Alright, I feel I have to apoligize. The actual fighting in the battle doesn't start until Ch32. So, we won't see any fighting until next week. Sorry for any inconvinance caused by such a change.
There is, however, more of that fluffy shippyness here. And I know that there are some people here that really enjoy that.
Ash looked around from where he and May stood. She looked elegant and beautiful to him, dressed in a loose fitting red tank top over a tight black baby-tee. Her legs were covered with a pair of tight jeans, her feet in small, brown sandals. Ash himself was wearing his regular black and orange tee, jeans and sneakers.
Ash saw the bright stars in the sky above them. Looking down from the building on which they stood, he could see the lights of a large city sparkling beneath them.
"So Ash," May asked him, "Why'd you bring me up here?" She smiled earnestly into his eyes.
Seemingly only a spectator to these events, Ash saw himself reaching into his pocket. This other self pulled out a small folder, and opened it. Embedded into the folder were seven golden symbols.
"I finally got the last one, May," Ash smiled at her. "And I owe it all to your help."
She hugged him and said. "You're very welcome, Ash." She let out a quick laugh. "I remember when you said that this would be the ideal conditions to kiss me under," she reminded him.
Sliding the folder back into his pocket, he laughed. "Yeah, but I have a better idea this time."
May looked at him inquisitively. "Hmm? What're you thinking of this time."
Ash reached into his opposite pocket and produced a small, black box. He backed away from May and held the small box between his hands. He lowered himself to one knee and opened the box. Sparkling in the moonlight under the stars was a diamond ring. He held it up in front of her. "May," Ash gulped. "Will you…"
May was taken back. "A-are you…?"
Ash blushed. "Yeah…"
May stepped closer to him and took the ring from the box. She slid it over the ring finger on her right hand. "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you, Ash."
"Pika!" the Ash watching the events heard himself shout.
Ash quickly opened up his eyes. The morning sun had drifted into the room. May was still asleep, her head still in his lap. He turned his head, and Cyndi also was still sleeping. He looked up for Pikachu, but the Mouse Pokémon wasn't at the post he had the night before. He turned his head to see the door slightly ajar. Pikachu musta snuck off, he thought. Ash felt very hungry, but he knew he shouldn't wake May from her sleep.
That is, until May started mumbling in her sleep. "It's okay, honey," she grumbled, "Pikachu can watch the kids while you and I go to the movies…" she let out a huge snore as a snot bubble slowly expanded and retracted from her nose.
That's it. No more dreaming of us being married, Ash resolved. "May, wake up," he pleaded with her.
The snot bubble popped and the girl rubbed her eyes. "What gives Ash?" she yawned. "I was having a wonderful dream."
"Well, I think it's time for breakfast," he said. "And you know how hungry we get."
May sat up and stretched. "Okay, fine," she yawned. "But you're letting me sleep in tomorrow."
"That's fine," he smiled at her as she stood and walked out of the room. The image from his dream returned. I'm not ready to take a plunge like that, yet, he told himself, I'm not even an adult yet. But why does this love thing have to be so hard? I was just getting used to being May's boyfriend, and now I have to worry about being her husband? He sighed. I never get love until it's almost too late. He began to wake Cyndi as he prepared to follow May downstairs.
May quietly stepped down the stairs, making sure not to wake up anyone before they were ready. To her relief, the only people still asleep downstairs were Mrs. Ketchum, who had found her way to that chair she failed to reach in the night prior, and her brother Max. She thought of the picture Cyndi left half-completed on her desk and giggled. But then she wondered if Max felt the same way. She felt that it was part of her duty as his older sister to root out his crushes, but she decided to be the bigger person and not expose him. At least for now.
"Please keep it a secret," She heard Cyndi's voice from upstairs. "I don't know how he'll react."
"I'll keep it, don't worry," she heard her boyfriend laugh. "I'll tell May to keep it quiet, as well."
May smiled and rubbed Max's head. "Time to wake up, Max," she smiled.
Max turned over in his sleep. "I don't wanna get up. May ate it," he grumbled, ignoring his sister.
"I ate what?" May became furious. She picked up Max by his feet and held him upside down.
Max, confused and dazed, woke up. "Huh? What?" he began shaking himself out of May's grip. "Mom! Help! May's beating me up again!"
May dropped him back onto the couch-bed and watched him bounce as Cyndi and Ash came to the bottom of the staircase. Cyndi giggled as the boy scrambled over to the coffee table for his glasses.
Brock walked into the room wearing his pink apron. "Well, I see that you guys are awake, now," he said. "I was just about to send Pikachu up stairs to give you a wake up call."
"So Pikachu's with you?" Ash asked, curious about his friend's location.
Brock nodded. "He also was able to grab yours and May's Pokéballs without waking you up. All the Pokémon are outside eating and relaxing before the big battle."
"Well, May and I are ready to eat, too," Ash smiled, motioning for the coordinator to come closer. "We're both gonna need our strength for the battle today!"
"Considering how much you two seem to eat, I'd better go warn Caroline and Raine that they need to kick up food production," Brock laughed walking back into the kitchen.
Cyndi walked over to Ash's sleeping mother and nudged her. "Mrs. Ketchum," Cyndi spoke, "are you gonna wake up?"
Delia opened her eyes and let out a large yawn. "Good morning, Cyndi," the mother yawned. "Is it morning already?"
"Yeah, and if you don't hurry up, Ash and May are gonna eat all the food and you won't have anything!" Cyndi warned. The new couple had already wandered into the kitchen and sat down, ready to devour whatever gets placed in front of them. Brock, Caroline, and Raine, having already fed themselves and Norman, began producing food in abundance for the newly arisen children. Ash and May sat next to each other, and May's brother took his place next to his sister. Pondering for a moment, Cyndi decided to sit next to Max instead of her idol. Max didn't catch any implications, but Ash and May both noticed and giggled to each other.
Placing a mountain of pancakes in the middle of the table, Caroline knew she had begun a free-for-all. Ash and May each grabbed as many pancakes as they could with their forks and began placing them on their plates. Ash gave his pancakes a quick dab of maple syrup before digging in, where as the coordinator added some butter to hers as well as syrup before eating.
Norman could only watch in awe of the children as they tore through the mountain. Max and Cyndi ate at a much slower pace, not even trying to catch up. Delia quickly sat down and took some pancakes for herself before they all disappeared. Brock faked a cough and whispered to Ash and May that they were being poor example of table manners for the young and impressionable children they shared the table with. They looked at each other with sticky faces and laughed. Ash and May both cleaned their plates quietly, and left the few pancakes that remained for the others.
Stepping out into the sunlight, the new couple enjoyed the company of the relaxed Pokémon. Pikachu and Aipom chased Skitty and Eevee about as Combusken and Marshtomp appeared to be playing a game in the mud. Sceptile sat in the branches of a tree, half watching Munchlax reach from a higher branch towards a berry. Brock's Bonsly napped under the watchful gaze of Swellow and Beautifly, who circled overhead in the clouds. Noctowl, however, sat in the dark branches above Sceptile, napping partially as per his nocturnal nature and also because of the adventure he had the night before. Donphan and Forretress bounded over to Combusken and Marshtomp, with the Armor Pokémon leaping into the middle of their game, splashing both sides with mud. Irritated, Combusken decided that her game with Marshtomp was over and walked over to the lax Sceptile, and attempted to strike up a conversation with him. A sad Marshtomp resigned to playing with Donphan and Forretress, instead of following her.
Alone, on the outskirts of the group, sat Corphish and Squirtle, each of them conversing jollily. Corphish told a short story, and Squirtle exploded into laughter. Ash and May decided that their battling allies would need their attention the most before the big battle.
"So how you guys doing over here?" Ash asked, stepping behind Corphish, placing his hand on the crustacean's head.
"Corphish cor!" the Hoenn Pokémon cheered.
"I bet you guys are anxious about the battle, huh?" May squatted next to her tiny turtle Pokémon.
"Squirtle…" he sighed. Squirtle leaned back against May's knee and looked up into his trainer's eyes. "Squirtle, squirtle squirt squirtle."
"I know you're a bit worried," May picked him up and held him to her chest. "But I know you'll do great."
"Skyaa!" Ash and May heard something from the sky above them. Swellow and Beautifly moved to intercept the shining silver creature as she flew towards them. They could make out a faint outline of a person on her back.
"Hey, is that-" Ash began before being cut off by Cyndi running out of the house.
"Daddy!" the girl squealed. She ran outside and leapt up and down, motioning him closer.
Sure enough, when Skarmory had come in close enough to be identified, she carried Joseph on her back. As soon as the Armor Bird Pokémon landed, the girl leapt into her father's arms, giving him a tight hug. "I've missed you so much, Cyndi," Joseph smiled. He looked up to see Ash and May walking towards them. "Hey, I wasn't expecting you two here!" he said, cheer in his voice.
"We never expected to run into more of your family," Ash laughed. "I guess we're just lucky, huh?"
"Daddy!" Cyndi squealed, "Ash has been staying here with us the past couple days! Isn't that cool? I got to eat breakfast with Ash Ketchum!"
"It certainly is, sweetheart," Joseph laughed, placing his small daughter on his shoulder. "I came to take you to the battle Ash is having in town today," he explained. "I knew you wanted to go ever since I heard that the man himself was battling in town. I never thought that he'd be here in person, though."
"Your family's been really great to us," May smiled. "I even got a new outfit while I was here," she giggled, twirling for the Pokémon Doctor, showing off the clothes that Raine had picked out especially for her.
"That looks very nice, May," Joseph smiled. The house began to empty behind them as Brock, Norman, Caroline, Max, and Delia stepped out with Raine following them, locking up behind her. "Raine?" he asked.
Raine turned to him, her face becoming flushed. "J-Joseph?" she quivered. She ran up to him and flung her arms around him, almost knocking Cyndi from her perch. "I-I've missed you so much…," she laughed into his chest, tears of joy fogging up her glasses. "How long has it been since you've been home?"
"Two months, dear," he said, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her forehead and looked into her grey eyes lovingly. "Two of the hardest months of my life."
"As much as I don't like to break up romance," Brock stepped up, interrupting, "the battle starts in about an hour, and we need to go."
"Y-yes," Raine acknowledged, breaking away from her husband. She shot a guilty look into his eyes, and turned away, walking towards the rest of the adults. Joseph took notice, but decided that now as not the time to address the issue.
Ash, May and Brock recalled all of their Pokémon, and Pikachu leapt to his trainer's shoulder. Ash and May lead the group into town Brock discussed the possible Pokémon for Misty to use in the battle with Max and Cyndi, as Raine introduced Joseph to the rest of the adults.
Ash turned back to Brock as they walked. "Hey, where's the Professor?"
May placed a finger to her chin. "Yeah, I haven't seen him all morning."
Brock shrugged. "He was the first to eat, and said that he had something to do in town. Then he up and left."
"I hope he gets there so he can see you thrash Misty," Cyndi giggled.
"Harley's gonna be in a world of hurt when my sister gets to him," Max added.
Turning the corner, Ash and May saw a huge crowd outside of the Cerulean Gym. May began to cling to Ash's arm for support, fearing what the crowd would do to them. Ash nodded in the crowd's direction, confidence and determination in his eyes.
"Hey, here they come!" they heard a man shout. They remained on the road as the crowd booed them and tossed garbage at them. May almost tripped over a can that someone had tossed at her and Ash, but Ash's arm kept her up.
Brock sighed at the people who attacked them. "Must be Misty's supporters," he groaned.
A paper cup smacked against Cyndi's face. The small girl angrily leapt at the crowd, but Max held onto her hand, causing the girl to blush and stand down.
"Aww, look at the little lovers," an older girl taunted. Max was riled up over this, but he was stopped by his father. Norman looked into the crowd, and they left the small children alone. No one would pick on the son of the Petalburg Gym Leader and live to tell the tale.
Ash and May pressed on, ignoring the boos, the insults and the profanity hurled at them. May's eyes began to water. "How can people be so mean to people they don't even know?" she asked Ash amid the chaos.
"This is the other side of the popularity that your Dad enjoys back in Petalburg," Ash told her. "These people all love Misty, and hate anyone who stands against her. Your dad could probably do something similar, if he wanted."
May thought about this as a banana peel shot in front of them. "This is all Harley's doing. Misty wouldn't use these people like this."
"Hey Romeo," they heard a man taunt from the crowd, "Why don't you take your little girlfriend and get. No measly no-name trainer stands a chance against Misty!"
Ash huffed. "I'm not gonna waste my time trying to talk to you," he grunted.
"What'd you say?" the man was becoming angry. "Come over here and say that, shrimp!"
"Hey, you leave him alone!" May stepped in. "We're going to the battle, so why can't you just save all the nasty things you're going to say about us for then?"
"Oh, so he hides behind his woman?" the man sneered. "Tough guy."
"Hey, leave May out of this," Ash snarled. "She hasn't done anything to you." Pikachu also growled in his direction.
"Yeah, but that bitch has you whipped," he laughed.
The normally docile trainer from Pallet shot quickly at the man, and knocked him into the people behind him. Blood gushed from the man's nose as Ash held his arm into the air where he made contact.
"Never, ever, talk about May like that," Ash was breathing heavily, anger in his voice.
Delia placed her hands over her mouth that her Ash would commit such an action. Even Pikachu's mouth was hanging open over Ash's attack. Norman smiled in approval, and Brock let out a short chuckle.
May was both relieved and worried about this temper she saw. Ash was slow to anger, but this guy apparently found a way to tick him off very quickly. I guess it proves that we still don't know everything about each other, yet. She hugged his arm. "Thank you, Ash."
Ash shot her a smile. "Whenever you need punks like that taken care of just let me know."
Suddenly, the sun seemed to be blotted out. A strange, Meowth-shaped hot air balloon floated, concealing the sun from the crowd. Their constant anger towards Ash and May turned to the balloon. Voices of confusion arose, curious about the strange new development.
"Prepare for trouble if you attack the twerps!" A woman called out.
"Make it double, they'll give you your just desserts!" A man called as well. Ash and May looked up, knowing full well who was there, but unable to see them through the glare.
"An evil as old as the Galaxy!" the woman leapt from the balloon to stand in front of Ash and May.
"Sent here to fulfill our destiny!" the man followed her, landing in front of them as well.
"Don't forget me!" The small Pokémon jumped down and landed behind his allies. All three of the Rockets concealed their identities in robes, hoping that their dramatics could be emphasized.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love and extend our reach to the stars above!" the trio shouted in unison as Meowth operated an unseen controller to fly the balloon away from the Gym.
"Jessie!" she shouted as she tossed aside the robe, revealing the woman in her Rocket uniform.
"James!" the man tossed his in the opposite direction, also making a dramatic reveal.
"And Meowth are da names!" he tossed his robe behind him. The crowd gasped at the sight of the talking Pokémon.
"Anywhere there's peace in the universe…"
"…Team Rocket…"
"…is dere…"
They all got into a last dramatic pose, and shouted, "…to make everything worse!"
The crowd stunned silent, the sound of Jessie's Pokéball snapping open echoed. "Wobbuffet!" the patient Pokémon shouted.
"Mime, mime!" the smaller Psychic type twirled from behind James.
"Team Rocket!" Ash, May, Max, Brock, Norman, Caroline, and Delia all shouted in unison.
"Pipikachu!" the Electric-type added.
Several voices came from the crowd "T-These guys are really Team Rocket?" "My Pokémon!" "Are they with Ash and May?"
"Hold it!" A familiar voice shot from the crowd as a gunshot filled the air. The trigger-happy Officer Jenny from the other day had appeared, looking inquisitively at the Rocket Trio. "Are you really Team Rocket?"
The Rockets froze. Ash looked around and thought quickly. "Follow my lead," he whispered to May and the Rockets. He shot a look at Brock, containing the same information, and saw the breeder whisper it to the adults. "Officer Jenny, you've gotta excuse my friends here."
"Your friends?" Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Are you friends with these guys?"
"Yeah," Ash put on an embarrassed look on his face. "They're pretty weird. They're always making dramatic entrances and stuff. Always causing a panic, right guys?" Ash turned to the trio, a wide, false grin across his face.
"You know," May also had a fake smile across her face. "The kinds of people that scream 'Fire' in crowded areas?"
Jenny wrote a note in her notebook. "Alright, I'll let your friends off with a warning this time, but this kind of activity can be fined." She turned and looked sternly at the Rockets. "Don't let me catch you trying to cause panic in Cerulean again. This kind of activity is called 'disturbing the peace' around here. I don't know what they call it where you're from."
"Don't give it another thought!" Jessie reassured the armed officer.
"You won't here from us again!" James smiled, rubbing his hands together. Mime Jr. copied this action.
"Oh, look at the time," Ash said, looking at nowhere in particular. "We better get inside for the battle!" He grabbed May and James by their arms with May also grabbing onto Jessie. Meowth ran behind the five as they hustled into the Gym.
Once inside, they saw two distinct lines filing into the Gym seating. On one side, the line was stretching out the door, leading into the crowd that Ash, May and Team Rocket had seen outside. The other line was entirely clear, with one or two people going in though that gate.
Ash, May and the Rockets walked up to the booth heading the line that was empty. A girl with shoulder length pink hair sat there, grumbling at the lack of business that she was getting.
"Lily," Ash asked her, "what's this line for?"
Lily looked up, her mouth agape. "Ash? You're here? Misty was so totally sure that you weren't going to show."
May rolled her eyes at the second air headed Cerulean Sister. "Well, we are here, and we're ready for battle!" she yelled, garnering the attention of the opposite line, which cause them to start acting up similar to the crowd outside. The blue-haired woman at the booth infront of that line shouted for them to remain calm, and that anyone who assaulted the trainers would be ejected from the Gym and not allowed to watch the battle. Grumbling, the people stood in line, only muttering to each other.
"Ash!" Brock shouted, dashing into the Gym with the rest of the group following him. The breeder shot a look at the Rockets, and walked up to them.
"You, like, have a ton of people with you, huh?" Lily smiled. She stood from her booth, knowing that she wasn't going to get any business. "Misty told me to totally take you to a room to let you get ready for the battle," she said, smiling while leading the two away from the group.
Ash turned to his group. "Lily, can Brock, Max, and our 'new friends'," he said motioning to the Rocket Trio, "come with us for a little bit?"
"Like, I don't see why not," she said, motioning for Max, Jessie, James and Meowth to come over.
"I can't believe she doesn't recognize us," James whispered to his partner.
"Don't jinx it, James!" Jessie hushed him. "I guess the Cerulean Sisters are as dim as they say," she chuckled.
"Den why'd we get beat by 'em before?" Meowth asked rhetorically.
The Rockets grumbled as they and the twerps were led into a room on the side of the Gym.
Looks like Team Rocket's interested in the battle as well!
Next time, we get some flashy introductions, plot, and the set up to the long awaited battle.
Now, while you all "Get Pokémon!", I'm gonna go fix something. Stupid brain-farts. It's supposed to say Tuesday and FRIDAY!