Chapter 18

"How long is forever?"

"Where's my other shoe?" Max called out while looking around the room.

"I think it's over there behind the bed, Max," Brock said as he put his Pokeballs in his pocket.

The Professor sat on Max's bed waiting for Brock and Max to get ready so they could head down to the Pokemon Center. The Professor looked weary as he rested his palms on his thighs.

Max pulled his shoe onto his foot and after stamping it down on the floor so his foot was neatly snug, he quickly tied his laces and looked up at Brock. Max was worried, he was far more tense than anyone else in the room. He timidly petted Pikachu's head as he waited for the others to say something.

"You're ready, Max?" Brock asked.

"I…think so. I know Ash told me on the phone that he was ok, but I'm still a little nervous. I wonder how my sister was able to handle everything," Max said, rubbing his elbow.

"Your sister did a good job," The Professor said boldly as he stood up from the bed, "She's one of the bravest girls' I ever met, as well as the most compassionate. She retrieved what I sent her out to get and she saved the boys life. There is no higher honor in the world than that."

Brock was taken back at the Professor's compliments. "Professor, I didn't expect that from you. I'm glad you can see how many hardships May had to endure, I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that as well."

"I can be nice sometimes," The Professor smiled, "After all, we are standing in front of her little brother. We have to be positive for the naïve little children who think life is all about happy stuff like sunshine and rainbows."

"I'm not some stupid little kid!" Max pouted, "I know more than my sister does anyway! Seriously with the way she acts sometimes, I think I'm the older sibling. Older sisters…who needs 'em? They gotta be the worst invention in the world, they were probably created just to annoy and boss around little brothers."

"Pikachu Pika?" Pikachu asked as it tugged on Brocks' pants.

"Yes, Pikachu, we're going," Brock said as he looked at the Professor, "Are you sure that Gardevoir is experienced enough?"

"What? Of course, I trained this Pokemon myself. It has my experience under its belt, and it has certainly saved lives before. We might as well get going," The Professor turned to Max and Pikachu, "Why don't you two wait by the entrance of the lab? I have something to discuss with Brock here."

"Eh? Fine," Max said as he motioned for Pikachu to run along with him. The two of them ran out of the guest room and started heading down the stairs.

"Now then, how's about I give you my way of saying thanks? Come with me to my living quarters," The Professor said.

Brock was a bit curious of what the Professor meant, but nevertheless he followed him across the hall to his living quarters. The Professor opened the door and walked toward his shelves that were nailed against the wall. The Professor's two ray guns rested on the shelf, the former being the one that de-aged Ash, May and Max, and the latter being the ray gun that Brock had saw before.

"Oh…that," Brock said softly, "Um…excuse me, Professor, but after seeing all the trouble that first ray gun caused, I'm not sure I want to see what the other one does too."

"Nonsense!" The Professor said as picked the second ray gun off his shelf, "I thought you said you like women?"

"Women?" a flustered Brock said as he could feel himself getting excited.

"Yes women, that was our agreement was it not? Unless of course you're not interested in women, I can help you with men instead if you'd like. Hm?" The Professor snorted as he raised an eyebrow.

"What? No I'm not interested in other men!" Brock shook his head nervously, "But the women part sure sounds nice!"

"Well then, if you'd like to know what this ray gun does, I'll tell you. It takes about a day or two to finally kick in, but after absorbing the rays of this device, you'll be quite the ladies man for about 24 hours."

Brock held himself back from getting too carried away and asked the Professor cautiously, "Wait a second, you created another ray gun just to do that?"

"Of course I did! I may be 269 years old but I'm still a man. You don't expect me to get any women at my age do you?" The Professor asked as he brushed the sides of his hair pompously.

"Well uh…no. But um…if this isn't natural…"

"Oh calm down, boy. It will only affect women that are attracted to you, so don't worry, you won't get any little girls or 75 year old grannies fawning at your doorstep. And besides that, it only stays in effect for 24 hours, so if you don't like the result, at least you only have to worry about it for a single day."

"So let me get this straight, a girl has to be attracted to me and then after being zapped by this gun, I'll be all set?" Brock asked.

"Sure. Swooning her over will be a snap. Of course if you still want to keep the girl after 24 hours have passed, then you'll have to do that yourself. I can only help you get the girls, it's up to you to keep them," The Professor said as he chucked the ray gun up in the air toward Brock, "Here catch!"

Brock was taken by surprise as he quickly caught the ray gun in his arms. "Uh…weren't you going to be the one to use the ray gun?"

"Nah. This is up to you, which is why you're going to be the one to do it. If you would like to go through with this, just aim the gun at yourself and press the red button on the side, just like the other ray gun. If not, then just place it back on the shelf. We haven't got all day you know, and I would like to help the boys Swellow sooner rather than later," The Professor said.

"Yes of course!" Brock said, "We have to get to that Pokemon Center right away, I'll…probably…"

The Professor walked toward the door of his room and opened it.

"Go ahead, I don't care. Remember it'll take a day or two to take effect, but place my invention back on the shelf after you use it. I'm heading downstairs," The Professor said as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Brock stood alone in the room as he held the Professor's ray gun in his hand. His eyebrows twitched as he was contemplating whether to use the device or not.

"Well…here goes nothing," Brock said reluctantly.

He took a deep breath, and then finally made his decision.

~*~*~*~*

Meanwhile at the Pokemon Center, Nurse Joy brought Ash and May to the room Swellow was resting in. The flying type was resting on its stomach on a soft bed. It had a brace on its beak as well as several bandages wrapped around its wings. The bird had several wires attached to its underbelly which were hooked up to a machine. Ash and May were oblivious to all the technical machines around them, as they didn't understand what any of the machines meant. All they were concerned with was seeing their Pokemon alive and breathing.

"…Swellow…" Ash uttered in a distressed manner.

Swellow managed to lift its head up and looked toward its trainer. The bird smiled at Ash but beyond that cheery posterior, it was obvious that Swellow was still in a great deal of pain.

Ash gripped the bars on the side of the bed, his voice cracked, his knees shook, and he looked quite distressed. But he was happy to finally see his Pokemon for the first time since the events in the forest, and to see that it was alive and stable was reassuring.

Nurse Joy stood on the side of the room as Ash and May gazed upon their friend. The atmosphere in the room was somber but with a lingering shred of hope in the young trainers minds. May rested her palm on Ash's back as she knew how he felt. She stood slightly behind him as the two gazed upon Swellow.

"He'll be ok," May whispered softly into Ash's ear.

Ash slightly turned his face toward her and nodded, before looking back at his Pokemon. He hesitated as he slowly reached for Swellow and rubbed the top of his head. The bird grinned compassionately as its trainer rubbed it gently.

"You're the best, Swellow," Ash said as a moment of jubilation washed over him, "One of my friends is going to help you…and pretty soon you'll be flying in the air just like you used to."

"Swell….low…" Swellow said softly between breaths.

Ash and May grinned as they both felt very optimistic, seeing the delight in Swellow's eyes. Swellow felt content knowing that its trainer would never abandon him, he knew that with Ash as its trainer, there was nothing more important than friendship and kindness.

Nurse Joy gave Ash and May extra visiting time as she knew that the two needed this time to reconcile with Swellow.

45 minutes later, Ash and May were now waiting back in Ash's room. The Professor, Brock, Max and Pikachu had just entered the Pokemon Center and were heading toward the hallway with the patients.

"That's the room Ash is staying in," Brock said as he pointed up at the room number.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted happily as it recognized the scent of its trainer.

"Pikachu?" Ash looked up having heard its voice.

Pikachu suddenly ran into the room and jumped into Ash's arms. Ash hugged Pikachu heartily as Pikachu licked his face. The room was filled with joy as Ash and May were happy to see it.

"Long time no see, buddy?" Ash said giggling.

"Max?" May called out as she saw the others entering the room.

"Hey, May," Max said, waving at her.

May leaped toward him and hugged him tightly against her body. "I'm so glad to see that you're yourself again! I'll never let Team Rocket take advantage of you again, I swear!" she said happily.

"May…c'mon…I love you too but I want to see Ash," Max said as he pulled away from her. He looked up at Ash as he noticed the bandages wrapped on his forehead that went over the back of his hair. "Ash, those bandages…your head is still in one piece, right?" Max asked, pointing at them.

"Heh," Ash said as Pikachu jumped on his shoulder, "Yes, Max, my head is still in one piece. Nurse Joy even said that I can take off the bandages by tonight, how's that Max?"

"That sounds awesome…" Max said relieved, happy to see his best friend was ok, "Did you get to see your Swellow?"

"Max!" May scolded as she pulled him back by his arm.

"Hey…I just want to know," Max said disappointingly.

Ash opened his mouth to say something before the Professor interrupted him.

"I'm going to be the one who helps with Swellow's operation. With all the experience my Gardevoir has, the surgery should be done quickly," the Professor chimed.

"And then Swellow can just leave and come back with us?" Max asked impatiently.

"No…Max," Brock said knowingly, "Swellow will still need to rest after the surgery, people, and Pokemon for that matter, can't just get up and walk away right after an operation. It'll probably need to rest in the Pokemon Center for another day or two afterward."

"Whoa, I didn't realize that either," May said, embarrassed to be on the level of her little brother.

"That doesn't matter, we're not leaving this mainland until my Swellow is fully healed. I'll wait as long as it takes," Ash said.

"Pika!" Pikachu added, agreeing with its trainer.

"Oh," Max said.

"Mr. Lenient?" May asked the Professor.

"Ha. You're still calling me by that, huh? It's Professor Latrommi as Nurse Joy told you," The Professor said proudly.

"Hee…sorry. I guess it's an old habit," May blushed in embarrassment, "I'd like to apologize for being rude to you for the last few days, I didn't know how important you were…I also want to thank you for helping Ash's Swellow. It means a lot."

"Think nothing of it, if I happen to have had a mood swing, it's just in response to me being so darn old," Professor Latrommi laughed, "It seems I'm being affected by the same thing my Tyranitar is, however unfortunate that is."

"Tyranitar," Ash said sternly. He took a deep breath before continuing the conversation. "Your Tyranitar attacked us, Professor…."

"I've heard," Professor Latrommi said sadly, "I'm sorry that you kids had to be on the brunt of its assault. In case you didn't know, I've transported my Tyranitar to Nurse Joy here in this very Pokemon Center. It's being treated in another room down the hall."

"It is? I wanted to tell you about Tyranitar but you were too nutty last night," May said bluntly.

"I'm not going to hold it against you two for what happened to my Tyranitar, you two should be glad you came out of that alive," Professor Latrommi said.

"That's what I wanted to ask," Ash said as he approached and looked up at him squarely in the eye, "I want to know why your Tyranitar attacked us in the first place. It should have known that we were friends of yours, especially when we said that we were going to help get it back to you. Why didn't it listen? Why did it attack us?"

The Professor sighed as he scratched the top of his bald head. He walked over to the windowsill and stared through the blinds as the sunlight shone brightly against his face.

"I've had that Tyranitar ever since it was a Larvitar. It was my very first Pokemon that I caught in the wild when I was only five years old. This was somewhere around 260 or so years ago," he said casually.

"260 years!" Max screamed in astonishment, "How is that possible?"

Ash and May also listened to the Professor intently, but Brock already knew where the story was going.

The Professor continued while not turning away from the windowsill. He continued to stare through the slits of the blinds. "As you know I've lived a long life, and ever since my father died when I was only 10 years old, I've been obsessed with the idea of escaping death. Not only was I scared of what it felt like to be dead, but I wanted and knew that I could continue living throughout the ages. I ended up using my brain and tinkering with various experiments, and after years of hard work, I managed to invent the ray gun that you kids know good and well when I was around 30 years old."

"Wait a minute, does that mean that you actually used the ray gun on yourself?" Ash asked, confused.

"Yep, isn't that obvious?" The Professor replied, "Although I ended up using it on my Larvitar a lot more than me. Tyranitar only live a lifespan of 55 years, and I couldn't bear to continue going through life without my only friend at my side."

"Wow, so you kept de-aging your Larvitar, too?" May asked.

"Gee, you two need everything spelled out for you, huh? Anyway yes I did, although it evolved into a Tyranitar several times throughout my life, each time it was de-aged it would revert back into a Larvitar and have to evolve all over again. One time my Larvitar got itself into a fatal accident having been hit by a car…"

"That's horrible!" May gasped.

"…and right as it lay dying in front of my eyes, I knew immediately that I was the only person who could save its life. I ended up running with it in my arms back to my house, as its blood dripped all over my hands and clothes, hoping that it would be able to hold on until I got there. My Pokemon clung desperately to life as I made the trek home, and just when I thought all was lost, I found my invention. I quickly zapped my Larvitar, and instead of dying, the wound healed, and my Larvitar reverted back to infanthood again," The Professor sighed again, "I saved its life by turning it back into an infant."

"Amazing," May sniffed emotionally as she wiped a tear out of her eye.

"So what happened next?" Max asked impatiently, "Did anything else exciting happen?"

"Max, you dummy!" May yelled as she slapped Max on the side of his head.

"Argh, what was that for, May? I just wanted to hear the rest of his story!" Max said as he rubbed his head where his sister had hit him.

"This isn't some storybook you know, the Professor is telling us his life story! The least you could do is be more polite. Professor Latrommi doesn't even have to explain this to us," May bickered.

"It's alright," The Professor said as he turned away from the window and faced the kids again, "This next part I'm sure you're all going to want to hear, it's the reason my Tyranitar attacked the two of you."

"I'm listening," Ash said as Pikachu clung to his shoulder.

"Well throughout my life I continued to use my invention to de-age myself when I reached 70 years of age, just so I made sure that I didn't wait too long or else I could just…you know…wake up dead the next morning," Professor Latrommi coughed into his sleeve, "Anyway I'd use the device on my Larvitar/Tyraniar as well, so I could continue living through the decades with my only friend. I made sure to de-age myself right in front of an orphanage, just so I'd have someone, anyone, to take care of me as an infant. As an infant, I was pretty helpless as you know, since well you kids experienced that first hand. Luckily enough, both me and my Larvitar were continually cared for at various orphanages until I reached my childhood years. From there on, I would remember the events of my previous life, and generally just continue to live my life over again. I also made sure to stash my ray gun in a secret location next to the orphanage, as I was sure that the device would get lost or discarded while I was an infant. Once I reached about eight years of age, I would pray and hope that my ray gun was still in the same place that I hid it when I de-aged myself. Luckily, I was able to find it again each time, and thus I picked it up and continued living my life. Throughout the years my Tyranitar ended up being de-aged a hell of a lot more times than myself, and I'm afraid that it had a negative effect after all. You know how the saying goes, how there's always a price to pay when someone discovers a way to live forever?"

"Uh…I don't," Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"Me neither," May said.

"Well there is a saying, but I'm not going to bother reciting it for you two. Anyway, it seems that my Tyranitar attacked you two because its mind has ended up deteriorating after all the de-aging done to it," Professor Latrommi said.

"Huh?" May asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"It means that my ray gun also has a negative effect once it's used. Use it too much, and the person will end up losing their mind because of it. A living being can take only so much, and I'm afraid that fate has determined that every living thing on this planet is mortal, and we all have to go sometime. Escaping death is just not an option, it's the natural balance for living things," he sighed, "That's why my Tyranitar attacked you, its been losing its mind since it was de-aged a number of times over the years. I imagine that it'll continue losing itself to dementia, and ultimately plummet into insanity."

"Wait a minute," Brock said nervously as he approached the Professor, "Ash, May and Max have all been de-aged by the ray gun once. Does that mean that the same thing will happen to them? Answer me!"

Ash, May and Max quickly felt a shiver go down their spines. The three of them looked aghast at the Professor waiting for an answer.

"You mean we're going to end up losing our minds as well?" May asked frantically.

"May, I don't like this!" Max cried as he hugged his sister around the waist. May caressed her brother tightly as Ash stared uncertainly behind them.

"No no, calm down!" Professor Latrommi said cheerily, "You've all only been de-aged by the ray gun once, so no ill effects will come upon you. Its only from using the ray gun continuously that it will put a strain on your mental stability. Nothing will happen to the three of you."

"Really?" May asked nervously as she let go of her brother. Max looked up at his sister a bit relieved.

"That's a relief," Brock said, "I'm glad to hear my friends will be ok, you had me worried for a minute there, Professor."

"…but what does that mean for you, Professor?" Ash asked, "Didn't you use the ray gun on yourself lots of times?"

"Yes," Professor Latrommi said, sadly, "Which is why I'm afraid that I'll have to give up this idea of immortality. I was wrong to think that I could live forever, and I paid the price by seeing my only friend Tyranitar suffer before my eyes. This time…I don't think I'm going to use the ray gun anymore. I'll live out my days as I am, rather than having my mind deteriorate any longer from de-aging myself constantly.

"Professor," Brock said understandably.

"In a way I'm glad I met you kids, you've pretty much literally changed my life. I'd probably end up continually using the ray gun as I got older and end up lost in a vortex of insanity because of it. I've already lived the lifespan of nearly four men, I've seen how the world has changed throughout the years, and I realize now that living forever isn't such a great idea after all. I've made up my mind, I'm not going to try and bend the rules of life anymore. This time, I'll be looking forward to my death," he said in a raspy voice as he sat down on the edge of Ash's bed.

There was an awkward silence in the room as the gang noticed that the Professor looked very weary. Sweat dripped off his head and he was breathing quite heavily. He sat there staring at the floor, reconciling with himself over his decision to live out his days.

Ash decided to break the silence.

"I'm sorry about your, Tyranitar," Ash said.

"Yes…." The Professor got up from the bed and reached into his pocket. He took out Gardevoirs Pokeball and stared at it in his hand. He sighed again and looked at the four kids that he had let stay in his lab for the past few days. "I think its best to carry out what I came here to do. Helping with the surgery on your Swellow is the least I could do for you, Ash."

"….thank you, Professor," Ash smiled as he walked up beside him.

"You know, kid, you kind of remind me of myself when I was younger," Professor Latrommi bemused, "Except of course that I was a hell of a lot better looking than you are."

"What?" Ash chuckled, "With your big nose I don't think so, Professor."

"Gwuh? Making fun of my nose, boy?" Professor Latrommi asked as he held his big nose in front of his face, "That's a cheap shot."

The room erupted with laughter that the group sorely needed after all the events that had occurred over the past few days.

"Hee hee, that's hard to picture, Professor, because Ash is pretty attractive right now," May giggled, blushing slightly, "You'd have to look really good when you were younger in order to top him."

Ash rubbed his head in embarrassment as he was surprised that May complimented him like that.

"Ewww…May, did you just say that you think Ash is cute?" Max teased his sister.

Ash turned away from May and Max, he started pressing on his sweatshirt and hat on the table next to his bed to make it look like he wasn't paying attention to the conversation, but he listened intently and looked over in May's direction out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, I just said that Ash is…nice looking…not that…you've got me all wrong," May said nervously, "Not this again...crap."

May was fidgety as she looked over in Ash's direction somehow falsely hoping that he wasn't listening. She nervously looked back at her brother more agitated than ever.

Max knew he was getting her angry. "Gee, I really wonder, May. You know I think you like –"

"Shut up!" May said flustered as she covered her brother's mouth with her hands. She nervously kneeled down in front of her brother and held his mouth shut as Ash, Brock and Professor Latrommi stared at them. "My brother says the dumbest things sometimes…eheh…I think he just likes to annoy me," she said, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Brock smiled not wanting to embarrass his friends further while Ash had a blank expression on his face as he naively scratched his cheek.

Wow, May, sure seems nervous, Ash thought to himself, I guess that's a girl for you.

May pressed her hand against Max's mouth tighter, "OK NOW! Let's get going as Professor Latrommi is very busy with Ash's Swellow…." May announced to change the subject. She bent down and brought her face toward Max's ear right before she took her hand away from his mouth. "Now be quiet, Max, and don't say anything like that again!" she whispered in an unnerving tone.

Max was finally free of his sisters' grip and looked up at her slyly. He fixed his glasses on his face and grinned deviously. May noticed his expression and looked like she was about to go ballistic.

"Max I swear…" May said, grinding her teeth angrily.

"Ok ok! I won't say anything else," Max said cockishly.

May thought to herself, "If the others weren't standing here I'd be strangling my brother right now. Gah."

The Professor chuckled while walking to the door and opening it, "Looks like I have some work cut out for me now, I'm going to go perform your Swellow's operation, or rather Gardevoir here will," he said.

Ash quickly stopped what he was doing and barged through May and Max.

"I want to be there while Gardevoir is operating on my Swellow," Ash said quickly before Professor Latrommi could step outside.

"Me too!" Max called out.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" May yelled.

"Hey, this is about something totally different!" Max yelled back.

"Uh…you kids do realize this is a medical operation and not a musical performance or something, right? This is something serious, it's not a show for spectators. Remember, Gardevoir here needs the utmost concentration. Should it make a mistake while performing the surgery, it could mean something fatal," Professor Latrommi said while holding the doorknob.

"Ugh, you're right, Professor. Nurse Joy told me about all the consequences that will happen if a Psychic Pokemon makes a mistake during the operation," Ash said disappointingly, "It's just that I kind of wanted to be there with Swellow during the operation. I…want to let it know how much I love it and want it to make it through this."

Ash wiped a tear from his eye as he looked depressed. Brock walked forward to comfort his friend.

"Ash," Brock said understandingly, "Your Swellow already knows how much you love it. All your Pokemon do for that matter, right, Pikachu?

Pikachu nodded and smiled while holding onto Ash's shoulder, "Pikachu!"

"All things considered, Swellow will make it through this because it knows how much you care for it," Brock said, comforting him.

"Yeah, Ash," May added in a soft spoken voice, "This is one of your Pokemon we're talking about. I mean, people and Pokemon around you certainly get attached to you, Ash. I guess it's that sort of friendship and affection you give all of us."

Ash nodded and smiled at his two friends, "Thanks guys."

"One last thing," Professor Latrommi said, "Would you like to take a look at the Gardevoir that will be performing Swellow's surgery?"

"Yes…that would be great, Professor," Ash said.

"OK then," Professor Latrommi said as he gently threw the Pokeball in the air, "Come out, Gardevoir!"

A flash of while light in the middle of the room formed into the elegant Pokemon, Gardevoir. It was feminine in appearance, with a humanoid body and long green and white shades of fur running down its sides. Its torso looked like a dress that covered its white legs, and its eyes glistened as it was apparent that the Pokemon had years of experience under its belt.

Everyone in the room was in awe of the sparkling beauty of the feminine shaped Pokemon. Gardevoir waved hello to the kids as May found herself nearly gushing over the Pokemon.

"Gardevoir!" Gardevoir said, smiling.

"Wow, you're beautiful, Gardevoir," May said, clasping her hands while a twinkle of stardust appeared in her eyes.

"Wow, this Gardevoir reminds me of that Ralts I met back in Hoenn," Max said, admiring the Pokemon.

"Heh, you know if I were a male Pokemon I'd be all over this," Brock said grinning.

"Ugh, Brock," May said disgusted as she turned to him, "Don't tell me you're going to hit on Pokemon now too? Are you really that desperate?"

"Hey what? I wasn't being serious!" Brock said, waving his hands.

"Good thing that the zapping doesn't kick in for another day or so, otherwise you'd be in trouble, Brock," Professor Latrommi said, giving him the eye.

"Eh…oh you're right," Brock said, shrugging his shoulders, remembering about the ray gun that would "help" him with women.

"Gardevoir," Ash said as he walked up to the Pokemon and held both its hands, "I'm counting on you to operate on my Swellow. He…means a lot to me, and I want to see it soaring the skies happily like it used to. Please help it."

Gardevoir smiled compassionately and picked her hands out of Ash's grip. "Garde!" Gardevoir said to Professor Latrommi, "Gardevoir!"

"Gardevoir said that she'll do her best," Professor Latrommi said.

"But…" Ash said intrusively, "Doing her best isn't good enough. Gardevoir needs to make sure that she does everything right. If…if my Swellow dies…"

"Ash!" May said frantically as she tugged his arm and brought him to the side. "You're overreacting again, Swellow isn't going to die! I saved its life and now I'm sure Gardevoir won't make any mistakes and the surgery will be a success."

"Maybe," Ash said boorishly as he pulled his arm out of her grip, "This is just a lot to handle."

"Gardevoir, garde," Gardevoir said to Professor Latrommi.

"Yes you're right. We better get going," Professor Latrommi said as he turned toward the open doorway again, "Ash, you have my word that the operation will be a success."

Max and Brock looked cautiously over in Ash's direction as he continued to sulk while standing next to May. May's eyes wobbled looking at Ash as she wasn't quite sure what to say to her friend

Professor Latrommi sighed as he and Gardevoir walked out of the room and closed the door behind them. The room was silent as Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and back onto his bed. Ash sat down on the plastic chair next to his bed, resting his arms on his knees, and gazed down at the floor. The next hour during the operation would be the most unnerving for Ash, as this was a time when he knew that nothing could afford to go wrong.

"Let him be," Brock said to May, "I think he needs this time to himself, we should wait in the lobby."

May looked at Ash nervously, she didn't want to leave him sulking in his room by himself, but deep down she knew Brock was right

"Ash," May said lovingly, putting one hand on his arm, "We'll be right outside in the lobby, is that ok with you?"

Ash tried to speak but nothing came out of his mouth. He closed his eyes tightly, opened them once more, and then cleared his throat to speak.

"Thanks, May….Brock, Max. You guys are the best," Ash said in a low voice.

Brock and Max headed for the door to leave. May walked to the door, looked back over her shoulder at Ash one last time, and then uncertainly closed the door behind her.

Ash sat on the chair with his hands clasped together. Pikachu rested on his bed not wanting to upset its trainer, either. The two sat in silence, as the next hours during the surgery would be the most grueling…

Brock, Max and May walked into the lobby and headed for the big orange couches that were against the wall.

Brock turned to Max, "You thirsty, there's a soda machine right against the wall there. Want something?"

"Yeah, Brock," Max said as he plucked himself down on the couch, "Get me a grape soda. I love grape soda."

"May, do you want anything to drink?" Brock asked.

May held her arms under her chest as she slowly sat down on the couch next to her brother. She was holding both her arms as if she were slightly trembling, despite the fact that she wasn't trembling at all. Her face looked perplexed as her mouth was wide open.

"May?" Brock asked again.

"NO!" May blurted out. Her raised voice surprised both Brock and Max, as they didn't expect her to be so upset. May quickly realized that she had snapped at Brock for no reason and nervously tried to say something else. "No, Brock…but thank you. I'm not really thirsty right now."

"Ok..." Brock said lowly as he knew May was as emotionally wrapped up in Swellow's surgery as Ash was. He turned around and headed for the soda machine.

A few minutes later, May, Max and Brock were sitting side by side on the couch, watching lazily as various people walked in and out of the Pokemon Center. Max was gulping down his can of soda quickly while Brock had a can of orange soda in his hand. May's hands were resting on her lap as her thoughts remained on both Ash and Swellow.

Max decided to ask some things about the Professor that he still found curious, "Hey, Brock…if the Professor is so famous than how come nobody knows that he's over 260 years old?"

"What do you mean?" Brock asked as he sipped from his soda can.

"I mean he has the same name, doesn't he? Surely people are going to realize that this same guy has been living an awfully long time, and especially since he's famous people should know how old he is…" Max asked.

"Well…the Professor did kind of allude to the fact that he used different aliases each time he de-aged himself. I'm sure he had to pick a brand new name and last name each time he was growing up from infanthood so nobody would realize how old he was," Brock said.

"That kind of makes sense, I guess," Max said, squeezing his can of soda, "But if he does pick his own name, then why'd he pick something as weird sounding as "Latrommi?" eh? That sounds like such a strange name, I wonder how he thought of it."

Brock crossed his legs smiling, "I think I know why he picked that name. We know the Professor was obsessed with immortality and living forever, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well…what is Latrommi spelled backwards?"

"Huh? Uh…it's uh…let's see…"

"Got it yet, Max?"

"No not yet…almost…."

"Well?"

"OH I GOT IT!" Max said happily, "Latrommi spelled backwards is immortal! He probably picked that name because he wanted to be immortal!"

"That must be it," Brock chuckled.

"Isn't that funny, May?" Max asked his sister in amusement.

"Huh?" May looked up at him as she was only half listening to their conversation, "Oh yeah…funny I guess."

"Eh…" Max grunted, squeezing his can even more, "My sister is being all moody all of a sudden."

"She does have a lot on her mind, Max, we are waiting for the surgery on Ash's Swellow to be finished, you know," Brock reminded him.

"Yeah, I'm worried about that too…but May is acting all depressed like Ash is. Professor Latrommi already told us that Gardevoir knows what it's doing, its saved many peoples lives before. Maybe my sister is just going through that monthly thing I heard my mother telling her about."

May furiously slapped her brother's head and yelled at him, "YOU ARE SUCH AN IDIOT SOMETIMES!"

"SORRY!" Max pouted as he got up from the couch and ran across the hall to throw his soda can out, "GAH!"

"Damnit," May crossed her arms, still agitated, "Little brothers…who needs 'em? They gotta be the worst invention in the world, just created to annoy older sisters."

Brock grinned, taking another drink of his soda while admiring the pretty girls that walked by in the lobby.