelief.
"Every time Geodude's Rollout hits it, it keeps getting stronger" Brock pointed out.
"Yes, that's how Rollout works. It starts off as weak, and gradually begins to get stronger" Max explained. "It goes up to five times."
Paul recalled Azumarill back to its Pokeball. "Good for nothing!" Paul muttered to the Azumarill, which angered Ash who heard him.
"The creep!" Ash said. To him, no Pokemon is worthless. He felt sorry for Azumarill.
"I can't believe he said that!" Max added, wanting to go and rescue Azumarill from Paul. 'I'm guessing he's going to release Azumarill after the battle!' he thought. 'If that's the case, I'll try and ask if I can have Azumarill instead!' he thought.
May, Dawn, Brock and Max nodded in agreement with Ash.
"Now, Elekid, stand by!" Paul called out his electric type.
"Surely Paul knows Electric Pokemon won't work against Rock type unless he has something planned!" Max said in surprise.
Ash nodded in agreement. "Though, to be honest Max, when I first met Brock, I only had Pikachu and we managed to defeat him in battle" Ash reminded him.
"Now Elekid, use Brick break!" Paul ordered.
Elekid used Brick break against Geodude - defeating the Pokemon before it could use another Rollout attack.
Roark recalled Geodude. "Great work, my friend and thank you - you may now have a nicest. Let's go, Onyx!" Roark said as he changed to his new Pokemon - sending out the giant Onyx.
Paul tried Break again, however, Onyx dodged it.
"Elekid, Protect" Paul demanded.
"Onyx, Double edge" Roark responded to Paul's attack. Onyx somehow managed to break through Elekid's protect.
"Wow - that's amazing" Dawn said in awe.
Elekid tried Brick Break again.
"Onyx, Stealth Rock, go!" Roark said.
Onyx used Stealth Rock which got Ash worried about Elekid. "Elekid, lookout!" Ash said.
May, Max, Dawn and Brock watched in interest and concern.
"Stay strong, or else!" Paul warned his electric type.
"Onyx, use Slam!" Roark ordered.
Onyx obeyed and slammed onto Elekid however, sparks came from Elekid's static power.
"Brick Break, Elekid!" Paul again demanded.
"Double Edge, Onyx!" Roark responded to that.
Both Pokemon aimed at one another in sync. Elekid weakened and at that point, Paul recalled his Pokemon and called out Chimchar.
After a couple of attacks, Chimchar managed to defeat Onyx.
Roark recalled Onyx. "Great work, my friend now you can have a nice rest. Cranidos, come on out!" Roark called.
After an intense battle against Cranidos, Chimchar got defeated, much to Paul's disgust.
Paul recalled his starter Pokemon. "Chimchar, I'll deal with you later!" he muttered. "Elekid, stand by!"
Ash stared at his rival in disbelief at how he treats his Pokemon, May, Dawn, Max and Brock couldn't believe it either nor could Pikachu. 'The nerve of that guy - why does he do that to Pokemon?' he thought.
After an intense battle with Cranidos, Elekid managed to win - in results, Paul received his badge and thanked Roark before leaving to heal his Pokemon and to deal with Azumarill, Ash and his friends returned to the Pokemon Center too.
"Wow, that was such an intense battle" Dawn commented feeling nervous about her upcoming one. "I only have one Pokemon and worried about how Piplup will go" she added after they arrived in the Pokemon Center.
"I'm sure you'll be fine, Dawn! There are other Pokemon trainers who choose to stick with one Pokemon too throughout their journeys too. I'm going to follow Paul, I want to see what he does to Azumarill - by the sounds of things he wants to let it go due to losing the battle, if so, I'm going to see if I can have it!" Max said with determination.
"I'm going to ask Nurse Joy about the Pokemon Performers, we need to find out more information for it, Dawn" May said.
"I'll go with you, May!" Dawn said eager to learn more about it. The five friends separated for a while, Max followed Paul, Ash and Brock stayed to talk while May and Dawn went to ask Nurse Joy questions about Pokemon Performers.
"I can't believe the way he treats his Pokemon!" Max said quietly to himself as he followed Paul around the Pokemon Center, ensuring that he wasn't in Paul's sight. After Paul healed his Pokemon, he took out Azumarill's Pokeball and frowned.
"You're worthless, Azumarill. Take a hike! On second thoughts I'll either trade you or give you to someone else" Paul called out his Azumarill who at once began crying at what he had said. Max felt sorry for the water type and ran up to Paul.
"Paul? Could I have Azumarill if you don't want it? I'd love to raise it" Max asked.
"Knock yourself out. It's not worth keeping anyway" Paul replied, giving Max Azumarill's Pokeball.
Max stared at him in disbelief. "Er - thank you! Azumarill and I have a lot of training to do but I'll certainly take great care of them!" Max promised and recalled Azumarill to its Pokeball.
"We'd have to use that machine so Azumarill can be your Pokemon" Paul reminded him. Max nodded - he was excited about his new addition and figured with training, Azumarill will be great addition to the team.
"Hm, that made me think a lot about the gym battle, Brock. I think I need another Pokemon to help me win - but who? Should I ask Misty and Tracey to send me a Pokemon?" Ash asked after recalling the battle against Roark.
"Roark does sound tough - if you want to go for it, Ash. Who would you ask for? Or would you go to Route 203 to catch some more Pokemon?" Brock asked.
"Honestly, I'm torn. I think Corphish would be great help with the gym, but it wouldn't be fair for my other Pokemon too!" Ash answered referring to the ones who are back in the lab.
"It's a hard decision. You need to decide in a few days since your turn will be up. Dawn's got one Pokemon and Max has two" Brock said.
Ash nodded. "May has two as well, like me she left hers at home - at the same time it's a hard decision. I'll decide after Dawn and Max's battle against Roark's. I want to pay attention to how he uses his Pokemon in battle which will help me figure out my strategy" Ash told Brock who nodded in agreement.
"That's a good idea, Ash!" Brock agreed with him.
"After the gym battle, we need to focus on contest battles" Ash added, remembering how much fun it was entering them.
"Are you going to do Pokemon Performers?" Brock asked.
"I'm not really sure yet - I haven't seen one before" Ash replied.
"Hi May and Dawn - what can I do for you both? Did you get to talk to Drew, May? He was looking for you" Nurse Joy asked after they walked up to her.
"Hi Nurse Joy! Yes, I had a talk to Drew. Dawn and I want to know if you know more about Pokemon Performers - we're interested in entering them" May said, not wanting to go into detail of what Drew said to her.
"That's great news you got to catch up with him! Yes - I know a great deal about Pokemon Performers - in fact, its similar to Pokemon Contests" Nurse Joy began to tell her about it.
"Is it for everyone or just girls?" Dawn asked curiously.
"Pokemon Performers must be female to join - though I'm not entirely sure why that's a rule..." Nurse joy told her thinking the rule was unfair for the other trainers who might want to join.
"How often do they show in Oreburgh City? And can our friends watch?" May asked.
"There's going to be a show on tonight if you're interested in watching - it's at Oreburgh City Hall - the next one is next week" Nurse Joy told her. "Your friends are allowed to watch."
May and Dawn both looked at one another in great excitement.
"We'll so watch it! Thank you, Nurse Joy. This should give us some idea on how it works and hopefully enter!" May told her.
"That's great news, May and Dawn - we'll be looking forward to seeing you! I'll watch it from the TV as I'd be most likely busy in the Pokemon Center as usual!" Nurse Joy said smiling to the two friends.
May and Dawn looked at one another excitedly. "We'll have to tell the others!" Dawn said in excitement.
May nodded. "We'll also have to get some new clothes to enter the Pokemon Performance" she told Dawn who nodded in agreement.
"I think Oreburgh City has a clothing department?" Dawn said then quickly asked Nurse Joy if it did.
"It does - it's not too far from the Museum actually!" Nurse Joy informed them.
Delighted with the news - May and Dawn knew exactly what they wanted to do next. "Thank you again, Nurse Joy for everything! We're off to the clothing department to get new outfits for Pokemon Performance!" May said smiling to her.
"You're welcome and if you want to know anything else - feel free to ask me!" Nurse Joy said.
Dawn and May nodded and left to find Ash, Brock and Max - they only found the two since Max was just getting Azumarill from Paul.
May and Dawn told Ash and Brock about their findings with the Pokemon Performers - they were interested in watching but were disappointed they couldn't join and understood why. Max returned after the girls finished telling them about the Pokemon Performers.
"Guys! You'll never guess what happened!" Max announced smiling with Treecko walking by his side and Azumarill.
"Wait - isn't that Paul's Azumarill?" Dawn asked in surprise.
"It was Paul's but he didn't want Azumarill anymore so I asked him if I could have Azumaril. He was fine with that and gave him to me. Azumarill has some really epic moves, but we need to train together so we can get to know one another before Azumarill can do gym battles after what happened, I'm sure Azumarill wouldn't be interested in doing that for a while" Max explained in great excitement as he hugged the surprised Azumarill.
"Azu-mar-il, Azu! (Nice to meet you!)" Azumarill said feeling slightly confused by the surroundings. "Azu-marill? Azu? (Where is Paul?)"
"Paul's no longer your trainer, Azumarill - I am. I'm sorry I didn't get to do a proper introduction earlier - I was just so excited to get you from him. Always loved Azumarill. That reminds me, Treecko, this is Azumarill - and Ralts, come on out!" Max said calling out his Ralts to introduce his Pokemon to the water one.
"Azu-marill, Rill? (Is this, a dream?)" Azumarill asked feeling overwhelmed and relieved to hear that. Remembering how intense Paul's training was, the Pokemon wondered what life would be like with Max. "Azu-marill - rill! Rill! (Its great to have new friends!)" Azumarill said smiling.
"It's great to have you on the team, Azumarill. It's not a dream, it's real and I promise to take great care of you!" Max said smiling to the water type.
Ash, May, Brock and Dawn introduced their Pokemon to Azumarill and congratulated Max.
"Nobody should ever treat Pokemon the way Paul treats his! I'm glad Azumarill is in better hands now" Ash said smiling to Max. "Azumarill, welcome to the family."
Azumarill looked at them happily. From a misery life to a happy one.
"Azumarill - whatever training techniques Paul had taught you will be different. You and I have work ahead of us since you're my new Pokemon - but I won't treat you the way he did" Max promised, giving the water type another hug. Azumarill returned the hug, surprised by it as Paul had never given Azumarill one before.
"Max - are you going to have Azumarill walk outside the Pokeball? I need to update you with what Dawn, and I found out earlier" May asked then quickly told him about what was going to happen that night.
"Yes - Azumarill can walk around along with Treecko and Ralts. Azumarill needs to learn the new surroundings" Max answered. "Cool a Pokemon Performer? I wish I could join - that would've been so much fun but there's no harm in doing mock versions of it, right?" he asked.
"You know - that could be a great idea, Max. Yes, we'll do mock versions for fun so you guys can get a taste of it!" May said smiling.
"Then why don't we split up? Dawn you and May could go clothes shopping while we get some supplies for our Pokemon and prepare for gym battles?" Ash suggested.
Dawn smiled. "On second thoughts - why don't we do it this way: Ash, you and May could go to the clothing department to buy new outfits, while Max and I train with Brock's help then we'll swap after you buy clothes?" she asked.
Blushing at the idea of spending time with May, Ash nodded.
"Pika-chu! (Great idea!)" Pikachu nodded in agreement. May blushed and looked at Ash.
"Let's go then" May smiled and grabbed his hand, blushing as she did, the two friends left the Pokemon Center.
"What kind of training should we do, Dawn? We need to figure out how to defeat Cranidos - you only have one Pokemon though!" Max pointed out - worried how she's going to handle the battle.
"I know. Piplup and I have a lot of work to do. I kinda wish I had a Budew but I don't think there's any close by to catch. We'll have to use that field again from earlier and try to make the Pokemon that Roark has out of rocks" Dawn said. Brock nodded.
"Hm - I'll leave you two training and I need to stock up on supplies then will meet you back at the field" Brock said smiling to the two.
"Right, we'll see you shortly, Brock. Let's go, Dawn" Max said, Dawn nodded in agreement.
"Are we there yet?" Butch asked - he was already bored and had only been on the helicopter for a few hours now.
"If we were there, you would've been out by now. I'm trying to figure out where the twerps will be!" Cassidy snapped at her partner. "And you've already asked that before!"
"Aren't they interested in gym battles? If they are - I'd say Oreburgh City - I have a cousin who lives, there" Butch said.
"You have a cousin in Sinnoh? Do they know you're a part of Team Rocket?" Cassidy asked in interest.
"I have a cousin in Sinnoh named Tom - he works in the mines and no, he probably would disown me if he knew" Butch replied. "We're close at the moment."
"Ouch! Wow he must be loaded with money working at the mines" Cassidy said. "Back on topic we'll go to Oreburgh City and try to keep track on the twerps. We can't exactly ask around if they've seen them and we must wear a disguise otherwise it'd be too obvious" Cassidy said. "That means I have to have my hair down!"
"You look prettier with it down anyway" Butch commented, making Cassidy blush.
"Are you two finally an item?" the helicopter pilot asked the evil duo. "We won't be in Sinnoh for at least another couple of days depending on how often this helicopter runs low on fuel."
"No! Butch is my best friend not boyfriend. Besides, I think James is cute" Cassidy said. 'Though, Butch is cuter!' she thought. "Two days? That's boring can't this thing fly any faster?"
"James? Heh! He was useless - so glad he and Jessie are gone" the pilot scoffed. "They should've been fired though rather then quit!"
"Jessie probably hooked up with him after they left - I remember she once told me she has a crush on him..." Cassidy mumbled - unaware her guess was correct.
"You know, James? I think we should come clean to Officer Jenny before we start our new life. We want to throw all our bad deeds behind us and that way we can start our future together as a couple and follow our dreams of being a coordinator and trainer" Jessie suggested after the two had booked a hotel room in Jubilife City.
"I think that's a great idea, Jess. But what if we get arrested and jailed for all the things we did?" James wondered - he did want that off his back though.
"We'd have to convince Officer Jenny that we're good people. Perhaps the tw- I mean Ash and his friends can help prove that" Jessie suggested. Meowth was sleeping on a couch while the two were talking.
"We'd have to wait until we see Ash and his friends though. I have no idea where they would be at the moment" James said with a sigh. "And there's another thing that's on my mind which I'm unsure what to do about. I don't want to go through my wedding with Jessebelle - as the only person I want to marry is you. But I don't want to face Jessabelle to tell her - you know what she's like" James said shuddering at the memories of her.
Jessie blushed after he said that. "I'd love that - James. Yes - we need to figure out how to deal with that problem that's a hard one! Wonder if Officer Jenny would have any suggestions as we don't really want to run into your family - I know you're not close to them."
James nodded and hugged her. "Hopefully she does! We also need to start practicing for your upcoming contest, Jess" he pointed out, as Jessie returned his hug.
Ash and May made their way to the clothing department, both of them blushed as they spent time together. "Where do we begin?" May asked after they entered the clothing store - letting go of his hand after almost forgetting she had been holding it. "Heh - sorry about that, Ash - I got overexcited!" she quickly said smiling to him.
"It's fine, May! Hm - I'd say we should look in the formal outfits first - I want to find a suit for the upcoming contests" Ash answered, smiling back to her.
"I think we should split up and search for the clothes then and meet at the counter when we're done!" May suggested, Ash nodded.
"Pika-Pika-chu? Pika-chu! (Now is a good time to tell her!)" Pikachu nudged Ash gently.
"Not yet - Pikachu. I figured out the right place and time to tell her - I promise! I want you to be there too" Ash said smiling to his Pokemon. "Love you buddy!" he added, scratching Pikachu under the chin, who coed at that.
"Pik-a-chu, Pika! (Love you too, Ash and okay!)" Pikachu responded. Ash and Pikachu went to the men's side of the clothing store and found a wide range of suites and outfits - even some for Pokemon which Ash thought was cute.
May was in the girl's side of the department store going through the dresses there - she found a few she liked though half wished Dawn was with her so she could help pick out which ones suited her the best. 'I want to surprise Ash with them when I do contests and Pokemon Performances. It kinda makes us feel like we're on a date - I wish! Wonder if it's the right time for me to tell him my feelings...' she thought. 'No, not yet. After all, I only recently rejected Drew - I don't want Ash to think he's a rebound guy - which he's not. Ash is my world, my everything!' she added, blushing as she thought of him.
Ash found a couple of suits he liked and tried them on - he even got Pikachu a cute Pokemon suite to match. After he finished choosing a couple of suits, Pikachu noticed a a jewelry display.
"Pika-chu! (Look, Ash!)" Pikachu said, pointing to the jewelry display, which made Ash think of May.
"That's a great idea, Pikachu! Do you think I should get her one too?" Ash whispered the last part to his Pokemon as he walked over to the necklaces.
"Pik-a-chu, Pika- Pi-ka-chu! (Yes, she'll love it! Give it to her after you tell her!)" Pikachu said, causing Ash to blush more.
"Mhm! Will do, Pikachu. I wonder if there's one with a Manaphy Pendant - they seem to have a lot of different types of Pokemon... Ahah! Here it is, Pikachu" Ash said as he browsed the necklace section. There was a beautiful golden necklace with a Manaphy pendant in a glass display cabinet - which caught Ash's interest. He looked around for staff to get it - which he was able to find and receive. "Thank you, Pikachu, for this idea!" Ash said, smiling to his best friend.
"Pika-chu! (You're welcome!)" Pikachu said after Ash managed to get the Manaphy pendant. Ash paid for all his clothing and the necklace which got put into a square box - which he quickly put away in his pocket, not wanting May to see it yet. The suits he bought were now in a bag.
'It's not the right time to give it to her yet even though it's tempting' Ash thought. He waited for May to finish her clothes shopping which took a lot longer than his as she had so much to choose from.
"Pika-Pika-Pik-a-chu? (Should we go look for her?)" Pikachu asked in concern wondering what could take May so long.
"I think she'd be fine - she's probably having a hard time deciding which clothes to buy" Ash replied. He was right.
May found a few dresses she liked but she also wanted to get some swim wear and other bits of clothing too. After finding what she needed she noticed they had a jewelry section and smiled. 'I should get Ash something - for when I get the chance to tell him how I feel - I want to make our relationship official by giving him a gift - perhaps a badge of some kind that would be meaningful to us' she thought as she browsed the badge section. She came across a Manaphy badge and knew at once she had to get that for him. 'Manaphy, I'm hopeful that Ash and I can be together soon as a couple!' May thought as she remembered the moments, she shared with that Pokemon. She missed Manaphy. She asked for staff to help her get the badge as it was behind the display counter. The staff gave her the badge in a box, which she put in her bag. She then paid for the dress and the badge at once before finally making her way back to Ash who was waiting patiently for her.
"What should we do now?" May asked, as she held her bags. Ash noticed she had at least four bags of shopping and he only had one.
"Let me hold a couple of them at least, May. I think we should go back to the Pokemon Center to put our clothes away then meet up with the others or we could just go sightseeing then meet them" Ash suggested. May thanked him and let him hold a couple of bags - thankfully they were light.
"I think sightseeing would be fun then meeting up with the others. I think Max and Dawn would be training with Brock - have you thought of your gym strategy yet?" May asked.
Ash nodded in agreement about the sightseeing. "Not yet - the Cranidos has me baffled - Paul aimed for his legs which helped him win - but I want to do it differently" Ash replied. "The other two shouldn't be too hard" Ash said as he remembered his battle with Brock.
"You can do it, Ash. I believe in you. Yes - that Cranidos does look rather tough" May said. "There needs to be a different strategy to defeat him!" The two made their way to the Pokemon Center and back to their room to put their shopping away then went back out to go sightseeing.
Dawn and Max were now at the field and had their Pokemon helping them build makeshift rock versions of Geodude, Onyx and Cranidos to get a better idea on how to defeat the three Pokemon.
"I know Paul aimed for the legs - but I don't like that idea - there has to be another way to defeat Cranidos!" Max said as he studied the rock version of it.
"Azu-mar-il, Azu, Azu-mar-il! (Geodude was hard, Cranidos must be harder!)" Azumarill said, Max nodded in agreement.
"You're right, Azumarill. I remember your battle - you're strong - it's just he wasn't a nice person towards you. You have an excellent move set: You know Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Bubble and Aqua Jet. I still don't get why he got rid of you. He didn't make your moves right. I want you to have a break from battle so you can recover from his training and when you're ready - you can battle aside me. I bet he must've pushed you to the limit without letting you rest. I'm not like that, Azumarill. I can rely on Treecko and Ralts to help me with the gym battle" Max told Azumarill. Dawn was surprised and confused by this announcement.
"Why aren't you going to use Azumarill in the gym battle, Max?" Dawn wondered.
"I strongly believe that Azumarill needs a break from the intense training she did with Paul - she needs to recover before she can get back to training. It's only fair for her to watch for a while - when the time's right she can join in again" Max explained. "I only found out her gender!"
"Azu-mar-ill! (Thank you, Max!)" Azumarill said relieved to know Max is nicer.
Max smiled. "You're welcome, Azumarill" he added, giving the water Pokemon a hug, one thing that Azumarill wasn't used to yet but was surprised by it, giving him one in return.
"Poor Azumarill. I'm glad she's got you, Max. Alright, Piplup, spotlight!" Dawn took out her Pokeball and called Piplup out who landed in front of her.
"Pip-lup, Pip! (Hello, Dawn!)" Piplup cheerfully said.
"Right Piplup - tomorrow is the big day where we battle Roark. You see those rock Pokemon there? We need to defeat them in both person and the gym - we need to find their weak spot!" Dawn told Piplup who looked at the statues that she and Max had made.
Piplup looked at the statues of the Pokemon that Max and Dawn had made. "Pip-lup! Pip! (They look easy!)" he said with determination.
"That's the spirit, Piplup - though they're not! Two of Paul's Pokemon fainted and his last one almost did too. So, you and I have to figure out a strategy to stop that from happening! Let's see what's your move set, Piplup? We need to figure out what we can use against them especially Cranidos" she said.
"Lup-Pip, Lup!(Let's do this!)" Piplup said with eagerness determined to defeat the gym leader.
"You got it! Shall we start, Max?" Dawn asked.
"Yes - though we'd need to rebuild them after but that's fine - you go first since your gym battle's coming up tomorrow!" Max said smiling to her.
"Thank you - Max!" Dawn said. "Alright Piplup, aim your Bubble Beam under the Geodude statue" Dawn cheerfully ordered.
Brock was now at the Pokemart browsing for some potions for all of their Pokemon and figuring out what else they needed for the journey. He knew they were heading to Jubilife City after Oreburgh and it took at least ten days of walking to get there. "We'd need Pokeballs, Full Restore, Full Heal, Revive, Hyper Potion, Max Potion and ones to restore their move sets. Bandages and ointment for us in case one of us get hurt on the journey..." he mumbled quietly to himself as he filled a trolly with all of the needs.
After buying the mentioned items, Brock put them away in his backpack. He then made his way back to find Max and Dawn training together on hand made statues of rock Pokemon.
"That's really neat, you guys! How is the training going? No sign of Ash and May yet?" Brock asked.
"Thanks - we thought it would help us work out their weakness - since I've only got Piplup and Max plans to use only Treecko and Ralts we wanted to see what strategy works the best" Dawn said. "No, but that's fine - I'm sure they're okay and having fun - they'll find us when they're ready" she added smiling to him.
"Hopefully they can get together - now is their chance if they want to confess" Max said smiling to Brock who simply nodded.
"I think it's cute - they love one another but haven't told one another!" Dawn said smiling. "When I first saw him on TV, I had a crush on him but not now. I see him a as a really good friend and mentor. I hope to find someone nice like that someday" she added.
"Ash is one of my best friends too. We've known one another for a long time though he's known May and Max for most of their lives thanks to their parents being friends for that long with Ash's. I'm sure you'll find someone - I hope to find my girl eventually but maybe I need a different strategy" Brock said.
"I'm sure you both will - as for me - I'm more interested in figuring out how to defeat Roark with two Pokemon! What's your advice, Brock?" Max said with a smile of determination.
"I think you both are doing a pretty good job figuring stuff out - since you already have been targeting the Pokemon's weak point. Show me what you have so far, and I can try and offer more advice" Brock said.
Max and Dawn smiled - each taking turns with their strategies showing Brock how hard they've been working while he was away.
"You know, Ash - maybe we should find the others instead of sightseeing - we could look around Oreburgh City together tomorrow. We also need to start getting ready to watch the Pokemon Performance tonight if we're going to enter" May said after she and Ash put all their items away. She was relieved to know her badge for him was safely out of his sight for now.
"I think that's a better idea, May. Yeah - we'll do that! Let's find Brock, Dawn and Max" Ash said smiling to her after he finished putting his clothes away. While she wasn't looking, he quickly took the box that held the necklace and put it in his backpack for safe keeping then put his backpack back on.
"Let's go!" May said smiling to him. The two friends left the room, locking the door behind them. Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder to May's as they made their way to find their friends. May smiled and scratched Pikachu gently under the chin - Pikachu cooed in response, enjoying that attention from her.
"I wonder how Dawn will go with the gym battle tomorrow. I feel bad because I haven't spent much time with her helping her train Piplup for it" Ash said after realizing that.
"I haven't helped her much with the contests but have plans too as soon as we can. I can't wait to see what she can do" May said. Both Ash and May finally found their friends after a while of searching and watched them fight against the rock Pokemon statue.
"Where do you think May and the others would be?" The pilot asked Butch and Cassidy who at once began arguing over their location.
"Oreburgh City!" Butch suggested.
"No - they'd be in Jubilife City getting ready for contests!" Cassidy responded.
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City! Are you that daft?" Cassidy snapped.
"Will you BOTH stop it? We'll go to Jubilife City and if they're not there, Oreburgh City!" The pilot yelled at them - annoyed that the two rockets were arguing over something so simple.
Cassidy smiled - she was rather proud of herself when the pilot said they'd go to her choice first.
"Fine! But I'm tellin' you they're in Orebugh City!"
"Nu-ah! They're in Jubilife!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Will you two just GROW UP?" The pilot snapped getting frustrated with them already.
"I'm telling you though, I'm right - they'd be in Jubilife City!" Cassidy clearly ignored the pilot's request.
"No - I'm right and you're wrong - they're in Orebugh!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"Oreburgh City!"
"Jubilife City!"
"ENOUGH! If I get one more peep out of you two; I'll turn around and go back to Kanto leaving you stranded somewhere in Kanto - since we're flying over it now!" The pilot threatened.
"But Jubilife and Oreburgh City are in Sinnoh!" Butch pointed out.
"I know that..." The pilot let out a sigh and continued flying to their destination with Cassidy and Butch once again returning to the argument.
What will the Pokemon Performance be like?
How will Dawn go with her very first Gym Battle and will she, Max and Ash gain their very first badges?
Where will Butch and Cassidy land?
Will Jessie and James be able to get help from Ash and his friends?
To be continued...
Note: Next chapter might take a while as it will be slightly longer than this one! Enjoy and have a great week! If you have any more suggestions for what the five can do as a group for fun, please feel free to mention it! Thank you for reading.
Pokemon:
Ash: Pikachu and Turtwig
Dawn: Piplup
Max: Treecko, Ralts and Azumarill
May: Blaziken and Shinx.
Brock: Bonsly.