Hey everyone; I apologize that this chapter took a while, but I had much to do in this one chapter. I've also been watching Pokémon Journeys and I was really happy to see all of Ash's old Pokémon finally return. I still wished that he'd use them in his battles. Another thing I hope is that the Pokémon anime continues with Ash as the main character in the new region. Still, Scarlet and Violet will be tricky a bit, but I will be glad to see Goh go. I mean; god damn how come he gets to capture legendary Pokémon and not the main character. Guess I'll just have to make do with my story. Now, time to answer some reviews.

Fangs of death: I am glad to hear that.

MewYT: My writing back then was very different compared to how it is now.

Guest: I will, hopefully this month.

Sheaon13: And how is Ash gonna do that. If he is gonna go back to Johto, it'll be so that he'll capture Zeraora from the "Power of Us" movie.

stonerex1305: Dude, you kinda double messaged there, but I don't think I can do what you're suggesting. Also, crossdressing is just something Ash hates to do.

JAM: Brock is in the splash zone now with Max and Throh on his case. And you're damn right about Hansen.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: I am glad that my story is such an enjoyable one to read, and I still got a long way to go for this one.

fanfic meister: You'll see May's contest outfit this chapter. And about James having an Aggron, that is something I'll have to think about.

Tony Anderson: Okay, I'll get to Brock having his Onix back very soon.

Advance shipper: I'll think about it.

Reader: I am glad that my surprises had an impact on you.

StrongGuy159: I intend to.

Guest: I have no idea what you're talking about.

Well, that's all the reviews for now. Before I start the chapter; I have to confess that I enjoyed the latest episode with the return of Paul. He has changed a bit, and Ash got another win on him. Ash's old Pokémon being mentors was rather interesting, I might use that for my story. Now, this chapter will have a few surprises, and elements from Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, so I hope you enjoy them. At the end of the chapter; I'll have questions to ask you, but for now, enjoy this hard worked chapter.


Chapter 24: Party in the Meteor Falls.

Half a week has passed since the gang said goodbye to Eliza and Sapphire and continued on their way to Fallarbor Town. Two events had happened since then; the first was that when they were walking through the forest, a Zangoose suddenly rushed pass them before stopping. The gang was surprised to see the Normal Type come out of nowhere, before another one that stood on its two feet, appeared and ran up to the first one. Then, to the surprise of everyone, the second Zangoose spoke. The gang's surprised cries got the attention of the two Zangoose as they turned to look at them, allowing the gang to see that the second one was their old friend Nicholai in a Zangoose costume.

Ash, May, Max, Brock and Pikachu were surprised at seeing Nicholai again, who was overjoyed to see them again. Verity, Sorrel, Piplup, Lucario and Jirachi were all confused though as they weren't there when the gang first met Nicholai. The gang and Nicholai set up camp near a lake to catch with each other. Ash introduced Verity and Sorrel to Nicholai, who seemed more focus on Verity due to her wearing shorts, much to the confusion of the two Sinnoh residents. Nicholai told the gang that after his last encounter with them, he went to challenge Norman at the Petalburg Gym. That got the attention of May and Max as they asked him how their father and mother were doing. Nicholai told them that they were doing fine and that they even invited him to lunch when he told them he knew May and Max.

Nicholai continued on and told the gang that the next day; he battled Norman in a Gym battle. Ash asked him if he won, which Nicholai seemed confident, giving the impression that he won, until Nicholai confessed that he got schooled bad, resulting in the gang falling to the ground anime style. Nicholai admitted that he had no shame to losing to a great training, assuming that Norman must have worn shorts during training to get that strong. That got on May and Max's nerves, but Nicholai reassured them that he meant no disrespect to them. Brock asked the young trainer if he was out in the forest, training, which Nicholai confirmed Brock's words as he was training on strength, speed and endurance.

Seeing Nicholai's battling spirit, Ash challenged his rival to a battle, which Nicholai accepted. The two had a two on two battle against one another with Verity acting as the referee. For their first choices, Nicholai went with his Marshtomp, the same one that had been a Mudkip when the gang first met Nicholai. Ash went with Grovyle, deciding to go with Type advantage for this battle. Nicholai's Marshtomp put up a good battle against Grovyle despite the type disadvantage, but was defeated by a combination of Energy Ball and Leaf Blade, getting Ash the first win and putting him in the lead.

Nicholai wasn't ready to give up and continued battling. Next, he called out his Zangoose to battle Grovyle, who was still up for more battling. Nicholai ordered Zangoose to start off with Swords Dance, which the Normal Type began, only to stop and look around their surroundings, much to everyone's confusion. Then, Zangoose took off into the bushes with a startled Team Rocket coming out in surprise. Everyone was surprised that Team Rocket was nearby the whole time, but then Zangoose came back out, only was now battling Team Rocket's Seviper. Zangoose and Seviper were natural born enemies and lost all sense of reasoning when one of the two kinds cross paths.

Team Rocket attempted their motto, but Zangoose and Seviper scared them into reconsidering it. The two enemies battled with Seviper even knocking Team Rocket into the river after an insult from Meowth. The battle soon sent both of them rolling into the river, where Zangoose became vulnerable and got hit with a powerful Poison Tail. The gang had to step in with Verity sending in her Kingdra to save Zangoose from Seviper with a Hydro Pump. Kingdra then saved Zangoose and brought it back to the gang, where they found Zangoose had been hurt when Seviper struck it with Poison Tail. Brock and Sorrel immediately leaped into action and began to treat Zangoose.

They did good and managed to heal Zangoose completely with some soup mixed with healing berries. Ash and Nicholai called their battle off as Nicholai's Cat Ferret Pokémon needed rest, but everyone could tell that Zangoose was still thinking about Seviper and probably wanted a rematch. Nicholai looked up date on Seviper though his Pokédex, wanting to know all he can for when Team Rocket came back and it was time for their rematch. The gang wanted to help Nicholai, so they told him about their battles with Jessie's Seviper, its moves and even Verity even transferred over her shiny Milotic to help out as it was a serpentine Pokémon like Seviper. Although, Milotic's help was put on hold as Skitty came out and decided to chase after the shiny Pokémon, much to the confusion of Milotic as it tried to get some distance from the Normal Type, but Skitty just kept chasing her.

May, Max and Brock chased after Skitty to stop it from chasing after Milotic, but that proved to be useless as Skitty was very fast. Play time eventually ended once the gang heard Seviper's growl nearby, which even woke Zangoose up from its rest. Zangoose took off and the gang chased after it with Verity and May recalling their Pokémon. They came into an open field, where they saw Team Rocket using a microphone to amplify Seviper's voice. Nicholai and Zangoose immediately got to battling Jessie and Seviper, while the gang dealt with the rest of Team Rocket, who attempted to capture Pikachu, but were sent blasting off by an Aura Sphere from Lucario.

Jessie didn't help her teammates as she was too focused on the intense battle she was having against Nicholai. Zangoose was still a bit tired from the last battle against Seviper as it mostly dodged Seviper's attacks. However, Nicholai then came up with a zig zag strategy from remembering how Milotic did it when Skitty chased her. This plan worked as it confused Seviper, giving Nicholai and Zangoose the perfect chance to end the battle. Zangoose defeated Seviper with a powerful Crush Claw attack, before Pikachu sent Jessie and Seviper blasting off with Thunderbolt. Nicholai praised his Zangoose, while the gang praised him. The young trainer thanked the gang for their help, before he and Ash resumed their battle from earlier.

Nicholai went with his Zigzagoon, while Ash went with Tauros. In the end, Ash won the battle, but it was one that the two trainers enjoyed. The gang said goodbye to Nicholai and continued on their way, but not before Verity transferred Milotic and got Vaporeon back. Next up, the gang came across a Pokémon Center near a lake and entered to rest up as they were closing in on Fallarbor Town. They were greeted by the Nurse Joy running the center and rested up, but trouble eventually found its way. Skitty got out again and started chasing its own tail with everyone watching, not noticing a boy outside angrily watching.

The boy actually resembled Max a bit. He watched as Skitty knocked into Brock's face, then May tried to catch Skitty's attention with a cattail, but ended up sneezing, accidently losing her grip on the item and Max caught it. Max and Jirachi managed to get Skitty's attention and stopped it from causing any trouble. The gang was a bit impressed at the efforts of Max and Jirachi, but then the boy outside called out to them in a rather disrespectful manner. Max tried to be respectful to the boy, but the unknown boy continued to be disrespectful, which earned him the dislike of Max and Jirachi. The two boys began fighting with Nurse Joy telling Max to stop it.

Max thought Nurse Joy was referring to him, but she quickly cleared the misunderstanding and told the gang that the older boy's name was actually Max as well. This did nothing to ease the dislike that the two boys had for one another as the older Max told the younger one to change his name, which May's brother refused and told him to do it. Nurse Joy broke up the fight and the older Max left the center. May's brother asked Nurse Hoy what was the older Max's problem, which she explained that the older boy loved Pokémon and would often come to the Pokémon Center to play with them. Brock offered to help the two Maxes make peace with one another, an offer that Nurse Joy happily accepted, while Max and Jirachi didn't seem to like the idea.

Later on, the gang went to the lake to relax with May feeling very pumped up as they were closing in on Fallarbor Town. Max and Jirachi, however, were still a bit upset from their little encounter with the other Max. May tried to calm her brother down and reminded him that Nurse Joy wanted him to get along with the older Max, but the Petalburg boy wasn't really willing to cooperate. Just then, May, Max and Jirachi spotted a Surskit skid past them on the water. Seeing the Water and Bug type seemed to have cheered Max up as he, May and Jirachi chased after it.

They spotted the Surskit with the other Max and saw that the two seemed like close friends. May suggested going up to the older Max to say hello, but her brother wasn't open to the idea. Still, May dragged her brother towards the older Max and Surskit with Jirachi floating after them. The Pokémon Coordinator called out to the older Max, getting both his and Surskit's attention as they looked over to see May, the younger Max and Jirachi coming up to them. The older boy wasn't too happy at seeing the younger male who shared his name with the younger Max sharing the feeling. May acted as peace keeper between the two boys and asked the older Max if the Surskit was his, before he revealed that it was just his favorite Pokémon, but wasn't his.

Younger Max tried to say hello to Surskit, but the older one didn't let that happen. The two boys started another fight with Jirachi now attempting to help May have the two boys make peace. Just then, Ash, Verity, Sorrel, Brock, Pikachu, Piplup and Lucario caught up with them and seemed amused at how the two Maxes were still at war with one another. Unknown to them was that they were being spied on by Team Rocket, who had grown interested in Surskit, and a desire to capture it. Both of the Maxes continued their argument with one another, until Brock decided to break up it with the suggestion of letting out all their Pokémon.

The two young boys were confused at this, while everyone else had no problem whatsoever. So, Ash, Verity, Sorrel, May and Brock sent out Grovyle, Timburr, Flygon, Tauros, Magnezone, Suicune, Kingdra, Vaporeon, Gardevoir, Togepi, Entei, Bouffalant, Aerodactyl, Ariados, Poliwrath, Chatot, Marshtomp, Lotad, Throh, Combusken, Skitty, Azumarill and Shellos. Older Max was honestly amazed, especially at seeing Suicune and Entei as he knew that they were Legendary Pokémon. Max told the older boy who shared his name that one day he'll start his journey with Jirachi and become a Gym Leader someday, all the while taking his best friend into his arms with the two having a happy laugh.

Older Max was amazed with the younger boy's dream, before he admitted that he loved Pokémon and wanted to be good friends with them. Things were going well, until Skitty went play crazy again, but surprisingly fell asleep quickly. Unknown to them was that Team Rocket spied on Skitty and remembered their last encounter with it. Still, that didn't stop them from jumping out into the open, quickly getting the gang's attention. Team Rocket confessed that their target wasn't any of their Pokémon, but was Surskit instead, much to the concern of the two Maxes, before the older one questioned them on who they are.

Team Rocket introduced themselves in their old fashion way by giving out a motto, all the while using a football and ran pass Brock and May, who had attempted to stop them. Meowth even stepped over Lucario's head to get over the Aura Pokémon, which set off the Fighting and Steel Type. Verity attempted to have Gardevoir stop them with Psychic, but Jessie had passed the football over to the confused Psychic and Fairy Type's arms, stopping her from using Psychic. Pikachu tried Thunderbolt on the three, but Meowth used an electro repellent umbrella to redirect the attack away from them. Just then, Skitty woke up and noticed Team Rocket running towards Surskit. The Kitten Pokémon leaped up and grabbed hold of Jessie's long hair, stopping the three and getting the gang concerned.

Skitty started messing up Jessie's hair in a playful manner, which the female adult tried to throw the Normal Type off, but was unsuccessful. James and Meowth tried to calm their teammate down, but that ended in failure when Jessie smacked her hair on them, but managed to get Skitty off. Funny enough, thanks to Skitty being the "hero", Team Rocket ran off without capturing Surskit. The commotion and Team Rocket had startled the Water and Bug type so much that it left when everyone's eyes were off it. They followed a track that Surskit left behind to search for the little Water and Bug type. Max saw how the older boy cared for Surskit and began to actually care for him.

The gang recalled their Pokémon and chased after the older Max, who had taken a head start to find Surskit. They caught up and the older Max accepted their help, but then Team Rocket came back for round 2, only this time in a new mecha with a massive mallet, but at first only James and Meowth were visible as Jessie was hiding since her hair had undergone a... "style change", but eventually came into view and got a laugh out of everyone. Jessie was the only one not laughing and became angered at how everyone was laughing at her, until she tried to smash the gang and older Max with the machine's mallet. The gang began running away with Jessie controlling the machine to chase after them, attempting to play "whack-a-mole" with them.

James and Meowth tried to calm her down, but Jessie was too full of anger and paid no heed to their words. So full of anger, Jessie slammed the mallet down hard on the ground, sending the gang flying and split into two groups. Group 1: May, the two Maxes, Verity, Piplup and Jirachi. Group 2 was Ash, Brock, Sorrel, Pikachu and Lucario. May, Verity, the two Maxes and Jirachi quickly recovered. The older Max then confessed that he was a bit envious of the gang that they could travel around with their Pokémon. Meanwhile with Group 2; Ash, Sorrel, Brock, Pikachu and Lucario all climbed up the same hill that Team Rocket (Jessie mostly) blasted them off of. Knowing that they had to regroup fast, Ash, Sorrel and Brock sent out Flygon, Aerodactyl and Chatot to search for the others in the air, while they searched on ground.

Team Rocket, well Jessie actually, was still in a rage and in a mood to smash something, was searching for the gang with no mind of Surskit. James and Meowth were getting a bit frightened as once Jessie was like this; there was no reasoning with her. Back with group 1; the older Max revealed that he wasn't a Pokémon Trainer yet, but wanted to be one someday. He even confessed that he thought that the younger Max was Skitty's trainer from the start. The older Max confessed that he was mean because he thought the younger Max was making fun of him. He even added in that he was a bit jealous that Max got to travel with so many incredible Pokémon and that he was best friends with a rare one like Jirachi.

May and her brother were honestly a bit surprised at this revelation, while Verity and Piplup had understanding smiles. Younger Max confessed that he was actually jealous of the older boy as well, much to older Max's surprise. Younger Max was jealous because the older one was able to befriend Surskit without concern, while he at first was worried that Jirachi would leave him someday due to the Millennium Comet. The two boys became friends before the eyes of Verity, May, Piplup and Jirachi, who were all happy for them. However, the peaceful moment was broken as the sounds of Team Rocket's mallet were drawing closer to them. They all took off deeper into the forest to find Surskit before it was too late to save the Water and Bug type.

Group 2 had changed their search for Surskit into a search for their friends. Group 1 had stopped near water as Surskit liked the water, which older Max confirmed. They began crying out for the Water and Bug type, but then Team Rocket up with Jessie still having anger management problems. Group 1 took off running with Team Rocket chasing after them. Older Max led them all into a spring in the forest, where Surskit was, much to group 1's joy. Older Max had jumped into the spring to take hold of his beloved friend, relived to see that Surskit was safe and sound. Just then, Verity, May and younger Max took notice of the spring had two different water levels, which they found cool, until Team Rocket caught up with them.

Jessie still wanted to get payback for getting laughed at, while James and Meowth were starting to get worried at their teammate's behavior. Jessie then tossed out Trubbish, while James sent out Axew. Verity and May were ready to battle, but the two Maxes stepped in and decided to do the battling instead with Jirachi and Surskit. Jessie found the two young boys as opponents very funny and considered it an easy win. Unknown to them was that Chatot had spotted them, before taking off to report back to the others. The battle began with Team Rocket making the first moves, but the two Maxes played it safe with Jirachi going against Trubbish and Surskit facing off Axew. Jirachi did well against Trubbish with the type advantage, but Surskit had a hard time against Axew. But that quickly changed as Axew accidently got into the spring, and funny enough, couldn't swim.

Feeling humiliated, James called back his Axew, leaving Trubbish to face off against Jirachi and Surskit alone. Jirachi protected his teammate from Trubbish's Sludge attacks, while Surskit destroyed the rock holding the second level spring with Water Pulse. The second spring came flowing down and engulfed Trubbish and Team Rocket, plus a Thunderbolt from Jirachi gave them a good zapping. Yet, Jessie didn't seem ready to quiet yet and honestly seemed to hit "rock bottom", which frightened nearly everyone. It was like she was in a trance as she came up to group 1. But May then sent out her Skitty, who gave Jessie a Double Slap attack using its tail, before smacking her away, much to the horror of James, Meowth and Trubbish.

Just then, Flygon, Aerodactyl and Chatot flew in with Ash, Sorrel, Brock, Pikachu and Lucario right on their tail, much to their traveling companions' joy. Jessie seemed to grow more fired up at the sight of them, changing plans to capture Pikachu as well. She attempted to use Trubbish to attack, yet Pikachu used Thunderbolt on Team Rocket, which Meowth tried to use his electric repellent umbrella to deflect it. The two Maxes jumped in and ordered Jirachi to use Aura Sphere and Surskit Bubble Beam. Unlike Thunderbolt, Team Rocket had no defense for those two attacks. Aura Sphere and Bubble Beam, plus Thunderbolt sent those three blasting off once more.

The gang regrouped with Ash, Brock and Sorrel praising the two young boys on their efforts with Jirachi and Surskit, much to their appreciation. They were also happy at seeing the two boys had become friends as well with Jirachi and Surskit becoming the same as their friends. Eventually, the gang said goodbye to the older Max and Surskit, but the two of them made a promise to Max and Jirach that they'll met again someday and have a battle, which the Petalburg boy and Wish Pokémon were more than willing to accept. The gang then left and continued on their way to Fallarbor Town as they had almost reached their destination.

The sky was a beautiful orange colour as the sun was beginning to set for the day. Ash, Verity, Sorrel, Brock, May, Max, Pikachu, Piplup, Lucario and Jirachi all laughed happily as they ran up to the edge of the cliff and looked at the city before them; Fallarbor Town. The journey has been long and hard, but the gang had finally made it to their destination. "Fallarbor Town! We finally made it!" May called out in joy as she looked over the city with Verity standing right besides her on the brunette's left, and Max on her right. The Twinleaf girl had her arms wrapped around Piplup, carrying the Water type in her arms, while Jirachi was floating besides Max.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out from Ash's left shoulder, having a wild smile on his face as he held onto the Rainbow Hero's shoulder. Max placed his left hand on a wooden railing in front of them, before pointing at something with his right hand. "I bet the Pokémon Contest arena is that building, right there!" The 8-year-old boy called out, getting his sister's attention as May looked and saw Max pointing at a building that looked incredibly similar to the one that housed the Slateport Pokémon Contest. "Inside that building, all my dreams will come true!" The brunette called out with a wide smile, before clapping her hands together as she imagined herself as the winner of the upcoming Contest and being awarded her new ribbon.

Verity gave an amused chuckle at May's words, before she turned her head to look at the younger female. "Slow down there, cowgirl. We still got work to do before you're ready to enter. For example; we need to get you a dress. Remember what Sapphire told us". Verity told the Petalburg girl, making May widen her eyes slightly upon remembering what she learned from the girl that looked like her twin back at the Greenhouse. "Oh yeah, that's right. Sapphire said that Coordinators have to dress up for the contests now". The brunette remarked, getting Max to look up at his sister with a curious expression. "Didn't you also mention about the new rule of using two different Pokémon as well?" The Petalburg boy asked his sister, getting a nod from May in return. Jirachi gave a happy and excited laugh as he floated on top of Max's head and sat down on it.

'I'm so excited to see this "Pokémon Contest" you guys are talking about!' The Wish Pokémon exclaimed with his eyes closed in joy, getting Max to let out a smile as he reached up and gently took hold of Jirachi. The 8-year-old brought the Wish Pokémon down and held him in front of himself. "That's right; you haven't seen a Pokémon Contest yet". Max said in realization, thinking back to the past two Pokémon Contests the gang has been to, but Jirachi wasn't with them during those two events. "If that's the case; I'll make this contest a memorable one! It'll be where I earn my first ribbon, and where Jirachi sees the first contest he's ever seen ending with me as the winner!" May exclaimed full of spirit, bringing up her right fist, before thrusting it out forward.

May's confidence brought a smile to everyone's faces as they could see that she fully intended to win the contest. Ash turned his attention from the brunette to Fallarbor Town and stared at it in silence. 'We've been through a lot to get to this town. Maybe it's time that I swap out my Pokémon for some of my others back at Pallet Town. Flygon, Magnezone, Timburr, Tauros and Grovyle have been through a lot lately and I think it's time for them to have a break. And I think that I already have their substitutes in mind'. The Rainbow Hero thought to himself with a smile, having 5 Pokémon in mind to transfer over.

May then brought out her enlarged Poké, Luxury, Dive and Great Balls with both hands and looked down at them with a wide smile. "Come on out everyone!" The brunette called out with a wide smile as she threw her hands up and tossed the devices into the air. The devices all burst open in mid-air and released white beams that struck the ground in front of May. They all took shape, before clearing to reveal Combusken, Beautifly, Shellos, Azumarill and Skitty with all five of them crying out. They turned to look at their trainer, who pointed towards the Contest hall with her right hand's index finger, while placing her left hand against the hip. "Look over there! That's where we'll perform in the Fallarbor Town Pokémon Contest!" May called out with an eager look, getting her Pokémon curious as they turned around and saw both Fallarbor Town and the Pokémon Contest hall.

"Combusken! /Beautifly! /Shellos! /Azumarill! /Naaa!" Combusken, Beautifly, Shellos, Azumarill and Skitty all cried out, four of them being just as excited as their trainer, while the Kitten Pokémon was just being its usual happy self. "I can only use two of you guys; one for performance and the other for battling. I'm gonna be honest and say that I have not decided on who yet, but we still have time to decide. Just know that whoever I picked is because I believe in you guys, okay". May told her Pokémon, receiving an understanding look from them all as they trusted in her judgment.

The brunette smiled at the support her Pokémon showed her, before she turned to look at Verity, her mentor in Pokémon Contests. The Twinleaf girl noticed May's glance on her and gave the younger female a supporting smile, letting the brunette know that she was supporting her all the way. May gave Verity a thankful smile, before turning to look back at the contest hall, where the Fallarbor Contest will take place soon. 'I can't lose this one. I need to win, to prove to both myself and to Verity. If I can't win one contest, I'll never catch up to her. And that's something I won't let happen'. The brunette thought to herself in determination, refusing to lose this contest and to catch up to Verity as a Pokémon Coordinator.


(Play Pokémon Journeys opening: 1, 2, 3, version 2)

With a green background, three mirrors appeared, one vertical with a rainbow background, the second with a blue background and the third had a green, with all three mirrors showing three familiar pairs of legs to three certain trainers. These windows then closed before opening again, this time showing Ash, Verity and Sorrel all running with eager looks. Ash was running forward, Verity was running right and Sorrel left. The mirrors all closed and disappeared to reveal the title "Pokémon Legend of the Rainbow Hero" in colorless letters, before the Rainbow Wing fell past it, changing the letters all into a rainbow color.

'Hey, you still not ready? C'mon, hurry up!'

The three old friends were standing in a triangle position with their backs towards each other with different coloured grounds below them. Ash's ground was a rainbow colour, Verity's an electric blue and Sorrel's a green color. Ash put his cap on his head with a grin, before adjusting his backpack. Pikachu and Espeon then appeared, jumping onto his shoulders, much to the Rainbow Hero's joy.

'You all packed and ready to leave?'

Verity knelt down for a moment, before she stood up to reveal that she was holding Piplup in her arms with the two partners smiling happily at one another.

Sorrel and Lucario were standing right besides each other with the two looking through Sorrel's notebook that he was holding with his right hand. The two partners looked at each other and smiled.

'I'll show you this wide mysterious world'

Ash, Verity, Sorrel, Pikachu, Espeon, Piplup and Lucario were all gathered together, talking to one another happily. It changed to show Sorrel adjusting his right shoe with Lucario stretching his paws out next to his trainer, while Verity had her arms wrapped around her boyfriend's right hand as she gave him a peck on the cheek, resulting in Ash's face turning flushed with Pikachu, Espeon and Piplup laughing in front of them. It then changed to show Ash and Sorrel standing in front of one another, giving a fist up to each other, before Verity appeared from below and wrapped her arms around her two old friends' shoulders, bringing them into a group hug with her eyes closed happily and the two males smiling.

'And skip the slow send-off'.

Ash, Verity and Sorrel then ran out of a Pokémon Center into the outside world. Inside the Pokémon Center, Brock watched them ran out from a bench next to a window, Max and Jirachi were playing together, before they turned to look out the door. May was handing in her Pokémon to Nurse Joy, before she turned around and gave a warm smile.

'Be it through fire or through water'.

'I'm fumbling blindly through the days'.

'When I don't even know what the next second will bring'.

Ash, Verity and Sorrel were all standing in front of a computer screen as it showed pictures of the legendary trio of Kanto, Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno in three separate pictures with the background showing a map of the Kanto Region. The screen then changed to show Lugia and Ho-Oh in two separate pictures with the background showing a map of the Johto Region.

The computer screen changed to show three separate pictures of Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza with a map of the Hoenn Region as the background. The screen changed to show a single picture of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina together with a map of the Sinnoh Region as the background. It changed once more to show a single picture of Zekrom and Reshiram flying around each other with Kyurem in the center with a map of the Unova Region as the background.

The computer screen changed to show two separate pictures of Xerneas and Yveltal with a map of the Kalos Region as the background. The screen then changed once more to show two separate pictures of Solgaleo and Lunala with a map of the Alola Region as the background. Finally, it changed to show a single picture of Zacian (Crowned Sword) and Zamazenta (Crowned Shield) in front of their shrine in the Slumbering Weald.

Ash, Verity and Sorrel were looking over a folding map, before Ash turned excitedly to Sorrel and said something to him, getting him and Verity to turn their attention to him with the Pokémon Coordinator telling her boyfriend something. Pikachu, Espeon, Piplup and Lucario all sat down besides one another and snacked on some cookies gathered around their trainers.

'Each and everyone one of my memories'.

Ash's left rainbow colored eye showed the brightly flashing Rainbow Wing, before the screen zoomed out to show the Rainbow Hero in his transformed state, falling towards a bright light when Ho-Oh came by and flew around with the camera spinning around as well. Ho-Oh flew off as Ash did a flip as he pulled out a Master Ball with his left hand that gleamed with psychic energy, before it burst open with a white beam coming out.

'Can always be found inside a Ball'.

The white beam cleared to reveal Latios flying in the sky with Marshadow on his back, before Latias joined him from the right, now flying besides her brother.

A Poké Ball hit the ground and rolled over to Ash's feet. The camera changed to the inside with a round shadow showing the outside with the red top transparent. Ash, Verity and Sorrel gazed at the Poké Ball in wonder, before the Twinleaf turned to look at her old friends. The three stepped back as the device opened with a blue light filling the screen.

'On 1, 2, 3, dive in!'

A spot light shined down on Ash as he thrust his right hand out with a grin, before all his Pokémon charged ahead with spot lights on all of them as well. Pikachu, Espeon, Venusaur, Blastoise, Grovyle, Raikou, Zoroark, Snorlax, Timburr, Sableye, Corphish, Meganium, Tauros, Kingler, Muk, Typhlosion, Nidoking, Gallade, Kabutops, Skrelp, Rapidash, Gengar, Primeape, Hitmonlee, Ampharos, Ursaring, Donphan, Feraligatr, Tyranitar and Trevenant all charged ahead on ground, while Latios, Latias, Charizard, Taillow, Pidgeot, Heracross, Scizor, Lapras, Flygon, Dragonite, Magnezone, Skarmory and Noctowl flying above them with Marshadow riding on Latios' back and Lapras floating through Espeon's Psychic attack.

Pikachu suddenly sparkled with electric, before he leaped and fired Thunderbolt at Sorrel's Aerodactyl, who dodged it by flying by.

'I've got the future plans I imagined in my pocket'.

Verity's Milotic came out of nowhere with a spot light on her and fired a Mud Shot attack at Sorrel's Lairon, striking the Rock and Iron-type and sending it sliding across the ground past Sorrel, who cried out in surprise. From the side jumped in Lucario with his paws together with an Aura Sphere in between them, getting Sorrel to smile as his Aura Pokémon fired the Aura Sphere, causing the camera to turn around to show Verity standing behind her Milotic, having wide eyes as the blue sphere grew closer.

The screen changed to show Team Rocket all together in the forest with Jessie standing to the right, James to the left and Meowth in the middle. Then from the side, their Pokemon came out and stood behind them. Jessie had her Pokémon Seviper, Dustox, Wobbuffet, Trubbish and Gothita gathered behind her, while James had Cacnea, Axew and Parasect behind him.

The three gave confident looks, before the two humans brought out Poké Balls and threw them forward as their Pokémon cheered, before the devices burst open to reveal bright white lights.

'Greeting someone new is always fresh'.

Ash stared up at the sky in amazement as Mega Latios faced off against Primal Kyogre in the air above with it raining heavily around them. Latios charged up at Luster Purge, before he fired at Kyogre, who narrowed its eyes at the approaching attack.

'No need to hesitate! Try!'

Atop a grassy hill with dark cloud covered skies, Verity's Lopunny and Sorrel's Poliwrath stood 10 feet away from each other, before they charged in and began sparking in hand to hand combat with neither of them having the advantage.

Ash, Pikachu, Espeon, Latias, Zoroark, Donphan, Corphish and Dragonite all jumped up and cheered with a rainbow background. Verity, Piplup, Furret, Glameow, Vaporeon, Tangrowth, Kingdra and Lopunny all jumped up and cheered with a blue background. Finally, Sorrel, Lucario, Luxray, Accelgor, Lairon, Victreebel and Poliwrath all cheered with a green background.

'Let's have a fight!'

Atop the Sky Pillar, Ash, Verity and Sorrel all stood side by side with Pikachu riding on his trainer's right shoulder with Mega Sceptile, Mega Houndoom and Mega Gardevoir in front of them, all facing up at the sky where a shiny Mega Rayquaza was roaring down at them.

'1: Once the battle is done'.

The Hoenn Region champion Steven and his Mega shiny Metagross appeared with a silver background. The screen changed to show a stadium, where Steven waved his left hand out, giving a commanded as Mega Metagross unleashed a Flash Cannon attack. The camera shifted to show a Dragonite counter the Flash Cannon with a Hyper Beam attack with Lance standing behind the Dragon and Flying-type, having an excited grin on his face.

'2: And we're laughing or crying'.

The Johto Region champion Lance and his Dragonite appeared with a dark blue background. The screen then changed to various photos, the first showing Ash holding up the Johto League Silver Conference trophy in his hands, the second showing Verity holding up the Slateport Pokémon Contest Ribbon in her right hand, the third revealing Sorrel researching a set of ruins with his back turned to the camera.

The fourth photo showed all three friends and their partner Pokémon all together. Verity was in the middle, having a wide smile on her face with her eyes closed with her right hand wrapped around Sorrel's shoulders and left hand around Ash's shoulders, bringing the two smiling males into a group hug. Piplup, Pikachu and Lucario were all in front of their trainers in the photo, smiling wildly at the camera. The final photo showed them all leaning in towards the camera with happy faces.

'On 3, let's be friends!'

The screen changed to show Professor Oak, Tracy, Misty, Delia, Azora and Slyvia all together in Professor Oak's backyard with Azora holding her Pokémon in her arms. Professor Oak and Tracy smiled at each other; Misty winked at the camera and gave the peace sign with her left hand. Delia placed her hands down on Azora's shoulders and smiled down at her, getting Azora and Sylvia both to smile up at her.

The screen changed to show Forina with the sky black with various nocturnal Pokémon about, before Jirachi flew through his homeland, leaving a sparkling trail. A wild Ludicolo jumped into view in a forest, surrounded by several confused Marshtomps, before they all began dancing.

'Any day and every day, that's always been my rule'.

Ash, Verity, Sorrel, Pikachu, Piplup and Lucario stood on a cliff overlooking a city next to a tree with a blue sky filled with clouds. Time began changing as the sky changed to reveal a more clear blue one, then an orange sky as the sun began to set and then a beautiful night sky filled with stars.

The screen changed to show the Raizen Mountains, then to Mount Tensei, right where Ash battled Ho-Oh so long ago.

'With this unpredictable, boundless world awaiting'.

In the Petalburg City Gym, Norman opened his determine filled eyes, before the camera zoomed out to show that he was in the Petalburg Gym's battlefield with his Slaking in front of him. Norman crossed his arms, while Slaking roared as it began pounding its chest like a gorilla.

The screen changed to show Ash kneeling down, before he got up on his feet and walked into an opening surrounded by a white light with Pikachu by his right side.

'Let's go! Every time you trip and fall'.

With a yellow background, Pikachu's ears perked, before both he looked up at Ash as he walked forward with a wild smile that grew wilder as he looked down at Pikachu with a rainbow background. With an icy blue background, Piplup cried out as she looked up.

'Let's go! You pick yourself up by my side'.

With a blue background, Verity walked forward with a grin, before it grew as she looked down at her partner. With a silver background, Lucario's ears perked, before turned his head right to look at Sorrel as he walked forward, before he turned to look at his trusted partner with a green background.

Three mirrors appeared and showed the three old friends in separate mirrors with their Pokémon team. Sorrel was in the left mirror with his Lucario, Entei, Bouffalant, Aerodactyl, shiny Ariados and Poliwrath around him, facing their direction with a green background. On the right mirror, Verity stood with her Piplup, Suicune, shiny Togepi, Vaporeon, Kingdra and shiny Gardevoir besides her as they faced right with a blue background.

In the middle mirror in between the three was Ash with Pikachu, Dragonite, shiny Trevenant, Donphan, Kingler, and Primeape, all facing forward with a rainbow background.

'I choose you'.

Sorrel lifted his left hand, Verity raised her right hand and Ash held up both of his hands, before all three friends hi-fived each other.


(Opening song ended)

Not much time has passed since the gang arrived in Fallarbor Town as they already had plans on what they should do first. First, they went to the Poké Mart to buy some supplies, even some special items that Fallarbor Town's Poké Mart sells. They brought Dust, Quick and Dive Balls in case the situation ever called for it, even some Full Restores. With that out of the way, they made their way to the Pokémon Center, where Ash planned to swap out his current team. Ash, Verity, Sorrel, May, Max, Brock, Pikachu, Piplup, Lucario and Jirachi had just entered the center, where they saw lots of people and Pokémon inside, but the people were mostly women.

Brock became love struck at the sight of so many beautiful women and clapped his hands together. Max and Jirachi glared at the love sick former Gym Leader with anime dot eyes. Ash, Verity, Sorrel, Pikachu, Piplup and Lucario looked at all the people and Pokémon around them, while May became a little nervous at seeing so many potential rivals, before she steered her emotions and regained her focus.

"So many...lovely Coordinators...ahhh". Brock said with his usual love sick voice, even shivering his body a bit with his hands clapped together. "Here we go again". Max grumbled out in annoyance at Brock's relentless pursuit of love once more. 'How annoying'. Jirachi remarked from Max's hands, thinking it would be best to stay close to his best friend when they're near this many people.

"It's honestly surprising to see so many Pokémon Coordinators gathered here for a single contest". Verity remarked with her eyes slightly wider than normal. "Piplup pip". Piplup commented from her trainer's arms, looking from one Pokémon to another. Just then, May took notice of a strange sight nearby.

Sitting down on a metal bench was a young adult woman, sitting down in a meditation position. She had dark red hair in pig tails hair style with green hairbands to hold her hair, a healthy white skin colour and green earrings. She wore a short yellow short sleeve shirt that exposed her stomach, a blue vest over the shirt. She also wore dark purple harem pants with a pink sash wrapped around her waist. She had purple flat slippers and finally, a green bracelet on her left wrist.

Right next to the young adult woman was a Pokémon glowing light blue, as if it was using a Psychic type move on itself. It was a humanoid, bipedal Pokémon that resembled a yoga practitioner. It had a gray body with red and yellow adornments. A red headpiece with three bulb-like extensions covering the upper portion of its head: one on top and one on either side. Its large eyes were slightly covered by the headpiece, and its red lips seem to be in a rounded or puckered position. Its legs appeared to be covered with puffy, red pants that had a large yellow spot on the knees and yellow bands next to the hips.

"Look, that Pokémon. It's…floating on air". May said with slightly wide eyes of surprise, getting her friends' attention as they looked over and noticed the young woman and her Pokémon meditating. "Actually, it's using a Psychic type move on itself". Sorrel corrected the brunette girl, recognizing the light around the humanoid, bipedal Pokémon. "Cool, it's a Medicham!" Max called out in excitement as May brought out her Pokédex, opened and held it up towards Medicham. "Medicham huh". The female Pokémon Coordinator said in wonder as she scanned the Psychic and Fighting type.

"Medicham, the Meditate Pokémon. Medicham is able to harness psychic powers through yoga. Being at one with nature, it can make itself vanish completely". The Pokédex gave out information about the Meditate Pokémon, before May tilted her head up to look at Medicham. "Wow, what a mysterious Pokémon". The brunette remarked, before she blinked in surprise upon noticing her brother's glasses glow light blue, before floating off with Max crying out in surprise.

Max's glasses weren't the only thing that began floating up into the air; other items of all the other Coordinators began floating into the sky with one girl keeping her dress' skirt from floating upwards. Even Verity's phone and Sorrel's notebook with all the information about Legendary Pokémon he's ever written down. The gang cried out in surprise as they looked up at all the floating items above them. "Wait a second!" Ash called out in surprise, before he took notice of a light blue glow in his left jacket's pocket.

To his surprise, it was the Rainbow Wing with it slowly floating out of his pocket. Ash quickly placed his left hand into his pocket and grabbed hold of the Rainbow Wing, holding it tightly to not let it float out and expose his identity of being the Rainbow Hero. However, his hat began to glow light blue as well, before floating up into the air, causing Ash and Pikachu to widen their eyes in surprise. "Are you kidding me!" The Rainbow Hero called out, before Pikachu began to glow light blue as well.

"Pika!?" The Electric Mouse cried out as he floated up into the sky with Ash reaching out towards his best friend with his right hand. "Pika-pi!" Pikachu called out as the gang stared up at him with wide eyes. "Medicham". The red haired woman on the bench suddenly spoke, causing the Meditate Pokémon to open its eyes. "Cham. Medicham". The Fighting and Psychic type responded as it floated down to the ground, before the light blue aura around itself died down and spread its arms out as all the items ceased glowing and began to fall.

The gang acted quickly to recover their belongings. Jirachi caught Max's glasses with his right hand, Lucario grabbed hold of Sorrel's falling notebook, Verity managed to catch her phone with her right hand and kept hold of Piplup. "Alright!" Ash called with a grin, before leaping up and caught Pikachu with both hands, all the while his hat landed on his head. The Rainbow Hero landed on his feet, before holding out his smiling partner with a grin. "You okay Pikachu?" Ash asked the Electric Type with a smile on his face. "Pikachu". Pikachu responded with his eyes closed in a joyful manner.

The red haired woman sighed as she got off the bench and stood up on her feet. She opened her eyes to reveal that they were a blue colour. "My most sincere apologies. My Pokémon unconsciously unleashed a burst of psychic energy. Obviously, it needs more training". The woman said with a bow of her head in apology. "Medicham". Medicham apologized as well, bringing its hands together and bowed her head. Just then, Brock literally slide off of the ground to the woman on his knees with his left hand on his chest, and right one up towards the red haired woman.

"Not at all! Who's to say that it lacks in training!" The Pokémon Breeder exclaimed with a blush, catching the red haired female's attention as she turned to look at him with a confused look. Brock then stood up on his feet fully with the blush visible on his face. "And anyway, so what if a few of us got picked up and floated around, it happens all the time. Would you like to have lunch with me?" Brock questioned the red haired woman, before crying out as Max grabbed hold of the back of collar and brought him back down to the ground.

"That's enough, she's here for a battle, not a lunch date". Max said with an irritated expression as he dragged Brock away with Jirachi floating besides him, all the while the breeder reached out towards the female with both of his hands. The red haired girl still had a confused look on her face, before May walked up next to her from the older female's right. "Hi there; I'm so sorry about Brock. He has a habit of doing this every time that he sees a beautiful girl". May apologized to the older female for her travel companion's antics, getting the red haired female to look at her with a stunned look.

"Beautiful? You mean me?" She questioned the brunette, getting a confirming nod from May. "Of course". The Petalburg girl answered with her eyes closed, making the older female blink at her. She then blushed a little with her lips twitching upwards and appeared to be holding in laughter, before bursting out in hysterical laughter.

"Me beautiful?! Oh, please! Ahahaha! You're too much!" The young woman laughed out, first waving her right hand at May, then falling to the ground and began pounding away at it with her left one, and then standing back up with both hands over the stomach, all the while May watched her in confusion. The red haired then cupped her face with her left hand, and then accidently blasting May off of her feet by shoving the right hand into the brunette's face.

The female's surprisingly strong strength launched May backwards towards Ash and Pikachu with the two crying out, before the Rainbow Hero reacted and held his arms up, successfully catching May in a bride carry. May opened her eyes and widened them in surprise as Ash held her in a princess carry and looked down at her in concern. "You okay May?" The Rainbow Hero asked his travel companion with a worried expression on his face.

May grew a deep flush on her face as she stared into Ash's eyes with her hands folded on her chest. "…Y-yeah…I'm fine". The brunette girl answered in a nervous voice, causing Ash to grow a relieved smile that actually made May's blush grow brighter than before. Meanwhile with the others, they were surprised at the red haired girl's surprisingly strength that one wouldn't expect from someone like her. "Wow, that's some arm she's got". Max remarked with wide eyes, while Jirachi nodded in agreement as he sat atop Max's head.

"This is proof that you shouldn't expect someone to lack any physical strength despite their body's appearance. I'll bet you guys that she could lift a Tauros up with just one hand". Sorrel commented with slightly wide eyes, getting a growl from Lucario as the Aura Pokémon could imagine that. "Good grief". Verity said with anime style half lidded eyes, an expression that Piplup mirrored perfectly.

The red haired girl continued to laugh hysterical with her hands on her cheeks and eyes joyfully closed in anime style, until she snapped out of it and looked at May in concern as Ash placed her down. "Oh, darn it. Looks like I've done it again". She stated, scratching the back of her head with her right hand, before walking up to the gang with Medicham right behind her. "I'm so sorry about that". The red haired female apologized, getting May's attention as she turned her attention from Ash to the older girl.

"My name is Grace". The female, now named Grace, introduced herself with her left hand on her chest and right one against the hip. "And this here is my partner, Medicham". Grace introduced her Meditate Pokémon to the gang, placing her left hand atop Medicham's head. "Medicham". Medicham greeted the gang, bringing its hands together and gave a humble bow of its head.

"Hi Grace, I'm May Maple. Nice to meet you both". May greeted the older female with a bright smile, one that Grace happily returned. The red haired girl turned to look at May's travel companions, only to stop upon catching sight of Verity, something that the Twinleaf girl noticed and tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Is something wrong?" Verity asked with a slightly concerned voice, which Grace shook her head sideways in response.

"No, it's nothing. I just swore that I've seen you somewhere before". The red haired female answered the younger girl, making Verity and Piplup tilt their heads in confusion at her words. "Why don't we get to know each other over dinner?" Grace offered to the gang with a warm smile, an offer that Brock wasted no time agreeing to. "OF COURSE! We'd be happy to have dinner with you!" The Pokémon Breeder told the female Pokémon Breeder with an eager voice, getting the gang to sweat drop at him and Grace to take a step back at his eagerness.

"Pardon Brock's "eagerness", but yes. We would like to have dinner with you". Sorrel told the red haired female, getting a nod from Grace. "You guys go on ahead of me. I gotta take care of something first". Ash suddenly told the gang, getting everyone to look at him and Pikachu as the Rainbow Hero began to walk off in a random direction. "Ash, where are you going?" Brock questioned the 12-year-old boy, catching Ash's attention as he stopped walking and turned to look at him and the rest of the gang.

"Don't worry about it; it's just something that I'd like to get taken care of as soon as possible. I'll meet you all in the food court". The Rainbow Hero told his friends, before he resumed walking off in a random direction, while Pikachu waved his right hand at the gang. The gang, Grace and their Pokémon watched Ash walk off, before Verity and Sorrel turned to look at one another and give a shrug with their shoulders.


(A little bit later)

Not too long later, Verity, Sorrel, Brock, May, Max and Grace were all in the food court, eating dinner for the night on two separate tables. May and Max sat across Grace and Brock on one table with Jirachi sitting atop his best friend's head. Verity and Sorrel were sitting across one another on the table next to them with Piplup seated right next to her trainer. Grace and Sorrel had recalled Medicham and Lucario to their Poké Balls to rest them up, and feed them their Pokémon food later on.

They've all started eating their dinner and so far, Grace has been the biggest eater so far. "Isn't this great?" The red haired female asked with a blissful expression on her face, holding her cheek with the left hand and eyes closed. May, Max and Jirachi were all sweat dropping as they nervously stared at her, while Brock was staring at Grace with a usual love struck look. "Pokémon Center food is…the best". Grace said as she continued to eat awake, taking a pause to focus on her getting chewing.

Brock had a goofy smile on his face as he watched Grace eat. "Ahh, such a healthy appetite. With my cooking ability and her love of food to inspire me, we'd make the perfect couple". The Pokémon Breeder said in a lovesick voice, before he had an imagination of himself and Grace together with him feeding her food that he cooked. "And we'd eat happily ever after". The love sick voice, getting Verity and Piplup, who heard Brock's words from their table, to grow anime sweat drops.

"Something tells me that's unlikely to happen". Verity said with her eyes closed, before taking a bite out of a piece of steak that she cut off from the main part. "Piplup pi". Piplup said in agreement, before taking a big sip out of a large cup of water that she was hugging with her body. Sorrel looked up at the two of them from his meal, before he went back to his own dinner.

Just then, Ash and Pikachu entered the cafeteria with the Electric Type still riding on his best friend's right shoulder. The Rainbow Hero walked up towards the two tables that his friends were at with Verity being the first to notice her boyfriend approaching. "There you are, Ash". The female Coordinator said with a bright smile, getting everyone's attention as they looked over and saw the Rainbow Hero approaching. Ash and Pikachu both waved their right hands towards their friends and traveling companions.

"Hey guys, sorry that I took a little longer than what I expected". The Rainbow Hero apologized to his friends as he took a seat right besides Verity at the table that his girlfriend and sworn brother were sitting at. "What were you even doing?" Sorrel questioned his sworn brother with a curious voice, while Verity brought a plate with a cheeseburger on it to Ash. "I'll show you guys later". The Rainbow Hero answered as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and sat down right next to him on his right. Ash then began eating his cheeseburger, but tilted his head left and up to look at the back of Grace's head.

"So Grace, I was wondering if you won any contests". Ash said to Grace, getting her attention as she temporarily stopped eating. "Yep, sure have". The red haired female replied to the Rainbow Hero, before bringing out a red contest case with her right hand and held it out, allowing May, Max, Brock and Jirachi to see the three ribbons nested inside of it. The 3 humans and legendary Pokémon gasped in awe as they sat up from their seats, catching the attention of Ash, Verity, Sorrel, Pikachu and Piplup.

"3 Contest ribbons?!" May called out in awe at seeing Grace's ribbons, staring down at them in awe. "Just like Verity!" Max exclaimed with an amazed grin on his face, catching Grace's attention at what he said. "Huh? Wait a second, you're a Pokémon Coordinator?" The red haired female questioned the Twinleaf girl, sitting up from her seat and looking over her left shoulder to look at the younger female.

Verity turned her head right to look up at Grace to give her a nod, before she went back to her dinner. "That's right. And I've already earned 3 ribbons as well". The Twinleaf girl answered the older female as she took a bite out of her stake again. "Wow, colour me impressed. Guess we'll compete against one another in the Fallarbar Contest to see who gets that ribbon then". Grace said with an eager grin on her face, getting Sorrel to look up at her.

"That's the thing Grace; Verity isn't participating in this contest". The Pokémon Professor in training told the coordinator, causing Grace to widen her eyes in surprise at his words. "What!? Why?" The female adult questioned in surprise, turning to look at Verity once more. "Because I'm taking a break to have fun, relax and think up some new contest strategies for when I decided to get back into the game. Don't worry about not having an opponent to look forward to facing. May can fill out that role for you". The Twinleaf girl told the older girl, causing Grace to turn her attention over to May.

Max turned to look at his sister with a smile on his face. "Guess you're not the only who's confident that they're gonna win". The 8-year-old boy said to the brunette, getting May to look at her brother for a moment, before she tilted her head down and gave a sigh. She then directed her gaze at Grace and gave her a determined expression. "I'm sorry Grace, but I'm the one that's gonna be winning that ribbon, not you!" May exclaimed as she held her right fist up, eyes blazing with determination to win the upcoming Pokémon Contest.

Grace blinked in surprise at May's words, before she gave an approving grin at the brunette. "Now that's the attitude that I like! May the best Coordinator win in the Contest". The red haired girl said to May with a confident voice, getting a nod from May who had her eyes narrowed. "Hey Grace? Do you know about the new rules that the Pokémon Contests have established?" Max asked the red haired female with a curious voice, getting Grace to look at him. "Yes, I've heard about that". The female adult answered the young boy, before looking down at her plate with a nervous smile.

"And honestly, the dressing up part is more problematic than the other one. I don't even have a dress for the occasion, so that's why I'm going shopping tomorrow to shop away". Grace told the gang, getting Ash's attention as he ceased his eating. "They have clothing stores here in Fallarbor Town?" The Rainbow Hero questioned with a curious voice, turning to look down at Pikachu and saw the Electric Type enjoying a bottle of ketchup to himself. "That's right. And even if I can't find one, the Pokémon Contest provides the coordinators with costumes as well. Still, I'd like to get my own dress instead of having one provided for me". The red haired female answered as she went back to having her dinner.

Grace's words made Max looked at his sister with a curious expression on his face. "Maybe you don't need to go shopping after all. You can just get a costume from the contest". Max suggested to May, which she shook her head sideways. "That's not gonna role for me. I'd rather use an outfit that I got for myself instead of using one that was given to me". The brunette stated with a prideful voice, getting an exhausted sigh from her brother. "Great, looks like we're going shopping after all". The 8-year-old boy said in exhaustion, making Jirachi blink down at him.

"Out of curiosity; have many contests have you been a part of, May?" Grace asked the brunette with a curious voice, causing May to turn her attention over to the older female. "Just one so far. I made it past the Performance Round, but lost in the first round badly". May told the red haired female, gripping her hands tightly at the memory of her easy defeat to Drew. "Ever since then, I've been training hard with a little bit of help from Verity and am now ready to win my first contest". The Petalburg girl added, tilting her head up to look at Grace and saw the supporting smile on her face.

"I see. That's good for you to keep your spirits high, even after a crushing defeat. You've got the look of a fighter in your eyes, and I look forward to battling you". The red haired female said with a supportive tone, before slightly narrowing her eyes a bit in a serious manner. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to offer my own advice to you if that would be alright?" Grace asked the Petalburg girl, getting May to raise an eyebrow at her, before she gave a nod in response. "If a Pokémon Coordinator truly seeks to win, then they need to remember one important thing. They'll never be able to win until they can use the full power of their Pokémon completely". The female adult told the brunette girl her advice, causing May to slightly narrow her eyes as she could see the logic in Grace's words.

"I'll keep that in mind. Still, I believe in my Pokémon with all my heart to do their absolute best in the contest". May said with a confidence voice and smirk on her face, meaning every word that she said as she truly trusted her Pokémon. May's words brought a smile to everyone's face, especially Ash, Verity and Grace. "Good, then I don't have anything to worry about. It seems like you've got everything you need sorted out". Grace stated with a smile, before she went back to eating her dinner with everyone else getting the same idea as they resumed eating.

Eventually, Grace was the first one out of everyone to finish her dinner. She leaned back, placing her right hand on her somehow still flat stomach and gave a satisfied sigh. "Ahhh, now that hit the spot". The red haired girl said with a soft voice, before she stretched her right arm into the air. "Well, now that I'm finished with my dinner, time for me to hit the hay". Grace added, getting May, Max and Jirachi to look at her, while Brock stood up from his seat to clear Grace's path.

"Okay, good-night then Grace". May said to the older female as Grace got out of her seat and stood up on her feet. "It was nice having dinner with you". Max said with a smile on his face, giving a small wave with his right hand. 'Good night!' Jirachi called out with a smile, getting Grace to look at him, May and Max, before waving a hand at them. "I'll see you guys either tomorrow, or at the contest". The red haired female bid farewell to the gang, before she walked away and eventually disappeared from sight.

Everyone went back to their dinner and ate in peace, but the silence was eventually broken by Brock. "Hey Ash? What was it that you did when you walked off back in the hall of the center?" The former Gym Leader questioned the Rainbow Hero, sitting back in his previous seat as he ate his dinner. Brock's question caught the attention of everyone as Verity, Sorrel and Piplup turned to look at Ash with a curious expression.

The Rainbow Hero didn't turn to look at his girlfriend and sworn brother, and just kept eating his dinner. "It's nothing much, I just swapped out my team". Ash revealed to the gang, getting everyone to widen their eyes in surprise as his words. "Really? You swapped out Grovyle, Timburr, Flygon, Magnezone and Tauros?" Verity questioned her boyfriend with wide eyes, getting Ash to look at her and give a nod. "That's right. Since we've been through a little bit of stuff ever since we arrived at Mauvile City; I figured those five deserve a break and a chance to relax". The Rainbow Hero told his friends with a small smile, getting everyone curious on which Pokémon of his that he swapped out his team for.

"Who'd you transfer over from Professor Oak?" Brock asked his old friend with a curious voice, getting Ash to grin a little bit as he held up his nearly finished cheeseburger in front of his face. "After we're done here, I'll show you guys outside". The Rainbow Hero told his travel companions, before taking the last bite of his dinner. Ash's answer caused the whole group to grow eager to learn who Ash swapped out Grovyle, Timburr, Flygon, Magnezone and Tauros for. "Pikachu pi". Pikachu commented with a grin on his face, without a care in his world as he enjoyed the bottle of ketchup.


(Not too long later)

15 minutes later after the gang had finished eating their dinner together; they all stood outside the Pokémon Center battlefield, an open space. Pikachu was on Ash's right shoulder, Piplup being carried by Verity's arms, Jirachi floating besides Max and Lucario, having been set out by Sorrel, was standing besides his trainer. Ash broke from his group of friends and walked up to 10 feet away, before he turned to look at his traveling companions.

"Alright guys, let's start this off one at a time". Ash said as he brought out a Poké Ball with his right hand and enlarged it. He took a moment to look down at it, before looking upwards at the sky. "Come on out! Dragonite!" The Rainbow Hero cried out, throwing his hand into the air and tossing the device up. The Poké Ball soared through the air, before bursting open and released a bright white beam that soared into the air.

The beam took shape, before clearing to reveal Ash's Dragonite with the Dragon and Flying Type giving out a delight full cry as it spread its arms out. Dragonite then quickly soared down and scooped up Ash and Pikachu in a loving hug, getting the two to laugh at the Dragon Pokémon as they returned the hug. "We missed you too, Dragonite". The Rainbow Hero greeted his Dragon and Flying Type with a wide smile on his face. "Pikachu pi". Pikachu added in, receiving a happy coo from Dragonite with its eyes closed.

The Dragon Pokémon then turned its attention over to the rest of the gang, before giving out a happy cry as it flew towards and scooped Verity, Sorrel, May, Max, Brock, Piplup, Lucario and Jirachi in a big hug, getting amused laughs from them all. "I see Dragonite is still a hugger!" Verity laughed out with her right eye closed in amusement. "Piplup pi…" Piplup called out with a wide smile on her face. "Honestly, it's hard to believe that a powerful Pokémon like a Dragonite can be so cuddly. He really is one of a kind". Max remarked with a joyful smile on his face, getting Sorrel to look at him as Dragonite lifted them off the ground and kept hugging them.

"That's the thing Max. You can tell if a Dragonite is a male, or a female by looking at the Pokédex. Ash already checked and it turns out, his Dragonite is a female". The Sinnoh resident told the younger male, causing Max to widen his eyes in shock. "Okay, now I just feel like a jerk". Max crumbled out, while May managed to wiggle out her right hand with her opened Pokédex in hand. She then held it out towards Dragonite and scanned her with it.

"Dragonite, the Dragon Pokémon. Dragonite is said to live in the sea. With its small wings and large body, it can fly faster than the speed of sound". The device buzzed out, giving out information about the Dragon Pokémon as Dragonite placed the group down on their feet and released her grip on them. "Wow...sounds powerful". The brunette said with an amazed smile on her face, looking up from her Pokédex to the Dragon and Flying Type.

Ash then brought out another Poké Ball with his right hand, enlarged it and then tossed the device into the air. "Say "hi", Donphan!" The 12-year-old cried out as the device burst open with a white stream coming out and struck the ground, proceeding to take shape. The beam cleared to reveal a gray, elephant-like Pokémon with a thick, black band of hide running down the length of its back and extending to the tip of its long trunk. A pair of white tusks, extended from the corners of its mouth. It had thin, elongated ears held out almost perpendicular to its body. Its four short legs are each encircled with a broken, black band and had three toes.

"Donphan!" The Armor Pokémon cried out with a strong voice, lifting up its trunk. Ash and Pikachu both laughed in joy at seeing their old friend again, while everyone else turned to look at the Ground Type in fascination. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other, Donphan". The Rainbow Hero greeted the Pokémon he's raised since it was an egg, getting Donphan's attention as it looked and saw Ash, causing the Armor Pokémon to grow a massive smile.

"Don-phan!" Donphan called out in joy, before leaping off of the ground towards Ash, making both him and Pikachu cry out in surprise at the unexpected action. The Armor Pokémon then came falling down on the two partners, causing them to go crashing down on their backs with Donphan atop of them. The Ground Type had a joyful expression on its face as it licked both Ash and Pikachu's faces, causing the two of them to laugh at the Donphan's antics. Everyone watched them with smiles at seeing how happy Donphan was at seeing Ash and Pikachu again.

"Donphan looks happy". Max stated with a smile, getting a nod of agreement from Jirachi, while Brock placed both hands on his hips. "What do you expect? After all; Ash has raised Donphan since it was an egg and Pikachu has been great friends ever since it was a Phanpy". The Pokemon Breeder revealed with a knowing grin, getting Sorrel and Lucario to look at him with fascinated expressions. "That would explain a lot. Basically, Donphan must see Ash as its father and Pikachu as an uncle". The dark green haired male said in assumption, before he and Lucario went back to watching the Rainbow Hero get licked by his Armor Pokémon.

May had grown curious with Donphan, so she held up and pointed her Pokédex towards the Ground Type, before scanning it. "Donphan, the Armor Pokémon. Donphan has razor-sharp tusks, armor-like skin, and enormous power". The device gave out information about the Armor Pokémon, before May lowered her Pokédex and looked at Donphan again. "Sounds like a real powerhouse to have". The brunette remarked, getting a nod of agreement from Verity and Piplup as Donphan did indeed look strong.

Ash and Pikachu were eventually able to get Donphan off of them so that they could stand up on their own feet, before the Rainbow Hero knelt down in front of the Ground Type and pat its head with his left hand, much to the Armor Pokémon's delight. "It's great to see you after so long. We'll have plenty of time to catch up with each other, right now I need to take care of something real quick". Ash told his Armor Pokémon, getting Donphan to open its eyes, which had been closed, to look up at the raven haired male.

"Don". Donphan replied with a nod of its head, getting a smile from the Rainbow Hero as he stood up fully on his feet, while Pikachu climbed up to his right shoulder. Ash took a few steps back, while Dragonite flew over and gave a big hug towards Donphan, getting a happy cry from the Ground Type. Ash brought out another Poké Ball with his left hand this time, before pressing the center and enlarged it. "Go! Kingler!" The raven haired boy called out as he tossed the device into the air.

The Poké Ball spun around in mid-air, before suddenly stopping and burst open with a white coloured stream coming out. The stream struck the ground and took shape, before clearing to reveal the Pokémon. It was a crustacean Pokémon resembling a crab. Its strong shell covered the outside of its body, featuring a red upper half and a light tan lower half. Its upper half was topped with six tall, thin spikes that resembled a crown. Its light tan arms were also connected to its upper body. Its lower half doubled as its jaw with six fangs overlapped its upper body. Its two outer fangs were much larger than the inner four and are roughly half as tall as the Pokémon's entire body. Its hips visibly protrude from its lower body and connected to its four long, thin legs. Each leg had a single, claw-like foot. Its' main features were its orange pincers. Its left claw was roughly twice as large as the other.

Kingler let out a powerful cry as it slammed its left claw down hard on the ground, kicking up a bit of debris from the power it held. Verity let out an impressed whistle at the sight of the Pincer Pokémon as Ash walked up to his Kingler and knelt down in front of it. "Wow, now that's some serious strength that crab has. Something tells me that Kingler packs one heck of a punch". The Twinleaf girl remarked with a grin, while Piplup had a joyful smile. "Pip piplup pip". Piplup said with a smile, staring at her fellow Water Type as Ash pat Kingler's forehead with his right hand. May held her Pokédex out towards Kingler and scanned it.

"Kingler, the Pincer Pokémon and the evolved form of Krabby. Kingler's larger pincer has immensely powerful crushing strength, but because of its weight, it is difficult to aim". The device buzzed out, giving out information of Kingler to May as she tilted her head to look at the Pincer Pokémon. "It doesn't look like it has any problems with aiming its big pincer. It looks like it has no problem at all". May commented, taking notice that Kingler was having no problem whatsoever with its weight. "Rather impressive as most Kingler would have trouble balancing its left pincer". Sorrel commented with an impressed smile, resting both of his hands on his hips.

Kingler had its eyes closed in delight as Ash continued to pat its forehead in a comforting manner. "You're looking well, I'm glad to see that. I look forward to training with you, Kingler". The Rainbow Hero told the Water Type with an eager smile on his face, getting a happy cry from Kingler as it opened its eyes to look at him. Ash then stood up on his feet, before he turned around and took a few steps away.

Ash brought out another Poké Ball with his right hand and enlarged it. He held the device up and stared down at it, before he suddenly turned towards Brock and gave a sly smile at him. "Hey Brock. Time to say "hi" to an old friend of ours". The raven haired boy told the former Gym Leader with a mischievous voice, getting Brock to raise an eyebrow at him in confusion at his words, having no idea what Ash was talking about.

The Rainbow Hero looked back at the Poké Ball in his hand, before tossing it up into the air. The device spun around in mid-air, before eventually stopping and burst open, releasing a white stream into the air that took shape. It then cleared to reveal the Pokémon. It was a bipedal, simian Pokémon with a round body covered in whitish, shaggy fur. It had triangular ears with pink insides, narrowed eyes with tiny pupils, and a pink, snout-like nose. Its arms and legs were brown and had metal shackles on the wrists and ankles. The hands had no visible fingers, instead resembling mittens or boxing gloves, and the feet had two toes.

"Primeape!" The bipedal, simian Pokémon cried out with vein on its head as it posed, before it came crashing down on the ground on its feet. Ash and Pikachu laughed in joy, while Brock gasped in comical terror at the sight of the Pokémon. "P-P-P-P-Primeape!" The former Gym Leader called out with a shaking voice full of comical terror, getting the rest of the gang to look at him with curious expressions at why he seemed so afraid.

Ash walked up towards his Fighting Type Pokémon, which Primeape took quick notice of its trainer approaching and lost its anger filled expression and replace it with a calm one. "Primeape, long time no see old friend. You're looking stronger than ever". The Rainbow Hero greeted his first Fighting Type Pokémon ever, before holding his right fist out for a fist pump. Primeape happily returned the fist pump with its eyes closed, before pressing its right fist against Ash's one. "Pikachu! Pika-pika!" Pikachu called out to Primeape with a wide smile, waving his right hand at the Fighting Type.

"Primeape prime". Primeape greeted the Electric Type back, before Ash turned to look at the ground, right at Brock and waved his left hand towards him. "Brock, come say "hi" to our old friend Primeape!" The Rainbow Hero called out to his old friend, causing Brock to shiver in fear for a moment, before he walked over in a shaking manner over to his old friend and Primeape. He stopped in front of them and looked down at the Fighting Type with a nervous look, who looked straight up at him in the eye. "H-Hey Primeape…How's t-things been-". The former Gym Leader began to speak, only to be cut off.

Kablam!

Primeape landed a powerful punch that sent Brock flying off of the ground and into the air, all the while he cried out. Verity, Sorrel, May, Max, Piplup, Lucario and Jirachi looked up at the spinning around form of Brock as gravity did its trick and started pulling him down, all the while sweat dropping anime style. "Something tells me that Primeape doesn't like him". May remarked with wide eyes directed at Brock's falling form. "I have heard that Primeape gets angry when someone makes eye contact with them". Max commented as Brock crashed down hard on the ground, leaving a hole in the shape of his body.

Ash, Pikachu, Dragonite, Donphan and Kinglar all gave out a good laugh, while Primeape flexed its muscles out. May turned from the Brock shaped hole towards Ash and his Pokémon, before pointing her Pokédex at Primeape and scanned it. "Primeape, the Pig Monkey Pokémon. If you make eye contact with this evolved form of Mankey, it will chase you forever". The device gave out information of the Fighting Type, causing the brunette to shiver in horror at the thought of being chased by one of those Fighting Types.

Meanwhile with Brock, he stuck his right hand out of his body shape whole, before planting it on the ground and pushed himself out of it. "Okay…Saw that coming as Primeape only really connected with Ash and not me or Misty". He groaned out, before rolling over to his back and laid down on it, staring up at the stars above. Sorrel and Lucario walked up to the lying down form of Brock and stared down at him. "At least you're building your endurance at taking hits like that". The dark green haired male said to the older male with a small smile, getting a chuckle from Lucario at what he said.

Once more, Ash took a few steps back, but this time brought out a Great Ball with his right hand. "Come on out! Trevenant!" The Rainbow Hero cried out, throwing the device into the air with it spinning around. The Great Ball suddenly stopped, before bursting open with a white beam coming out and striking the ground. It cleared to reveal a ghostly Pokémon resembling a slender white tree. Its shadowy black body was visible through gaps in the tree, and a single, purple eye is visible through a hole near the top. There is a wavy, horn-like branch on either side of its head, both dotted with small, red leaves, and a smaller branch on its forehead. On top of its head is a cluster of red leaves. It had two arms with gnarled branches similar to its horns on the elbows. Around its wrists were cuffs of red leaves and it had three claw-like fingers on each hand. Instead of legs, it has six roots similar to a spider's legs.

"Trevenant!" The ghostly Pokémon cried out as it lifted its arms into the air, while its eye locked on Ash and Pikachu. The two best friends laughed in joy upon seeing the last member of their team after a awhile. "Trevenant! Wow, you look great!" Ash called out with a joyful smile on his face at the sight of the Ghost and Grass Type. "Pikachu pika!" Pikachu cried out with his own smile, getting a friendly one from the Elder Tree Pokémon at their greetings.

Verity gave off an impressed whistle at the sight of the shiny Trevenant. "Wow, now that's impressive. A shiny Trevenant". The Twinleaf girl remarked with a grin on her face. "Piplup pi". Piplup commented from Verity's arms, looking at the Ghost and Grass Type with wide eyes of fascination. Verity then brought out her Pokédex with her right hand, opened it and then held it out towards Ash's Trevenant, all the while still carrying Piplup with the left hand.

"Trevenant, the Elder Tree Pokémon. A Ghost and Grass type, Trevenant is able to control trees. It traps those who cause harm to the forest and never lets them escape". The device buzzed out as it gave away information of the Elder Tree Pokémon, all the while showing the image of a normal coloured Trevenant. "Where'd Ash even catch this guy?" Verity asked with a curious voice as she put her Pokédex away, getting Max and Jirachi to look up at her.

"It was in our travels to Rustboro City, Ash caught Trevenant when it was just a Phantump around the same time that he caught Grovyle when it was a Treecko. He evolved it through a trade evolution when he traded it with May's Torchic, before trading back". The Petalburg boy told the brown haired female, getting Verity and Piplup to look down at him with curious eyes. They then looked back towards Ash and his Pokémon, where they saw Dragonite bouncing over Kingler, Primeape and Trevenant, giving all three of them friendly hugs that left them blinking.

Ash turned to look at his travel companions, while Donphan joined his friends behind their trainer. "This is my team until after my fourth Gym Battle!" The Rainbow Hero declared out loud, getting cries of excitement from Pikachu, Dragonite, Primeape, Kingler, Donphan and Trevenant as they looked forward to spending time together.

Sorrel looked up from Brock's lying down form towards his sworn brother and the Pokémon team that the Rainbow Hero has, before giving an approved nod. "Not a bad choice, Ash. Kingler and Donphan have type advantage over Fire Types, and Fire Type moves aren't very effective against a Dragonite". Sorrel said with a small smile, getting Brock to shift his gaze over towards his old friend and nod as well. "I agree with Sorrel. Good choice". The former Gym Leader said in agreement, before lifting his right hand and gave the thumbs up.

His old friend and sworn brother's words made Ash grow a smile, before he turned around to look at the five gathered behind him with them all shifting their gazes over to him. "I hoped you all had a good rest back in Pallet Town, because for the next few weeks that I have you guys; we're gonna train to the bone in order to win my fourth Gym Badge. You guys with me to win that battle?" The Rainbow Hero questioned his Pokémon, receiving eager cries from Dragonite, Donphan, Kingler, Primeape and Trevenant, not to mention from Pikachu as well.

"That's what I like to hear! Together, we're gonna win that badge from the Lavaridge Gym!" Ash exclaimed, thrusting his right fist into the air and getting more eager cries from his Pokémon. The rest of the gang watched Ash, Pikachu, Dragonite, Donphan, Kingler, Primeape and Trevenant get pumped up for their eventual Gym Battle with supporting smiles on their faces. The only exceptions were Verity and May as the Twinleaf girl had a loving smile, while the Petalburg girl had a dreamingly expression directed at the Rainbow Hero.


(The next day)

After Ash had finished showing his new current team, the gang went to bed in the Pokémon Center. The next day came for them, where the gang began their plans for today. The Pokémon Contest was still a day away from taking place, so May had one last day to get ready. The gang's main focus though was finally getting May an outfit for the Pokémon Contest, so they went shopping.

They quickly found a female clothing store that sold many dresses for females, so they went in and began searching. Currently, Ash, Verity, Sorrel and Max were gathered near a single curtain section of the store with Pikachu and Jirachi hanging on their best friends' shoulders, Lucario standing besides Sorrel and Piplup being carried by Verity. Brock was apart from the group, anime bouncing all over the store towards all of the females in the shop. And May, she was in the curtain section that the others were waiting outside of, having already found an outfit and was getting changed right now.

The gang was patiently waiting for the brunette to finish dressing up in the dress she selected, but were chatting among themselves to pass the time. "I really don't see the reason why coordinators need to dress up for the contests now. It honestly just seems like a waste of money and time". Max said with both of his hands placed on his hips, getting Jirachi to nod. 'Yeah! I agree with Max!' The Wish Pokémon called out, getting Sorrel and Lucario to look down at them.

"Who knows why this specific rule was added. Maybe it was for the coordinators to be apart of the contest a little more. And honestly; it adds more to the appeal of it". The Pokémon Professor in training said to the 8-year-old boy with a shrug of his shoulders. "Rrraaa rrraaa". Lucario growled out to his partner, getting Sorrel to look at him, before the Aura Pokémon pointed its left paw past the 12-year-old boy.

Sorrel looked at where his partner was pointing to, only to sweat drop upon seeing Throh holding Brock in its usual firemen hold and was pulling down hard on the Pokémon Breeder in front of a surprised young woman with Brock groaning in pain. The others took notice of the same thing that Sorrel and Lucario saw, and sweat dropped at the sight. Sorrel gave an exhausted sigh with his eyes closed, and then turned to look at his traveling companions. "We'll take care of him, be right back". The dark green haired male told his friends, before both he and Lucario began walking over to help the former Gym Leader.

Ash, Verity, Max, Pikachu, Piplup and Jirachi were still sweat dropping at seeing Brock's usual pursuit of love, before the Rainbow Hero turned to look at his girlfriend with a curious expression. "Verity, out of curiosity; why aren't you looking for an outfit for when you decide to compete in contests again?" Ash asked the Sinnoh resident, catching Verity's attention as she looked over to her boyfriend, before giving a reassuring smile at him.

"Don't worry about that; I'm in no rush at all. Besides, there's nothing here that I like anyway". The Twinleaf girl answered the Rainbow Hero, before tilting her head down to look at Piplup in her arms. "Isn't that right, Piplup?" She asked her starter Pokémon, getting a smile from the Water Type. "Piplup pip". Piplup answered the Sinnoh resident, while Ash, Max, Pikachu and Jirachi looked at one another before they all gave a shrug with their shoulders.

Just then, the curtain behind them all was pulled aside with the sound catching the attention of Ash, Verity, Max, Pikachu, Piplup and Jirachi, before the three humans turned around to look at May, only to be stunned into silence at what they saw the brunette was wearing. May was wearing a pink top with a yellow heart on it with yellow border on the sleeves and neck that exposed her entire midriff. She wore a peach-pink veil with a green gem on top, and a light purple long skirt with a piece of pink fabric at the waist. She finished her outfit with brown flip-flops with a toe ring and a yellow necklace with a red heart.

May had her hands folded in front of her lap and was looking away to the side with a small blush on her face. Ash, Verity, Max, Pikachu, Piplup and Jirachi were still silent, staring at May in disbelief as the beautiful outfit truly suited the brunette and it nicely complimented her figure. Only one word went through their minds that could truly suit May and her appearance right now. 'Princess…' All six of them thought inside their minds in disbelief, feeling as if they were staring at a real princess right now, just like Princess Sara.

May looked at her crush, brother and mentor through the corner of her right eye with a shy expression. "Do…do I…look great?" The Petalburg girl asked with a nervous voice, snapping Ash out of his daze as he grew a smile at her. The Rainbow Hero then walked up in front of the brunette, who turned her head to fully look at him. "…You look beautiful". Ash answered May's question, causing the brunette to let out a gasp of disbelief as her hands shot up to cover her mouth and flush bright red at what he said.

Ash's words even snapped Verity, Max, Piplup, Jirachi and Pikachu out of their dazes as well, before the 8-year-old ran up next to his idol and stared up at his sister in awe. "Ash is right; you look great May. Like an actual princess". Max told his sister with an excited grin, getting May to look down at him in surprise as he wasn't one to compliment her. 'Yeah! You're really pretty!' Jirachi called out with a wide smile, before laughing with his eyes closed.

Verity walked up besides her boyfriend and gave May an approving nod. "I have to agree with Ash and Max. That's a look that only you could pull off and no one else could". The Twinleaf girl told the Hoenn resident, before giving a supporting look at May. "Piplup pip piplup". Piplup said in agreement, smiling up at the brunette. "Pi pika pika!" Pikachu called out with a massive smile on his face, looking up and down to get a full look at May's costume.

May had a heartfelt smile as her friends' words really touched her, before bringing her hands up and rested them on the chest. "…Thank you guys…It means a lot to me". The brunette thanked her friends with an appreciated voice, before directing her gaze towards Ash. 'Especially what you called me, Ash'. May said inside her mind, more touched by the Rainbow Hero calling her beautiful. Ash noticed May's gaze on him and just smiled at her, causing the brunette to blush a bit.

Not too long later, the whole gang was walking through the park of Fallarbor Town together with May leading the group, back in her usual costume and carrying a single white shopping bag in front of herself with both hands, heading back to the Pokémon Center. The brunette was smiling happily as she stared down at the bag where her new contest costume was, eager to wear it in the contest tomorrow. Behind the Petalburg girl, Ash, Verity, Sorrel, Max, Brock, Pikachu, Piplup, Lucario and Jirachi were all smiling at May's back with soft smiles as they could all tell that she was happy with the outfit that she chose for herself.

"May's really happy, don't you think?" Brock asked his traveling companions, which Max gave a nod in response. "If I know my sister; then I know she's happy because she only makes that face only when she's enlightened. She'll be keeping that face for a while". The 8-year-old boy remarked with a grin, causing Jirachi to let out a cheerful laugh. "She must really like that outfit, huh? Makes me wish that I could have gotten a look at it". Sorrel commented with his hands inside the pockets of his jacket/coat. "You would have been rendered speechless. Trust me, I speak from experience". Ash told his sworn brother without turning to look at him, his face facing forward as he walked.

"Arghhh, what a disaster!" A familiar voice called out from up ahead, catching the gang off guard as they all widened their eyes. They then looked forward and, to their surprise, saw Brendan up ahead with an expression of panic on his face as he held his head with both hands. However, the son of Professor Birch then noticed the gang in the distance, causing him to grow a relieved smile on his face. "Ahhh! Ash! Guys!" Brendan called out in relief, before he began to run towards the gang, who were all confused at why he was so full of panic just a few seconds ago.

"Brendan, what's-?" Ash began, only to be cut off by the son of Professor Birch as he stopped in front of May and held his hands out in a panicking manner. "No time to explain, need help now! You've all got to come with me!" Brendan told Ash and his traveling companions, before taking off in the direction that he just came from. The gang all had confused looks on their faces, but did chase after the Hoenn resident, curious on what it is that Brendan was panicking about.

Brendan led them all to a two-story house with a large night sky telescope attached to the building. The son of Professor Birch went up to the front door and pulled it open, before going inside right as the gang and their Pokémon right in front of the house and looked up at it. "What's this place?" May asked with a curious voice, now holding her shopping bag with the right hand. "No idea". Max answered his sister, looking at the night telescope part of the house.

"Come on; let's see what this is about". Ash said to his friends as he walked up to the door, twisted the handle and pushed it open. The inside of the two-story house revealed that it was actually an astronomical observatory. It was an attic room furnished with a double bed, coffee table at the middle & some monitors with chairs to the right side of the house. To the side was a slim line rectangular window with a screen, a side unit with a big yellow boxes filled with papers, written down with data from the monitors. There was also a ladder that lead up to the observatory; where the telescope was.

Brendan stood in front of the coffee table with an adult woman standing next to him. She appeared to be in her early twenties. She had short light brown hair with a flower hair pin and peach skin. She wore a turtle neck bright pink short-sleeve shirt, a white belt over a long white skirt and pink shoes. Lastly, she appeared to have squinted eyes like Brock. Both her and Brendan had expressions full of panic on their faces as the gang walked into the house and looked at them in concern.

"Brendan, what's going on?" Ash questioned his rival with narrowed eyes, getting the son of Professor Birch to look down at the ground in a nervous manner. "Y-You see… Professor Cozmo…" Brendan began, immediately catching the attention of both Sorrel and Max at the name that he just said. "He got abducted by some weird guys calling themselves Team Something or Other…" The son of Professor Birch continued, now getting everyone to narrow their eyes in suspicion as three criminal organizations came to mind. Unknown to them all was that outside looking through the window was Jessie, James and Meowth, listening in on the conversation taking place inside.

"Those shady characters… They call themselves Team Aqua". The woman revealed the name of Professor Cozmo's abductors, getting everyone to look at her at the mention of one of Hoenn's criminal organizations. "It seems as though they plan to do something with the Meteorite that the professor has been researching". She continued to explain, causing Sorrel, Max, Jirachi and even James to brighten their expressions upon the mention of the Meteorite. The woman took a sight as she folded her hands in front of her lap.

"The professor is just too gullible. If you show the least bit of interest in his research, he would happily go with you anywhere, without questions". She finished, causing Verity and Piplup to look at her with half lidded eyes in anime style. "…You got him down perfectly as gullible with a capital "G" lady". The Twinleaf girl remarked with an unimpressed voice at how this "Professor Cozmo" just literally went willingly with Team Aqua. "Piplup pip". The Water Type said in agreement to her trainer's words.

Brock looked at Brendan with a serious expression on his face. "So, you want our help to save Professor Cozmo from Team Aqua, is that it?" The former Gym Leader questioned the young boy, getting a nod from Brendan. "Ash, Verity, Sorrel, May, Max, Brock, please… You've got to help me save him! They can't be planning to do anything good with Professor Cozmo's research. We have to do something!" Brendan pleaded to the gang, getting Max to let out a nod as he agreed with him on Team Aqua not being up to anything good.

'If they're anything like Team Magma and what Butler used to be like, it can't be anything good'. The 8-year-old boy thought to himself, remembering their last encounters with Team Magma and that virus Groudon that Butler's machine created during the Millennium Comet. "We'll help Brendan. We have experience dealing with people like Team Aqua". Ash told his rival, getting Brendan to grow a relieved smile on his face.

"Thank you. I…I'm going to head after them right away! Let's meet up at Meteor Falls! I'm counting on you guys!" The son of Professor Birch told the gang, before he took off and ran past them with May watching him leave through the front door. Outside of the house, Jessie, James and Meowth watched Brendan took off in a random direct, sticking their heads out from the edge of the house, before they looked at one another.

"Team Aqua, just great! The last time we dealt with anyone apart of that team, our plans were shot down the drain!" Jessie growled out in anger as she held up her fists to express the anger that she was filled with. "Not dis time! This time; we're the ones that's gonna shoot their plains down the drain!" Meowth called out with a grin on his face, getting eager nods from the two humans as they looked down at him. "Agreed! And while we're at it, maybe steal that Meteorite from that professor they tricked". James said to his teammates, before they all took off in the same direction that Brendan ran off in.

Back with the rest of the gang, they gathered together outside of Professor Cozmo's house to discuss what their plan of action. "We have to go to Meteor Falls to stop Team Aqua. Whatever they're up to, it's probably a step in order to capture Kyogre". Verity said to her traveling companions with a serious voice, getting a nod from Ash as he agreed with her. "Most likely. Butler and Diane told us that Team Magma was after Groudon, so Team Aqua must be after Kyogre as well. The better question is why they would want a Meteorite when it has nothing to do with the legendary Pokémon". Sorrel pointed out, causing Brock to look down at the ground and hold his chin in deep thought.

"True. A Meteorite comes from outer space. Groudon controls the land and Kyogre controls water, so why would they want something that has nothing to do with either of the two? Just what are they up to?" The former Gym Leader questioned in wonder, getting the Rainbow Hero to look at him with narrowed eyes. "Who cares why. They won't get what it is they're after. We're going after them to get Professor Cozmo back". The Rainbow Hero declared to his traveling companions, getting eager nods from them all as they refused to allow Team Aqua to acquire whatever it is they're after.

Max then turned to look up at his sister. "May, let me and Jirachi take your bag back to the Pokémon Center while you guys go after Team Aqua. We'll catch up through Teleport". The Petalburg boy said to his sister, getting the brunette girl to look down at him, before looking down at the bag that she was carrying. After a moment of thinking about it, May looked towards her brother and nodded to him.

"Okay, just be careful". May told her brother, before handing over the bag carrying her contest outfit to Max, which he took hold of with both hands. 'Don't worry. We'll be fine'. Jirachi told the female Pokémon Coordinator, before Max turned around and ran off towards the Pokémon Center. Ash, Verity, Sorrel, May, Brock, Pikachu, Piplup and Lucario watched the 8-year-old boy run off with Jirachi until they eventually disappeared from sight.

Ash and Pikachu then turned to look at their friends, both bearing serious expressions. "Let's go, we don't have much time". The Rainbow Hero told his travel companions, before taking off in the same direction that Brendan took off in. Verity, Sorrel, May, Brock and Lucario chased after the two best friends with Piplup jumping out of her partner's arms to run as well. Even Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder to run as well. The gang didn't notice that a specific green haired male Pokémon Coordinator, who was taking a walk, had noticed them and raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

The gang all ran out of Fallarbor Town into Route 114. It was a route divided into two parts with a wooden bridge being the only thing connecting them. The side that led to Fallarbor Town was a red and rusty brown rocky terrain with sparse green trees around with several small pounds and two large waterfalls atop of one another connected to the lake that separated the two parts. The bottom side was a small lush, verdant green field with populated tall, green trees with a small staircase that lead up to the mountains.

The gang and their Pokémon didn't stick around to sight see and continued on towards the bridge, only to be stopped by an unexpected source. "Why, hello there!" A kind, old voice called out in greetings, causing Ash, Verity, Sorrel, May, Brock, Pikachu, Piplup and Lucario to stop in their tracks just 10 feet away from stepping onto the bridge. They all turned left and saw an old peddler man sitting down on a brown coloured rug with multiple stones lying around on display.

The old man raised his right hand into the air and gave a wave at the group of Pokémon Trainers and their Pokémon. "Greetings my young friends. Come, come, fancy anything you'd like to buy?" The peddler asked as he gestured down to the stones in front of him. The gang and their Pokémon looked down at the items that were on display and saw that they were all just Hard Stones. Ash narrowed his eyes at the lack of anything else on display, but then was when he noticed 3 smaller, but more special stones on display.

They were all of the same size, but where of different colours. The only thing that they all had in common was that they all had DNA symbols inside of them, just like a few certain items that Ash, Verity and Sorrel possessed. 'No way… Mega Stones… And not only that, two of them are a Sceptilite and a Blazikenite. Does that mean that last one is for a Swampert?' The Rainbow Hero thought to himself in disbelief that Mega Stones were on display to be bought like this.

He then walked up in front of the old peddler, getting his friends to all at his back in confusion, before kneeling down. He gently picked up the 3 Mega Stones with his left hand and stared down at them as they rested in his palm. "Where…on Earth…did you find these?" Ash questioned in disbelief, getting Verity, Sorrel, May, Brock, Pikachu, Piplup and Lucario curious as they all gathered around him with Pikachu climbing onto his best friend's shoulder to see what it is that the Rainbow Hero seemed shock to see.

Just like Ash, they all recognized the Mega Stones in Ash's hand and grew disbelief expressions at what they saw. The old man paid no attention to the shocked looks and instead focused his attention on answering Ash's question. "Ahh, I see the Withered Tree, Fading Fire and Ebb Tide have caught your interest. Rather pretty, aren't they? I found them when I was searching for stones to complete my collection". The old man answered, giving away how he found the 3 Mega Stones, getting Ash to look up at him with a raised eyebrow at what he called them.

'Withered Tree? Fading Fire? Ebb Tide? Judging by what he's calling them; this guy has no idea that these are Mega Stones. Oh well; not like it's gonna matter'. The Rainbow Hero thought in his mind, before holding his left hand out towards the peddler. "I'll take all three of these things". Ash told the old man, getting a confirming nod from the peddler as he had no problem with that.

"Alright then young man. All of them are worth 1500, so all together is a total of 4500". The peddler informed the Rainbow Hero, causing Ash to give a very small sigh at that revelation. 'I guess it can't be helped. I should have known that there'd be a price for finding 3 Mega Stones at one'. The raven-haired boy thought to himself at seeing that the price was to be expected for a Mega Stone at least. Still, Ash paid for the stones with his own money successfully and got 3 new Mega Stones.

"Thank you for your purchase". The peddler thanked the Rainbow Hero as Ash stood up fully on his feet, still staring down at the 3 Mega Stones in his left hand. He then turned around to look at his traveling companions and saw the stunned expressions on the faces of Verity, Sorrel, May, Brock, Piplup and Lucario. Ash turned to look at Pikachu on his right shoulder, where he saw the same look on the Electric Mouse's face.

"Ash, are those really what I think they are?" Brock questioned his old friend with disbelief leaking out of his voice, getting the Rainbow Hero to turn towards him and give a nod. "We'll talk about this later…" Ash began as he placed the Mega Stones away in his pants' left pocket. "Right now, we need to get to Meteor Falls, find Professor Cozmo and stop Team Aqua". The raven-haired boy finished with a serious tone followed with him narrowing his eyes. This caused the rest of the gang to grow their own serious expressions as they all nodded to Ash in understanding.

Just then, 2 multicoloured lights appeared behind May, catching the attention of everyone as they looked at the lights with even the old man staring in wonder. The multicoloured lights then cleared to reveal Max and Jirachi with the Wish Pokémon floating up above, having his eyes closed and tags glowing multicoloured, indicating that he had just used Teleport. The Wish Pokémon opened his eyes and gave a happy look, while Max turned to look at his traveling companions.

"Sorry we're late. How close are we to Meteor Falls?" The 8-year-old boy asked with a curious voice, getting Verity to grow a confident grin as she pointed her right hand towards the mountains on the other side of the bridge. "We're almost there, so let's punch it!" The Twinleaf girl answered, before taking off down the bridge towards the other side. Ash, Sorrel, May, May, Brock, Lucario, Jirachi and Piplup all ran after Verity to catch up with her, leaving the old man alone as he scratched his bald head. "My…They were a rather "colourful" group of youngsters". The Peddler remarked, before facing forward and crossed his arms.

The gang of heroes and their Pokémon quickly reached the other side of the bridge into the small lush, verdant green field. They ran through the forest together, all the while passing through the wild Pokémon in the area. There were a few different kinds as there was Nuzleaf, Swablu, Zangoose, Surski, Lombre, Seviper, Geodude, Misdreavus, Skorupi and Tympole as they passed through. Sorrel did slow his pace to stare at a group of Skorupi for a moment, before he resumed his pace after the others.

They soon reached the staircase that led up to the mountain's pathway. The gang didn't waste any time and ran up the staircase to the pathway. "Alright, we've made it to the mountains. Is this where Meteor Falls is?" May questioned with a curious voice as the gang stopped to catch their breath from the running they did. Max brought out his PokéNav with his right hand and pressed on the button, causing the screen to slot out, while Jirachi floated down onto Max's head and lied down on it.

The Petalburg boy quickly looked up Meteor Falls, causing data of the location appear on the screen. "It says here that there's an entrance into the Meteor Falls cave and it is further up the mountain. The pathway leads directly to it". Max informed the group, getting Sorrel to look down at him. "Looks like we still got some catching up to do. Let's pick up the pace!" The Pokémon Professor in training exclaimed, turning to look at the rest of his traveling companions. "Rrraaa!" Lucario growled out in agreement, before both he and Sorrel took off down the pathway, closely followed by the rest of the gang.

They all ran down the pathway of the mountain towards the entrance of Meteor Falls cave together, passing right through craters on the ground and going up more staircases. They only stop upon reaching the top part of the mountain, where a rather huge crater is. It was large and wide, as if an actual meteor had struck down right there. Ash, Verity, Sorrel and Lucario stood at the edge of the crater with Pikachu riding on Ash's right shoulder and Piplup being carried in Verity's arms. May, Max and Brock were all in the crater, while Jirachi floated besides his best friend, looking around in awe at how wide the crater was.

"Wow… Do any of you guys have any idea what could have left a crater as large as this one behind?" Max questioned his friends in awe, turning his head left and right with Jirachi mimicking him. 'It's so big'. Jirachi remarked with a wide smile of amazement on his face, getting an amused look from Sorrel and Lucario. "My best bet would be a very large meteor, but it is likely that it was something else. Maybe it could have been a Pokémon for all we know". The dark green haired boy answered the younger boy with a shrug of his shoulders, honestly having no idea what was responsible for this single crater.

May climbed out of the crater on the other side, before proceeding to turn her head left and right. She spotted two very small staircases that lead down to a lower lever, where an entrance into the mountain was placed around the corner. She turned her head to look at her traveling companions, all the while pointing towards the cave's entrance. "Guys! I've found the entrance!" The brunette called out to her friends, getting all of their attention as they looked over towards her.

Max and Brock began to climb out of the crater to join May, while Ash, Verity, Sorrel and Lucario walked around it. They all gathered around the female Pokémon Coordinator and looked at where she was pointing towards with her right hand, where they saw the cave entrance. "Great eye, May!" Verity praised her fellow Coordinator, before Ash, Sorrel and Lucario jumped off of rock path, over the lower rock path, and landed on the solid ground on their feet.

Verity, May, Max and Brock didn't follow their travel companions' dramatic way of getting to solid ground and instead just walked down the two staircases to join them. "That'll lead into the cave, probably straight towards where Team Aqua took this Professor Cozmo guy to". Brock remarked as they all looked towards the entrance into the cave. Just then, Lucario suddenly widened his eyes in surprise, before turning to look at Sorrel.

"Rrraaa rrraaa!" The Fighting and Steel Type called out in an urgent manner, getting Sorrel to look at his partner in surprise. "Lucario? What's wrong?" The Pokémon Professor in training asked his partner Pokémon, getting the rest of the gang to glance at him and Lucario. Before the Aura Pokémon could answer its trainer, several shadow covered figures appeared out of nowhere and landed around the gang in a circular formation, surrounding them on all sides.

Ash, Verity, Sorrel, May, Max, Brock, Pikachu, Piplup, Lucario and Jirachi all looked at who was surrounding them and saw that they were Team Aqua grunts (Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby appearance), both male and female with all of them having smirks on their faces. "We're surrounded". Max pointed out with wide eyes, staring at a single male grunt that was tossing an enlarged Poké Ball up and down with his right hand. "We should have known that they were gonna bring in more than just a handful of grunts". Brock remarked with narrowed out as he brought out his Fast Ball and held it with his right hand.

"Sorry kids, but this is as far as you're gonna go". A female grunt told the gang as she and the rest of the grunts brought out Poké Balls as well. "Someone's gonna have to stay out here and deal with these guys and provide an opening for us to get into that cave". Ash told his travel companions with his eyes narrowed in a serious manner, while Pikachu glared at the grunts with sparks of electricity sparking out of his cheeks. "Ash, Brock and I will handle this. You, Verity, May and Max go on ahead and rescue Professor Cozmo". Sorrel told his sworn brother, bringing out a Great Ball with his right hand, getting the Rainbow Hero to look over his shoulder to look at him.

"Are you sure that you don't need one more of us to stick around and help you guys? The odds aren't exactly in your favor". Ash pointed out, getting Max and Jirachi to look towards him. "If that's the case, we'll stay and help out. Jirachi and I can help out with these guys". The Petalburg boy told his idol with a confident look, before looking up at the Wish Pokémon on his head. 'Yeah! We can deal with these guys!' Jirachi called out in an excited voice as he floated off of Max's head, getting May to look at her brother, while holding a Poké Ball with her right hand.

"I'd prefer it if you'd come with us so that I can keep an eye on you, but something tells me you're not gonna listen". The brunette said to the 8-year-old boy, making Max grow a small grin at what she said. "You know me so well". Max remarked, getting an amused giggle from Verity at what he said. "Nice to see you two are playing nice". The Twinleaf girl said with a grin, tilting her head down to look at Piplup as the Water Type was standing in front of her.

(Play Burning Battlefield Kanto Trainer Battle Theme Anime Version)

The Team Aqua grunts then tossed the Poké Balls that they were holding, forward. "Go! Walrein! /Crawdaunt!" Multiple voices cried out as the devices burst open and released white beams that took shape, before clearing. Half of them revealed primarily red, crustacean Pokémon with a tan underside. They had circular eyes set in deep sockets and a large, star-shaped growth on the forehead. The upper and lower halves of the underside are separated by a pattern of angular red shapes, and there are two blue stripes on the throat. Their forelimbs had two large pincers with spiked edges and tan lower halves form. There are two sets of hind limbs. The foremost pair was simple claws with two spikes, while the rear pair are large and thick with two white claws. A yellow triangle marked the base of its lobster-like tail.

The other half of beams cleared to reveal large, walrus-like Pokémon with a layer of blubber under its skin. They were primarily blue, with thin, white rings around the neck and lines on its fan-like tail-fin. There are two long, ivory tusks in its upper jaw. They had a round snout and yellow eyes, and large tufts of white fur about its face and neck. They four short legs have long flippers instead of feet.

"Walrein! /Crawdaunt!" The horde of Walrein and Crawdaunt cried out together, now surrounding the gang as well. "Water Gun! /Bubble Beam!" The grunts commanded their Pokémon, some pointing towards the gang, while others held their fists out. "Wal…rein! /Crawdaunt!" The horde cried out as all the Walreins released spirals of water from their mouths, while the Crawdaunts opened their pincers and released blue bubbles.

"Jirachi, use Teleport!" Max called out with narrowed eyes, causing Jirachi to grin, before closing his eyes as the tags began to glow a multicoloured light. Just then, Ash, Verity, Sorrel, May, Max, Brock, Pikachu, Piplup, Lucario and Jirachi all began to glow a multicoloured colour, before they all disappeared, causing the spirals of water and blue bubbles to strike themselves instead of their targets.

All the grunts gasped in shock at seeing this. 5 multicoloured lights appeared right in front of Meteor Falls' entrance, 3 appeared behind the left side of the circular formation and 2 more at the right side of the squad of Team Aqua grunts. The lights at the cave's entrance cleared to reveal Ash, Verity, May, Pikachu and Piplup, while the three at the left side cleared to reveal Brock, Max and Jirachi. The last two cleared to reveal Sorrel and Lucario with all of them having confident grins on their faces as Jirachi's wish tags ceased glowing as he opened his eyes.

Sorrel and Brock then tossed the Great and Fast Balls out forward, which passed through the Team Aqua grunts. "Go, Forretress! /Poliwrath, take them out!" The two males cried out, while Jirachi flew up higher into the air. The two balls burst open and released white beams in mid-air, which quickly took shape and cleared to reveal Forretress and Poliwrath. "Forretress! /Poliwrath!" Both the Bagworm Pokémon and Tadpole Pokémon cried out their names with their eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Forretress, Gyro Ball!" Brock commanded, pointing his right hand's index finger out. "Lucario, Aura Sphere! And Poliwrath, Circle Throw!" Sorrel called out, swiping his right hand out to the side. "Jirachi, Thunderbolt!" Max shouted out with narrowed eyes. 'Got it!' Jirachi called out eagerly, while the other Pokémon cried out strongly with Lucario leaping into the air. Forretress pulled its horns into its body and closed the shell, before a light-blue aura surrounded it with a bright white light running horizontally across the light-blue aura surrounding Forretress. The Bagworm Pokémon then shot out spun right past a group of Walrein, landing direct hits as it passed by and caused them all to cry out in pain.

"Poliwrath!" Poliwrath called out as it charged forward and grabbed hold of a single Crawdaunt. The Tadpole Pokémon then turned on its back and threw the Crawdant over its head, causing the Water and Dark Type to cry out in surprise as it crashed into another Rogue Pokémon. In mid-air, Lucario held his hands out to the sides, before creating Aura Spheres in the front of its paws and unleashed them at a Crawdaunt and Walrein, landing direct hits and creation explosions upon making contact. The Aura Pokémon repeated the action and fired more Aura Spheres at the horde of enemy Pokémon.

'Thunderbolt!' Jirachi cried out, and then proceeded to release a powerful bolt of electricity from his body. Jirachi's Thunderbolt landed and struck 3 Walreins at the same time, causing them all to cry out in pain. "Nice shot!" Max praised his best friend with a wide smile on his face, getting Jirachi to let out a happy laugh at the praise. The Team Aqua grunts were all growling in anger at seeing their Pokémon getting easily handled like that.

Ash, Verity, May, Pikachu and Piplup watched their travel companions handle the Team Aqua grunts and their Pokémon with impressed expressions on their faces. "Wow…Look at them go. They're dealing with those guys rather nicely". Verity commented with a smile, watching Fortress as it slammed right past another Walrein. "Pip-piplup". Piplup said in agreement, before she turned to look up at her trainer. "Even Max is doing great. Not bad". May said with a small smile, rather proud of her brother at handling a battle as he is.

Pikachu climbed up to Ash's left shoulder with both of them watching their friends battle closely, before the Rainbow Hero turned around to face the cave's entrance. "As much as I'd like to keep watching them kick butt out there, we need to go on ahead and save Professor Cozmo guys. Come on". Ash reminded his friends, before taking off running into the cave's entrance. The two females and Penguin Pokémon turned, before following after the Rainbow Hero into Meteor Falls cave.

"Crawdaunt, Bubble Beam!" A male grunt commanded one of the Rogue Pokémon, pointing towards the spinning form of Forretress. "Crawdaunt!" Crawdaunt cried out, holding up its pincers as it fired a swarm of blue bubbles towards Fortress. "Forretress, defend with Rapid Spin!" Brock called out with narrowed eyes. "Forretress!" The Bug and Steel Type cried out as the light-blue and bright white light disappeared, but kept spinning only in a faster rate than before. The swarm of bubbles struck, but were deflected by Forretress's Rapid Spin attack.

Lucario landed on the ground in a kneeling down position, before tilting his head up and saw a single Walrein staring at him. "Walrein, Ice Beam!" A female grunt commanded the Ice Break Pokémon, swiping her right hand out. "Wal…rein!" Walrein cried out as a light blue ball formed in front of its mouth. It then fired light blue beams towards Lucario. "Lucario, counter with Metal Claw!" Sorrel called out to his partner Pokémon with a frown.

"Rrraaahhh!" The Aura Pokémon roared out, before crossing his arms up in a cross. The spikes on the top of Lucario's paws glow white as they gleamed, before transforming into three claws. The Fighting and Steel-type swung his arms out as he stood up fully on his feet, before charging forward. Lucario brought his paws together in a cross formation, right before the blue beams struck the claws.

Yet, no damage was done whatsoever as the three claws protected Lucario as he kept charging towards the Water and Ice Type. Once he was right in front of the Ice Break Pokémon, Lucario swiped his arms out to the side and sliced the light blue ball in front of Walrein, causing it to disperse. The Aura Pokémon then roared out as he swung his right claw down and landed a direct hit on the Water and Ice Type, causing Walrein to cry out in pain as it was sent sliding across the ground.


(Music end/ Meanwhile with Ash and the others)

Inside of the Meteor Falls cave, Ash, Verity, May, Pikachu and Piplup stood in front of the entrance and looked around their surroundings. It was rather colourful for a cave, it even had a waterfall not too far away, a small crater in front and a rock staircase up ahead. "This isn't what I was expecting from a cave". May stated as she looked towards the waterfall nearby and admired its beauty.

Verity and Piplup were staring at the rock staircases up ahead with curious expressions. "I wonder where that leads to". The Twinleaf girl said in wonder as she pressed her fists gently against her hips. "Piplup pip". Piplup commented from her spot besides the female Pokémon Coordinator. Ash and Pikachu were silent as the Rainbow Hero turned his head left and saw a wooden bridge that lead to another part of the cave, where he saw something that made him narrow his eyes.

Just 3 feet away from the bridge was Brendan facing off against 4 Team Aqua members with someone behind them. 2 of the Team Aqua members were a male and female grunt with dark hair, but the other two weren't. One of them was the Team Aqua Admin Shelly (Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby appearance), the woman that the gang saw in the confrontation of Team Magma and Team Aqua sometime ago when Ash was training for his second Gym Battle.

The last Team Aqua member was different. It was a bald headed male that gave off a different presence than the grunts and Shelly. He wore the Team Aqua headband over his head, a black sleeveless vest over a short sleeve black and white shirt. He had black gloves that reached his wrists, dark blue long pants and black shoes.

The man behind the Team Aqua members looked to be in his early forties. He had auburn coloured spiky hair, round glasses on his face and fair skin. He was wearing a green vest over a soft yellow long sleeved shirt and a grey green backpack. He had dark grey denim jeans rolled up at the cuffs with black hiking boots. Finally, he had a black belt wrapped around his waist.

The two best friends grew grins at spotting Brendan and Team Aqua, before the Rainbow Hero lifted his right hand up. "Ladies, I've found our target". The Rainbow Hero said out loud, getting the attention of both May and Verity as they looked over and saw Team Aqua and Brendan. "Looks like we made it on time". May remarked with a grin, while Verity narrowed her eyes at the sight and at how outnumbered the son of Professor Birch was.

"Brendan's outnumbered, he's gonna need some help". The tomboy girl told her traveling companions, getting Ash to nod in agreement to what his girlfriend said. "Then we're gonna give him the help he needs". The Rainbow Hero declared with a confident grin, bringing his right hand up to express his strong spirit. Verity, May, Piplup and Pikachu all looked at Ash with their own confident expressions, before they all nodded to him.

Brendan glared at the Team Aqua members before him, while they all stared down at him with smug expressions. "Give it up, you bozos! Let the professor go!" The son of Professor Birch shouted out, getting a sly look from Shelly as she stepped forward and stared down at him. "And why should we? In fact, why don't you just run along, little boy". The Admin of Team Aqua responded to the young man with an uninterested voice, making Brendan grit his teeth up at her.

Then, the male with the black vest stepped up next to Shelly and smirked at the son of Professor Birch. "I highly recommend listening to her. Look around kid; you're alone and there's 4 of guys here". The Team Aqua male said with a voice sounding as if he was speaking to someone below him. Brendan gritted his teeth even more from what the man said and how right he was as he was outnumbered.

"In that case; how about we even the odds!" Ash called out, catching everyone's attention as Brendan looked over his left shoulder, while Team Aqua looked past him to see the Rainbow Hero, Verity, May, Pikachu and Piplup walk through the bridge and stop right behind the son of Professor Birch. Brendan grew a massive smile on his face upon seeing his rival and friends, while Shelly and the other Team Aqua members narrowed their eyes in annoyance.

"Ash! Verity! May! You guys came!" Brendan cried out in joy at the sight of the three with their Pokémon. The Team Aqua member with the black vest narrowed his eyes at Ash, as if he was trying to concentrate. 'That kid…he looks familiar. I swear that I've seen him before'. The Team Aqua member thought to himself as Ash seemed familiar to him, as if he's seen the Rainbow Hero before.

Ash, Verity, May, Pikachu and Piplup all joined up and stood side-by-side with Brendan with the Rainbow Hero turning his head right to look at him. "Sorry if we took a while. Sorrel, Brock and Max are outside of the cave, dealing with a few grunts that were hiding to set a trap". The raven haired boy told the Hoenn resident, which Brendan gave an understanding smile at his rival. "It's okay, don't worry about it. I'm just glad that you guys came here to help me". The son of Professor Birch told the Rainbow Hero, before he turned his head to look at the Team Aqua members with a confident grin.

"We've got to save Professor Cozmo from these people! Now, with you guys as backup, it's an even fight now". Brendan added, causing Shelly to grow an arrogant smirk as she placed her right hand against her hip. "Fair fight? You must be joking, right? It doesn't matter even if you had twice our numbers; you're no match for two of Team Aqua's Admin members like Amber and I!" The long black and blue haired woman exclaimed, gesturing with her left hand to the man with the vest besides her, revealing his name to all.

Amber grinned as he brought up his hands and cracked his knuckles. "No matter how good you kids think you are; there small fry when it comes to the big leagues like us". The bald headed man said with a voice as if he was stating a fact. Amber's words made Verity narrow her eyes at him in an annoyed way. "He seems very confident of himself. A little TOO confident in my opinion". The Twinleaf girl uttered to herself, considering Amber's confidence to be overconfidence.

"You talk big, but let's see what you're made of!" Ash called out, before bringing out a Poké Ball with his right hand and enlarged it. Verity, May and Brendan followed his lead as the two Hoenn residents brought out their own Poké Balls, while the Twinleaf girl had a Luxury Ball. "Alright then. If you kids won't listen to reason; then we'll just have to teach you the hard way". Shelly said with a smirk, before she, Amber and the two grunt brought out their own Poké Balls.

(Pokémon Anime Sound Collection- Hoenn Wild Pokémon Battle Theme)

"Go! Golbat!" The male and female grunts called out, tossing the devices out. The Poké Balls burst open and released white beams, which quickly took shape and cleared to reveal 2 Colbats with them crying out. "Ninjask, deal with these kids!" Amber cried out as he threw his Poké Ball, releasing a white beam that cleared to reveal a Ninjask. "Ninjask!" The Ninja Pokémon cried out with an eager voice to battle. "Walrein, I choose you!" Shelly cried out, throwing the Poké Ball out with it bursting open to release a Walrein. "Walrein!" The Ice and Water Type called out strongly, before crashing onto the ground in front of the Team Aqua members with the Ninjask and Golbat flying above it.

"Go…Beautifly!" May cried out with a wide smile as she tossed her Poké Ball out, which burst open and released a white beam, before it cleared to reveal Beautifly flying while flapping her wings. "Beautifly!" The Bug and Flying Type cried out with a small sparkle briefly appearing around it. "Give it your best shot, Togepi!" Verity cried out, throwing her Luxury Ball out. The device spun around in mid-air, before bursting open with a white beam striking the ground, then took shape and cleared to reveal the shiny Togepi. "Togepi!" The Spike Ball Pokémon cried out as she raised her hands into the air with a sparkle briefly appearing around it.

"Show them what you're made of! Sceptile!" Brendan cried out, before throwing his right hand up and tossed the Poké Ball into the air. The device spun around in mid-air, before suddenly stopping and burst open to release a white stream. The stream went down and struck the ground, before taking shape and cleared. It was a reptilian, bipedal Pokémon. Its neck was somewhat long, and it had two crests on its head. It had semicircular, yellow eyes with red rims. Its lower jaw and a belt-like band across its waist are also red. Along its back, it had two lines running down the middle and two rows of yellow nodules that are described as seeds. Its tail is shaped similar to that of a palm tree's branch. Both of its long arms had two sharp, elongated leaves and three claws. "Sceptile!" Sceptile cried out strongly, before glaring at Shelly's Walrein with dangerously narrowed eyes.

Ash took a moment to stare at Brendan's Sceptile to admire the fully evolved Grass Type for a bit, before facing forward and reared his right hand back. "Donphan, let's roll!" The Rainbow Hero cried out, before throwing his hand out and tossed the Poké Ball. The device burst open and released a bright white beam in mid-air. It quickly took shape and cleared to reveal Donphan with the Ground Type having a deep frown on its face. "Donphan!" The Armor Pokémon roared out strongly, before landing on the ground on all four feet.

"Golbat, Air Cutter!" The grunts commanded the Flying and Poison Types, causing the two Crobats to cry out as they released light blue 'S'-shaped energy disks from their mouths at Beautifly and Togepi. "Beautifly, use Quiver Dance to dodge!" May commanded the Butterfly Pokémon, causing Beautifly to narrow her eyes. "Togepi, use Safeguard!" Verity called out, holding her right hand out towards the Fairy Type.

"Beauti…fly!" The Bug and Flying Type cried out, before its body began to glow white. The Bug and Flying type began dancing around and moved quickly, leaving an afterimage of itself in its place. One of the 'S'-shaped energy disks barrage struck the afterimage, causing it to disperse into white sparkles. "Toge…" Togepi said as it grew a frown, before becoming surrounded by a blue force field. The second barrage of 'S'-shaped energy disks struck the force field, but dispersed as Safeguard was too powerful to break through.

Verity and May both grinned, while the Team Aqua grunts gritted their teeth in anger at seeing their assault being blocked. Meanwhile, Ash and Amber made eye contact with one another as Donphan and Ninjask glared at each other. The Rainbow Hero was the one to make the first move as he held his left hand out forward. "Let's start this off with your new move Donphan! Use Gunk Shot!" The raven haired boy called out, causing Donphan's eyes to widen. "Don…phan!" The Armor Pokémon roared out, lifting his trunk up before firing multiple globs of sludge surrounded in a gold aura from its mouth towards Ninjask.

"An unexpected move to see from a Ground Type, but no matter! Ninjask, Acrobatics!" Amber commanded the Ninja Pokémon with a serious voice. "Ninjask!" The Bug and Flying Type cried out as a light blue aura covered his body. Ninjask then quickly zipped through the air, dodging the multiple globs of sludge, before charging down towards Donphan. "Now, add Toxic to it!" The Admin of Team Aqua called out with a wide grin on his face. "Nin…jask!" The charging Bug and Flying Type cried out, before firing a stream of purple liquid from its mouth towards Donphan.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu called out in concern for his best friend, while Ash had narrowed eyes as he kept control of his emotions and stayed calm. "Go right through Toxic and onto Ninjask with Rollout!" The Rainbow Hero called out, thrusting his right hand forward. "Don-don-don-don!" The Armor Pokémon cried out, before jumping off the ground and curled itself into a ball and fell back onto the ground. The rolling form of Donphan then shot off of the ground towards Ninjask, coming into contact with the stream of purple liquid.

Donphan actually pushed right through the stream of purple liquid, deflecting Toxic without being poisoned, and broke through, before striking a direct hit on Ninjask, even overpowering Acrobatics. "Ninjask!" The Bug and Flying Type cried out in pain as he was sent flying from the force of Rollout, before falling down and crashed landed in front of Amber. The Team Aqua Admin widened his eyes in shock as he stared down at his Ninja Pokémon, while Donphan uncurled itself and landed in front of Ash and Pikachu, who were both smirking in confidence.

"Sceptile Leaf Blade, go!" Brendan commanded, thrusting his right fist out towards Shelly and her Walrein. "Scep…" The Forest Pokémon cried out, before the four leaves on Sceptile's wrists began to glow light green and formed into two energy blades. "Tile!" Sceptile finished as it shot out towards Walrein, intending to strike the Water and Ice Type. To Sceptile's surprise, he met no resistance and landed a direct hit, yet Walrein stood its ground and almost flinched from the super effective attack.

Shelly just gave a sly smile at the sight of her Walrein withstanding the attack from the opponent. "Good, now use Double-Edge". The female Admin commanded her Ice Break Pokémon, getting Walrein to shot open its eyes. "Walrein!" The Water and Ice Type cried out as its body began to glow a silver colour, before tackling Sceptile with great force and causing the Forest Pokémon to shut its eyes in pain.

The force of Double-Edge sent Sceptile sliding across the ground on his feet, before he stopped himself in front of Brendan, who had slightly gritted his teeth at seeing his starter take a hit like that. "You okay Sceptile?" The son of Professor Birch questioned his starter Pokémon as Leaf Blade powered down and returned the 2 leaves into 4. "Sceptile!" The Forest Pokémon cried out instantly with a voice full of energy, causing Brendan to grow a relived smile.

"Walrein, use Blizzard!" Shelly commanded, pointing her right hand's index finger out forward. "Wal…rein!" The Water and Ice Type cried out, opening its mouth and releasing a powerful blizzard towards Sceptile. "That is not gonna happen on my watch! Sceptile, Double Team!" Brendan called out, swiping his right hand out to the side. Sceptile gleamed for a moment, before creating 5 copies of itself in a line, standing together.

The Blizzard attack went past 3 of the copies, causing them all to disappear. The copy on the far left disappeared, while the remaining one gave a grin at successfully dodging the attack. Sherry narrowed her eyes in annoyance upon seeing this, while Brendan grinned with confidence.

As the battle continued on, Professor Cozmo watched with his eyes narrowed and teeth gritted against one another as he couldn't assist in defeating Team Aqua as he didn't battle. 'These people are fighting on my behalf, yet I can't do anything to assist them'. The 40-year-old man thought to himself, before taking a glance at his backpack. 'What do these people even want with this Meteorite anyway?' Professor Cozmo questioned inside of his mind, wondering why Team Aqua wished to take the Meteorite so badly.


(Meanwhile, back outside the cave/ Music end. Now play Pokemon Journeys 2019 OST Come On, Strike Back!)

Back outside of Meteor Falls, Sorrel, Brock, Max, Lucario, Poliwrath, Forretress and Jirachi continued their battle against the horde of Team Aqua grunts, their Walreins and Crawdaunts. Sorrel, Brock, Max and their Pokémon had gathered around each other with the two older males being back to back with one another, while the 8-year-old boy besides them. Lucario and Poliwrath stood 5 feet away in front of their trainer, besides one another. Forretress was likewise in front of Brock with its shell open and Jirachi was floating above the group.

The Team Aqua grunts and their Pokémon had surrounded them once more, blocking off all their escape points from their formation. They were all cracking with grins on their faces, while their horde of Water Pokémon was glaring at their four opponents. "This is not good". Max stated with narrowed eyes, holding his fists up a bit. "I'd have to agree. They got us completely surrounded". Brock said in agreement with his eyes narrowed as well, seeing that the tables had turned on them.

Sorrel turned his head left and right to look at all the grunts surrounding them and saw no opening whatsoever to break out of this formation that they've trapped them in. "Well then, we'll just have to break out of this the good old fashion way". The Pokémon Professor in training told his travel companions, before looking at Lucario and Poliwrath. "I'm counting on you two". Sorrel told his two partners, getting Lucario and Poliwrath to look over their shoulders towards him and nod.

Just then, the Team Aqua grunts brought out more Poké Balls with their right hands, before they tossed them forward. "Go! Golbat!" They all cried out as the devices burst open and released white beams into the air, before clearing to reveal a horde of Golbats. Brock looked up at the group of Flying and Poison Type Pokémon above them as they all cried out. "Not good! Now we got flyers on us!" The former Gym Leader called out in alarm, getting Sorrel and Max to grit their teeth as they looked up above themselves.

"Air Cutter!" Several of the grunts commanded the Golbats, which some of them cried out as they unleashed blue 'S'-shaped energy disks from their mouths. "Poliwrath, use Bulk Up to defend! /Forretress, Rapid Spin!" Sorrel and Brock called out at the exact same time, both swiping their right hands out to the sides. "Poli…wrath!" The Water and Fighting Type cried out as he started flexing with its body becoming surrounded by a magenta aura. "Forretress!" Forretress called out, before leaping into the air, pulled its horns in and closed its shell and began spinning very quickly.

The Air Cutter attacks struck both Poliwrath and Forretress, but the ones that made contact with the Tadpole Pokémon, they were disintegrated by the magenta aura, while the ones that hit the Bugworm Pokémon bounced off. "Crawdaunt, Crabhammer! /Walrein, Hydro Pump!" Two random grunted commanded out of nowhere. A random Crawdaunt charged forward towards the spinning form of Forretress with its right pincer surrounded by water, before swiping it out and landed a direct hit with Crabhammer, causing the Bug and Steel Type to cry out in pain.

A random Walrein opened its mouth and fired a powerful jet of water from its mouth at Poliwrath, landing a direct hit on the chest and blasting the Tadpole Pokémon off of its feet. Sorrel gritted his teeth, while Brock gasped as Poliwrath and Forretress came crashing down in front of them. "Forretress, are you okay?" The former Gym Leader asked his Bug and Steel Type in concern, while Lucario ran up next to Poliwrath and knelt down next to him.

Forretress' shell opened to reveal its slightly pained expression with its eyes closed. The Bugworm Pokémon then opened its eyes and looked up at Brock with a determined expression. "Forretress…" The Bug and Steel Type answered, before hopping back up and glared at the Team Aqua grunts and their Pokémon, making Brock grow a relieved smile. "Rrrhhh". Lucario growled out as he helped Poliwrath back onto his feet, before both Fighting Types glared at their opponents with their fists up.

"…We're gonna need to even up the playing field a bit. They've increased their numbers, so we'll need to increase ours". Sorrel told Brock and Max without turning to face them, keeping his eyes clued on the Team Aqua grunts and their Pokémon. The two other males nodded in agreement to the dark green haired male's words as it did seem like calling on more Pokémon would even the odds. Sorrel brought out a Net Ball with his right hand, while Brock brought out an Ultra Ball. Just as the two were about to enlarge the devices, unexpected aid came to them.

Out of nowhere, a sandstorm appeared and struck the horde of Crobat up in the sky, causing them to all cry out as they shut their eyes. Also, a mist of orange powder came down on some of the Walrein and Crawdaunt, making them widen their eyes, before closing them in pain as sparks of electricity radiated off of them. Sorrel, Brock, Max, Lucario, Poliwrath, Forretress, Jirachi and the Team Aqua grunted gasped in surprise upon seeing this. "That's Sandstorm and Stun Spore!" Max called out with wide eyes of surprise, identifying the attacks that came out of nowhere. "But where did they come from?" Sorrel questioned as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

(Music end/ Play Team Rocket's theme)

Amused laughter erupted out of nowhere, catching everyone's attention as they looked towards one of the upper cliffs nearby, where they saw a familiar trio. Jessie and James stood side by side with the female having her right hand resting on the hip, while the male had his arms crossed. Meowth stood in between them with both of his hands resting on the hips. Wobbuffet stood behind his trainer with Dustox flying above them, while Cacnea was right besides James.

"Prepare for trouble, we're here for payback!" Jessie began her part of their motto. "Make it double, we aim to please". James began his part of the motto as well. "To protect the world from devastation". The dark purple haired female continued her part. "To unit all people within our nation". The blue haired male added in his next part as well.
"To denounce the evils of truth!" The female adult continued her part of the motto. "To extend our reach to the stars above!" The male adult continued his part of the motto. "Jessie!" The female adult introduced herself with a sharp look. "James!" The former rich boy called out his name with a sharp look as well.

"Team Rocket pays back anyone who messes with them at the speed of light!" Jessie finished her part of the motto, throwing her right hand out to the side. "Surrender now, because our payback time has arrived!" James finished his part of the motto, throwing his left hand out to the side as well. "Meowth, dats right!" Meowth called out, leaping up in between the two humans. "Wobbu…ffet!" Wobbuffet cried out with his usual salute. "Dustox!" Dustox called out with a smile on her face. "Cacnea!" Cacnea cried out, jumping up and thrusting his left hand into the air.

(Music end)

"Team Rocket!?" Sorrel, Brock and Max called out in surprise at seeing them again, especially at seeing that they were the ones that just helped them. "We may be helping you twerps out, but don't get the wrong idea!" Jessie called out to the three as they all stared up at her, James, Meowth, Dustox, Wobbuffet and Cacnea.

"Team Aqua messed us up in the past, now we're here to return the favor!" The former rich boy exclaimed with narrowed eyes directed at the Team Aqua grunts. "And if dat means helping you lot out, then fine!" Meowth called out, bringing his right hand up as his claws came out with the middle claw letting out a small shine. 'Well, not exactly what I was planning to even the odds, but it'll work'. Sorrel thought to himself with a shrug of his shoulders, before putting his Net Ball away in his pocket.

(Play Kanto Trainer Battle II - Pokémon (Anime) Music Extended)

"Cacnea, Pin Missile!" James commanded with a wide smile, pointing his right hand's index finger out. "Cacnea!" The Cactus Pokémon cried out as the spikes on his arms started gleaming white, before holding them out and fired white, arrow-shaped streams of pins. They soared through the air towards some of the Golbat, before landing a direct hit and causing an explosion. Several Golbat came falling out of the smokescreen with swirls in their eyes, unable to continue battling.

"Dustox, Gust attack!" Jessie called out, holding his open left hand out and right fist to the side. "Dust...ox!" The Poison Moth Pokémon cried out, flapping her wings strongly and creating a powerful gust of wind at some of the Crawdaunts and Walreins that weren't hit by Stun Spore. The strong gusts of wind struck and pushed them back, but the group of Water Pokémon remained strong and glared up at the members of Team Rocket.

"Water Gun! /Bubble Beam!" A few of the grunts commanded the Ice Beak and Rouge Pokémon, their focus now on Team Rocket instead of the males that they were surrounding. "Wal…rein! /Crawdaunt!" The horde of Water Pokémon cried out as the Walreins released spirals of water from their mouths, while the Crawdaunts opened their pincers and released blue bubbles. Water Gun and Bubble Beam drew closer to Team Rocket, yet they showed no signs of fear and just kept smirking with confidence.

"Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat please". Jessie said with a small smile on her face that spelled trouble. Wobbuffet came sliding up in front of Team Rocket, before bringing his left hand up into a salute. "Wobbu…wubbuffet!" The Psychic Type cried out as its body became surrounded multicolored reflective aura. The spirals of water and light blue bubbles all stopped right in front of Wobbuffet, before they were all deflected right back towards the casters of those attacks.

The reflected attacks landed direct hits and caused the Walreins and Crawdaunts to cry out in pain, before collapsing to the ground with swirls in their eyes. The grunts of Team Aqua gasped upon seeing this, while Jessie, James and Meowth burst out laughing with Cacnea, Dustox and Wobbuffet smiling. "At times like this, I'm glad we have an attack reflector like Wobbuffet with us". James remarked with his arms crossed, while Wobbuffet rested his hands on the hips, looking proud.

"Wobbu…" The Psychic Type said in a proud voice, proud of himself for earning James' praise. Meowth then stepped up next to Wobbuffet, having a grin on his face that spelled trouble. "I'm not missing out on dis! Here, taste my Fury Swipes!" The Normal Type cried out, before leaping down from the cliff towards Team Aqua. Meowth began shredding through them as he passed by, striking them hard with Fury Swipes and causing them to cry out, before collapsing to the ground.

"We can't let Team Rocket outdo us, that'll be beyond embarrassing. Jirachi! Let's use our trump card!" Max called out up towards his best friend, getting Jirachi to smile as he looked down towards the Petalburg boy and gave a nod. 'Okay Max!' The Wish Pokémon replied to his best friend, before looking back at the horde of Walrein and Crawdaunt with narrowed eyes. The 8-year-old boy grew a grin at the legendary Pokémon's response, before he faced forward with a confident expression.

"Jirachi, Doom Desire!" The Petalburg boy called out in a spirited voice, getting Sorrel and Brock to look at him with slightly wide eyes. Jirachi hummed in a peaceful manner, before closing his eyes as he started to glow silver, charging up his strongest attack. "Looks like we're in for a lightshow". Brock remarked with a grin, causing Sorrel to let out an amused chuckle at his words. "In that case, we need to cover Max and Jirachi for a bit". The Pokémon Professor in training stated, which Brock nodded as he faced forward, before throwing his right hand out.

"Forretress, immobilize them with Spikes!" The former Gym Leader commanded the Bugworm Pokémon, causing Forretress to narrow its eyes. "Forretress!" Forretress called out as it leaped into the air, before firing black spikes. The black spikes landed around all of Walreins and Crawdaunts in front of Forretress, causing them all to look down at the spikes with wide eyes. "Now Throh, use Scary Face!" Brock called out as he brought out an enlarged Ultra Ball with his right hand, before throwing it forward.

The device burst open and released a white beam that struck the ground. It quickly took shape and cleared to reveal Throh, who had his arms crossed with its usual stoic face. "Throh!" The Judo Pokémon called out, before giving a dark glare at the horde of Water Pokémon. The Scary Face did its trick as the Walrein and Crawdaunt cried out in frightened manners and backed away. However, that caused them to make contact with the black spikes, causing them to explode and deal damage to them all.

"Lucario, Metal Claw! And Poliwrath, Throat Chop!" Sorrel commanded his Pokémon, throwing his right hand out to the side. "Rrraaahhh!" The Aura Pokémon roared out, before crossing his arms up in a cross. The spikes on the top of Lucario's paws glow white as they gleamed, before transforming into three claws. "Poliwrath!" The Tadpole Pokémon cried out as both of its hands started to glow a purple colour.

The two then charged forward and started shredding through the horde of Walrein and Crawdaunt with Lucario slashing through them with his claws, while Poliwrath struck them on the throat with his purple glowing hands. Their attacks were direct hits and knocked out all of the opponents they struck, sending them sliding across the ground. Sorrel smiled at the sight of his Pokémon battling so well, before he noticed something at the corner of his right eye.

He turned his head fully and saw a single Crawdaunt running forward, but was looking up towards Jirachi with water surrounding its right pincer, intending to strike the Steel and Psychic Type with Crabhammer. 'Not on your life'. Sorrel said inside his mind with dangerously narrowed out, before holding up his right hand with an enlarged Quick Ball in hand. "Bouffalant, Head Charge!" The Pokémon Professor in training roared out, before throwing the device. The Quick Ball spun around in mid-air, before suddenly stopping and burst open to release a white beam.

The beam cleared to reveal Bouffalant charging towards the unsuspecting Crawdaunt with its eyes narrowed. "Bou-bou-bou!" The Normal Type growled out as its afro began to glow a bright red colour, before the front also glowed a yellow colour.

Kablam!

Bouffalant crashed hard into the Crawdaunt with the yellow glowing part of its afro, blasting the Rogue Pokémon off, before it slammed into the cliff that Team Rocket was standing atop of. "Craw…" The Water and Dark Type groaned out with swirls in its eyes, unable to battle anymore with two random grunts staring at it in shock.

"Cacnea, go in there and give them a them a good Needle Arm!" James called out with a wide grin on his face. "Cacnea!" Cacnea called out, lifting up his right arm began to glow a bright white colour. The Cactus Pokémon then leaped towards a single Walrein, before swing his glowing arm and landed a direct right hook to the Water and Ice Type Pokémon. "Walrein!" The Ice Break Pokémon roared out in pain as the force of the super effective attack sent it flying off of the ground.

"Dustox, let out a barrage of Energy Balls at those Crawdaunts!" Jessie commanded her Bug and Flying Type with a confident grin. "Dustox!" The Poison Moth Pokémon cried out, opening her mouth as she formed a light green energy ball in front of her mouth. Dustox fired the light green energy ball, before quickly creating another one and shot it, repeating the process over and over. The barrage of Energy Balls struck multiple Crawdaunts, creating mini explosions upon impact and causing them to cry out as they fell to the ground with swirls in their eyes.

Just then, Jirachi's glow changed into a bright light, getting Max, Sorrel and Brock to look up at him. The Wish Pokémon opened his eyes and grew a wide smile as he flew up high into the air with the bright light covering him completely. Jirachi left behind a streak of white light, like a comet as he flew higher with all of the remaining Crobat getting caught up in the glow. The bright light then let off pulses of a multitude of colors, before changing directions and started flying down towards the remaining Walrein and Crawdaunt.

The horde of Water Pokémon stared up at the approaching bright light in dread until it was literally right in front of them. The light then gave off a bright explosion, before multiple lights shot off into the air. Once they were high enough, they exploded into a meteor shower.


(Music end/ Back inside of Meteor Falls)

The cave suddenly shook with debris falling from up above. Shelly, Amber, Brendan, Professor Cozmo and the Team Aqua grunts looked up above with their Pokémon mimicking them. "What was that!?" Brendan called out in surprise, having no idea that this was related to the battle going on outside the cave. "Sceptile!" Sceptile called out, knocking away a single falling piece of rubble with his right hand.

Unlike everyone else, Ash, Verity, May and their Pokémon weren't panicking and were instead grinning. "Sounds like Max and the others are wrapping it up out there". The Petalburg girl said with a grin, tilting her head left to look at her traveling companions. Both Ash and Verity were looking towards her and gave a nod in agreement, before the Twinleaf girl turned to look at the Rainbow Hero. "I guess that's our signal then". Verity stated, which Ash nodded with his eyes narrowed. "This was fun, but it's time to end this". The raven haired boy remarked, causing Pikachu and Piplup to grin in anticipation, while the two females nodded to Ash.

(Music end/ [Music] Pokémon: Advanced Generation -Advance Adventure Instrumental Version-Extended)

The three trainers redirected their attention back to their separate matters, before May held her open right hand out. "Beautifly, fly down towards Togepi!" The brunette girl commanded her Bug and Flying Type with pure conviction in her voice and no hint of self doubt. "Beautifly!" Beautifly called out, before flying down towards the shiny Spike Ball Pokémon down below on the ground. "Togepi, jump onto Beautifly!" Verity called out with a wide smile, causing the Fairy Type to grow its own smile.

"Toge…!" Togepi exclaimed as Beautifly was drawing closer to her from behind, before suddenly jumping up and landed on the Butterfly Pokémon's back. With her passenger on board, Beautifly began flying towards the two Golbats with both her and Togepi frowning up at them. "Stop them with Sludge Bomb!" The two nameless grunts commanded the two Flying and Poison Types. The two Golbats cried out, before firing a stream of dark brown sludge from their mouths towards the two approaching enemies.

"Togepi, fight back with Extrasensory!" Verity called out with a wink of her right eye. "Toge…pi!" The shiny Spike Ball Pokémon called out as her eyes glowed a golden colour, before golden energy started to form around her and Beautifly, then into its body. A golden aura then surrounded Togepi and Beautifly with three rings of rainbow-colored energy surrounded in golden energy shoot out of Togepi's body, leaving rainbow coloured energy.

The rings tore right through stream of dark brown sludge, completely getting rid of Sludge Bomb and cleared the way for Togepi and Beautifly. "Shine on hard Beautifly, use Bug Buzz!" May cried out, trusting her right hand forward with confidence. The Butterfly Pokémon cried out loudly, releasing a red sound wave from its body at the Bat Pokémon. Bug Buzz landed direct hits on the two Poison and Flying Types, causing them to screech out in pain with their eyes closed.

The Team Aqua grunts gasped, while May just gave a smile at the sight. "Togepi, time to wrap it up! Use Pound!" Verity called out, thrusting her right hand out with the index finger out. "Togepi!" Togepi cried out, holding her hands up as they both began to glow a bright white colour. The shiny Spike Ball Pokémon then leaped off of Beautifly's back towards the duo of Golbat with her hands out.

Bam! Kabow!

The little Fairy Type struck both Golbats with both of her hands, sending them falling out of the sky. Beautifly quickly flew in and caused Togepi to safely land on her back, while the Bat Pokémon crashed on the ground in front of the two grunts. They gasped as they stared down at the duo of Golbat and saw them both with swirls in their eyes. "Alright, we did it!" May called out in joy, before she and Verity turned towards each other and hi-fived one another in joy. "Piplup-pi!" Piplup exclaimed in joy as she jumped up and down in front of the two females.

"Brendan, let's swap opponents!" Ash called out to the son of Professor Birch, making Brendan widened his eyes in surprise as he turned to look at the Rainbow Hero. Brendan then narrowed his eyes, before nodding to the Rainbow Hero. This caused Ash and Pikachu to grin, before the two male trainers shifted their attention over to their Pokémon. "Donphan, Fire Fang!" Ash commanded, swiping his right hand out to the side. "Sceptile, use Dig!" Brendan called out, slamming his open right hand down on the ground.

Both Donphan and Sceptile cried out, before the Forest Pokémon began digging underground and disappeared from sight, while the Ground Type charged towards Walrein with fire erupting in his mouth. Shelly and Amber just smirked at seeing this. "Big mistake swapping opponents like that". The male Admin of Team Aqua stated with a smug tone, causing Shelly to nod in agreement.

"Indeed, now they're both fighting with type disadvantage". The female Admin said in agreement with both hands resting against her hips. Ash just gave them a grin at hearing their words. "I never added "now!" to what I just said". The Rainbow Hero told the two high ranking members of Team Aqua, causing Shelly and Amber to frown in confusion.

Donphan charged towards Walrein, only to suddenly leap off of his feet towards Ninjask, causing the two to cry out in surprise as their eyes followed the Armor Pokémon. The ground in front of Walrein shook, before Sceptile burst out of it and shoulder-tackled the Water and Ice Type, causing Walrein to cry out. This distracted Ninjask as it looked down towards Ice Break Pokémon, allowing Donphan the perfect chance to bite the Ninja Pokémon with his flaming mouth. Fire Fang struck and caused an explosion that blasted Ninjask away from Donphan.

Both Walrein and Ninjask crashed down on their backs in front of their trainers, causing Shelly and Amber to stare down at them with wide shocked eyes. "He used a loophole in that sentence of his to trick us!" The male called out with gritted teeth of anger at how he was played like that. "Clever little brat". Shelly growled out as Walrein and Ninjask got back, before facing forward. Both Sceptile and Donphan landed on their feet, before they looked at one another and nodded.

"Donphan, Giga Impact on Walrein!" Ash commanded, throwing his right hand out towards the Armor Pokémon. "Sceptile, use Leaf Storm on Ninjask!" Brendan commanded with a wide smile on his face. "Oh, no you don't! Ninjask, Sand Attack!" Amber called out, throwing his right hand out to the side. "Ninjask!" The Ninja Pokémon cried out, before shooting right down to the ground and struck the ground below, kicking up sand that shot out towards Sceptile.

Donphan leaped in front of the fully evolved Grass Type, before light purple energy with orange streaks of energy swirling around it appeared over the Ground type. Sand Attack hit, but was disintegrated instantly. Sceptile jumped up into the air behind Donphan, before he spun around, and a swarm of green glowing leaves shot out of his tail. Leaf Storm shot out and contacted with Ninjask, exploding on contact.

Meanwhile, Donphan began charging towards Walrein with the intent to land a direct hit with Giga Impact. Shelly narrowed her eyes upon seeing this, before she pointed her right hand's index finger out. "Walrein, fight back with Blizzard!" The female Admin shouted out with an annoyed voice. "Wal…rein!" The Water and Ice Type cried out, opening its mouth and releasing a powerful blizzard towards the charging form of Donphan.

The blizzard storm struck in a direct hit, causing Donphan to come close to flinching, but still kept charging, despite the super effective attack. "Don-don-don-don!" The Armor Pokémon growled out in determination as it charged right through the blizzard and drew closer. "Great spirit Donphan, now…Giga Impact!" Ash yelled out as he punched the air in front of himself. "Pikachu!" Pikachu called out to his friend in encouragement to keep fighting.

"Donphan…!" Donphan roared out as he successfully charged through the blizzard, before ramming right into Walrein hard. "Wal…!" The Ice Break Pokémon gasped out with its eyes almost popping out, before it shot out from the force of the attack. Shelly quickly stepped aside right before Walrein shot pass her and Professor Cozmo. The Water and Ice Type went right past the rocky staircase, before falling down to a lower level and crashed on its back. "Wal…rein…" Walrein groaned out with swirls in its eyes, signaling that it was unable to battle. At that moment, Ninjask fell from the smoke field created from Leaf Storm and crashed on the ground with swirls in its eyes as well.

(Music)

Amber gasped with wide eyes directed at his defeated Ninja Pokémon, while Shelly turned around to look at her Ice Break Pokémon with wide eyes. Sceptile landed in front of Brendan, before looking at his trainer with a victorious grin, making the son of Professor Birch laugh in joy. Beautifly flew down in front of Verity, May and Piplup, before Togepi jumped off of Beautifly's back and into Verity's arms, getting her to laugh a little as she held the Fairy type warmly. Ash ran towards Donphan as the purple aura with orange energy dispersed to reveal the Ground Type panting heavily.

"Donphan, you okay?" The Rainbow Hero asked in concern as he stopped right besides Donphan on its left, before kneeling down on his right knee. "Pika-pi". Pikachu said in concern, before leaping off of Ash's shoulder to the ground, and then running over to in front of Donphan. The Armor Pokémon looked down at the Electric Type in front of him and grew a reassuring smile at Pikachu. "Don…" Donphan answered Pikachu, while Ash took his bag off and placed it down in front of himself.

The Rainbow Hero opened his bag, before placing his right hand into it. He then brought out a Full Restore, before he held it up and pointed it towards Donphan. "This'll heal you in a second". Ash told his Ground Type, before spraying Donphan with the Full Restore. Donphan grew a relived smile as he glowed a light green colour with the effects of Full Restore restoring him to full health completely.

Shelly, Amber and the grunts returned their Pokémon to their Poké Balls, before glaring towards their opponents as Ash stood up fully on his feet. "This is impossible…How could we be defeated by a bunch of kids?" Amber questioned in disbelief, getting Verity to smirk at him as she and Piplup walked up and stopped next to Donphan on the right side. "You underestimated us, that was your first mistake". The Twinleaf girl answered with a certain voice, making the two nameless grunts to growl at her.

"We did it, guys!" Brendan called out with a wide smile on his face, getting May to giggle as she turned to look at him with a smile. "You bet we did". The brunette remarked, before she turned to look at the members of Team Aqua as Beautifly flew right beside her. "Guys!" A familiar voice called out, getting everyone's attention as Ash, Verity, May, Brendan and their Pokémon looked over to see Sorrel, Brock, Max, Lucario, Poliwrath, Bouffalant and Throh running up towards them with Forretress bouncing in front of Brock, and Jirachi flying above from the cave's entrance.

"There you lot are". Ash said with a pleased smile as Sorrel, Brock, Max, Lucario, Poliwrath, Bouffalant, Throh, Forretress and Jirachi stop right behind May, Brendan, Beautifly and Sceptile. "How'd it go out there and what happened to those other members of Team Aqua?" Verity asked her travel companions with a curious voice, getting Max to grin and chuckle as he thought back to the events after Jirachi's Doom Desire struck.


(Flashback)

The whole horde of Walrein, Crawdaunt and Golbat laid down on the ground with swirls in their eyes, groaning with all the Team Aqua grunts staring at their defeated Pokémon in stunned disbelief. Sorrel, Brock and Max were still in the same positions as earlier with Lucario, Poliwrath, Bouffalant, Forretress and Throh in front of them. Meanwhile Jessie and James were still standing at the top of the cliff, only now Meowth, Wobbuffet, Dustox and Cacnea were all gathered around them again just like when they first appeared.

Jirachi floated down from the sky above in front of Max, who smiled brightly at his best friend as he wrapped both arms around the Wish Pokémon. Jirachi opened his eyes and smiled up at the 8-year-old boy that was holding him. 'Did I do okay?' The Steel and Psychic Type asked with a hopeful voice, which Max gave him a nod. "Yeah, you were great. Way better than okay". The Petalburg boy answered his best friend, causing Jirachi to let out a sigh of relief at hearing that.

All the Team Aqua grunts returned their defeated Pokémon to their Poké Balls, before a single female grunt turned to look at a male one. "We've lost all of our Pokémon; we can't hold this position". The female informed the nameless male, causing him to grit his teeth in anger. "We can't stay here without any Pokémon to battle with. Fall back!" The Team Aqua grunt shouted out to his comrades, causing them all to grit their teeth in frustration, but nodded.

The Team Aqua members began to clear out and leave the area through the same way that Sorrel and the others came in by. Max gritted his teeth and took a step forward, only to stop upon feeling a hand on his left shoulder. The 8-year-old boy looked up to see that it belonged to Sorrel, who was shaking his head at the younger male. "We didn't come here to battle Team Aqua; we came to save someone from them. There's no need to chase after unnecessary battles". The Sinnoh resident told the young boy, making Max grit his teeth at Sorrel's words, but knew that he was right.

They looked back to watch the Team Aqua members retreat until eventually, they all soon disappeared from view. With Team Aqua taken care of, Sorrel, Brock, Max and their Pokémon directed their attention over to Team Rocket, who likewise turned to look at them. "Okay, so now what? Are you three gonna challenge us to a battle?" Brock questioned with narrowed eyes of caution, causing Forretress and Throh to narrow their eyes at Team Rocket.

However, surprisingly Jessie, James and Meowth shook their heads in response to Brock's question. "Nah, I think we're good". Meowth remarked with a shrug of his shoulders, causing the gang and their Pokémon to widen their eyes in surprise. "We came here to mess up whatever Team Aqua's plan was, and we've accomplished that. With that done, we have no more reason to stick around here and screw around". James said with his casual grin, before he, Meowth and Cacnea turned to look at Jessie.

"Besides, we have some important preparations to take care of!" The dark purple haired female exclaimed proudly, causing James and Meowth to sweat drop at her. "Important to ya because you're the only one entering that contest tomorrow". Meowth mumbled to himself with an annoyed frown on his face. "So, we'll be seeing ya later. Seviper, Haze!" Jessie cried out, bringing out a Poké Ball with her right hand and tossed it forward. The device burst open and released a white beam that took shape, before clearing to reveal Seviper. "Seviper! Se…viper!" The Fang Snake Pokémon screeched out, before releasing thick, black smoke from its mouth.

The black smoke came down on the group below, causing them to shut their eyes and closed their mouths to not inhale the Haze. A few seconds passed and the black smoke cleared, allowing them all to open their eyes and look back up the cliff, only to see Team Rocket had disappeared again. "They're gone!" Max cried out in surprise, while Brock just let out an exhausted sight as he placed his right hand on his head.

"They're become a lot quicker than how they used to be back in the old days. It is kinda hard to believe". The former Gym Leader remarked as he thought back to the days he traveled through Kanto with Ash and Misty, and how Team Rocket were a lot easier compared to now. "That does not matter for now. We've taken care of those grunts, so let's move on ahead and catch up with the others". Sorrel told his friends, getting cries of agreement from Lucario, Poliwrath and Bouffalant.

"He's right, let's go!" Brock called out, before he took off running towards the entrance to Meteor Falls. Forretress and Throh chased after their trainer, followed by Sorrel, Max, Lucario, Poliwrath and Bouffalant, while Jirachi flew out of Max's hands.


(Flashback end)

"We've taken care of them and sent them running faster than a Rapidash can run". Max informed his travel companions with a wide smile, causing Ash, Verity, May, Brendan and their Pokémon to grin at hearing that response. The same couldn't be said for Shelly and Amber as they both were frowning in deep anger.

"Those little brats…! How can they have defeated all of our grunts outside?" The male Admin of Team Aqua questioned with a growl, finding it hard to believe that 3 kids, one not even a trainer yet could defeat all of the grunts outside of the cave. Shelly looked over her right shoulder towards the smiling form of Professor Cozmo and frowned at him. "If the tremendous power of Mt. Chimney and the Meteorite are combined, we of Team Aqua can take a giant step toward the world that we dream of!" The female Admin exclaimed, catching Ash's attention at what she said about "Mt. Chimney".

'Mt. Chimney? Those Team Magma grunts back in Mauville City. What do these guys even want with that place?' The Rainbow Hero questioned inside of his mind, thinking back to the two Team Magma grunts he saw when the gang left Mauvile City. "We won't let ignorant little brats get in our way!" Shelly shouted out at the gang with narrowed eyes full of determination to keep her word. Ash opened his mouth to question Shelly, only to be interrupted by an unknown voice.

"Hmph… Do these mere children give you so much trouble? You-an Admin of Team Aqua…" A male voice said without a trace of emotion in his voice, causing everyone to widen their eyes in surprise. Brendan, May, Brock, Brock and their Pokémon looked around their surroundings for the owner of that voice. "Wh-who's there?!" May questioned out loud with an alarmed voice in case it was more members of Team Aqua.

Instead of an answer, footsteps came in response, getting everyone to look in the direction that they were coming from; the lower level of the cave. From around the small rocky corner with the staircase, two men walked into view. They were both wearing red outfits, the outfits of Team Magma. One of them was an adult man with red short hair and was wearing handmade glasses, which had, unknown to everyone, a Key Stone on the left side of it. (Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby appearance)

The other one was a younger male than the first one. He was wearing an outfit that was an exact copy of the one that Tabitha wore the last time that the gang saw him, only had red leg guards. He had blond short spiky hair that just reached his chin and red eyes. (Manga appearance)

Everyone watched the two men silently as they walked up the rocky staircase and began climbing up it. They reached the top and stood across Team Aqua, flanked by a male and female Team Magma grunt. The blond haired male gave a sly grin as he rested both hands into his pockets, while the red haired man folded both hands behind himself.

Shelly, Amber and the Team Aqua grunts narrowed their eyes at the sights of their enemy, while the gang, Brendan and Professor Cozmo became alarmed upon seeing the second criminal organization of Hoenn. "Hmph! Even Team Magma showed their faces, huh?" Shelly remarked with narrowed eyes at the sight of her team's advisory. "Not only that, their leader Maxie and an Admin; Blaise as well". Amber said with a glare, catching the gang's attention at what he said, before looking towards the red haired man and the yellow haired one as well.

'That guy is Team Magma's leader? And that other guy; he's an Admin as well?' Verity questioned inside of her mind at surprise to see Team Magma's leader here. 'This is getting better and better'. Ash thought to himself, before he began taking a few steps back, getting Pikachu to look at his best friend in curiosity. "Pikachu?" Pikachu questioned the Rainbow Hero, yet Ash only brought his left hand's index finger to his lips; giving an unspoken message to remain quiet, which the Electric Type nodded.

"There's nothing to be done about it…" Shelly stated, before turning her head to the two nameless Team Aqua grunts. "Hey! Grab that Meteorite!" The female Admin ordered the grunts, getting them and Amber to look at her, while Professor Cozmo widened his eyes in alarm. "Aye aye!" The male grunt called out, before both he and the female one rushed over towards Professor Cozmo.

They grabbed hold of the 40-year-old man's arms and restrained him. Professor Cozmo tried to shake free of their grasp, yet couldn't break free. At that moment, Ash stopped back walking in front of Max and Jirachi, before he looked over his left shoulder towards them. "Jirachi, Teleport the Meteorite into Max's bag, now". The Rainbow Hero whispered to the Wish Pokémon, getting Max and Jirachi to look up at him with wide eyes.

Jirachi then gained a mischievous grin on his face, before nodding to the trainer that changed his fate. 'Okay'. The Psychic and Steel Type whispered back, before floating a little bit higher up. Jirachi closed his eyes as the tags began to glow a multicoloured light. Amber ran around the restrained professor, before placing his right hand on the backpack and pulled the top open, only to widen his eyes upon seeing the lack of a Meteorite inside.

He looked back towards Shelly with wide eyes. "The Meteorite, it's not here!" The male Admin of Team Aqua exclaimed in shock, causing Shelly to gasp and everyone else to widen their eyes in surprise. Ash looked back towards Max, where he saw the 8-year-old boy nod to him eagerly, before pointing towards his bag. The Rainbow Hero smiled in a pleased manner, before looking back forward, while Jirachi floated down on Max's head with his wish tags cease glowing.

Shelly gritted her teeth in anger, while the Team Aqua grunts threw Professor Cozmo to the ground, causing him to gasp in pain. "Professor Cozmo!" Brendan called out in concern for the 40-year-old man, before he and Sceptile ran over towards him. Shelly, Amber and the Team Aqua grunts didn't stop him as they regrouped, before looking towards Team Magma. "We have no choice. Let's retreat for now, but we will get that Meteorite!" Shelly exclaimed, bringing up her right fist, before she and the other members of Team Aqua turned around and began to run off, passing through the gang and their Pokémon.

Ash, Verity, Sorrel, May, Max, Brock and their Pokémon didn't try to stop them and let Team Aqua escape through the cave's entrance; their main focus was on Team Magma now. Brendan knelt down next to Professor Cozmo, while Sceptile stood in front of the both of them in a protective manner. Maxie, Blaise and the grunts behind them didn't look the least bit threatened at the trainers and Pokémon, before the Admin of Team Magma turned to look at his leader.

"Hmph…" Maxie closed his eyes without a trace of frustration on his face. "What are your orders, Maxie? Should we give chase to Team Aqua or not?" Blaise asked his leader with a curious voice, causing the red haired man to open his eyes. "Hmm…" The leader of Team Magma hummed, before he began walking forward with Blaise and his grunts following him. However, Ash then ran up and stopped in front of Maxie, causing him to stop and looked down at the Rainbow Hero with calculating eyes.

"Ash!" Verity, Sorrel, May, Max, Brock, Brendan and Jirachi called out in surprise at the Rainbow Hero's unexpected actions with the Pokémon crying out as well. "What are you doing?" Sorrel questioned her sworn brother, yet Ash didn't turn to face him and kept facing the leader of Team Magma. Blaise glared down at the Rainbow Hero with narrowed eyes, before suddenly widening them in sudden realization.

The Team Magma Admin leaned in closer towards his leader and brought up the left hand to the side of his mouth. "Maxie, that boy in front of you looks familiar. I think he's the one that Courtney has been going on about". Blaise informed the red-haired man, causing Maxie to slightly widen his eyes in interest. "…My name is Maxie, leader of Team Magma". The red-haired man introduced himself to the Rainbow Hero, yet Ash didn't look interested in the slightest.

"I don't care who you are! I want to know if what Butler and Diane told us was true; are you really trying to capture Groudon!?" The Rainbow Hero questioned the leader of Team Magma, throwing his right hand out to the side. Again, Maxie slightly widened his eyes at the mention of the former scientist of Team Magma. "So, you've met Butler… Yes, Team Magma's goal is to use the power of Groudon". The red-haired man answered the 12-year-old boy, catching the attention of the rest of the gang at what he said.

"But why would you attempt that? Legendary Pokémon aren't something you want to mess around with, or there'll be dangerous consequences. Groudon is perhaps one of the most powerful Pokémon in the world, so what makes you think you can control it?" Sorrel questioned with a deep frown, getting Blaise to look towards him with narrowed eyes. Yet, Maxie just kept staring down at Ash. "We know Groudon is powerful; that is why we want it after all. But we don't intend to destroy anything with Groudon's power". The leader of Team Magma revealed, getting the gang and their Pokémon to frown in confusion at his words.

"We work for the future happiness of all mankind. Through Groudon's power; we will raise up more land from the caverns of the deep sea. It is with these new lands that the Hoenn Region's technological advancements will evolve further and eventually open the door to the future". Maxie explained Team Magma's endgame goal to all present, still showing no emotion whatsoever on his face or body. Maxie's words didn't easy the minds of the gang as they returned to glaring at him with narrowed eyes.

"You're attempting to mess with nature, and that always ends up backfiring. The Hoenn Region already has enough land, so there's no need for anymore". Brock said with a serious voice, having experience with someone messing around with nature thanks to the big events back in Johto that involved legendary Pokémon. "And the ends don't justify the means. You've stolen from people in the past and hurt others for your goal. There's no way that Groudon would help any of you!" May called out with a swipe of her right hand, thinking back to that creature that resembled Groudon that they faced not too long ago in Forina.

Blaise and the Team Magma grunts glared at the gang for their words, yet Maxie didn't so much as twitch at their words. "Believe what you will; but you won't stop us from achieving our goal. From what I have seen here, it appears that you are working against our rivals in Team Aqua". The leader of Team Magma said with a slightly fascinated voice, before closing his eyes. "…Fine. Amuse yourself with those Team Aqua fools. But be careful you do not impede our goals. Be you child or grown, oppose us in the slightest, and I, the great Maxie, will show no mercy!" Maxie exclaimed, opening his eyes to glare down at Ash in front of him, which the Rainbow Hero glared back at him.

Maxie then began walking off with Blaise and the Team Magma grunts following right behind him. They passed through Ash, who did nothing to stop them, and continued past the rest of the gang and Pokémon with everyone watching them. Eventually, they left through the cave's entrance and disappeared from sight. The gang was so focus on the retreating form of Team Magma that they didn't notice someone staring at them from the upper level of the cave, next to the waterfall.

It was a female Team Aqua grunt, but there was something different about her compared to the other nameless grunts. She looked to be more around Ash's age. She had black short hair with a pony tail, ruby red eyes and fair coloured skin. The unknown female was staring down at the Rainbow Hero in interest with her right fist pressed against the hip. "That kid sure has some promise as a trainer, I'd say. And the energy that he's giving off in unbelievable". The unknown female said with a grin, before bringing up her left hand to her chin. "Perhaps this boy can help save us all from the coming danger". She added as her eyes gained a small glint in them, before giggling in anticipation.

Just then, Ash widened his eyes upon sensing an unknown presence nearby. He turned his head up and right towards the top of the waterfall, only to see nobody there, getting him to frown in confusion. 'I could have sworn that I sense someone nearby. Maybe I'm just imagining it'. The Rainbow Hero thought to himself, before turning around and walked up towards Brendan and Professor Cozmo.

He stopped in front of them, before holding his right hand out towards Professor Cozmo. The 40-year-old man stared up at the Rainbow Hero for a moment, before taking Ash's hand with his own right hand, which the raven haired boy helped him off of the ground and onto his feet. "Are you okay, Professor?" Ash asked the older male, while Brendan stood up on his feet fully, before recalling his Sceptile to its Poké Ball.

"I'm fine, thank you". Professor Cozmo answered the Rainbow Hero, before looking down at the ground with a frown. "But the Meteorite is gone. I don't know how, but I was certain that it was in my backpack. Someone must have stolen it". The 40-year-old man said in a frustrated tone that the Meteorite might be gone. "Don't worry professor". Max said with a wide smile, walking up towards Ash, Professor Cozmo and Brendan, getting the older males to look at him and Jirachi.

Max took his backpack off, before kneeling down on the ground and placed it down, while Verity, Sorrel, May and Brock recalled their Pokémon. Max then opened his bag, before reaching into it and brought out a large rock of somekind with a scared surface. Professor Cozmo gasped in disbelief upon seeing this as Max stood up fully on his feet. "The Meteorite!? But how?" He questioned in disbelief as Max held the Meteorite out to him, which he gently took from the 8-year-old boy.

"Jirachi teleported it from your bag to my own so that Team Aqua couldn't find it". The Petalburg boy informed the older male, getting Ash to nod in approval at him, before turning to look at Professor Cozmo. "This way; Team Aqua won't think you'll have the Meteorite anymore, so they'll most likely leave you alone now". The Rainbow Hero informed the older male, causing Professor Cozmo to grow a relieved expression on his face as he turned to look at Ash.

"Thank you. I can't thank you and your friends enough for what you all did". The 40-year-old man thanked the young boy, turning to look at Brendan, then Max and then at the others as they walked up to them. "It was no problem. Always happy to stick it to either Team Magma or Aqua". Verity joked with a playful grin, getting amused chuckles of everyone as Piplup jumped up to her left shoulder and grabbed on.

Pikachu and Donphan walked up behind Ash, where the Electric Mouse climbed up his best friend's body to the right shoulder. "Pika-pika". Pikachu said with a cheerful smile, getting Ash to return the smile, before he turned around to fully look at Donphan. "You were awesome in that battle Donphan. Take a good rest". The Rainbow Hero said to his trusted Armor Pokémon, before bringing out a Poké Ball with his right hand, enlarged it and held it out towards Donphan.

"Donphan". Donphan replied to his "father" with a smile, right before Ash fired a red beam from the Poké Ball's center at him. The red beam struck and caused the Armor Pokémon to lightly glow red, before being absorbed by it completely and it returned into the device, successfully returning Donphan to the Poké Ball. With that taken care of, Ash returned the Poké Ball to its normal and put it away, before turning around again.

Brendan gave a sigh as he turned around to look at the direction that leads to the cave's entrance. "Oh brother". The son of Professor Birch remarked as he scratched the back of his head with his right hand. "I have no idea what's going on anymore with all these people!" Brendan added, while Ash raised an eyebrow as he looked at the Meteorite in Professor Cozmo's hands. "Do you know why Team Aqua wanted that Meteorite so bad, professor?" The Rainbow Hero asked the older male with a curious voice, which Professor Cozmo shook his head sideways.

"I'm afraid not, I have no idea. All I want to do is study it". Professor Cozmo answered, turning to look down at the Meteorite in his hands. "Sounds like an interesting goal to study something from outer space". Sorrel remarked with a fascinated expression, getting Cozmo to look at him with a smile. "Indeed it is. There are all kinds of mysteries in the universe, so many questions unanswered and mysteries to solve". The professor said with a calm smile, catching everyone's attention at what he said.

"Mysteries? Like what?" Ash questioned with a curious voice as he crossed his arms. "Oh boy. There are still so many things we don't know about the universe; that I don't know where to begin". Professor Cozmo remarked, tilting his head to look up above, as if he was looking at the sky itself. "I guess I chose to study asteroids and meteorites…because they're one of the few things from space we can actually touch with our hands. At the end of a long journey, giant asteroids finally come crashing into the Earth's atmosphere. We see them as meteors, striking across the night sky; quickly growing smaller and smaller, becoming meteorites. By the time they reach us here on Earth; they've covered unimaginable distances in space and time. They are quite the travelers, wouldn't you agree?" Professor Cozmo asked with a growing smile, tilting his head down to look at all the young trainers and their Pokémon.

Ash, Verity, Sorrel, May, Max, Brock, Brandon, Pikachu, Piplup, Lucario and Jirachi all had amazed expressions on their faces after listening to Professor Cozmo's words. "Wow, that's awesome". May said in awe, wide eyed as she never thought about outer space and meteorites like that before. "Meteorites are completely cool". Max remarked with a wide smile, getting an amused chuckle from Sorrel at what he said. "Pika. /Pip. /Rah". Pikachu, Piplup and Lucario commented, also in awe at what they've learned about outer space.

"Hopefully now, I'll be able to study it in peace. I should return to my house and continue my research". Professor Cozmo said as he knelt down and placed the meteorite in front of him on the ground. "We can escort you back if you like". Brock offered to the older male as Cozmo took his backpack off and placed it behind the Meteorite. "Thank you for the offer, but I've caused you all enough trouble". The professor told the former Gym Leader as he opened his bag, before he took hold of the Meteorite and placed it inside.

Cozmo then placed his backpack back on, before standing up fully and smiled at all the young trainers. "I'm grateful for what you've all done for me, so at least let me not trouble you any longer". The 40-year-old man requested, getting Ash, Verity and Sorrel to look at each other for a moment, before they all nodded. "Alright then. We have made plans to come visit Meteor Falls to look around and catch Pokémon that caught our interest". Sorrel told the professor, causing Cozmo to nod in understanding with a smile.

"I see. Then, I won't keep you from exploring anymore then". Professor Cozmo replied to the Pokémon Professor in training, and then turned to look at Brendan. "Now Brendan, I believe we had something to discuss back at my house". The 40-year-old man said with a smile, which Brendan nodded eagerly to him. "Yeah, my dad is pretty eagerly to hear what your research has found out". The son of Professor Birch replied, getting a nod and smile from the older male.

Brendan then turned to look at Ash and the others with a thankful smile. "Thanks for the helping hand guys, I really appreciate it". The Hoenn resident thanked the gang for assisting him, earning a smile from Ash, Verity, Sorrel, May, Max, Brock, Pikachu, Piplup, Lucario and Jirachi. "It was no trouble at all, Brendan. We're always happy to help a friend out". The oldest Maple sibling told the Gym Leader challenger, causing him to laugh a little.

"I'll repay you guys for this someday. I promise. For now, I'll see you all later". Brendan bid farewell, before he and Professor Cozmo began walking over the bridge towards the exit of Meteor Falls. The gang watched them go, until they eventually disappeared from sight. With those matters sorted out, Ash, Verity, Sorrel, May, Max, Brock, Brandon, Pikachu, Piplup, Lucario and Jirachi all turned to look at one another.

"Well, that was fun". Max remarked sarcastically, placing both hands on his hips, something that Jirachi agreed to. "Although it wasn't planned, we got to come to Meteor Falls after all. So, now what do we do?" Brock asked with a curious voice, getting Ash, Sorrel, Pikachu and Lucario to look at him. "Personally; I'd like to take this chance to catch any Pokémon here that catch my interest". The Rainbow Hero answered with an eager smirk on his face, eager to find a Pokémon that he might like to catch. "Pika pika". Pikachu commented with an excited smile on his face to gain a new friend and family member.

"Natasha mentioned that there would be a rare Pokémon here, so it would be a waste to not search and catch any". Sorrel pointed out with a trace of an excited smile on his face. "Raaa raaa!" Lucario called out, lifting his right paw up with a grin on his face. This caused Verity, May and Piplup to giggle a little at their words. "Boys will be boys after all". The Petalburg girl said with a carefree smile, getting a nod of agreement from the older female.

"I agree, but I also agree with them on this. We should stick around and see if there's any Pokémon we'd like to catch". Verity replied to the brunette, before turning her head right to look down at the downwards hill full of water nearby that lead to another exit of Meteor Falls. "Well, that's settled then. We'll stay here for a bit and in an hour and a half, we'll meet back at the Pokémon Center at Fallarbor Town". Ash told his friends with a slightly serious voice, getting the gang to look at him and nod.

"Just to be on the safe side; I think we should all partner up". Brock suggested, getting curious looks from everyone, but still nodded to him. "That seems smart; this way we can back each other up if the unexpected happens". Sorrel said with an approving nod of his head, considering partnering up with someone as a good idea. "Okay then, who'll partner up with who then?" Verity asked with a curious voice, although her eyes shifted towards Ash at the end of her sentence.

Before Verity could have the chance to say anything, May immediately wrapped both of her arms around Ash's left arm, getting the Rainbow Hero and Pikachu to look at the brunette in surprise. "I pick Ash and I'm not taking "no" for an answer". May declared with a voice that had no room for argument, causing Ash to blink a little at how determined she sounded to partner up with him.

Verity gave a defeated sigh, causing Piplup to give her an apologetic smile at losing the chance to partner up with her boyfriend. "Oh well, guess I'll just go with Sorrel then". The Twinleaf girl declared, getting Sorrel to look at her with a shrug of his shoulders. "I have no problem with that". The dark green haired male stated, before turning to look at Lucario, who gave him an eager smile.

"Well, guess that means you two are with me, Max and Jirachi". Brock said with a wide smile on his face, getting the 8-year-old boy and his best friend to look up at him. "Well, this should be interesting". Max remarked with an eager smile, placing both hands on his hips. 'Let's have fun!' Jirachi called out with a wide smile on his face, causing Brock and Max to chuckle a little. "Okay guys; stay on guard and watch each other's backs". Ash told his friends, getting everyone to look at him and nod in understanding, making the Rainbow Hero smile a bit.


(A little bit later)

The gang had split up after the pairings were decided and have gone to different floors of Meteor Falls. Brock, Max and Jirachi had remained on the entrance floor and had found a Full Heal and PP Max so far, but no Pokémon that the former Gym Leader has wanted to capture yet. Ash, May and Pikachu had gone to the back chamber, where they have only found a PP Max as well. Finally; Verity, Sorrel, Piplup and Lucario were in a lower level of Meteor Falls, but have found nothing. So; they still had time and continued their search.

In the Entrance level; Brock and Max were standing in the middle of the bridge, facing one another with the 8-year-old boy carrying Jirachi in his hands. "Our exploration in Meteor Falls so far has kinda been anti-climatic". The Petalburg boy pointed out with disappointment in his voice, getting Brock to chuckle a little at him. "Don't quit on me now, Max. We still got time. Besides…" The former Gym Leader began, before turning his head right and pointed his right hand's index finger towards the edge of Entrance level.

"We still got that area left to check". Brock finished, getting Max and Jirachi to look at where he was pointing towards. 'Max, let's go look. We might find something fun'. The legendary Pokémon said to his best friend as he flew out of Max's arms. However, just then a shadow covered figure shot out from the upper level of the waterfall, before crashing down 10 feet away from the bridge, catching the attention of Brock, Max and Jirachi.

They looked over and saw a Pokémon they've never seen before. It was a large, blue, draconic Pokémon with medium-sized wings shaped like thistle leaves. It had a bright red head that appeared to be very rough. It had a set of glaring, ferocious pale yellow irises. Its arms were longer than its legs, giving it the appearance of a hunchback. It had a thick, moderately-sized tail and sharp claws on both the hands and feet. It also had tall, conical, red spikes; three on each arm, one on each shoulder, two on each leg, and four on its tail. It had a blunt, brutal snout, bearing a maw with no discernible teeth; instead, small fang-like protrusions sprout from its jaws. It had a series of olive, ellipsoid scutes running across its belly.

"Druddigon!" The draconic Pokémon roared out, creating a small powerful gust of wind that made Brock, Max and Jirachi flinch. They opened their eyes and looked back towards the unknown Pokémon and stared at it. "What is that Pokémon? I've never seen it before". Max said with an amazed smile and eyes glued to the unknown Pokémon. "I don't know". Brock answered with narrowed, fascinated eyes on the draconic Pokémon. The former Gym Leader then brought out Sorrel's Pokédex with his right hand. Sorrel had lent it to him earlier in case they encountered an unknown Pokémon.

Brock opened the device, then held it out towards the unknown Pokémon and scanned it. "Druddigon, the Cave Pokémon. A Dragon type. Druddigon chases its foes through narrow caves, then attacks with its sharp claws. The skin on its head is harder than rock". The Pokédex explained, giving out information on the now revealed Druddigon. "So, that's what it's called. Druddigon huh". Max said in a fascinated voice, while Brock stared down at Druggidon in fascination as the Dragon Type looked around its surroundings.

After a few moments, Brock gave a nod of approval as he closed Sorrel's Pokédex and put it away. "Okay, that settles it. I'm gonna catch that Druddigon!" The former Gym Leader declared, bringing out a Poké Ball with his right hand and enlarged it. This caused Max and Jirachi to look at him in surprise. "Really?" The Petalburg boy asked with a surprised voice, which Brock nodded as he stepped forward.

Brock took a deep breath to calm his nerves, before he looked towards Druddigon with narrowed eyes. "Hey, Druddigon!" The former Gym Leader called out towards the Dragon Type, immediately catching its attention. "Drud?" The Cave Pokémon said in confusion as it turned around and saw Brock holding a Poké Ball out towards it. "I challenge you to a battle!" The Pokémon Breeder declared to the Dragon Type, causing it to narrow its eyes at him.

(Brock V.S Druddigon/ Play Wild Pokémon Battle (Movie 7) - Pokémon (Anime) Music Extended)

"Go! Chatot!" Brock called out as he reared his right hand back, before tossing it out and threw the Poké Ball. The device spun around in mid-air, before suddenly stopping and released a white beam. It took shape, before clearing to reveal Chatot with its wings flapping to stay air-born. "Go Chatot! Go Chatot!" The Normal and Flying Type called out with its normal expression on its face.

"Druddigon!" The Dragon Type roared out as its claws extended and began to glow a red colour. It then jumped into the air and spun around with an orange glow appearing and shooting up along Druddigon's body. "That was Hone Claws. It powers up Druddigon's attack and accuracy". Brock commented with narrowed eyes, recognizing the move from when he saw Sorrel's Aerodactyl use that move. "But I'll fix that with this! Chatot, use Feather Dance!" The former Gym Leader commanded, throwing his right hand out forward.

"Feather Dance! Chatot use Feather Dance!" Chatot called out as his body became surrounded in gold, and then waved its wings around in a dance-like motion, causing its whole body to glow gold. Then, golden powder appeared above Druddigon, causing the Cave Pokémon to look up in surprise. "Good thinking Brock! Feather Dance lowers the opponent's attack more than Hone Claws powers it up!" Max praised his travel companion, while Jirachi waved his hands in a cheer-like style. 'Go, go, go!' The Wish Pokémon repeatedly called out, causing Brock to let out a small chuckle of amusement at him and Max.

Druddigon returned its attention towards Chatot and glared at it in a fearsome manner. "Druddigon!" The Dragon Type called out, before its body became outlined in white energy. A white orb of energy with light blue energy then formed inside of Druddigon's mouth, before it fired a white beam of energy with light blue energy from it towards Chatot. "That's Flash Cannon!" Max called out in alarm, identifying the attack that Druddigon was using. "Chatot, dodge it!" Brock commanded with narrowed eyes, which Chatot managed to dodge by flying to the side, causing Flash Cannon to miss and struck the ceiling instead.

"Good work Chatot, now use Steel Wing!" The former Gym Leader called out with a grin on his face. "Steel Wing! Chatot use Steel Wing, Chatot use Steel Wing!" The Music Note Pokémon called out, its wings glowing a bright white colour as it charged down towards Druddigon. Chatot landed a direct hit on the Dragon Type's face, causing the Cave Pokémon to flinch from the attack. "A direct hit!" Max called out with a grin, while Brock narrowed his eyes upon noticing something strange. Chatot's wings ceased glowing, allowing the former Gym Leader to see its left wing a little bit red with the Flying and Normal Type groaning a bit.

"This is not that good. Druddigon's ability is Rouge Skin, just like Sharpedo!" Brock called out in realization, getting Max to widen his eyes in surprise, while Jirachi tilted his head in confusion. "In that case, I'll have to mix things out. Chatot, use U-Turn!" The former Gym Leader commanded, punching the air in front of himself. "U-Turn! Chatot uses U-Turn!" Chatot cried out as it changed directions and flew back towards Druddigon.

The Dragon Type Pokémon turned its head around, only for Chatot to peck the side of its mouth. The Music Note Pokémon then turned into a red beam that shot out towards Brock and went into Chatot's Poké Ball. It disappeared quickly, before another beam came out and struck the ground in front of 5 feet in front of Brock. It quickly cleared to reveal Marshtomp, who had a frown on his face. "Marshtomp!" The Mud Fish Pokémon called with a strong voice, getting Druddigon to turn towards it and narrow its eyes.

"Drud…digon!" Druddigon roared out, lifting its right fist up as it became surrounded in an orange aura. "That's Power-Up Punch! Marshtomp, use Protect!" Brock called out, swiping his right hand out to the side. "Marsh!" Marshtomp called out, before its body became surrounded in a green shield, which Druddigon punched with Power-Up Punch, but was unable to break through. "Druddigon!" The Cave Pokémon called out with wide eyes of surprise, while Brock gave a small grin. "Great work Marshtomp! Now, Mud Shot!" The former Gym Leader called out, growing a confident voice as the battled continued.

The green shield disappeared around the Mud Fish Pokémon. "Marshtomp!" Marshtomp cried out, opening his mouth and fired multiple small balls of mud. The small balls of mud struck Druddigon right in the face and turned into mud, causing the Dragon Type to shut its eyes and take a few steps back. 'Right on the smacker!' Jirachi exclaimed in a laughing voice, causing Max to laugh as well. The Dragon Type wiped the mud off of its face, before glaring at the Water and Ground Type in rage.

Druddigon lifted both of its hands up as light-green aura formed around its claws. "Oh no! It's using Dragon Claw now!" Max shouted out in alarm, getting Brock to grit his teeth a bit. "Marshtomp, dodge it!" Brock called out to the Mud Fish Pokémon, right as Druddigon charged towards Marshtomp. "Mar-marshtomp!" The Water and Ground Type cried out in alarm as Druddigon swiped its left claw down on him, but he managed to leap back, causing the Dragon Type's claw to strike the ground instead.

Surprisingly, Druddigon retracted its left hand back up, before thrusting its right arm forward and rammed it into Marshtomp's stomach. The Mud Fish Pokémon gasped in pain, before he shot out like a bullet, going past Brock, Max, Jirachi and even the wooden bridge and rammed right into the wall, creating a small crater. "Marshtomp!" Brock and Max called out in concern, while Jirachi gasped in fight for the Mud Fish Pokémon.

Marshtomp slid down the wall to the ground, before lurching forward a bit with its eyes closed. "Druddigon!" Druddigon called out, before its body became outlined in white energy. A white orb of energy with light blue energy then formed inside of Druddigon's mouth, before it fired a white beam of energy with light blue energy from it towards. Brock gritted his teeth, before holding out an enlarged Poké Ball towards his injured Pokémon.

"Marshtomp, return!" The former Gym Leader called out, before firing a red beam towards Marshtomp. Fortunately, the red beam went faster than Flash Cannon and managed to reach Marshtomp, causing him to glow light red, before being absorbed completely and returned into the small device, while Flash Cannon struck the wall and created an explosion. Brock gave a sigh of relief, before putting the Poké Ball away in his pocket.

He then turned around to face Druddigon and saw the Dragon Type's claws lose the light-green aura. The former Gym Leader narrowed his eyes a little, before holding up an enlarged Ultra Ball with his right hand. "This battle isn't over just yet! Throh, you're up!" Brock called out, tossing the Ultra Ball forward. The device burst open and released a white beam that struck the ground. It took a shape, before clearing to reveal Throh, who had his eyes narrowed at the Cave Pokémon.

"Druddigon!" Druddigon roared out at Throh, before charging forward towards it. This caused the Judo Pokémon to narrow its eyes a bit, before charging towards the Dragon Type as well. The two rammed right into one another with their arms wrapped around each other. They gritted their teeth with wide eyes as they struggled to overpower one another, yet couldn't break through. "Those two have got to be as physically strong as one another". Max commented with slightly wide eyes, kinda intimidated a bit from seeing how strong they were.

"Don't give in, Throh! Use Strength!" Brock called out with narrowed eyes, causing the Fighting Type Pokémon to shoot open its eyes. "Throh!" Throh roared out as its body became surrounded by a white aura. The Judo Pokémon began pushing Druddigon back, making the Dragon Type widen its eyes in surprise. "Drud!" The Cave Pokémon exclaimed in shock, before Throh reared its head back, and then head butted Druddigon's stomach hard, causing it to gasp with the force pushing it back right towards the edge near the rocky staircase.

Throh stared at its opponent with narrowed eyes as the white aura disappeared around it, ignoring the pain in his head from Druddigon's Rough Skin ability. Druddigon became panting a bit as it had taken some serious hits and was beginning to run out of energy. "It's getting tired! Now's your chance Brock!" Max called out to his travel companion, causing Brock to nod in agreement as he could see that his chance was getting closer.

"Go Throh, and use Fire Punch!" The former Gym Leader commanded, holding his right hand out. Throh held up his right fist as flames appeared around it, before charging towards Druddigon. The Cave Pokémon held up its left fist as it became surrounded in an orange aura, and then charged towards Throh as well. The two drew closer to one another with them rearing their fists back, before thrusting them forward when they were right in front of each other.

Throh slammed Fire Punch into the left side of Druddigon's face, while Druddigon slammed Power-Up Punch into Throh's right cheek. The two attacks did massive damage to one another with the attacks dying down, before Throh and Druddigon staggered away from each other. Now Throh began panting as he and Druddigon glared at one another once more. "Drud…Druddigon!" The Cave Pokémon roared out, lifting its claws up as they were surrounded in a light-green aura once more. "Here comes Dragon Claw again!" Max exclaimed with a concerned voice, yet Brock and Throh kept their cool and didn't panic.

Druddigon then began charging towards the Judo Pokémon once more with its claws out to strike. Throh kept still as Druddigon drew closer, until it was 5 feet away, and that was when Brock acted. "Slip!" The former Gym Leader called out, which Throh side stepped to the right, causing Druddigon to miss and pass through him. "Grab!" Brock added as Throh wrapped its arms around the Cave Pokémon's torso, much to its surprise. "Finally, Storm Throw!" The Pokémon Breeder finished with a confident grin, causing Throh to grow its own.

The Judo Pokémon then leaned back, lifting Druddigon off its feet with incredible strength, before slamming it head first down on the ground in a backward body slam. "Drud…!" Druddigon called out with wide anime eyes, right before Throh let go of him and allowed the Dragon Type to fall onto the ground on its front.

(Music end)

"Ouch… That had to hurt". Max remarked with a slight wince, which Jirachi mirrored as he felt a chill down his spine. 'It hurts just looking'. Jirachi said with a voice as if he was in pain, yet had suffered no damage whatsoever. Throh stood up on its feet fully, before turning around and looked down at Druddigon's face, where he saw swirls in the Cave Pokémon's eyes. The Fighting Type looked back towards its trainer and gave a nod to him, making Brock chuckle and smile a bit at realizing that the battle was over.

"Great job Throh! Now…" Brock began, placing his right hand into his pants' pocket and brought out a Dusk Ball. He tapped on the center button, causing it to enlarge into a larger form, before rearing his right hand back. "To capture that Druddigon! Go, Dusk Ball!" The former Gym Leader cried out as he swung his arm forward and threw the Dusk Ball towards the unconscious Dragon Type.

The Dusk Ball soared through the air, before lightly striking Druddigon's head and went slightly higher into the air. It then burst open and released a red beam at the Cave Pokémon's body, causing its whole body to glow a light-red colour. Druddigon was then fully absorbed into the red light, which shot out into the Dusk Ball, which closed after it entered. The Dusk Ball fell to the ground gently, before it began shaking with the center flashing a red colour, while everyone watched with their breaths held in.

After a moment or two, the Dusk Ball stopped shaking with 3 stars briefly appearing over it, signaling the capture to be a success. Brock stared laughing in joy as he walked over towards the Dusk Ball, before kneeling down in front of it. He gently grabbed hold of it with his right hand, before lifting it up and stared down at the device that held his new Pokémon within. "You and your Pokémon were great out there, Brock". Max praised the older male as he and Jirachi came up to the former Gym Leader, getting Brock to turn towards him and the Wish Pokémon with a bright smile.

"Thanks for the compliment, Max. Still, this Druddigon was pretty powerful to force me to use 3 of my Pokémon like that". Brock replied to the 8-year-old boy, taking a moment to look at the Dusk Ball in his hand, before pressing the center and caused it to shrink down to its smaller form. He put the device away in his pocket, before turning to look at Throh, where he saw the Judo Pokémon with its arms crossed.

"Thanks a lot for helping me catch Druddigon, Throh. Take a nice long rest". Brock thanked the Judo Pokémon, before holding up its enlarged Ultra Ball with his left hand. Throh mealy nodded to his trainer as Brock recalled him into the device. Once Throh had fully returned inside of the Ultra Ball, Brock put it away in his pocket and then turned to look at Max and Jirachi. "Okay you two, ready to continue exploring this place?" The Pokémon Breeder asked the two best friends, instantly receiving nods from the two of them. 'You bet we are!' Jirachi called out with a eager voice, slightly holding up his fists a bit. The Wish Pokémon's words made the former Gym Leader chuckle a bit, before he turned around and began walking off with Max and Jirachi following after him.

Meanwhile in the lower level of Meteor Falls, the search of Verity, Sorrel, Piplup and Lucario has finally beard some results at last. Unlike their friends up above, they've found no items in their search, but have at last found a Pokémon that caught the attention of the Veilstone boy and his partner. Sorrel and Lucario stood 10 feet away from the Pokémon, while Verity stood to the side with Piplup in her arms.

The Pokémon that Sorrel and Lucario were standing across was one that the gang has all seen before. It was a bipedal, blue, reptilian Pokémon vaguely resembling a Pachycephalosaurus. It possessed a large, round snout, triangular eyes, yellow, circular ears similar to reptiles, and a yellow lower jaw with two teeth protruding upwards. Three thick, gray ridges cover the top of its head and continue downwards to cover its neck as well. There was a triangular patch of yellow on its underside. It had stubby, digit-less arms and short legs with two toes on each foot. This Pokémon is a Bagon, the Rock Head Pokémon.

"Bagon". The Dragon Type said with a blink, staring at Sorrel and Lucario with a curious expression on its face, while the Veilstone boy had a small grin on his face. "This must be my lucky day to find a wild Bagon here". The dark green haired boy said with an eager grin, getting his old friend and their Pokémon to look at him. "You did seem interested with Michal's Bagon when we met her. Are you thinking about catching this one?" Verity asked with a curious voice as Sorrel brought out a Net Ball with his right hand and enlarged the device.

Without even turning to look at her, Sorrel gave a nod to answer Verity's question. He turned to look at Lucario and gave a small apologetic look at the Aura Pokémon. "Sorry Lucario, but I'm gonna go with Ariados for this one". The Pokémon Professor in training apologized to his partner Pokémon. Lucario just gave Sorrel an understanding smile. "Rah rah". Lucario replied to the dark green haired boy, getting the Veilstone boy to smile a bit at Lucario's understanding.

(Play Battle! Galar Wild Pokémon ~ Anime Version (Pokémon 2019) [EXTENDED])

"Go, Ariados!" Sorrel called out as he reared his right hand, before throwing it forward and tossed the Net Ball out. The device burst open and fired a white beam at the ground. It took shape, before clearing to reveal the shiny Ariados with a sparkle briefly appearing around it to symbolize it being a shiny Pokémon.

Ariados gave out a cry as it glared towards Bagon, causing it to glare back at the Bug and Poison Type. "Let's start off smart. Ariados, Swords Dance!" Sorrel ordered, holding his right hand's index and middle fingers out. The Long Leg Pokémon cried out as its eyes glow light-blue, and multiple light-blue swords appeared and circled around it. The swords stopped and pointed towards Ariados, end first, before disappearing. A red aura then burst from the ground underneath it, before a lighter-colored red aura goes upwards along Ariados' body, powering him up.

"Well, that'll mark this quicker". Verity commented with a natural expression on her face. Piplup nodded in agreement to what her trainer said. "Piplup pi". The Water type said in curiosity as she turned to watch Bagon battle. "Bagon, ba! Bagon!" The Rock Head Pokémon cried out, before opening its mouth and shot out bolts of fire towards Ariados. "Ember, huh? Okay then. Ariados, use Dig!" Sorrel commanded his Bug and Poison type, throwing his left hand out. Ariados cried out, before it burred underground, causing the bolts of fire to strike the hole instead.

Bagon cried out in surprise upon seeing this, but proved to be a mistake as Ariados erupted right underneath and rammed into the Dragon Type. "Bagon!" The Rock Head Pokémon cried out as it was sent flying, back crashing down onto the ground and bounced off it once. Ariados crawled back to in front of its trainer and glared towards its fallen Pokémon. To the Long Leg Pokémon's slight surprise, Bagon got back up on its feet and glared at it.

"This one is strong in spirit. Let's see what else it can do". Sorrel commented with his arms crossed and was smiling a bit. "Bagon…!" The Rock Head Pokémon roared out as it looked up towards the ceiling, before charging towards Ariados with its mouth wide open to bite down on it. "It also knows Bite, huh? Sucker Punch!" The Pokémon Professor in training commanded, rearing his left hand in, before swiping it out to the side.

Ariados growled, before it shot out at high speed and began crawling around Bagon in a circle, causing the Dragon Type stopped in its tracks and began looking around its surroundings in surprise. "Bagon?!" The Rock Head Pokémon called out with wide eyes, before Ariados appeared in front of him and bashed him into the air. "Bagooooon!" Bagon cried out in shock, before falling down and crashed into the ground once more. Yet, it quickly bounced back up onto its feet and glared towards Ariados, who stood 5 feet away with narrowed eyes.

Bagon then roared, releasing powerful transparent soundwaves from its mouth at Ariados, causing the Long Leg Pokémon to widen its eyes in surprise, before transforming into a red beam that shot out and went into the left pocket of Sorrel's coat. This made the dark green haired male grow a fascinated expression on his face. "Ahh, so it knows Roar. That could be useful". The Pokémon Professor in training remarked, bringing out an Ultra Ball with his right hand and enlarged it.

"Aerodactyl, finish this up!" Sorrel called out, tossing the Ultra Ball out forward. The device burst open, releasing a white beam into the air that cleared to reveal the Fossil Pokémon flying in the air. Aerodactyl then released a fierce cry as it stared down at the Rock Head Pokémon, getting Bagon to widen its eyes in fear and take a step back. It then narrowed its eyes in determination up at the Rock and Flying Type.

"Bagon!" Bagon cried out, firing a light blue fiery blast from its mouth towards Aerodactyl, causing Sorrel to narrow his eyes a bit. "So, Dragon Breath is its last move. Guess it is time to end this. Aerodactyl, use Aqua Tail!" The dark green haired male commanded, bringing his left hand up before holding it out. The Rock and Flying type cried out as its tail became surrounded in swirling water, before it spun around and swiped its tail at the light blue fiery blast, destroying it completely.

Aerodactyl then flew down towards Bagon, who was crying out with wide eyes of panic, before spinning around to slam its tail onto the Dragon Type. However, it stopped a mere inch from landing a direct hit with Bagon having wide eyes of horror. The swirling water then dispersed from around Aerodactyl's tail with the Fossil Pokémon landing down on the ground on its feet. The Rock and Flying type stared down at Bagon, who in turn stared up at him. The staring contest lasted for a few moments, until the Rock Head Pokémon collapsed onto its back the white of its eyes completely showing.

"Well, looks like Aerodactyl scared that little guy". Verity said with an expression of pity for the little Dragon Type. "Piplup". Piplup said in agreement, while Sorrel and Lucario walked towards the fainted Rock Head Pokémon and stopped next to Aerodactyl. The Fossil Pokémon turned to look at its trainer, before Sorrel placed his left hand on its snout and gave a gentle rub, making Aerodactyl let out a pleased cry with its eyes closed.

"Well done Aerodactyl. Bagon may not have been a challenge for you, but you still did great out there". The dark green haired boy praised the Rock and Flying type, smiling softly at his Aerodactyl. He then turned to look down at the unconscious Bagon and smiled a bit. "You've got guts, I respect that. I look forward to our time together". Sorrel said to the unconscious Pokémon, before placing his right hand inside his coat's right pocket.

He brought out a Nest Ball, pressed the center and caused it to grow larger. Sorrel then gently tossed the ball down at the unconscious Dragon Type, which the Nest Ball gently tapped Bagon and burst open. The Rock Head Pokémon began to glow a light red colour, before being covered by it completely and was pulled into the Nest Ball. The device closed once the red beam was inside completely, before falling to the ground completely.

The Nest Ball started to shake with the center flashing red a few moments, before eventually stopping with 3 stars briefly appearing over it, signalizing the capture to be a success with the center bright red. Sorrel gave a small smile as he knelt down and took hold of the Nest Ball with his right hand, before rising up to his feet. "When we get back to the Pokémon Center; I'll heal you up and make some room for ya". The Veilstone boy said to the device as if he was speaking to the Pokémon inside.

Sorrel then put the Nest Ball away in his goat's jacket, before turning towards Aerodactyl. "I'll call on you if I need you again. Get some rest while you can". The Pokémon Professor in training told the Fossil Pokémon, before bringing up its Ultra Ball and fired a red beam at it and recalled Aerodactyl into the device. With that taken care of, both Sorrel and Lucario turned to look at their female companions. "We're done here. Let's go". The Veilstone boy told the Pokémon Coordinator, before he and Lucario turned around and began walking off. Verity and Piplup took a moment to look at one another, before the Twinleaf girl followed after her old friend.

Back up in the higher level, but in the second room; Ash and May followed 5 feet away from Pikacu as the Electric type lead them somewhere. Just like their companions in the level underneath them; they've found nothing of interest just yet. They haven't even found any Pokémon that catch their interest yet; all they've seen so far are Golbat, Lunatone, Clefairy, Magikarp and Barboach, yet nothing of interest. The wild Pokémon have been entertaining opponents for their Pokémon to face, not to mention for Ash to catch up with his old Pokémon.

Right now though; they were following after Pikachu as he led them to something that he had caught the scent off. Ash was walking in front of May with the brunette keeping close to the Rainbow Hero. "What do you think Pikachu is leading us to?" The female Pokémon Coordinator asked the Rainbow Hero with a curious voice, getting Ash to look over his shoulder towards her. "No idea; but we've got nothing better to do. I'm curious on what it is that Pikachu has found". The raven haired male replied to the Petalburg girl, before turning his head back forward.

Pikachu lead them up a cliff, before taking them down it towards the near left end. They walked up in front of two small rock pillars, where they saw something surprising in front of them. Lying on the ground was a large purple marble with a DNA symbol inside of it. "Ash…Is that a…?" May questioned with wide eyes of surprise, which the Rainbow Hero nodded without turning to face her.

"Yeah. It's a Mega Stone". Ash answered with a growing smile, before he walked over and knelt down in front of it on his right knee, right next to Pikachu. The Electric Mouse looked up at his best friend with a wide smile. "Pikachu pi!" Pikachu exclaimed with a happy voice, getting the Rainbow Hero to look down at him and nod. "Nice going Pikachu, another Mega Stone for us". The Rainbow Hero praised his best friend as he gave Pikachu a comfortable rub on the head with his right hand. "Caaa". The Electric Mouse said in bliss from Ash's comfortable rub, before the Rainbow Hero looked back at the Mega Stone.

He reached down and took hold of it with his left hand, before holding it up in order to get a better look at it. "I've never seen this kind of Mega Stone before. Maybe it could be one for one of our Pokémon". The Rainbow Hero said in a curious voice as he stood up on his feet fully, while Pikachu climbed up to his right shoulder. May was silent as she watched Ash patiently, that is until she heard the sounds of cracking below.

The brunette slightly widened her eyes as she looked down, only widen them further in horror at seeing the ground growing a crack forming a circle around her. She looked back up towards the raven haired boy. "Ash!" May called out with a voice full of horror, immediately catching the attention of Ash and Pikachu as the Rainbow Hero turned to look at her.

However, that was when the cracking ground fully formed a circle underneath the Pokémon Coordinator. Time seemed to have slowed down extremely as the ground underneath May give in and began to fall, taking her with it. Ash and Pikachu widened their eyes in surprise and horror, before Ash immediately held out his right hand and reached out towards May's left hand. Fortunately, he just managed to grab hold of her hand, just before cracked ground fell in completely.

Time resumed at its normal pace once more as Ash held on tight to May's hand with the brunette holding onto his with both of her hands. "Hang on, I'll pull you up!" The raven haired boy called out to his friend, putting the Mega Stone away in his pocket, before reaching down and grabbing hold of May's right hand with his left hand. May took a moment to look down and saw that the distance to the lower level wasn't large enough to be life threatening, but still enough to hurt a bit.

Ash gritted his teeth as he began pulling May back up, but that was when he took notice of something through the corner of his left eye. He saw the ground below him forming more cracks around him now in a square formation at a fast rate. Pikachu took notice of the cracks forming as well and cried out in concern, yet Ash just narrowed his eyes. 'I don't have enough time to get May back up and jump to a safe distance, but I do have enough to protect her'. The Rainbow Hero thought to himself, knowing exactly what he needed to do save his friend.

Ash put more strength into it and finally managed to bring May back out of danger and in front of himself. May gave a sigh of relief with her eyes closed, before she opened them and looked up at Ash in the face. "Thanks for the save, Ash-". The brunette began, only to be cut off as Ash wrapped his hands around her and brought May in, pressing her against him. This caused May to flush nuclear red at the unexpected action, but before she could question the Rainbow Hero the reasons for his actions; the ground underneath them gave in as well, taking Ash, May and Pikachu with it.

May gave a frightened cry as they began to fall and clutched on tightly to Ash, who held her with a firm grip. The raven haired boy narrowed his eyes, before they began glowing a rainbow colour as he accessed his powers. Rainbow coloured angel wings magically erupted out of Ash's back and spread out fully. The Rainbow Hero quickly flapped his wings and lifted himself and May off of the falling ground and into the air. The broken off ground quickly crashed down onto the level below and was reduced to rubble, while Ash, May and Pikachu were safely air-born.

May had her eyes shut tightly, awaiting for some form of pain, yet after a few moments felt nothing at all. Curiosity getting the better of her, the brunette slowly opened her eyes, turned her head right and looked down below. She lightly gasped upon seeing herself somehow in the air and safe from harm. May turned to look at the boy holding her, only to gasp with wide eyes upon making eye contact with Ash's glowing eyes.

"Pika…" Pikachu sighed in relief from his best friend's shoulder. Ash began to slowly fly down to the ground, keeping his arms around May until it was safe to let her go. The Petalburg girl was silent as the grave, staring into Ash's eyes without a trace of movement. In a matter of seconds, Ash safely reached the lower level ground gently landed in the middle of a pathway. The Rainbow Hero sighed in relief as his eyes ceased glowing, while the wings magically disappeared into sparkles.

"That was too close for comfort". Ash stated, before turning to look at Pikachu with a concerned look. "You okay buddy?" The raven haired boy asked his best friend, getting a smile from the Electric Mouse. "Pikachu pi". Pikachu answered with a nod, causing Ash to smile a little at his answer. The Rainbow Hero then turned to look at May, only to blink at the stunned expression she had.

"May? You okay?" Ash questioned in sight confusion, yet didn't receive an answer from the brunette as she still stared at him with a stunned expression. Pikachu turned to look at the Petalburg girl and tilted his head in confusion, while Ash began to get worried. "May, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong, or are you anger that I placed my hands around you? I'm sorry for doing that without permission, but there was no time to ask and I just acted-". Ash started to explain, only to be cut off as May placed her right hand's index finger on his lips gently, stopping him from speaking.

Ash and Pikachu blinked at the brunette's actions, while May began to smile dreamingly at the Rainbow Hero. "Don't say anything…" The Petalburg girl told the 12-year-old boy with a soft tone, before lifting her right hand's index finger from Ash's lips. Then, in a shocking turn of events; May leaned in towards Ash and kissed him on the lips. Ash and Pikachu's eyes shot wide open with the two of them beginning to blush a fierce red colour, while May just closed her eyes in a peaceful manner and moaned a bit in bliss.

May kept her lips connected to Ash's for a few moments, before eventually broke it and leaned back a bit. The faces of the Rainbow Hero and his number 1 partner began to cool down, but were still a bit red as they stared at the Pokémon Coordinator while she just smiled at Ash in a lovingly manner. "W-w-what are you doing?" Ash questioned in a stunned voice as he never thought May would kiss him on the lips.

"Telling you how I feel. Ash; I really like you, a lot". May confessed, closing her eyes to give a happy expression, before reopening them to make eye contact with the Rainbow Hero. "That's why I want to be together with you. Not just as friends, but as more". The Petalburg girl told the Rainbow Hero, causing Ash to lose his blush completely and replace it with an uncertain expression. "But I'm with Verity, May". He reminded her, causing May's face to slightly fall a bit at the mention of his relationship.

"I know Ash, but still…I can't hold my feelings for you inside anymore". May replied to the 12-year-old boy, brightening her expression a bit as she brought her right hand up and laid it on Ash's cheek, causing him to shift his eyes on the gentle hand. "I'm not asking you to break up with her; I know how much you care about Verity. But maybe you don't need to be in a normal relationship with one person". The brunette said with an honest tone, causing Ash to blink a little in confusion at what she said, while Pikachu remained silent as he watched.

"May…just what are you suggesting?" Ash asked with a low voice, having no idea where May was going with this. The brunette just continued to smile gently as she brought up her left hand and placed it on Ash's other cheek. "I'm saying that if it means being able to be with you; I'm okay with sharing you with Verity". May answered the raven haired boy, causing Ash and Pikachu to widen their eyes in disbelief at what she said.

"Share me…? As in me having both you and Verity as girlfriends; in a threesome?" The Rainbow Hero questioned with disbelief inside of his voice, which May gave a nod of her head, before slightly turning her head to the side. "To be honest; I want to have you to myself and not let anyone else have you. Yet; I know that can't happen". The Pokémon Coordinator answered, before turning to look back at the Rainbow Hero. "Ash…the final say in this is yours. If you just want to be with Verity; I understand. I'll back off and let you be with the girl that you've loved for 2 years now". May told the 12-year-old, before lifting her hands off of his face and stepped back by 5 feet.

Ash and Pikachu silently watched her as May folded her hands behind herself and gave a simple, gentle smile at her crush. "…" The brunette said nothing and just stared at Ash with a soft expression as she awaited his response. The Rainbow Hero tilted his head down to look at the ground below as he thought about the whole situation. He was no fool; he knew that this choice could impact his relationship with May for the better; or worse. She had shown him many hints of her growing feelings in the past, such as her kissing him on the cheek and their "date" a while back.

If Ash was honest; he had grown feelings for her as well. Through his travels with her, Ash had come to know May a great deal. He saw her as a beautiful girl with a fiery spirit to accomplish her dream. She was kind, protective of her brother, and may have her downsides, but May was truly a wonderful person; one that Ash had grown to care about greatly. Still; his feelings for Verity surpassed the feelings for May a lot. He had thought that with time and seeing him with Verity; May's feelings would eventually disappear and that she would no long care about him in that way and just as a friend.

Yet now; she had just confessed to him about her feelings and was waiting for his response at the idea of being in a threesome relationship with her and Verity. Ash didn't know what to do, but knew what he wanted and say "yes" to the suggestion of having both girls as his girlfriends. He knew full well that his desires for both girls were wrong by human standards and that he should only have one girlfriend. And what's worse; he didn't know what Verity would feel about sharing him with May.

Thinking about his girlfriend and how he could hurt her by acting recklessly, Ash decided to hold off on this whole thing for the moment. "May…before I make my decision about this; I want to talk to Verity about it. I promise that once I've discussed it with her; I'll give you your answer about this". The Rainbow Hero told his travel companion, his voice slightly low and filled with uncertainty on how to deal with this, something that May and Pikachu were able to detect.

The Electric Mouse gave his partner a concerned expression, while May grew a little worried for her crush at seeing how he was dealing with her confession. So, she grew an understanding smile and nodded to the raven haired boy. "Okay Ash; I understand. I'll wait". The Petalburg girl told the Kanto resident, causing Ash to smile a little bit in relief at her understanding of his feelings. "Thank you". Ash thanked the brunette, which May just winked at him with her left eye.

Seeing that the "awkward" situation had been "resolved" for now, Pikachu tugged on his partner's ear, getting Ash's attention as he looked at the Electric Mouse Pokémon. "Pikachu! Pika-pika chupi!" Pikachu called out, before pointing up towards the hole in the upper level above, getting Ash and May to look up above. "Pikachu's right, we need to get back up there. Our time here is almost up". The Rainbow Hero said with a serious voice, before he looked back at May as she returned her gaze to him.

"Stay close, I'll lead us back to the entrance". Ash told the brunette, getting a nod from May. The Rainbow Hero then turned around and began walking off, quickly followed by the Petalburg girl as he lead the way back to the entrance of Meteor Falls. However, what they didn't know was that they were being watched by a shadow covered creature that was poking its head from a nearby rock. It tilted its head for a moment, before following after the two humans.

Back with Sorrel, Verity, Lucario and Piplup, their search has led them down to the lowest level of Meteor Falls. They spotted no Pokémon that caught their interest, just wild ones that they battled and defeated. They've reached the back of the level after swimming through a lake of water with help from Poliwrath and Piplup, to the other side, where they've found something interesting.

Right now; Sorrel stood, looking down at a disc in his right hand, while Lucario stood to his right side and Verity on the left with Piplup in her arms. The disc that the Veilstone boy was holding is a TM that happened to be down here. "Who would have thought that a TM would be down here like this". Verity remarked with a grin on her face. "Piplup pip". Piplup said in agreement with a fascinated look.

Sorrel didn't response, he kept his narrowed eyes on the TM in his hand. He then brought out his phone with his left hand and began searching through the net on TMs to find which one this was. After a few moments; he found the information that he was searching for and looked back at the disc that he was holding. "This is TM02: Dragon Claw, a very rare TM". The Pokémon Professor in training said with a growing smile on his face, causing Lucario to grow a grin.

"Rahhh". The Aura Pokémon growled softly as his trainer put both the phone and TM away in his coat's pockets, before turning to look back at his companions. "I think we've done enough for today. Let's head back to the entrance and meet up with everyone". Sorrel suggested, causing Verity to lift an eyebrow at him, before she nodded to him. "Sure, why not. There's nothing here that I'm interested in catching anyway". The Twinleaf girl said with a shrug of her shoulders, having found no Pokémon that caught her interest. With that decision settled, the two Sinnoh residents and their Pokémon began making their way back to the entrance.

Speaking of the entrance, back at the top level; Brock and Max stood in front of each other with Jirachi sitting down on Max's head, all three of them staring at an item that the former Gym Leader was holding with his right hand. It was a Moon Stone that they had found when they had reached the end of the cave's left side.

"Ahahaha! Who would have thought we'd find a Moon Stone!" Brock laughed out in a cheerful manner, getting Max and Jirachi to look up at him with the Petalburg boy having a wide grin on his face. "Not me, that's for sure. But Brock; this is great for May!" Max exclaimed in excitement with his hands held up to represent how excited he was. The boy's words caused the former Gym Leader and legendary Pokémon to look down at him in wonder as they had no idea what they meant.

'Why is that, Max? How is finding this stone good for May?' Jirachi asked his best friend with a tilt of his head. Max looked up at the Wish Pokémon with his grin still present. "Because Skitty can only evolve through a Moon Stone like the one we have. Now my sister can evolve Skitty anytime she wants". The Petalburg boy answered, causing Brock and Jirachi to widen their eyes in surprise, before the Pokémon Breeder laughed out in joy once more.

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. Looks like coming here to Meteor Falls wasn't such a bad idea after all". Brock said cheerful, pocketing the Moon Stone in his pants' right pocket to keep it safe. "I'll say. You caught an awesome Dragon Pokémon, and we still don't know what the others found". The 8-year-old boy said in agreement, before he turned and looked down the rock staircase that they had to climb. "I guess we've looked through everywhere here". The Petalburg boy pointed out, getting Brock to give a nod at him.

"I agree. Let's head back and wait for the others". The former Gym Leader told the younger male and legendary Pokémon, which Max and Jirachi nodded to him. Brock began leading the way back towards the wooden bridge with Max following close behind and Jirachi remaining seated on Max's head.

However, when they turned around the corner, they found something surprising. Floating above the higher level ground connected to the bridge was a Pokémon. It was a primarily, ruby red spherical Pokémon. It has eight creamy coloured, rocky spines extending from the sides of its body; and multiple small, similar coloured stony bumps running vertically along its center. On its back are dual rocky mounds, situated to the sides of the mid-line. Its large eyes consist of thick, semicircular yellow eyelids through which black sclerae and blue pupils can be seen. A black ring with six extensions surrounded each eye.

Max gasped in delight upon seeing the Pokémon, while Jirachi looked confused a little. "It's Solrock!" The Petalburg boy called out in delight, getting Brock to raise an eyebrow as he brought out Sorrel's Pokédex. He opened the device, before holding it out towards Solrock and scanned it. "Solrock, the Meteorite Pokémon. Solrock has the ability to read its opponents' minds. It attacks by rotating quickly, while giving off intense heat". The device explained, giving out information about the Rock and Psychic type to the Pokémon Breeder.

Brock frowned at the image that the Pokédex showed it the Solrock that they were seeing had a different colour than the one displayed on the Pokédex. 'This one is a different colour than the one that the Pokédex is showing me. That must mean this one is a shiny Pokémon'. The former Gym Leader said inside his mind, before turning to look back up at the shiny Pokémon. Just then, Solrock took notice of Brock, Max and Jirachi through the corner of its right eye.

"Sol?" The Rock and Psychic type said as it turned around to fully look at them, before it flew towards and stopped in front of them. "Solrock sol". The Meteorite Pokémon greeted them with a friendly voice, getting the two humans and Wish Pokémon to smile at it. "Hi there Solrock". Max greeted the shiny Pokémon with a wave of his right hand. 'Hello'. Jirachi said with a friendly smile on his face at his fellow Psychic type.

"Rock-solrock sol?" Solrock questioned them, yet nether Brock and Max could understand what it was saying. Jirachi, however, was able to understand and translated what Solrock said. 'It's saying "What are you three doing here?' Solrock must be curious about us'. The Wish Pokémon told the two humans, getting their attention as they looked at him, before Brock turned to look at the Meteorite Pokémon. "We're here with a few friends of ours. We're just searching around to catch some Pokémon that we'd like to catch". Brock explained to the Rock and Psychic Type why they're here in Meteor Falls, slightly holding his hands out to the sides.

"Solrock sol-solrock rock!" Solrock cried out, growing a curious tone in its voice as it spoke. 'Now it's asking if we did catch anything'. Jirachi informed the two as he looked down at Max's eyes. "Brock caught this strong Druddigon not too long ago". The 8-year-old boy told the Meteorite Pokémon, getting it to turn towards him, before looking back at Brock. "Solrock sol solrock". Solrock said to the former Gym Leader, making Brock tilt his head to the side.

'Solrock is asking why you're finding him interesting Brock'. Jirachi told the Pokémon Breeder, getting Brock to look at him in surprise, clearly wanting an explanation on how Solrock knew that. 'It read your mind when the two of you made eye contact". The little legendary Pokémon explained how the Meteorite Pokémon knew what he was thinking. Brock nodded in understanding as he turned to look back at Solrock and saw it staring at him intensely.

"Sorry about the staring. You see; I specialize in Rock Type Pokémon and kept help, but admire one whenever I see it. You're honestly the first shiny Rock type Pokémon that I've ever seen, so I was taking the chance to admire you". Brock explained to the Meteorite Pokémon, causing Solrock to blink in surprise at him. The former Gym Leader then took a step forward towards the Rock and Psychic type. "Solrock; I'd like it if you'd come with me and become my Pokémon. I plan to become the world's greatest Pokémon Breeder and I'm gonna need a lot of help accomplishing my dream. Will you come with me and help make my dream come true?" The Pokémon Breeder questioned as he brought up his left hand and held it out towards Solrock.

The Meteorite Pokémon spent a moment to look down at Brock's hand, before shifting its gaze to his face. After a few moments of staring at one another in the eyes, Solrock slowly nodded to Brock, giving his answer. This caused the former Gym Leader to grow a happy grin as he retracted his left hand and placed it in his pants' back pocket. "I'm glad to hear that's your answer, Solrock". Brock stated, before he brought out a Great Ball with his left hand. He pressed on the center, causing it to grow larger.

The Kanto resident then held the device out towards the Meteorite Pokémon, giving it the chance to either change its mind, or continue with this decision. Almost instantly, Solrock floated up and lightly tapped the Great Ball on the center. The device opened, before the Rock and Psychic type started to glow a light red light, before being engulfed by it completely and was then absorbed into the Great Ball. It closed once Solrock had entered it completely, before it began lightly shaking in Brock's hand with the center flashing red.

Borck, Max and Jirachi silently watched the Great Ball with their breaths held, until it eventually stopped shaking with 3 starts briefly appearing over it, signaling the capture to be a success, yet the center was glowing a red colour. "Well, that was an easy capture". Max remarked with his arms crossed, getting Brock to look down at him with a smile. "Sometimes a battle isn't necessary and all you have to do is ask". The former Gym Leader told the 8-year-old boy, pocketing the Great Ball away in his pants' pocket. Max looked up at Jirachi, while the Wish Pokémon looked down at him, before the two best friends shrugged their shoulders.

A little bit later, Brock and Max stood outside of Meteor Falls' entrance and out of the cave, awaiting their friends. Brock had his hands resting on the hips, while Max sat down on the nearby staircase, cuddling Jirachi with all three of them looking up at the afternoon sky up above them. They were enjoying a peaceful quiet afternoon as they waited, but it was eventually broken.

Verity, Sorrel, Piplup and Lucario all walked out of the cave's entrance and into the outside world, getting Brock, Max and Jirachi to turn to look in their direction. "Hey guys!" Max greeted the two Sinnoh residents and their Pokémon brightly with Jirachi waving a hand to them. "Hey back at ya!" Verity called back with a playful grin on her face. "Piplup!" Piplup called out as she ran over to the two with her trainer right behind the Water type.

Sorrel and Lucario walked up to Brock as he turned around to face them. "Did you catch anything interesting?" Brock asked with a curious tone with his hands still resting on the hips. Sorrel nodded to the older male as he and Lucario stopped right in front of the Rock type specialist. "I did. I caught an interesting Bagon". The Pokémon Professor in training answered the Pokémon Breeder, causing Brock's face to light up in fascination. "Oh, really? Well, I caught a Druddigon and a shiny Solrock". The former Gym Leader informed the young male, causing Sorrel and Lucario to widen their eyes in surprise at what he said.

"Really? That's incredible to hear, Brock!" Sorrel exclaimed with a hint of child-like excitement in his voice, causing Brock to laugh a little. "Rah rrraaahhh". Lucario said in an amused voice as he crossed his paws, causing the dark green haired male to widen his eyes upon realizing that he was acting younger than his actual age. "Sorry about that. It's just rare for a Unova Pokémon to be here, much less a shiny wild Pokémon". Sorrel apologized to his travel companion, which Brock just smiled in understanding at his friend.

"Did you catch anything Verity?" Max asked the tomboy with a curious voice as she stopped right at the end of the staircase. Verity just chuckled a bit, before shaking her head sideways in response. "Not this time, unfortunately. There wasn't really any Pokémon that I liked down there". The Twinleaf girl answered, reached down to take hold of Piplup, before standing back up on her feet fully. 'Awww...' Jirachi moaned in disappointment that he wouldn't see any new Pokémon from her.

Just then, Ash and May walked out of the cave with Pikachu riding on his best friend's right shoulder. Everyone turned to look at the two as May waved at them with her left hand. "Hey guys. Sorry that we-." Ash began, only to be cut off by something ramming into him from behind, causing the Rainbow Hero and Pikachu to cry out in surprise as they were sent crashing into the ground on their front. Everyone gasped as they looked at Ash and Pikachu in concern, before they turned to look at the Rainbow Hero's mystery attacker.

It was a small blue quadrupedal Pokémon with black fur covering its head and neck, concealing everything but its mouth from view. The fur around its neck also had six purple spots encircling it, which resembled bruises. The hair on the top of its head took the shape of a single small horn. It also had a short tail that appears to be bitten off. "Deino!" The unknown Pokémon called out happily, before biting down on the top of Ash's head, causing the Rainbow Hero to cry out with anime white eyes.

"What is that Pokémon!?" May questioned in surprise, taking a step back from the quadrupedal Pokémon that was paying no attention to her. "That's a Deino; a Pokémon from the Unova Region!" Sorrel called out in surprise, identifying the Pokémon on Ash's back and biting his head currently. Ash raised an eyebrow at what his sworn brother said, while Pikachu stood up on his feet and turned to look at Deino.

Ash then brought out his Pokédex with his right hand, activated it and then held it out towards the small Pokémon standing on top of his back. "Deino, the Irate Pokémon. Because Deino never stops biting anything it can, it is dangerous to approach without taking precautions". The device buzzed, giving out information about the Dragon and Dark type. As if to prove what the Pokédex said was true, Deino then bit down on Ash's right wrist, making him cry out in comical pain with anime white eyes, before an anime dust cloud appeared over the two as the Rainbow Hero "fought" the Dragon and Dark type to free himself.

Everyone watched Ash's "torture" in amusement as he continued "fighting" in order to get Deino off of him. "Deino seems to like you". Verity said to her boyfriend, before playfully sticking her tongue out at him. "REALLY? IT ISN'T GIVING OFF THAT IMPRESSION WITH HOW IT'S TRYING TO HAVE ME FOR AN AFTERNOON SNACK!" Ash shouted out in a sarcastic voice, still comically fighting the Dragon and Dark type to keep it from biting him further. Deino then stick its head out of the dust cloud and gave out a fierce cry, before its mouth became surrounded with yellow sparks of electricity.

Four fang-shaped bolts of yellow electricity then formed in front of its mouth, before Deino popped its head back into the anime dust cloud. The dust then suddenly cleared to reveal both Ash and Deino surrounded in yellow electricity with the Irate Pokémon biting down on the Rainbow Hero's right shoulder. Ash had anime white wide eyes as he was being electrocuted, while everyone else had an anime sweat drop. "Thunder Fang, huh? Guess that's one way of biting down on something". Max remarked as Deino released its grip on Ash's shoulder with the electricity disappearing, along the Four fang-shaped bolts of yellow electricity.

Ash collapsed to the ground with his teeth gently gritted against one another and eyes half lidded. Deino made itself comfortable on the Rainbow Hero's back, before biting down on his head again. "Why is this guy even so interested in me? I've never even seen it before, so why?" The raven haired boy asked with a slight exhausted voice, while everyone just stared at him in pity. Ash's question caught the attention of the Dragon and Dark type as it ceased biting down on Ash's head and opened its mouth to release its grip.

"Deino dei deino! Deino-dei!" The Irate Pokémon called out with a grin, getting Ash to raise an eyebrow up at it. 'Deino said that he saw you and May down in Meteor Falls. He saw you somehow grow wings and fly, something that he's wanted do to since he was a child'. Jirach translated what Deino said, which Pikachu, Lucario and Piplup nodded as that was exactly what the Dragon and Dark type said. Deino continued to speak with Jirachi acting as its translator.

'He said that you were the most amazing thing that he'd ever seen. He followed you and May in order to see you fly again, but you just wouldn't fly again'. The Wish Pokémon informed the whole group, getting Brock to hum in fascination as he looked back at his old friend. "So, you caught Deino's attention when you used your Rainbow Hero powers because it has wanted to fly itself". The former Gym Leader summarized, getting Ash to look at him from his spot on the ground. "I guess so". The Rainbow Hero said to his old travel companion, before laying his head down on the ground again.

Deino went back to biting on Ash's head again, giving out happy cries as it did so. "Pika! Pikachu pika-pi!" Pikachu exclaimed at the Dragon and Dark type with a frown on his face as he told Deino to get off. Pikachu's words caught Deino's attention as it looked down at the smaller Pokémon, before shaking its head sideways in denial. "Looks like our little friend here is stuck to you like glue, Ash". Verity joked with a giggle, making Ash let out a groan at what she said. Sorrel was silent as he stared down at the Dragon and Dark type biting down on his sworn brother in curiosity, before looking down at Ash's face down head.

"Ash; why not catch that Deino?" The Pokémon Professor in training suggested to the Rainbow Hero, catching Ash's attention as he lifted his head up to look at him. "And become this guy's daily chew toy? While I admit that having another Dragon type is very tempting, being its lunch 24/7 daily is gonna take a lot of getting used to". The raven haired boy said with a slightly exhausted voice, before placing his right hand in his pants' pockets and brought out a Premier Ball. He pressed on the center, causing the device to enlarge, before holding it out towards Deino.

"Besides, Deino might not want to become my Pokémon and would prefer to-". Ash spoke, only to be interrupted mid-speech by Deino biting down on his hand, covering it and the Premier Ball from view. Then, the Dragon and Dark type began glowing light red, before becoming engulfed by it completely, revealing Ash's right hand with the Premier Ball open. The device then absorbed Deino into it completely, before closing. The Rainbow Hero brought the Premier Ball in front of his face as the device lightly shook a few times, before stopping completely with 3 stars briefly appearing over it, signalizing the capture to be a success with the center glowing a red colour.

"…I stand corrected". The Rainbow Hero stated, causing everyone to chuckle/giggle at him as the 12-year-old boy climbed back up to his feet. "Yeah, laugh it up. With that out of the way; let's review what we found in that cave". Ash told his friends, putting the Premier Ball away in his pocket. "Brock caught a Druddigon and a shiny Solrock. And that's not all, we found a Moon Stone!" Max called out with a bright smile, catching Sorrel's attention at what he said as he turned to look at the boy, before shifting his gaze over to May.

"Is that so? Well; that's good news for you then May". The Veilstone said with a small smile on his face. Sorrel's words made the brunette frown in confusion as she turned to look at him. "How so is that?" May questioned the Sinnoh resident, placing both hands on her hips. "It's because with the Moon Stone, you can evolve your Skitty now". Verity informed her fellow coordinator, making May widen her eyes in surprise as she turned to look at the older female.

Brock brought out the Moon Stone with his right hand and held it up. "They're right May. Now, you can evolve your Skitty whenever you want". The former Gym Leader told the Petalburg girl, before tossing the stone over to her. May turned to look at the Pokémon Breeder and caught the Moon Stone with her right hand. She looked at the stone in her hand intensely for a few moments, before looking back towards her friends with a thankful smile.

"Thank you, guys, it really means a lot to me. But; I think I'm gonna wait a while before I evolve Skitty. It honestly feels a bit too soon". May informed her travel companions, getting Ash to look at her and nod in approval. "Good idea. There's no need to rush an evolution; take your time and get to know Skitty a little better before making the decision to evolve her. Once you feel the time is right, then evolve Skitty". The Rainbow Hero told the brunette as Pikachu climbed up to his right shoulder once more. "Pikachu pi". Pikachu said in agreement, though he'd rather skip the choice of ever evolving as that was something he never intended to do.

May looked at her crush and gave him a nod in response, before putting the Moon Stone away in her fanny pack. "What about you two; Verity and Sorrel. Find anything interesting?" The brunette asked with a curious voice, which Verity shook her head in response. "Nothing at all; I didn't even catch anything". The Twinleaf girl replied to the younger female, before tilting her head to look down at Piplup. "Piplup". The Water type said to her trainer, smiling a small bit at the 12-year-old girl.

"The same can't be said for me though. I caught a Bagon in there". Sorrel said with a small, smug grin on his face, getting Ash to look at him with an eyebrow lifted. "Well; colour me surprised. I didn't expect there to be Bagons down there, nice catch". The Rainbow Hero praised his sworn brother, giving the thumbs up with his right hand. "What about you two; besides your new Deino?" The Pokémon Professor questioned the raven-haired boy, which Ash gave a grin at him.

"Oh; we found something rare. Check it out!" Ash exclaimed in full spirits, bringing up his closed left hand and then opened it to reveal the purple Mega Stone. Verity, Sorrel, Brock, Max and their Pokémon all gasped in awe at the sight of the stone in the Rainbow Hero's hand, while May and Pikachu just chuckled at the expressions on their faces. "Whoa! Another Mega Stone!" Max called out in awe as he stood up from the staircase, before he ran over towards his idol to get a better look at the new Mega Stone. "Which one is that for?" The 8-year-old boy asked the Rainbow Hero, which Ash shrugged his shoulders in response.

"No clue". The raven-haired boy answered with an honest tone, before shifting his gaze over towards Sorrel. The Pokémon Professor in training noticed his sworn brother's look and knew what he was asking him. Giving a nod back to the Rainbow Hero, Sorrel brought out his phone with his left hand and began searching through the network of Mega Stones. In just a matter of seconds; Sorrel found the Mega Stone that Ash was holding and widened his eyes a bit in surprise.

He looked back towards his sworn brother, causing Ash and Pikachu to look a bit surprised at the expression on his face. "…That Mega Stone you're holding is an Aerodactylite; a Mega Stone for an Aerodactyl". Sorrel revealed, causing everyone to gasp a little in surprise at what he said. Ash spent another moment to look down at the Mega Stone in his hand, before turning to look back at his sworn brother. "Well; looks like I can't use this, but you can". The Rainbow Hero stated, before passing the Aerodactylite over to Sorrel, which he caught with his right hand.

Sorrel put his phone away in his coat's pocket and stared down at the Mega Stone in his hand. "You're the only one with an Aerodactyl, so it's only fair that you get to have that Mega Stone". Ash told the Veilstone boy with a supporting smile, all the while placing his right hand on his hip. The Pokémon Professor in training tilted his head up to look at Ash and gave him a small smile. "Thanks Ash. Let me repay you by giving you this". Sorrel said to his sworn brother, placing his right hand and Mega Stone in the coat's right pocket, before bringing out the TM he found.

The Pokémon Professor in training held the disk out towards the Rainbow Hero, which he and Pikachu stared at it in curiosity. "A TM?" Ash questioned with a hint of fascination in his voice, which Sorrel nodded to him. "It's TM02: Dragon Claw". Sorrel revealed to the Rainbow Hero, causing Ash to grow a grin as he gently took the disk with his right hand. "Now that's what I call "sweet". Dragon Claw has been one of my favorite moves". The raven-haired boy stated with a pleaded tone with the TM he now had.

Everyone smiled at the two sworn brothers' exchange of items. Ash put away his newest TM in a section of his bag where all his other TMs are. "Now there's one last thing to settle before we head back to Fallarbor Town". Ash remarked, before holding up his left hand with the 3 Mega Stones that he had bought from the old man peddler in the palm. Max and Jirachi gasped upon seeing the 3 other Mega Stones as they weren't there when Ash brought them, while everyone else slightly widened their eyes a little.

"Oh yeah; those Mega Stones". Brock said in surprise as he had forgotten about those 3 other stones. "One of them is a Sceptilite, that's something we can be sure of as you already have one Ash, but the other two are a mystery". May remarked, getting Ash to turn towards her and give a small grin at her. "Not exactly. The red one's actually a Blazikenite, a Mega Stone for a Blaziken". The Rainbow Hero informed the brunette. May gasped in shock and delight upon hearing what her crush said, while everyone else looked at him in curiosity.

"And how do you know that?" Max asked the older male with a curious voice, getting Ash to look down at him. "Because I saw Harrison's Blaziken having one back at the Johto League Silver Conference. It was just an instant, but I got a clear look at it. That's how I know that this is a Blazikenite". The raven-haired boy informed the Petalburg boy, while Pikachu gave a slight shiver. "Pika-chu". The Electric Mouse moaned out in displeasure upon remembering his defeat to the Mega evolved Pokémon and how outclassed he was in speed.

May took a few steps up to the raven-haired boy, before lifting her right hand up and gently took hold of the Blazikenite. She lifted it up to her eyes, slowly growing an overjoyed smile as she did so. "Wow…With this; I can Mega Evolve Combusken when she evolves into a Blaziken!" The brunette exclaimed in excited joy as she threw her arms into the air, getting everyone to look at her in amusement. "Not just yet, May. You still need a Key Stone". Verity reminded the Petalburg girl, instantly causing May's face to fell and her joy to be extinguished. "Awww…" The brunette moaned out in disappointment as she had grown a desire to obtain Mega Evolution herself one day after seeing Ash, Sorrel and Verity use it so many times.

"Cheer up, May. We'll find you a Key Stone somehow; you just need to be patient". Ash told the May with a promising smile to find her a Key Stone to call her own one day. The Rainbow Hero then turned his attention back to the remaining mystery Mega Stone in his hand. "Now we just need to find out which Mega Stone this one is". The raven haired boy said with a small frown on his face, having never seen a Mega Stone like this one before.

Sorrel had already brought out his phone again and was searching through it for Mega Stones again in order to find out which one this mystery one is. Upon finding the information that he was looking for; the Pokémon Professor in training lifted his head to look at Ash. "As luck would have it, that's a Swampertite". Sorrel informed the group, causing Brock to let out a disbelief gasp at what he said.

The former Gym Leader turned to look at the Veilstone boy with disbelief in his eyes. "A Swampertite? Are you being serious right now?" Brock questioned the younger male, holding his hands out to the sides as he walked towards Sorrel. The Sinnoh resident turned his head and nodded to Brock, growing a happy smile for him. "I am. It's a Mega Stone for your Marshtomp once it evolves. Congratulations Brock". Sorrel congratulated the Pokémon Breeder. Brock breathed in and out in disbelief, growing a smile as he did so that there was a Mega Stone for one of his Pokémon now.

Ash walked up to his old friend with a smile, before holding out his left hand towards Brock. "It's yours now Brock. Take it". The raven-haired boy told his friend with a supporting voice. Brock took a moment to smile at his old friend, and then looked at the Swampertite in Ash's hand. He brought up his left hand and grabbed hold of the stone gently. He lifted it off of the 12-year-old boy's hand, before turning it over to stare at the Mega Stone.

"Now; what about that Sceptilite? As a matter of fact; why did you even buy it when you already have one?" Sorrel asked his sworn brother with a curious voice, while putting his phone away. "The second one isn't for me. You could say that it is for Max". Ash answered the Veilstone boy, making the 8-year-old child gasp in shock and surprise at what his idol said. "For me? But why?" The Petalburg boy questioned the Rainbow Hero, honestly having no idea why Ash got him a Mega Stone.

Ash turned to look down at the younger male and placed his right hand on Max's head in a comforting manner. "When May showed you Tochic when I first met you, Norman and Caroline; I recall you mentioning that you'd have picked Treecko over Torchic. So, since you said that you'd like one and would possibly evolve it to a Sceptile, I figured you would like a Mega Stone for it". The Rainbow Hero explained to the Petalburg boy why he bought the Mega Stone. He then tossed the Sceptilite over to Max, causing the younger male to cry out and Jirachi to widen its eyes as the Petalburg boy held up his hands together and caught the stone.

"We're done here now. Let's head back to Fallarbor Town and rest up for May's contest tomorrow". Ash told his travel companions, shifting his eyes to one another, before stopping on Verity. The Rainbow Hero spent a moment to turn towards May, who smiled gently at him, before he turned back towards his girlfriend. "Verity, May and I need to speak to you about something when we get back to the Pokémon Center". The raven-haired boy said to the Twinleaf girl with a hesitant voice. Verity blinked in surprise at her boyfriend's voice, but before she could question him on what he meant, Ash began his track back towards Fallarbor Town with May right behind his tail. Everyone followed after the Rainbow Hero as he led the way back towards Fallarbor Town.


(A little bit later)

After going through Route 114, the gang returned back to Fallarbor Town and was now walking up towards the Pokémon Center. Max gave an exhausted sigh as he stretched out his arms, while Jirachi flew right next to him. "I don't know about you guys, but today has exhausted me. I'm gonna head on back to our room and rest all afternoon". The Petalburg boy told his travel companions with an exhausted voice, before he looked towards his best friend. "We could go for a snack though". The 8-year-old boy added, his words causing the legendary Pokémon to grow an excited smile.

'Yummy!' Jirachi called out in joy as he started to fly around his best friend, getting an amused look from May. "I'm gonna head on in and make room for Bagon by transferring Entei. I've had enough time with him for the moment and he deserves to just relax". Sorrel informed his friends, walking besides Lucario with the Aura Pokémon turning to look at him. "I'll join you. With Druddigon and Solrock, I've reached the six Pokémon limit and need to transfer one back to my family in order to make room". Brock told the younger male from besides him, getting the Pokémon Professor in training to look and nod at him.

Ash was walking silently with his head tilted down and hands resting in his pockets. He was, however, sneaking glances at Verity and May with a worried expression on his face. Ash that soon, a decision that could impact his relationship with the two girls will take place soon for either the better, or worse. And he hoped that it was for the better as he did not want to harm any of his friends, much less the girls he had feelings for. "Pika". Pikachu said in concern for his old friend, catching Ash's attention as he looked towards the Electric Mouse on his shoulder and gave a small smile.

"Don't worry Pikachu; this has to happen. I can't avoid it". The raven-haired male replied to his best friend, taking whatever comfort Pikachu provided for him. Pikachu still looked concern though, despite the Rainbow Hero's reassuring words to him. Wordlessly, Ash, May and Verity changed directions and walked a little bit away from the Pokémon Center to have their talk in privacy.

The only one that noticed the three's change of directions were Sorrel, who was looking over his right shoulder towards the three. The Sinnoh resident kept silent and didn't speak as he knew that this was a matter between the three. And worse part was that he had no way to help his sworn brother as he's never dated a female before. 'Good luck Ash, you're gonna need it. I get the feeling that dealing with a woman's feelings is harder than saving the world'. Sorrel thought to himself, before turning back forward as he, Brock, Max, Lucario and Jirachi entered the Pokémon Center.

Ash, May and Verity stood a little bit away from the center with all three of them standing in a triangular formation. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder, while Piplup leaped out of Verity's hands. The Pokémon stood near their trainers and remained silent as this wasn't something they wanted to take part in.

Ash had his arms crossed, May had hers folded behind her back and Verity was hanging hers to the sides. The three were silent as Ash didn't know how to start off this conversation. Verity raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend, taken back as this wasn't like him at all to be quiet. "Ash, what's wrong? What happened in Meteor Falls?" Verity asked her boyfriend with a concerned expression, growing worried as Ash was never silent like this. He did know when it was required not to speak, but this was an uncertain silence he was emitting.

Ash took a deep sigh to calm his nerves, closing his eyes as he did so. The Rainbow Hero opened his eyes and looked at the Twinleaf girl. "Verity…May confessed and kissed me back in the cave". The Rainbow Hero revealed to Verity with a defeated voice. Ash's revelation caused Verity and Piplup to widen their eyes in shock, before the Twinleaf girl turned to look at May, who lowered her gaze at the ground. "I'm…sorry Verity, but I just acted without thinking. I couldn't keep my feelings in any longer. I'm sorry". The brunette apologized to the older female, bowing her head as she did so.

Verity and Piplup stared at May for a few moments, silent as the grave. Eventually, the Twinleaf girl changed her expression into an understanding smile. She opened her mouth to speak, however a different voice, one familiar to the group beat her to it. "Ahh, there you guys are". A male voice said with a pleased tone, getting Ash and Verity to look in May's direction, while the brunette turned around. They saw May's rival; Drew standing 5 feet away from them, holding up a rose with his right hand.

"Drew!?" Ash, Verity and May exclaimed in surprise, while Pikachu and Piplup cried out with wide eyes upon seeing the green haired male. "Isn't that sweet, you even remember my name after all this time. Hello May, Verity and whatever your name is". Drew greeted the three with a sly voice, before tossing the rose towards the brunette. May caught the rose with her right hand, but gave a small glare towards the green haired boy for what he said about Ash. The Rainbow Hero, however, wasn't bothered the least bit by the way Drew addressed him and was honestly thankful for this little distraction.

"Don't get your hopes up, May. The reason I came here was to say hello to Verity and maybe Beautifly. I saw you guys earlier in the day, running out of the city, so I couldn't greet you guys back then. What was up that made you guys run like that anyway?" Drew asked with a curious voice. May slightly widened her eyes at Drew's words of having seen them earlier, before she grew back her frown and directed it at him.

"That's nothing that you need to be concerned about!" May snapped at the green haired male, causing Drew to chuckle a bit as he flicked his hair. "Fine, be that way. Anyway; have you won any contests yet?" Drew questioned the Petalburg girl, causing her to growl a bit, before she shook her head sideways. "No, I haven't yet. But that doesn't mean I've been slacking off. I have been training hard with Verity since the Slateport Pokémon Contest; that's why I'm winning this one!" The brunette exclaimed with a strong voice, determined to win the Fallarbor Pokémon Contest tomorrow.

Drew looked slightly fascinated at hearing May had been training with Verity. "Really?" The green haired male questioned, rubbing his chin with his right hand. He then ceased holding his chin and gave a challenging grin at his rival. "If that's true, then you wouldn't mind letting me see for myself before tomorrow". Drew declared as he brought out an enlarged Poké Ball with his left hand and held it out towards May.

This caused Ash, Verity, May, Pikachu and Piplup to widen their eyes in surprise, having never expected Drew to challenge the Petalburg girl to a battle. "You…really want to battle May?" Verity questioned the rival of her travel companion. Drew nodded as he shifted his gaze over towards the Twinleaf girl that had defeated him rather easily. "You beat me at Slateport easily; rather too easily for my taste. Since she's been taking lessons under you; I'd like to see how much better May is compared to last time we met". The green haired coordinator explained to the Twinleaf with a hint of bitterness in his voice at the mention of his defeat.

May grew uncertain upon the mention of Slateport and her easy defeat to Drew. She had improved much, but was afraid that it wasn't enough to defeat Drew. Just then, a comforting hand was placed on May's left shoulder, getting her to look over and see Verity standing behind the younger female, giving May a supporting smile. The Twinleaf girl lifted her right fist up and nodded to her junior in support.

The Petalburg girl felt her tension disappear at Verity's support for her, before giving a nod to the older female. She turned towards Drew with a determined expression and nodded to him. "If you want a battle Drew; count me in!" May exclaimed with spirit, making Verity nod in approval as she lifted her left hand off of the younger male's shoulder and step back. "Haaa, looks like your confidence has grown a bit, that's for certain. But let's see if that's not just hot air you're letting out. Go Roselia!" Drew called out as he threw the Poké Ball in his left hand forward.

The device bounced off of the ground, before bursting open and released a white beam that struck the ground. It took shape and cleared to reveal Drew's Roselia, who had its usual smile and hands folded up. The Grass and Poison type cried out in a confident voice as she stared at May.

Ash, Verity, Pikachu and Piplup took a few steps back to give room for the battle to take place. May narrowed her eyes in calculation as she stared at the Pokémon that defeated her Beautifly single handedly. 'Roselia… I don't know if Roselia has learned any new moves when I last faced off against it. I remember it having Stun Spore, Magical Leaf, Petal Dance and Solar Beam. All of which were Grass type moves'. May thought to herself, slowly growing a grin as she had the perfect Pokémon in mind to battle Roselia.

May placed her right hand into her fanny pack and brought out a Great Ball. She held it up and pressed on the center, causing the device to enlarge. "Go…Azumaril!" The Petalburg girl shouted out, rearing her right hand back and then tossed the device out. The Great Ball spun around in mid-air, before suddenly stopping and released a white beam. It struck the ground and took shape, before it cleared to reveal the Aqua Rabbit Pokémon, Azumarill. "Azumarill!" The Water and Fairy type cried out cheerfully, raising her hands into the air.

May's choice of Pokémon made Ash and Verity widen their eyes in surprise, before they both grinned at realizing what the brunette was planning. "Pika-pikachu! /Piplup-pip!" Pikachu and Piplup called out in encouragement for Azumarill to do her best. Drew raised an eyebrow at Azumarill, before chuckling a bit with his eyes closed. "I'll admit; you're more daring than last time to battle a Grass type with a Water type". The male Pokémon Coordinator said with an amused voice, as if this was a big joke. 'Keep up that attitude. It'll make it that much sweeter when you realize you've got no chance of actually damaging Azumarill'. May thought to herself with a smirk, something that Azumarill had as well.

(May V.S Drew/ Play X-treme Fight (BEST QUALITY))

"Roselia, Magical Leaf!" Drew commanded, bringing up his left hand and then throwing it forward. "Roseli!" Roselia cried out, pointing her arms forward and released glowing white leaves from the flowers at Azumarill. May narrowed her eyes at this move, having a flashback to how her previous battle with Drew started and the mistake she made. 'I didn't know that Magical Leaf could be dodged under normal circumstances back then. Now though, it's different!' The brunette shouted out inside of her head, before she swiped her right hand out to the side.

"Azumarill, Dig!" May commanded the Aqua Mouse Pokémon, voice full of confidence and without a shred of self doubt. "Azu!" Azumarill cried out, jumping up before diving down and went underground. The glowing white leaves struck the edge of the hole left behind, but didn't chase after the Water and Fairy type. "Oh? Looks like someone has gotten smarter to dodge Magical Leaf in the right way". Drew remarked with a grin, sounding a little bit impressed with May's improvements.

Azumarill then erupted out of the ground and uppercut Roselia in the chin with her right hand. Roselia gritted her teeth slightly as the force of the attack pushed her a little bit off of the ground, but landed on her feet and glared at Azumarill, who was standing on two feet herself. "Stun Spore!" Drew commanded, keeping a confident voice as he still believed that he had the whole match under control.

Roselia gave a cry as she released an orange powder from the flowers on its arms towards Azumarill. May had another flashback upon seeing this move, only this time of Verity's match against Drew. 'Stun Spore was a big problem for me, but Verity was able to counter against it no problem. Time to take a page out of her book!' May shouted out inside of her mind, and then thrust her open right hand out.

"Use Bounce to blow away the Stun Spore!" The brunette told her Azumarill, causing Verity to widen her eyes in realization. "Azumarill!" The Aqua Mouse Pokémon exclaimed, before leaping backwards into the air and then stomped hard on the ground, kicking up a gust of strong winds that erupted out and blew the orange powder away. This finally caused Drew to drop his smirk as that move reminded him of his defeat to Verity.

'So, she's copying how Verity used Lopunny to blow away Stun Spore. I lose that battle because Verity was prepared, thought of counter measures and kept her secret weapon secret. Lopunny's Limber ability was what costed me, but there's no way that Azumarill has the same ability'. Drew thought to himself, bringing his left hand up and flicking his hair again. "Let's see how you handle this trick. Roselia, Petal Dance!" The young boy commanded, regaining his confident smirk.

Roselia grew her own confident smile as she held her arms up. "Ros…eli!" The Thorn Pokémon cried out, before spinning around quickly and pink petals flew out, spiraling towards Azumarill. "Quickly! Use Aqua Ring to defend yourself!" May exclaimed with her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Azu-zumarill!" Azumarill cried out, creating multiple rings of water around its body. The pink petals came into contact with the multiple rings of water, creating an explosion that covered Azumarill from view completely.

Drew and Roselia both grinned with confidence upon seeing Petal Dance land a direct hit, while May, Ash, Verity, Pikachu and Piplup kept natural expressions on their faces. The smoke from the explosion quickly cleared to reveal a perfectly, unharmed and smirking Azumarill. The sight of the unharmed Aqua Mouse Pokémon wiped the smirks off of Drew and Roselia's faces as they were expecting to see Azumarill damaged at least.

"What the!? You taught that Azumarill how to use Aqua Ring to block out super effective attacks?!" Drew questioned his rival in disbelief, shifting gazes from Azumarill towards May. The brunette allowed herself to grow a smirk and gave a nod towards Drew, but that was not the truth. She had used Aqua Ring to create an explosion to act as a smoke screen to conceal Azumarill's Sap Sipper ability activating from view. That way; she tricked Drew into false thinking, keep Sap Sipper a secret and powered up Azumarill's attack state.

"Aqua Ring is a lot more useful than you give it credit for". May told her rival with a mischievous grin on her face. Drew narrowed his eyes with a hint of annoyance in them. "Oh yeah? Let's see how it stands up to this! Roselia, Solar Beam!" The green haired male commanded, throwing her right hand into the air in a dramatic fashion. Roselia exclaimed with a wide smile, sticking her hands into the air. Sunlight began to gather above the roses on her heads, powering up Solar Beam.

"No more playing around! Azumarill, Bubble Beam!" May commanded, throwing both her hands out to the sides. "Azumarill!" The Aqua Mouse Pokémon cried out as the inside of Azumarill's mouth glows light blue, before firing multiple light blue bubbles towards Roselia. The light blue bubbles struck Roselia in a direct hit, yet the Thorn Pokémon remained standing as it powered up Solar Beam, but was gritting its teeth from taking the Bubble Beam attack. Eventually, Roselia finished charging up Solar Beam as a white energy ball appeared in between the roses on its hands.

"Roselia, let her rip!" Drew cried out, thrusting his right hand out with the index finger out as well. "Ro…seli!" Roselia exclaimed, bringing her hands down forward and fired the energy ball as it transformed into a beam of white energy. Solar Beam easily blasted through the stream of bubbles and drew closer to Azumarill. "Azu!?" Azumarill cried out with wide eyes, right before Solar Beam struck and caused an explosion.

"Looks like this match is over for you May!" Drew exclaimed with a victorious grin on his face. May didn't gain a defeated look on her face and just kept smirking with confidence. "You might want to look". The brunette told her rival without a trace of doubt or concern. Drew raised an eyebrow at what May said, but did as she suggested as he looked towards the smokescreen created from Solar Beam. It quickly cleared to reveal Azumarill standing tall with light green energy surrounding the smirking Aqua Mouse Pokémon.

The sigh caused Drew and Roselia to gasp in complete shock as the light green energy surrounding Azumarill cleared completely. "But how!?" The green haired male questioned in disbelief, while May relished at the expression on his face. "Simple really. Azumarill's ability is Sap Sipper!" May revealed to her rival, causing Drew's left eye to start twitching a bit. May then grew completely determined expression as she brought up her right fist. "Azumarill, show off your power and take out Roselia with Bounce!" The brunette commanded, thrusting her right into the air. "Azumarill!" The Aqua Mouse Pokemon exclaimed, and then took off charging towards Roselia.

"Roselia, stop it with Stun Spore!" Drew called out in a desperate tone, now starting to panic a little. Roselia gave a cry as she released an orange powder from the flowers on its arms towards Azumarill. The orange power struck, but instead of causing electrical sparks to start appearing around it, Azumarill gained another light green energy around itself. "Sap Sipper works on all kinds of Grass type moves, even ones that don't deal damage!" May informed her rival with a growing grin on her face, causing Drew to grit his teeth in frustration at his mistake.

"Azu-azu-azumarill!" Azumarill cried out as she ran through the orange power, before leaping high into the sky with Roselia's eyes following after her. The Aqua Mouse then started diving down towards the Thorn Pokémon with her left leg out. The Water and Fairy type drew closer, until...

Bagoon!

Azumarill landed a hard drop kick on Roselia's face, sending the Grass and Poison type crashing onto the ground, kicking up dust from the impact. The dust kicked up quickly cleared to reveal Azumarill standing on top of a swirl eyed Roselia over a spider web cracked crater. "Roseli..." The Thorn Pokémon groaned out weakly with Azumarill's left leg resting on her right cheek. "Im...possible". Drew said in disbelief with wide eyes directed down at his Grass and Poison type. May laughed out in joy as she lifted up her right hand and gave the peace sign. "Ahahaha! Now that's what I'm talking about!" May called out in victory at finally getting revenge for her one-sided defeat to Drew in the Slateport Pokémon Contest.

(Winner: May/ Music finished)

Ash, Verity, Pikachu and Piplup all cried out in joy for May and Azumarill's victory. "She did it!" The Rainbow Hero shouted out in delight for the brunette, throwing his right fist into the air. "Well done May!" Verity praised her junior in Pokémon Contest with absolute joy in her voice at seeing May's hard training paying off. "Pikachu! Pika-pika! /Piplup! Pip-piplup!" Pikachu and Piplup called out in joy, waving their hands in joy for their friends. Azumarill took her foot off of Roselia's unconscious face and stepped off of her. The Aqua Mouse Pokémon smiled brightly as she turned around and ran towards May with her eyes wide out. "Azumarill!" Azumarill cried out with a delighted voice for her victory. May laughed in joy as she knelt down on her knees and opened her arms wide for a hug, one that Azumarill gave as it jumped towards her trainer with the two females wrapping their arms around each other.

Drew returned Roselia to its Poké Ball, before turning the device over in his left hand and looked down at it with a proud smile. "Looks like we've got a lot to work on, Roselia. We'll start with that after the contest tomorrow, but for now take a nice long rest". The green haired boy said to the device, as if he was speaking to the Thorn Pokémon, before putting the Poké Ball away in his jacket's pocket. He then looked out towards May, where he saw her hugging Azumarill with a joyful expression. "Hey May!" Drew called out towards his rival. May and Azumarill stopped their hugging with the brunette looking towards the green haired male, where she saw him nod towards her.

"You've gotten a lot better, that's for certain, and this battle has proved it. But in tomorrow's contest; it won't end the same way. I'll see you then". Drew bid farewell, giving a two finger salute to the brunette as he turned towards the Pokémon Center and began walking towards it. Everyone watched the green haired Pokémon Coordinator walk away, before Ash turned to look at Verity. "May has come a long way, hasn't she?" The Rainbow Hero asked his girlfriend with a joyful voice, which the Twinleaf girl nodded with a proud smile. "Yeah...yeah she has. And I couldn't be prouder of her". Verity answered with a content voice, turning to look at her junior as May returned Azumarill to its Great Ball.

Pikachu climbed onto Ash's right shoulder, while Piplup walked around and jumped up on Verity's left shoulder. May then turned to look towards her senior and crush with an overjoyed expression, before she walked over towards them. A single tear came out of the brunette's left eye, but she wiped it away with her left hand. Ash and Verity had noticed May shedding a tear and grew worried for her. "May? Is something wrong?" The Rainbow Hero asked the female Pokémon Coordinator in concern. May just shook her head sideways and gave him a reassuring smile. "No, I'm alright. I'm just...happy to see that all my hard work is paying off". The Petalburg girl replied to the raven haired boy, causing Ash to smile in understanding at her overflowing emotions.

Verity walked up and placed both hands on the younger female's shoulders, turning May to look at her. "You've trained and worked hard to become the coordinator you are now, and that battle with Drew showed that you're still growing stronger. That's why I know you're going to win tomorrow's Pokémon Contest". The tomboyish girl told the younger female with a certain voice, as if she was certain that May would win tomorrow. May felt very touched by her senpai's words as they greatly raised her spirits. Verity then took her hands off of May's shoulders, folded them behind her back and took a few steps away.

"Now, before we were so rudely interrupted by Drew; I believe we were talking about how you kissed my boyfriend". The Twinleaf girl reminded with a grin, causing Ash and May to slightly gulp upon remembering their conversation. The Rainbow Hero gave a sigh, and then looked at his girlfriend with an apologetic look. "Verity; I'm sorry that I let it happen. Truth to be told; I...have grown feelings for May as well". Ash confessed, causing May to gasp in shock as her hands shot up towards her mouth and covered it. Verity just stared at her boyfriend with a simple smile on her face, while Piplup stared at her in slight terror. "I understand that this isn't right, and I am happy being together with you. But May wants to be with me as well". The Rainbow Hero explained, turning to look at the brunette with Verity shifting her gaze over to May as well.

The Petalburg girl lowered her hands from her mouth, before nodding to what Ash said. "It's true. I really wanna be with Ash, and even want to be the only one who gets to have him. But I know how much he cares about you and you him. That's why, if it means being able to be with Ash, I'm...willing to share him". May told the older female as she started twitting with her fingers. She then lifted her gaze up towards Verity, where her face slightly fell. "I know that this isn't proper as he's not my boyfriend and that he's yours, and I'm sorry about that. Still, I want to be with Ash in a relationship, but that's only if you decide that its okay. You've done so much for me, and I don't want to be the cause of your break up with Ash. If you want to have Ash all to yourself, then I understand and won't bring this up again". The Petalburg girl finished with a low choice as the final say in this was Verity's.

Everything was silent as Ash, May, Pikachu and Piplup stared at Verity, awaiting for her response with the tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife. The Twinleaf girl was silent as the grave as she stared at her senior, before turning to look at her boyfriend. After a few moments, Verity let out a deep sigh with her lips still in a smile. "...To be honest; I've know that May has had feelings for you ever since I first met her". The Twinleaf girl confessed, much to the surprise of Ash and May at what she said. "You did? How?" The Rainbow Hero questioned his girlfriend in stunned surprise that she knew about May's feelings for him before today. "When I first saw how May looked at her; I knew because that was how I looked at you when we traveled together. Not to mention your friend Misty also looks at you in the same way". Verity explained with a giggle, while Ash let out a small groan as she wasn't lying about Misty having feelings for him as there were plenty of signs of that in the past. Not to mention this one time she'd say she and him would be married someday, something that had thrown Ash for a loop.

"Ash...it's honestly unfair how you're such a great guy that girls just can't help themselves from liking you. I've honestly been expecting this, and prepared for it". The Twinleaf girl stated, turning to look towards May with an understanding smile. "...If you're serious about wanting Ash as a boyfriend, then I won't stop you. You just have to promise me that you'll treat him". Verity told the younger female, causing May's face to lit up in delight upon realizing that this was Verity's way of allowing her to be with Ash. "Of course! I'll treat every day with him special, as if it's the last day on Earth!" May exclaimed in absolute joy, something that caused Verity to smile brightly at.

"Just to let you know; I'll still be Ash's number 1 girl though". The Twinleaf girl joked, causing everyone to chuckle a bit at her. Verity turned towards her boyfriend, before she grabbed hold of his scarf with her left hand and brought Ash into a loving kiss, something that made the Rainbow Hero widen his eyes at the surprise move of his girlfriend. Verity quickly broke the kiss and released her grip on Ash's scarf, before turning to look at May. "Now that I've gotten my kiss, it is your turn now. Go ahead". The Sinnoh resident told the younger female as she stepped back and held her left hand out towards Ash.

Ash and May blushed a bit at Verity's words, but the brunette did took a few steps towards her crush with the raven haired male turning towards her. After a few moments of staring at one another, May was the first one to act. She quickly grabbed hold of Ash's hat with her left hand and held it in front of their faces as she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his, causing Ash to widen his eyes and blush a red colour. Verity just gave a giggle at the sigh, while Piplup tilted her head. Finally, Pikachu just watched with a nervous expression on his face.

After a few moments, May broke her kiss with Ash and stared at him with a lovingly look in her eyes for him, something that Ash smiled nervously at her. "I'll be expecting one when I win tomorrow's contest". The Petalburg girl told the Rainbow Hero, placing his hand back on his head in a reverse style. Ash was too stunned to speak as he was now the boyfriend of two girls, something that was not normal under any circumstances. Verity grew a grin on her face at what her senior in Pokémon Contests. "You sound so confident. Have you finally decided what Pokémon you'll use?" The Twinleaf girl asked the younger female with a curious voice.

The Petalburg girl turned to look at the 12-year-old girl and nodded with a smirk. "Of course. I'm gonna go with Shellos and Combusken". May answered, sounding completly certain of her choices. "Water and Fire huh? Well, good luck out there". Verity said to her fellow Pokémon Coordinator with a wink of her right eye. May nodded towards the older female, before she turned to look at Ash and saw Pikachu waving his right paw in front of Ash's face, yet got no reaction from the Rainbow Hero. May giggled at her new boyfriend's expression, taking in great joy to be thinking of him like that now.

Unknown to the three humans and their Pokémon, they were being watched by a wild Pokémon from a nearby bush. It was a small, grayish-white Pokémon that resembled a key ring with four keys. It had a spherical head with a small, pink oval on its forehead. Two black circles and a keyhole form its eyes and mouth, respectively. Below its head is a pink, teardrop-shaped body with a white, teardrop-shaped marking in the middle. Extending from the top of its head was a horn that resembled an old-fashioned key with two wide, blunt teeth. Extending from either side of the key was a thin loop that surrounded the Pokémon. Hanging from the loop are various keys that this Pokémon had collected in the past.

The unknown Pokémon stared at May in curiosity and wonder. It had seen May's battle with Drew and the brunette had caught its attention with how she battled with calmness, confidence and grace. One thing was for certain; this unknown Pokémon was going to watch May in the contest tomorrow.


(Pokémon ending 5: Type Wild)

Ash's current Pokédex spin around with a rainbow background a few times, before drawing closer to the camera and then stopped. As it opens, the running silhouettes of Ash and Pikachu appeared on the side of the screen while Ash and Pikachu themselves appeared on the bottom, running forward towards the camera.

"Since I've said good-bye to Pallet Town".

"I guess a bit of time has passed".

The Pokédex's screen then lit up and began to display events of the Rainbow Hero's life when he became a Pokémon Trainer. First, it showed Ash in his pajamas rushing out of his house and towards Professor Oak's lap. Then, it showed the Rainbow Hero in Professor Oak's lap, first meeting Piackhu. It showed Ash picking up his best friend and spun him around, which annoyed Pikachu as it used Thunderbolt and zapped Ash, who cried out in surprise.

"As with the number of scrapes, cuts, and friends I've got".

"They all give me a sense of pride".

The Pokédex's screen then changed to show Ash, with Pikachu on his shoulder, looking up into the red sun as Ho-Oh flew over them with the Rainbow Wing floating down from the Legendary Pokémon. Ash held up his hands as the Rainbow Wing floated down onto them. He then took hold of the quill with his right hand as it let out a rainbow glow, much to Ash and Pikachu's amazement.

The two looked back up at the sky as Ho-Oh flew away and disappeared from sight with a rainbow in sight. The Ash on the Pokédex's button stubble over his feet, getting Pikachu to look at him, but the Rainbow Hero regained his balanced and continued running with the running silhouettes of the two copying their movement.

"Since they were all the rage that time".

"I had ran off to buy these sneakers".

"But now, they can't even be found".

"Anywhere else in the world".

"They're the best pair of worn out shoes!"

The Pokédex's screen then changed to show Ash and Pikachu hiding behind a tree, looking up at a tree branch where a Caterpie was crawling around. It changed once more to show Ash and Verity racing against one another in the forest when they heard Entei was nearby. The Pokédex's screen changed once more to show Sorrel and Lucario with the Aura Pokémon in front of its trainer, charging up an Aura Sphere. Sorrel gave a command and threw his left arm to the side, while Lucario thrust his hands out and fired Aura Sphere.

The Pokédex's screen then changed to show the three officially meeting with Ash and Verity deciding to have a battle against one another. It changed once more to show Ash, Verity, Pikachu and Piplup surrounding Charmander, who was sitting down on a rock in the middle of the rain. It changed to show Charmander run up to Cross's right leg and hug it happily, only for Cross to kick him off. The device's screen then showed Ash standing across Cross, glaring at his unimpressed look.

The Pokédex's screen then changed to show Caterpie, on the solid ground, evolve into Metapod, then changed to show Charmander in the air, evolve into Charmeleon, before falling down with a happy look. The device's screen then changed to show the late night, where Verity first saw Suicune, who was looking at the girl who would become its chosen trainer. It changed once more to show Ash and Cross standing across one another on a battlefield, about to battle.

"Before you know it, Type: Wild!"

Ash and Pikachu were then suddenly replaced by Verity and Piplup running besides one another with their silhouettes replacing the ones from before. The two started to long run as the Pokédex's screen changed to show Ash, Verity, Sorrel, Pikachu, Piplup and Lucario being thrown into the air by Primeape. Then it changed to showed Ash carrying Metapod as he ran through the forest at night.

"Little by little, Type: Wild!"

Verity and Piplup were replaced by Sorrel and Lucario with their silhouettes being replaced as well, running in the same style. Ash's Pokédex showed Metapod glow as it evolved and flew into the air. The evolution light cleared to reveal Butterfree with it flapping its wings.

"More and more, Type: Wild!"

Sorrel and Lucario were then replaced by Cross and Incineroar with the silhouettes being replaced as well. The device's screen changed to show Verity holding up a Poké Ball with her right hand, before she kissed it. The Pokédex's screen then showed a white beam take shape in a lake, before clearing to reveal Verity's Lapras, who let out a cry.

"Gonna be strong, Type: Wild!"

Finally, Ash and Pikachu retook their spots with their silhouettes returning as well, with the two long running now. The Pokédex's screen showed the group of 3 humans and Pokémon looking up a hill towards Raikou, who was looking down at them. Then, it showed Ash, Verity, Sorrel, Pikachu, Piplup and Lucario meeting Bonja. The Pokédex then showed a bright white shape figure, before it cleared to reveal Charizard, who let out a fierce roar.

The device's screen then showed Charizard's massive Flamethrower attack closing in on Incineroar, before engulfing it completely. Then, it showed Cross kneeling down in defeat as he lost the battle against Ash.

Ash then grew his Rainbow Hero wings and slightly flew off of the ground and started flying just above it with Pikachu now running normally. The Pokédex then showed Ash recalling Pikachu to his Poké Ball to protect him, and then showed the two best friends hugging in the other world with Ash regaining his colour.

"And someday I will say".

The two best friends slowed down their pace with their silhouettes copying them, while the Pokédex showed Ash and Pikachu beginning their battle against Ho-Oh. The device's screen then showed Ash and Cross saying good-bye on friendly terms, before changing to show Ash, Verity and Sorrel parting ways as well. The device's screen showed Verity and Piplup on a boat as they returned to Sinnoh, before changing to show Sorrel and Lucario in a cold environment with an Articuno flying over them. The Pokédex's screen then displayed Cross, Incineroar and Midnight form Lycanroc sitting around a campfire, eating.

"Hello to my dreams".

Then, Ash landed on the ground as Pikachu jumped onto his right shoulder, before Verity, Sorrel, Piplup and Lucario joined them, all of them forming a group hug with the silhouettes mimicking them. The Pokédex's screen showed Ash sending Pikachu out into battle against Heracross, then Ho-Oh flying over the planet and finally, an image of the six all together in their group hug.


Another chapter done and finished. I hope you all enjoyed this one as I had to work overtime to finish it on time. I'll admit that I'm looking forward to the Masters 8 tournament, it might give me some ideas. Now, as I'm sure you've probably figured it out; that Team Aqua grunt was Zinnia, plus I brought some manga characters into this story. About May beating Drew this early; it's because I never liked how the main characters only defeated their top rivals near the end of the series, so I'm mixing it up a bit by having it be a half win and half lost thing instead.

Now; about May and Brock getting their Mega Stones, that's something I've been waiting to do for a while. But don't worry about Key Stones; they'll get them just like how we got them in Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby. Also, Ash has finally gotten together with May. I apologize if it seems a bit too soon, but I felt like now was the time for them to get together. They like each other, but that like will eventually turn into love soon. May has a Moon Stone to evolve her Skitty, but I'll wait to do that after her second contest victory, so that'll be a while.

The confrontation with Maxie was something I've wanted to do for a while, and as you can see, I've added in some things from the sixth movie into this such as Maxie remember Butler and the gang mentioning what they learned. The shiny Solrock for Brock was because besides Bonsly, he never caught any other wild Rock types, so I changed it a little. He'll sent back Fortress to his home to make room for his new Rock type. Next month, I'm gonna do two chapters of this story as there's this one point I really want to reach.

It is the Pokémon season 7 episode 14 one. It'll be a mixture of both the anime and game; not to mention I plan for some of the main characters Pokémon to evolve. Since I'm in such a good mood; I'll tell you which ones. May's Shellos, Jessie's Gothita, James' Cacnea and very possibly: Verity's Togepi and Sorrel's new Bagon, but that is up for discussion. Not to mention Ash will officially get the Meteorite as it'll play a big part later.

The next story I'll be working on is my Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's-V story, and then Maleficent/ Descendants crossover one. I've already started on the Yu-Gi-Oh! one, so I'll likely get it done on the 20th. I'll work as hard as I can, so please be patient. 2 last questions. The first: should I go back and rewrite some of my past chapters to make better versions, or leave them be. The second one: since I'm most likely gonna take a while to complete the Hoenn and Battle Frontier; should I make stories where Ash and the gang are in the regions after this one. I'd honestly prefer not to because I'd like to leave surprises, not make mistakes and not spoil anything. Answer in a review or message.

See ya all later.