Chapter 24 New Wardrobes and Plans
Now that they were out of jail, Ash and his friends headed to the Saffron Mall which had been slightly scorched from the attack but was mostly intact and operational. Some stores inside were closed for repairs but the clothing store was fully operational.
The cashier at the front register looked up at them and smiled for an instant. "Ah good morning! We-
She stopped, her smile vanishing as she saw them. Her expression turned to one of fear, shock, and anger.
"You!" She pointed at them. "You are the ones that were on TV and arrested!"
Ash and the others didn't respond, many of them looking down. Even though they hadn't any of that of their own free will, they still felt the guilt of the deeds.
"It wasn't their fault!"
Both Officer Jenny's were behind them along with Tracy and Professor Oak. The Saffron Jenny spoke.
"They were hypnotized, Sabrina proved it," Jenny said.
"Umm, alright then," the cashier said, looking skeptical.
"Well, lets get out of these Team Rocket uniforms," Ash said.
They headed through the clothing aisles. Ash got himself a new blue jacket and a white and red hat with a blue Pokeball design in the center (his Unova outfit). Max found a green shirt like his old one, but darker, grey pants and black sneakers. Brock got himself his usual combination of colors of orange and green. An orange jacket over a dark brown shirt, green jeans, and blue shoes.
In the woman's aisle, Misty, May, and Dawn all took their time trying to find new everyday clothes to replace their regular ones as well.
"Hmm… I think I might like something blue," Misty said. "That would suit me as a water Pokemon trainer I think."
She looked through the outfits and found a white shirt with blue rain drop patterns on it, cyan shorts and dark blue sneakers.
"Now this is an outfit a water type trainer can be proud of!" Misty said with a smile as she looked at herself in the mirror.
May found a red tank top, white mini shorts with black ends that was similar to her old outfit when she'd first traveled with Ash in. It was a bit more revealing though as it showed off the shoulders and her chest as well. To top it off she needed something to replace her bandana. Spotting a red ribbon like her old one she took it and wrapped it around her head. Last was Dawn who got a pink vest over a black shirt and a longer pink skirt, while leaving her hair down.
All three girls emerged from their changing room.
"Oh Dawn you look so cute!" May said.
"Aw thanks May, you too!" Dawn said.
"Hey about me?" Misty asked.
"Oh you look fine too Misty," May said.
As they looked into each others eyes, both blushed as they had a good idea what the other was thinking.
"Well, lets see whose outfit Ash likes better shall we?" Misty asked.
May nodded.
They made their way to the register where the cashier glared at them but accepted their cash for the outfits nonetheless as Jenny watched. The boys were already with her.
May and Misty both saw Ash whose eyes widened as he looked at them and Dawn as well. May couldn't tell which one he was specifically looking at since all of them were coming from the same direction.
"So, what do you think Ash?" Misty said once they approached. "I thought I'd try a blue outfit to show off my love for water pokemon!"
"Umm… well it looks nice. Suits you," Ash said.
May smiled hopefully with a blush.
"That's a lot like your old outfit May. It looks good," Brock said.
May would have preferred Ash's opinion but she appreciated Brocks input as well. "Thank you, Brock!" she said.
This reminded her of when she, Ash, Max, and Brock had all gone to that palace with traditional costumes and she'd dressed as a princess. Brock had been the one to compliment her outfit then as well.
"I agree. I think red suits you better then green," Ash said. "But you look cute in just about anything."
May's heart did a skip at that. He thought she was cute? Misty looked down a little bit.
"Hey now, no flirting on my watch!" Viridian Jenny said. "You two still aren't able to legally date!"
May's smile faded. It had only been less than a week since she'd reunited with Ash. But it felt longer with all that had gone on.
"Did I just say that aloud?" Ash asked embarrassed.
"You sure did!" Max said teasingly.
Ash rubbed his fingers a bit nervously. He felt a sudden urge to run away but took a few breaths. Girls really weren't one of his areas of expertise.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu smiled at its trainer.
"Hey what about me?" Dawn asked, a bit annoyed as she hadn't gotten any attention from her new outfit.
"Okay, just relax. All of you are really pretty," Brock said. "But Officer Jenny is the prettiest here I'd say!"
He went and grabbed Jenny's hand, only to be shot with poison jab by Croagunk and Max then helped to drag him off.
"Well some things never change," Misty said as she glared at Brock.
"Well, we got out of these uniforms. Now we have to stop Giovanni, Phantom, and Team Rocket," Ash said.
"Right!" Brock said as he got up. "But… how do we do that?"
"I… don't know," Ash said.
"Well we got to get our parents back first!" Max said. "I'm worried about Mom and Dad!"
May nodded and walked over, putting a hand on her brothers shoulder.
"No need to worry you guys! We'll figure something out," Dawn said.
"We always do," Misty said.
Tracey stepped forward. "I wasn't there at the house to help you guys out. But I want to fight by your side as well."
"As do I. Team Rocket can't be allowed to succeed in conquering the world. Therefore, I propose we create a Pokemon Trainer Alliance!" Professor Oak said.
Well I wanted to have some Ash and May moments here, didn't get as much as I hoped but I think I'll have them have a talk pretty soon now that things are less crazy with them not being prisoners anymore. Please review and let me know you're thoughts, suggestions, or anything you might notice that doesn't seem to work or if you think the characters are ooc. I just stumbled upon a Treasure Trove of Advanced Generation DVDs yesterday in Paradise California while I was up there getting an Xbox disc repaired. Now I have 3/4 of all the Advanced Series Seasons. Hope you guys liked my ideas for the gangs new outfits. I just copied Ash's Unova outfit as much as I could remember in the description and May's OMAS one. I thought blue would suit Misty as well and I went online to look at outfits Dawn and Brock wear in artwork or other stuff.