Chapter
34
"Complications
galore!"
May
yawned extensively, she was ready to get back to sleep after the
hectic situation that occurred 15 minutes earlier. She was standing
outside her hotel room with Ash and Max nearby, while Brock was
filing a report with Officer Jenny about the stolen money. The group
was still in their sleepwear, not having the chance to change into
anything else before Officer Jenny arrived. It was now after 1:00am,
which was far later than either May or Max had ever stayed up. Their
parents had always made them go to bed no later than 10 O'clock,
and while traveling around with Ash, they usually went to bed no
later than 12pm, unless they were on a huge adventure of some sort.
The wind blew through her locks of hair as she leaned against the railings of the catwalk that was opposite her room. She hoped that Jenny would finish quickly, so she could head back to bed and get some rest. Max was sitting by her side, hugging his knees in a naïve childlike manner. Ash was leaning against the open hotel room door, with one arm raised to lean his head against. He was carefully listening to everything that Brock was telling Officer Jenny in the room, as he wanted to make sure that he got everything down correctly. Brock and Jenny were sitting on the small wooden chairs in the room which was next to a coffee table, where she was rushing to file a report so she could call it a night. Jenny herself was exhausted as she rubbed her eyes, struggling to stay focused on her job.
Brock found himself struggling not to think of Jenny in an alluring manner, especially since it would seem like "cheating" on Tana and or Jamie. The officer was beautiful, long curly blue hair, moist red lips, a cute smile, and a well developed figure. This Officer Jenny wasn't particularly different than any of the other Jennies, but Brock always had his keen way of telling them apart. He concluded that this Jenny was one of the best, especially since her skirt seemed a little tighter on her waist than the other Jennies. He would then struggle with his guilty conscience, telling himself that he shouldn't flirt with Jennies or any other woman anymore now that he has made it with a girl, or rather two girls, of his own. While Brock was sitting next to the table watching the beautiful young officer taking down a report, he found it excruciatingly difficult to adapt to this new situation. This Jenny could bring down the whole house, yet Brock couldn't have a piece of it, excruciating indeed.
When Ash and the others arrived back at their room to see Brock waiting for Jenny to arrive, they agreed with one another not to tell Jenny about the walking Premium Ball. For one thing, Jenny would never believe them. For another, she might think they were nuts or had too much underage booze. Since they didn't want to be branded as drunks or nut jobs, they decided to just tell Jenny about a missing envelope with $300. Since there were not any witnesses or suspects, they had to conclude that someone was breaking into their room while they weren't there. This wasn't entirely true of course, since Ash and May came to the conclusion that the Premium Ball was responsible for the missing money, but they had to say otherwise to Jenny so that this was a convincing story. Besides, it wasn't entirely a lie.
The cold breeze blew through May's hair again as she stretched out her arms behind her back. She was getting kind of cold, especially since she was only wearing her yellow T-shirt and blue spandex shorts with nothing else on underneath. She murmured to herself wondering how long it could take for Jenny to finally write this stuff down and leave, she just wanted to hit the sack again as quickly as possible. The Premium Ball sprouting four metal legs and walking around nearly scared her out of her wits earlier, but now after calming down a bit, she reassured herself that she's seen much stranger and weirder stuff in the world since traveling with Ash, so it was nothing entirely shocking after all.
She watched Ash stand there as the breeze blew his black orange-striped T-shirt into the air a bit. Since he was only wearing his blue boxers underneath, May got a full view of him in his underwear from the back. She giggled immaturely, especially since the wind didn't let up and continued to blow the bottom of his shirt in the air, giving her something nice to focus her eyes on in her boredom.
"Ash has a nice butt," she said, chortling while a slight red tint appeared on her face, "I wonder why I never noticed that before."
Max, who happened to be sitting right next to her, overheard what she said to herself. She wasn't aware that her brother heard her however, which led to an embarrassing moment when he made a comment.
Max raised his glasses on his face and snickered, still sitting on the ground. "I thought you were weird before, but now I'm sure of it," Max said mockingly, "Eeew, why are you commenting on Ash's butt?"
"Huh? You mean you heard me?" May said surprised.
Her blush grew as she nervously glanced from her brother to Ash, and then back to her brother again. How could she have been so careless to say that with her little brother around? He would never let her hear the end of it now.
"Uhuh. I'm sitting right next to you, May," Max replied, "Are you really that bored that you have to talk about Ash's butt?"
"NO!" she said in a flustered manner, waving her arms. "I didn't mean to say that! The words just kind of…"
"Yeah I know, you didn't mean to say it yet your mouth moved and these words came out of it. These words then formed into a sentence, saying, "Ash has a nice butt," but of course you didn't mean to say that right?" Max asked with a convincing grin on his face.
"Of course not!"
"Sometimes I wonder, if I open my mouth and form words, do they become sentences too?" Max pondered, "Hmm, let me try."
May stared at him absentmindedly.
"OK here goes, "My sister just said that she likes Ash's butt, I'm thinking she's either crazy or she really likes Ash!" see?" Max said grinning, "I can form sentences that I don't mean too!"
"Max, let's not get too crazy here," May pleaded, a hint of insecurity in her voice, "You…you can't take everything I say too literally you know."
"Riiiiight," Max mocked.
"Shut it, Max!" May scolded.
"Maybe I should just tell Ash what you just said, he'd probably want to know what you thought of his butt," Max said, standing up.
"You wouldn't dare," May said overbearingly.
"Why so defensive? It's not like Ash will think of you as a weirdo or anything, let me just walk over there…"
"STOP!" May yelled.
She grabbed Max from the top of his shirt and yanked him back down into his seat on the floor. She hovered over him with her hands on her hips with an evil little smile of her own.
"You be a good boy now, Max, or else I'm telling Mom and Dad that you can't travel with us anymore!" May said devilishly.
"No, you can't say that!" Max begged, "If you actually called Mom and Dad and told them that, they'd believe you and make me go back home with them!"
"I know, which is why I'm going to do it as soon as Officer Jenny leaves," May snickered.
"No, don't! I really have a lot of fun traveling with Ash and seeing all kinds of cool Pokemon, I don't want to go back home while you're having fun!" Max pleaded.
"Alright then," she said in a big sisterly tone, "Just promise me that you won't tell Ash what I said about him, and maybe I won't tell Mom and Dad that you're misbehaving."
"OK, ok. I promise, May," Max said.
"Say it like you mean it, Max. Or else I'm going to call up Mom and Dad so fast…"
"I MEAN IT! I'M SORRY, MAY!" Max pleaded, "I beg for your forgiveness, big sister!"
"I didn't hear you!" May scolded.
"I'M SORRY! Just please don't send me back home!" Max begged.
May smiled, and stepped a few feet away from her cowering little brother. She winked at him and crossed her arms.
"That's a good boy, Max. See, that wasn't too hard was it?" May asked.
"Yeah, yeah," Max shrugged her off.
Ash was still leaning against the doorway listening to the conversation inside the room, until Pikachu motioned that May and Max were arguing about something. Ash looked at Pikachu on the floor and then back at the two siblings, and it did look like they were having another little quarrel. Ash decided it would probably be best to walk over there and calm them down, as he didn't know how long it would take Jenny to be finished.
May turned around, and saw Ash walking toward her direction. She quickly hovered over Max one last time and reminded him that he better not say anything about this to Ash or else. Max nodded meekly.
"Are you two ok?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, we're fine!" May said energetically, "Right, Max?"
"Yeah, of course," Max responded.
"Pikachu overheard that you two were yelling at each other about something, I just came over here to calm you guys down. I'm glad to see the fighting has stopped before I got here, or else I might have had to step in," Ash grinned.
"Yeah, I'm sure you're good at that, Ash," May winked.
"What were you guys talking about anyway?" he asked.
"Nothing important," May said quickly.
"Nah, she was just talking about your butt, Ash," Max said purposely.
"Oh, that's nice….whoa…..WHAT?!" Ash yelled in shock.
"MAAAAAAAAAXXXX!" May screamed at the top of her lungs.
Her scream echoed throughout the entire catwalks, that a flock of Pidgey flew up from the trees in fear and several people in the opposite rooms turned on their lights and peeked out the doors.
Ash, May and Max looked awkwardly around them as several of their neighbors were looking at them with scornful expressions, especially for waking them up after 1:00am at night.
"What's all that racket about?" an elderly woman yelled from her door, "Someone getting murdered or something?"
"Uh…false alarm?" May said innocently, grinning through her teeth.
"Oh brother," Ash said, hiding his face in his hand.
~*~*~*~*
"You kids sure have a knack for getting into trouble," Officer Jenny said, holding the report under her right arm, "You're the same kids who I broke up a fight with down on the beach with those other people before the surfing competition began, and now you just woke up a bunch of people around the vicinity after 1:30am. Some are even launching complaints to management,"
"Jeez, May, did you have to wake the whole neighborhood up?" Ash asked.
"What neighborhood? We're in a hotel! Besides, it's all Max's fault," May said, crossing her arms in disgust.
Max walked up to Brock and tugged on the bottom of his shirt.
"Brock, is it ok if I stick with you for a while? I'm scared to think of what my sister might do to me if I'm left alone with her," Max said.
Brock looked at a disgruntled May and smiled sincerely at Max.
"Heh, no problem, Max," Brock said, "So, Officer, you'll be bringing this back to the station now right?"
"Sure, and after that I'm going to get some shut-eye myself. You kids should as well, it's awfully late, or rather really early, depending on how you look at it," she said, checking her watch, "Although I'm not sure if you should still stay in the same room if it's being broken into, perhaps you should ask the managers to switch your room with an empty one?"
"It'll be fine," Ash said.
Jenny looked at him oddly "Are you sure about that, young man? You did say you were victimized and lost $300 in cash right?"
"Yeah, but burglars never strike in the same place twice right?" Ash said quickly, trying to make up a comment so Jenny could leave.
"Actually they do, the criminal almost always returns to the scene of the crime," Jenny said, scratching her chin.
"But I thought there was a rule saying that criminals never rob the same place twice!" Ash said confused.
"You're thinking about lightning, Ash," Brock said, chuckling.
"Pika, pika," Pikachu sighed.
"Oh, yeah. I knew that though!" Ash said, smiling.
Officer Jenny nodded and bid them farewell as she walked off quickly back to the station. Ash and the others perhaps pondered why Jenny just took off without pursuing the idea of switching to another room, but it was probably that she was so tired herself and wanted to call it a night. This was no night shift Jenny, that's for sure. Brock watched her backside from behind as she walked off, until May nudged him painfully in the side to stop him from staring. She reminded him that guys shouldn't look at other women if they already have a girl themselves, and Brock said that this would certainly take some getting used to.
The group returned to their room, but all was not well between the siblings. May gave Max an evil glare as he scampered back to his bed. The younger sibling jumped on his bed and quickly pulled the covers over his head, hoping to avoid the wrath of his older sister for the rest of the night. He also feared that she might call up their Mom and Dad and have him sent back to Hoenn, so he hoped that he could remain on what good side she had left so she would reconsider.
May sat on her bed and grunted, she was still upset at her brother. She questioned her relationship with her brother frequently, one minute he could be her darling little brother who would compliment her and praise what a great sister she is, and the next minute he could be an annoying little brat who made her life miserable. May took back the miserable part, but it was still annoying. She thought in her mind how she'd probably just forgive her brother the next day and make up with him, but she still had that lingering point in her mind how upsetting he could be. Granted, Ash didn't seem to care much about the comment after his initial shock, but it was something she was still pretty embarrassed to let him hear. After all, she was still unsure whether Ash was really hers or not. Aside from a kiss on the lips and another on the cheek, the two never officially decided to become boyfriend and girlfriend for that matter. She looked over in Ash's direction and sighed as the boy was already fast asleep holding his Pikachu in his arms. He never said those three magic words that meant so much either.
She thought about it some more as she lie in her bed on her side, while waiting to fall asleep. It was a pretty shocking day in reality, so much had happened. Ash had bought her the Skitty and Torchic bikini that she treasured so much, something that she could probably never repay him for. She also shared her very first kiss with Ash, something that she never experienced before besides in her imagination. She placed her fingers on her lips again as she lie on her side, she recalled how it was such a nice, sweet and gentle kiss. She smiled warmly, she wanted to do that again. She had kissed him on the cheek later in the day, in front of Pikachu no less, but it wasn't the same as kissing him on the lips. She felt the passion in Ash's heart when their lips met, as their breath intertwined and they brushed against one another, slowly, but contently. She loved the feeling, it was almost too insubstantial to be real. She hoped to herself that she would get another chance to kiss Ash tomorrow, because she wanted to share her feelings with him once again, but wasn't sure if he was up to it. Either way, she hoped that she would be able to grow closer to Ash as time went on, one step at a time was good enough.
After her mind switched from the blissful thought of having Ash again, the missing money again registered in her head. Ash had given Max two presents this day, a Premium Ball as well as an envelope with $300...and after a few hours they both went missing. The Premium Ball sprouting legs and walking around was a shock in itself, but she knew that when she spotted the ball purposely looking through her fanny pack, that it had to be connected to the missing envelope with the money. The ball certainly seemed to have a mind of its own, it knew what it was searching for and when it got spotted by her or the others, it would purposely try to make a break for it and run away as quickly as possible. The ball also had some sort of teleportation feature, similar to the technique that certain Psychic Pokemon know, and transported her and her friends, oddly enough, into Tana and Jamie's room. Why the ball transported them there was a mind twister in itself, but she was lucky that she didn't get transported down an elevator shaft or in the middle of a volcano or anything crazy like that.
The Premium Ball's current whereabouts were unknown, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to find the missing money until she found the ball. At the very least, she was relieved by the fact that Ash and the others now shared her burden, so she didn't have to search for the ball or the money herself. She was also relieved that Brock was crossed off the suspects list, and she felt somewhat silly for placing the blame on him in the first place. Most of all, she was wondering how Ash felt about the whole thing. He was always good with figuring out a plan, and with Brock's help, she was sure that they'd be able to figure out what was going on and the best course of action to take tomorrow. Right now though, she wanted to fall asleep so she could hurry up and strangle her brother the next morning…
~*~*~*
Another sunrise, another morning
spent doing mundane tasks and getting ready to have a search for the
missing Premium Ball.
Ash had just gotten out of the shower, his hair was dripping wet as he dried his head with a towel. He wore the usual before he got fully dressed, the same black T-shirt and boxers, and stared at himself in the mirror. He unlocked the bathroom door and opened it, as Pikachu greeted him by the door. Ash greeted his best buddy as he picked up a toothbrush and started to brush his teeth.
Outside the bathroom, the rest of the gang were fully dressed in their usual clothes, the two siblings trying to avoid each other the whole morning. May always hated the fact that whenever she got mad at her brother, she would always calm down so quickly the next day and end up forgiving him. Fair enough, the comment he made to Ash didn't warrant holding a grudge over, and she did want to forgive him, but she just didn't feel like telling him that. She preferred to avoid him for the time being, not really in the mood to make up with him when more dire predicaments were at hand. Max on the other hand also knew his sister wasn't mad at him anymore, the brainy kid could always decipher his sisters' attitude just by the way she looked and her body language. He also knew that she might get a little irritated if he talked to her, so he too, decided to just stick with Brock and Ash for the time being.
May got impatient waiting for Ash to finish brushing his teeth, and walked over to the open bathroom door. "Ash! Are you almost done brushing your teeth? We have a lot of ground to cover!" she exclaimed, standing in the doorframe.
Ash turned around with his mouth full of bubbles, most of it dripped out of his mouth and onto the floor as he brushed his teeth rigorously. "Al-most do-ne," he said with his mouth filled.
She cocked her head as she noticed something odd about the toothbrush he was using, and then she realized why. That wasn't Ash's toothbrush, it was hers!
"ASH!" she exclaimed, dashing over to him and grabbing the toothbrush out of his mouth.
She grabbed the brush out of his mouth so suddenly that Ash almost had to do a double take to realize what just happened. He then spit the rest of the toothpaste out of his mouth and wiped his saliva with a towel before turning to May.
"This is MY toothbrush!" she exclaimed, holding the brush up to him for him to see, "Did you not see?"
Ash was perplexed, "You're kidding!" He looked back at the counter where the gang usually kept all their toothbrushes in a circular container. Ash's toothbrush was dark blue, while May's was a lighter shade of blue. He gulped as he noticed that he did indeed pick the wrong toothbrush, and was using her brush to brush his teeth instead of his own.
"Erm, sorry?" Ash said smiling, "Must have picked up the wrong toothbrush without looking. Oh well!"
May raised an eyebrow wistfully, knowing that Brock and the others would surely hear her if she said anything with the door open. She instead had this coy look on her face as she walked into the bathroom with him and shut the door behind her. Pikachu, who was standing right outside, was the only one who figured what was coming.
"You should really be more careful when choosing the toothbrushes Ash," she said, placing her brush down in the container, "Of course at this point, it doesn't really matter much, since well…"
Ash watched as she held her hands behind her back and grinned dubiously.
"Erm, since the kiss?" he asked.
She nodded, "That's why I closed the door, I didn't want them to overhear our conversation or anything. I'm…still a little nervous about letting Brock and my brother know what we did together, I'm sure you're not ready to tell them yet either."
"No, of course not!" he blurted out, "I probably wouldn't tell Pikachu either if he didn't already find out…"
"Yea, that was kinda stupid of me to kiss you on the cheek without first realizing who was around us, right?" she said, winking.
"I…guess," Ash said, unsurely.
Brock put his Pokeballs in his pockets as he noticed the bathroom door closed as well as Ash and May nowhere to be found.
"Uh, Max, where are Ash and May?" Brock asked.
"I dunno, wasn't Ash brushing his teeth in the bathroom or something?" Max asked confused.
Pikachu noticed the two starting to get suspicious. It quickly jumped across the four beds and waved its arms shouting numerous expressions.
"PIKACHU, PIKA!" Pikachu exclaimed, trying to divert attention to itself.
In the locked bathroom door, Ash and May were starting to feel a little nervous and shy. It was a closed in quarters, the two were standing in a small bathroom with the door locked behind them. There was no one that could see them but each other. Ash's face grew warm, standing there awkwardly. She stood next to the door, with one hand on the doorknob.
May wasn't quite sure what to do. Their bodies almost seemed like they were inching toward one another, but then they would inch away all the same. They knew they couldn't stay in the bathroom together too long, or else their friends might start to be suspicious of what they were doing. They both had the feeling that they should do something instead of just gawking at each other in a bathroom, but they were both too hesitant to make a move.
Ash's eyes twitched as he would look at her shy but hopeful expression and then look away. She was waiting for something, but he was too hesitant to do anything. Her fingers slipped across the doorknob, she was in a daze, fascinated by the boy standing in front of her, yet lacking confidence in making a move. Her heart was thumping, and time was ticking. It was either do, or get out.
Brock started to get curious, as he walked away from Pikachu and headed toward the bathroom. Pikachu nervously knew it had to stop Brock for Ash's sake, and it jumped down from the bed and darted in front of Brock. Max stood nearby, wondering what in the world Pikachu was up to.
Ash was brushing his teeth, May didn't go in with him and have to instruct him on how to properly brush his teeth did she? Brock thought to himself.
"PIKACHU!" Pikachu shouted, in which it warned Brock not to take another step.
"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Brock asked.
Pikachu gulped as it spouted little electricity jolts from it's red cheeks, it cocked its head with a naïve smile.
"That doesn't tell us much," Max said, "That does it, out of the way, Brock, I'm going to knock on the door."
"Pika!"
Max brushed past Brock and quickly knocked on the bathroom door twice with his fist. Inside the bathroom, the loud knock on the door startled May so much that she jumped straight into Ash's arms. Ash was in shock too, the loud knock after moments of silence was really jarring to say the least.
After realizing what she did, she raised her head from his arm and looked at Ash lovingly in the eyes. They were holding one another, regaining the feelings of when they held each other on the beach, only this way it was different. This time they were holding each other face to face, rather than a person holding another around from behind. Their chests were pressed against one another, as each could hear the others heart beat pumping quickly after the shock of the loud knock on the door. Coming to the conclusion that they only had a few more seconds alone in the room together, it was either now or never.
She cocked her head slightly to the side, waiting for Ash to come closer. After a moment of hesitation, he moved his face close to hers, their noses rubbing gently against one another. He made the first move. Their mouths broke open, connecting with one another passionately. It was a soft, silent kiss, the only sounds being made were the faint sound of moist lips slipping against one another, and the sound of teeth chattering, in sheer nervousness. Their eyes were closed, taking in the moment of happiness, each holding the boy or girl that they subconsciously always wanted to be with. This was their second kiss together, yet it was just as magical as the first. Perhaps even more exhilarating, because Ash was expecting it this time. Their mouths locked some more, savoring the precious last few seconds they had together before they would have to open the door and face their confused friends. For once, neither wanted it to end.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING IN THERE!" Max shouted.
Ash and May broke away from each other slowly, a tiny bit of saliva fading that connected the two. They looked at each other lovingly, no words needed to be said. Whether they had the courage to say how they felt about each other wasn't important, it's what they did that confirmed it. After some slight nods, both silently agreed to let go of each other and open the door.
Max, Brock and Pikachu stood outside the door as they heard the lock click, and the door slowly opened from the inside. May stood in front smiling, as Ash stood in the background with a content look of glee in his face.
"What in the world were you doing in there, May?" Max asked, completely forgetting that he was still at odds with his sister.
"Showing Ash how to brush his teeth," May said simply, walking past her brother smiling.
That's not too far from the truth, Ash thought.
~*~*~*~
The group was split up into two during their search for the Premium Ball. Since May and Max weren't exactly talking to one another yet, and since Ash and May decided it would be a bit too suspicious if they paired up together during the search, the group was split accordingly. Ash and Max searched the lobby areas of the hotel for the ball, while May and Brock searched the boardwalk and the surrounding areas.
Both parties knew full well that finding the Premium Ball wouldn't be easy, and they all had doubts whether they would be able to find it at all. For all they knew, the Premium Ball might not have even been around the area anymore or scampered back into the forest or the Pokemon Center before the beach. Regardless of the near impossibility of having an accurate search for the ball, Ash and May were both determined to find it, since it was the only clue as to where the missing envelope with $300 was. On Ash's part, it was because it was his money that he gave to Max as a gift, and wanted the boy to keep it. For May, it was not only to honor her promise to Ash that she would give the money to Max, but for also her brothers sake and for the fact that she still felt slightly responsible for the whole ordeal, since she was the first one to become aware that the money was gone.
Ash walked around the lobby area of the hotel, while he instructed his Swellow to look from the skies above. Pikachu was roaming the floors trying to pick up the balls scent, if that was even possible. It was a painful, mundane search, but for the sake of Max and his gift, he knew he had to find it. Max on the other hand returned to the spot where they last saw the Premium Ball, the part where they were transported by the ball into Tana and Jamie's room. While it wasn't a sure bet, at least searching for it in the last place they saw it would be a good start.
May and Brock walked across the boardwalk together, brushing past the various people as it was as busy and bustling as it always was. Luckily for May, it wasn't as hot out today as it was the previous days, so she wasn't nearly as uncomfortable in her usual outfit as she was before. The two searched under the picnic tables, inside the stores, next to the bars, and in the rest of the surrounding area. After an hour of searching, it was a no go.
"This is too impossible, Brock," May complained, "I want to find that blasted ball more than anything, but this boardwalk is gigantic and there are so many people around. Plus, let's face it, we don't even know if it's still around here, it could be anywhere by now. Those four little legs sure carried the thing fast."
"I know, I severely doubt we'll be able to find the thing the way we're searching," Brock said, "From what little I saw of it yesterday, it vaguely reminded me of something."
"Like what?"
"Not sure, but a walking Pokeball sure seems familiar somehow. I'd like to think a ball forming four metal legs would be unusual, but it really doesn't strike me as all that odd," Brock said, scratching his chin.
"I kind of understand what you mean. I feel really silly now for getting so frightened by it last night, it was nothing to really be afraid of," she said.
"Don't sweat it, I'd be scared out of my mind too if I saw something running around the room at night in the darkness!" Brock chuckled.
"Mm-hmm," May uttered, "I just know I have to find the money for my brother, and that Premium Ball is definitely connected to its disappearance. Ugh, I should have just handed my brother the envelope right away instead of putting it in my fanny pack, that way it might not have gotten lost."
"Ash gave you the money to hold onto though, you're the older sister. $300 in cash is quite a bit for a kid like Max to just be carrying around, it was a good idea for you to hold onto it for him," he said.
"True, at first even I was a bit wary of letting Max have the money. Now though, all I think about is that I just gotta find a way to get it back for him," she said determinedly.
~*~*~*~
In the sky above the entrance to "The Accomodator," Swellow swooped down toward its trainer and hovered across from him.
"You flew above the beach and through the forest next to the Pokemon Center right?" Ash asked, "Spot anything?"
Swellow shook its head, but also muttered something distressingly.
"Oh, right," Ash said thoughtfully, "Sorry Swellow, I can be a big bonehead sometimes."
Swellow landed on the ground next to Ash. He kneeled down on one knee next to his bird and pet its feathers.
"Flying over that scorched forest brought back some bad memories, huh?" Ash said compassionately.
"Swellow, swell," Swellow nodded, uneasily.
"It'll be ok, I promise," he said, scratching Swellow's chin as the bird smiled.
Max approached them as Ash and Swellow shared another bonding moment.
"I didn't see any sign of the ball anywhere, how about you, Ash?" Max asked.
"Swellow and I didn't find anything either," Ash said, standing up. Pikachu then ran toward its trainer after searching the surrounding halls, and shook its head while lowering its ears. "And neither did Pikachu," Ash said sighing.
"Great, I'm about to give up already," Max pouted.
"Don't say that!" Ash yelled suddenly.
Max was taken back after Ash raised his voice. Ash took a deep breath realizing he came on too strong, and began to apologize and explain himself.
"Max, I just want to say I'm terribly sorry," Ash apologized, "I'm sorry for getting you two presents and being careless enough for letting them both get lost. I wanted you to have that Premium Ball to capture your first Pokemon with, and the money was a gift for you to spend on anything you wanted….and now they're both…gone."
Max looked toward the floor in despair, but wanted to let Ash know that it wasn't his fault.
"May got to keep her present, the Skitty and Torchic bikini I bought her because she wanted it so much, and after putting up such a great fight in the Water Pokemon race, she deserved to have something like that," Ash said, "You should have still had your presents too, Max, but now that they're both missing, I feel bad because it's like I didn't get you anything now."
"It's…the thought that counts," Max said, a half smile appearing on his face.
Ash knew that Max was being unbelievably mature about this at his age. He knew that when he was his age, if he got two gifts one day and they were forcefully taken from him and went missing the next, that he would be throwing a fit and be terribly angry and frustrated at the same time. Even though Max wasn't saying anything, he could see the amount of disappointment in his eyes. He really did want to use the Premium Ball when he became a trainer, as well as the money for his various needs, but now he couldn't have either.
Ash grunted, "C'mon, let's go catch up with May and Brock so we can bring each other up to speed. We're not done searching yet, Max, so I promise you you'll get your presents back."
"Thanks," Max said.
~*~*~*~
May sat down on a picnic table, stretching her arms over her legs while hunching over. Brock stood next to her crossing his arms, they were both waiting for Ash and Max to meet up with them.
"BROCK!" a female voice called out.
May and Brock looked up as they saw Tana and Jamie running toward them, both fully dressed in spring attire.
"I think this is the first time I've seen them dress so conservative," May said.
"We are on a beach, May," Brock said, "Even you spent your majority of your time here in your swimsuits. I'm sure Tana and Jamie dress like normal people when they're not at the beach too."
"Heehee, maybe I just still have their lingerie fresh in my mind from yesterday," May chortled.
Brock made a face, "Wow, I wish I was transported into their room yesterday too. Too bad I ran to get Officer Jenny, still, it's not like I haven't already seen more."
"Eh?" May questioned.
"Brock, you'll never believe what just happened!" Tana shouted, happily.
The two girls caught their breaths as they sat down on the other side of the picnic table across from May. They were very excited, with huge smiles that stretched across the edge of their faces. May and Brock looked at them curiously, wondering what the commotion was about.
Jamie pushed her long green hair to the side as she reached into her purse and took out an envelope. May's attention immediately shot up once she saw an envelope, but since it was blank and white just like hers, she wasn't sure if it was "the" envelope.
"May, right after you guys left our room, we managed to find this under our bed covers," Tana said excitedly, while her red hair blew gently in the wind.
"Yeah, what is it?" May asked, slightly suspicious.
Jamie opened the top of the envelope and flipped her fingers through several $20 bills inside. May and Brock suddenly looked at one another with gaping expressions, could Tana and Jamie have had the money?
"I don't know how this got there, but we found an envelope with over $300 in it last night!" Jamie squealed, "It's unbelievable, do you think I should use this money to take you out to dinner tonight, Brock? It's the least I could do for you."
"No, that's my money!" May shouted instantaneously.
Tana and Jamie looked at her confused, their expressions falling.
"I…I…lost that envelope yesterday, it was a present from Ash to my brother," May said nervously, noticing that Jamie had a glare in her eyes. She looked up to Brock for support, hoping they'd listen to him too, "Right, Brock?"
"That's right, but I'm wondering how in the world the envelope got out of your fanny pack and into their room?" Brock pondered.
May thought quickly and snapped her fingers, "I know, I did see the Premium Ball searching through my fanny pack last night before it took off, I think it was looking for any money that might have been left behind. The ball transported me, Max and Ash into their room last night, and I'm betting earlier in the day the Premium Ball transported that envelope there too! No wonder why the ball was mysteriously out of Max's backpack when we came back to our room in the afternoon."
"It does all add up, the only thing that doesn't is why the ball would transport the money and you guys into Tana and Jamie's room in the first place? How did the ball even knew that we know each other for that matter?" Brock asked.
"Whoa, slow the hell down for a second," Jamie said irritably, "Are you saying a Pokeball was responsible for transporting you and your friends into our room yesterday? And that the envelope with the money was too?"
"Yes, that's right!" May smiled, "I can't believe that after that hour of searching for the ball, we end up finding the envelope anyway! Where the Premium Ball is now doesn't matter, I'm just glad we were able to find the money again. Max is going to be thrilled when I tell him the news, I can't wait!"
"Sorry, but I'm afraid your story is a little hard to swallow," Jamie scoffed, getting up from the table. She packed the money deep into the envelope again and put it back in her purse.
"Excuse me?" May asked.
"I don't buy it," Jamie said bluntly.
"Oh c'mon, Jamie!" Tana said, "May and Brock are telling the truth, you know they wouldn't lie. Besides, their story all adds up because we saw them being transported into our room. What do we lack to believe that their money wasn't transported there too?"
"The fact that there's no proof that this money is actually theirs? There's no name on the envelope, it's completely blank," Jamie retorted.
"But, isn't finding an envelope with $300 under our bed sheets kind of odd? I'm sure May's darling little brother will be happy to know that we uh…found the money he was looking for," Tana said.
"Thank you, Tana," May said, happy to see that she was on their side.
"It's three against one, we win Jamie," Brock joked, holding out his hand, "I'm sure you can see our story fits, can I have Max's money back now?"
"I still don't think…" Jamie started.
"Guys!" Ash shouted, running up to them with Max and Pikachu.
"Max, Ash!" May said excitingly, "We found the $300 that was missing!"
"You did?" Max gasped.
"Sure did, Max! And as long as you don't annoy me for the rest of the day, I might let you spend some of it today," May grinned.
"At least you're not still mad at me," Max noted, "I'll take what I can get."
"That's really cool," Ash said, looking at Jamie, "I can't believe you found the money for us, thanks!"
Jamie turned her shoulder coldly to Ash, zippering up her purse and walking away silently. The rest of the group in addition to Tana were stunned by her actions.
"Um, where are you going?" Ash asked naively.
Jamie continued walking, speaking while her back was turned to them. "There was no name on the envelope, no real shred of proof that this is really yours. For all I know you guys could be making it up, and this envelope might have been under the covers from when one of the maids changed the sheets in our room. I'm not a chooser, but as far as I'm concerned, the money belongs to me," Jamie said.
"Oh, knock it off, Jamie!" Tana shouted.
"This is very serious," Brock said sternly, "I don't know why you're acting this way, but the money belongs to my friends, and you will give it back to them."
"You would talk to me like that, even after everything we did together?" Jamie asked, stopping in her tracks.
Brock stepped forward with his fists clenched. Ash, Max, May and Tana watched, not sure what to expect.
"If you're going to purposely take money from my friends that you know belongs to them, then I have no choice. If you don't willingly give back the money, I'll have to notify Officer Jenny and say that we found the thief that stole our cash," Brock said.
"Brock, that's kind of mean," Tana said. She got up from her seat and ran in between Brock and her friend.
"Tana, I just want what belongs to us back, there's really no big deal here," Brock said softly, lowering his tone, "I mean look at those three innocent children back there!"
Brock pointed to Ash, May and Max, who were all staring with puzzled expressions. Tana and Jamie looked at their sweet, innocent, child-like faces, as if they were confused about the whole thing and leaving everything in Brock's care.
"I know I'm traveling with a bunch of children, but those three don't deserve to be victimized of such a heinous crime at their age," Brock gasped, as if he were acting in a play.
Ash, May and Max exchanged bewildered glances with one another.
"You think Brock's overreacting a bit?" Max asked.
"Shhhh! Who cares, if he gets our money back it makes no difference!" May said, "Right, Ash?"
Ash looked at the two siblings, "Erm, what does "heinous" mean?"
May and Max sweat dropped as Brock continued his speech.
"In this fair world where envelopes are filled with $300 in cash easy for the picking, does it justify taking such money from such young trustful go-getters?" Brock pleaded.
"This doesn't sound at all like the Brock we made love with yesterday," Tana said to her friend.
"Yeah, where were these poetics yesterday while we were pouncing on him?" Jamie asked.
"I beg thee, fair maidens, the money which is rightfully theirs, to be returned," Brock said, kneeling on one knee before them.
"Works for me," Tana smiled, "Hand him the envelope, Jamie."
"Well…maybe," Jamie said, her hand on the zipper of her purse.
Just then, a bright light began to illuminate the surroundings behind her. The rest of the group noticed the oddity, and looked behind her to see that the Premium Ball on all four metal legs was standing there! It raised itself slightly, as the button in the middle of the ball "eyed" its target, the girl with the envelope in her purse.
"Watch out!" Ash shouted, "It's going to transport you somewhere!"
"Huh?" Jamie gasped, noticing that she couldn't move her legs.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the ball!" Ash commanded.
Pikachu leaped off his shoulder and fired its electric attack at the Premium Ball. Being too preoccupied with Jamie, the ball was struck with a direct hit from Pikachu's electric attack and was shot backward on the ground. The light surrounding Jamie began to fade, and she was able to move her legs again.
"Good thinking, Ash!" May complimented.
Ash, May and Max ran up to Jamie, but stood in caution of the Premium Ball retaliating with an attack of some sort. The ball didn't move however, and remained motionless on its side with the four metal legs hanging out.
"I think you short-circuited it or something," Max said.
"Ugh, this is getting too weird for me!" Jamie pouted, "Fine, you can have your money back, just get this weird walking Pokeball out of my sight!"
She opened her purse and took out the envelope, handing it back to Ash. Ash, Pikachu, May and Max cheered as they had the money back in their possession.
"Better count the bills and make sure it's all there," May suggested.
"I am," Ash replied, flipping through the bills and counting as he went.
"Wow, after all that it only took a walking Pokeball to get Jamie to return the money, go figure," Brock said.
"Don't you feel a little silly trying to keep the money, now?" Tana asked her friend.
"Maybe I am a little stressed for cash," Jamie replied.
"Yep, it's all here!" Ash said happily.
Suddenly, Max noticed the metal legs of the Premium Ball twitching and brought it to the groups attention. Ash slipped the envelope into his pocket for the time being and told Pikachu to be ready, for anything.
In the blink of an eye, the Premium Ball flipped over and got on all four legs again, looking as if it fully recovered from the last electric attack. Knowing that Ash had the money now, it was its new target, rather than Jamie. The ball started running on its legs again, in a erratic fashion so Pikachu's Thunderbolt attacks kept missing it when they were fired.
"It's avoiding the attacks, it's too quick for Pikachu!" May exclaimed.
The ball then quickly lunged off the ground toward a surprised Ash. He staggered backward a bit as the ball used its metal legs to wrap around Ash's arm. He cried in pain as the metal claws started to dig into his skin.
"It's hurting him!" Brock shouted.
"Ugh, it's holding on tight," Ash cried, trying desperately to knock the ball off his arm with his left first, "It won't come off!"
The button in the middle of the ball started to glow again, as the white light began to encompass Ash completely. He was now completely immobilized, unable to even move his mouth to cry out in pain.
"Get off of him dammit!" May yelled.
She wrapped her hands around the ball and tried pulling it off his arm, but she was doing more harm than good. The light began to encompass her too, as well as Max and Pikachu who were standing in the surrounding area. The three humans and the Pokemon were also frozen, the ball was apparently taking them all for a trip.
"This isn't looking good," Tana said, backing away from the ball with Jamie.
"If I just walk up to them I'll be caught under the light as well," Brock said frustrated, "I don't know if I can do anything to stop it."
The hypnotic hum of the glow grew loud, as Pikachu and the trio started to fade into the light with the Premium Ball. Brock picked a rock off the ground and threw it at the ball to try and knock it off, but it was too late. The blinding light zapped across his eyes as his friends no longer stood in front of him. Brock punched a fist into the ground angrily, unable to help his friends before they were zapped away.
"What…what happened to them? Are…are they still alive?" Jamie asked.
"Of course they are!" Brock snapped, "The ball probably transported them somewhere just like it did yesterday. Only now I have no idea where they were sent, so I don't know if I can find and help them or not."
"Could…could they have just been transported back into our room again?" Tana asked.
"Hm, possibly. I'm going to head there and check, that ball sure looked like it was digging into Ash's skin before it took them away, that had to be painful," Brock grunted.
~*~*~*~
The bright light blinding them eventually formed back into a visual. They were still motionless, unable to move thanks to the Premium Ball. Ash stood there squinting with the Premium Ball's legs digging into his skin, while a frantic May was frozen in place trying to pull the ball off his arm. Max and Pikachu were standing nearby, unable to offer themselves as any more assistance to Ash.
A few more seconds went by until the light started to fade, and the group was able to move again. The Premium Ball let go of Ash's arm and jumped to the ground, scampering away quickly and behind the feet of some familiar looking people. Ash slid to the ground and sat while clutching his arm in pain. Too preoccupied with seeing if he was ok, May, Max and Pikachu didn't bother to take a look around at their surroundings.
"Those cuts look deep!" May gasped.
Blood dripped off Ash's arm, but the pain wasn't as overwhelming now that the Premium Ball wasn't squeezing on it anymore. May quickly took her bandana off her head and wrapped it around his arm tightly, hoping to secure the wound.
"Your…bandana is going to get my blood all over it," Ash grunted.
"I don't care, keeping that wound from getting infected is more important," she said, securing the knot.
Ash felt relieved with May coming to his aid, as the girl pressed her hands down on his cuts through the cloth. They exchanged warm smiles, how deeply she cared for him was noted. After watching May take care of Ash, Max looked around the area and came to a startling revelation.
"We're back in Professor Latrommi's laboratory!" Max gasped.
The group looked around in disbelief, but as they saw the various machines and conveyor belts in motion, they knew exactly where they were. It was in the lobby of the lab, right next to all the inventions and mechanical arms pumping away, the Professor's lab without a shadow of a doubt.
"Pikachu, pi?" Pikachu asked.
"I'm ok, Pikachu," Ash grunted, slouching himself up on his knees, "I just wonder what we're doing back here…could the Professor have been the one who activated the Premium Ball to take the money? He was the one who gave the Premium Ball to me in the first place for helping him."
"That could be!" May gasped.
She got up and looked around, and spotted the Professor sitting in a chair against the wall. Only he wasn't sitting for leisure, Latrommi had several ropes tied around his chest and his feet which bound him to the chair. He also had a white handkerchief covering his mouth, preventing him from saying a word.
"Ash, the Professor is tied to a chair!" May exclaimed.
The Professor grunted and rocked in his chair rigorously once he saw Ash and the others, but he wasn't trying to get himself free, he was trying to warn them of the others which stood in the shadows.
"Well look what we have here, that invention of yours sure worked well, Professor," a blue haired male said, his arms crossed in a confident manner.
"Worked like a charm I'll say," his red haired accomplice added, "We have the twerps right where we want them, and the money too! We'll be eating rich the next week for sure!"
"And da best part is that they have Pikachu with them! I'm sure da boss will be happy when we bring him Pikachu as an unexpected present!" a small cat-like Pokemon sneered.
The villainous trio emerged from the shadows with the Premium Ball standing by their side, waiting for its next command. Ash, May, Max and Pikachu gasped as they saw the familiar faces.
"TEAM ROCKET?!" they shouted in unison.