Kamon drove out through the tunnel and into Verdanturf Town. "I guess it's a good thing cars use hydrogen fuel cells now, so that there's no pollution," remarked Crystal. "Petroleum has gotten way too scarce now and it pollutes."
"Let's see if Brendan, May and Wally are still here," said Duncan. "Stop at a phone booth, or maybe at a store, so I can find Wanda Syntheprove's address."
"Okay, then."
---
Kamon parked the car at a 7-Eleven. Duncan exited the car and headed toward the phone booth, reading the S section in the phone book. "Syntheprove… Syntheprove… Here it is, Wanda Syntheprove, 620 Roselia St." Duncan wrote the address on a Post-It note.
Kamon and Crystal entered the store, recalling Axel and Spike since the Pokémon couldn't enter.
Kamon searched the snack shelves for some food. He picked up a bag of Doritos, as well as some beef jerky for Axel.
Meanwhile, Tabitha and Courtney were also present in the store.
Tabitha put a cup to the Slurpee fountain dispenser and pulled the lever. The flavored slush drink poured into the cup. "All right, it's full of Coca-Cola goodness."
Courtney told him, "I'm glad Maxie gave us a complementary week off with our promotion. I guess they did believe us after all when we said we were with Team Rocket before. That was easy. I remember when I was told that my dad lives in Lilycove. Let's pay him a visit. What do you say?"
"Sure he still lives here? That was many years ago. He could have moved since."
"I think I'll read the phone book to see if he's there or not."
Kamon then headed toward the Slurpee machine. "Excuse me, guys." He filled a cup with Mountain Dew-flavored slush.
"Hey, doesn't that dude look familiar?" asked Tabitha.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that's Kamon Stelldox, the kid we bagged last year," recapped Courtney.
Kamon was surprised as he turned around. Those people were Tabitha and Courtney. "Oh, man, not you guys again."
"Don't worry, Kamon, we're not bad guys anymore," said Tabitha. "Uh, I hope we're not."
"That's okay," said Kamon. He could tell that Tabitha was being honest. "You just surprised me, that's all. What are you doing here in Hoenn?"
"We joined Team Magma," said Courtney.
"What's that?" asked Kamon.
"It's this cool club where we clean the land," explained Tabitha. "We're based up in Mt. Chimney."
"Maybe I'll visit you sometime," offered Kamon.
"Who are those guys?!" Duncan and Crystal said, flustered.
"These guys are Tabitha and Courtney. Do you remember them? They're good guys now. Well, see you later."
---
Duncan, Crystal and Kamon headed toward Wanda's house.
Kamon knocked on the door. Wally answered... or was it Wally?
"Hi, Wally. Are Brendan and May inside?"
"Oh, I'm not Wally," responded "Wally" in a feminine voice. "I'm his cousin Wanda. And yes, they're inside."
The three went into the living room. "Hello, guys."
May then greeted, "Good to see you again! Going on your own journey?"
"Yeah. We're on a road trip," said Crystal. "We met some old friends in this town."
"We're going to meet them at Mt. Chimney," added Duncan. "We just wanted to check and see if you're okay."
---
The next day, Kamon drove east through Mauville City, then north, and the three were on the long road to Mt. Chimney and Lavaridge Town.
"According to the PokéNav's map," stated Crystal, "we have to cross Mauville Desert. That's why I packed a lot of water bottles.
"According to the PokéNav's Guidebook," stated Duncan, "there are oases in the desert. We can refill water bottles there."
"Hey, my map displays those oases!" exclaimed Crystal.
Suddenly, the car crashed into a rocky ditch. The airbags immediately inflated to protect Kamon and Duncan.
Spike, Crystal and Axel were still firmly strapped in the backseat unharmed.
Everyone exited the car. "Oh, man, now the car's a wreck," said Kamon. "At least I've got insurance to get it fixed."
Crystal ran to a nearby house for assistance. She knocked on the door.
"Hello?" asked a man.
"Our car crashed into a ditch," Crystal told the man. "But we've got insurance."
"Oh, yeah, that stupid ditch. Who could be the vandal to damage the road like that? Okay, then, we Winstrates will help you!"
The four members of the Winstrate family headed to the car and pulled it out using their Pokémon.
Kamon handed Victor, the father, the insurance policy. "Just use this to pay for the car repairs."
"I think it'll take a week for this car to be fixed," Victoria, the mother, estimated. "We'll call the tow truck to take the car to the repair shop at Mauville City."
---
Kamon, Duncan and Crystal walked on foot through the route. "This is how real Pokémon trainers travel," said Crystal happily. "On foot."
Kamon wasn't satisfied. "I feel like I can run this road." He sped up, running. Duncan and Crystal tried to catch up with him, but grew tired out. Kamon, however, didn't feel worn out the slightest bit. Seeing the other two, he slowed down.
The surrounding temperature increased as they traveled. "I think we're reaching the desert," said Duncan. Sand began to make way for the road. "Good thing we packed plenty of water bottles, since we don't know if we'll reach an oasis."
"If that's the case, we can't stay at the road," said Kamon. "It's been totally hidden under the sand. But we could use the PokéNav to find our way around."
---
Tabitha and Courtney, back at Mt. Chimney, were in their apartment. "Hey, Courtney, let's go see what we can do now that we're higher up."
"Sure thing, Tabitha," said Courtney. "We did just get our paychecks today."
---
At the bar, the two sat on stools. "Two beers, please," requested Tabitha, slapping down money.
The bartender filled two cups with Juggo Beer from a tap. "Here ya go."
"Wow, he didn't even card us," said Courtney, amazed. "I guess that wouldn't matter, since I'm twenty-one now. Cheers." The two clanged their cups together.
"We got our first drink. At age twenty-two. Totally awesome!" declared Tabitha.
The two started consuming their beverages. "So, we're going up the volcano soon. Maybe our old friends will be there."
"Let's go out for a night at Lavaridge!"
---
Duncan, Crystal and Kamon trudged through the desert. Axel hopped through the loose sand, with Spike on his back holding the Persian's collar.
Kamon and Axel knew exactly where to go. But the others were unsure. The abundant heat had gotten to them. But for some reason, it didn't get to either Axel or Kamon.
"I see an oasis!" shouted Duncan.
Kamon, however, couldn't see anything around. "What? Where? I don't see it anywhere."
"It's in front of us," said Crystal. "It's so blue..."
"I- I don't see any water, just sand," Kamon showed them. "You've obviously gotten too dehydrated! Drink some water." He handed them a water bottle. In the horizon, he could see the sun setting. "It looks like it's going to be dark soon."
---
As night fell, the temperature dropped rapidly. Duncan and Crystal felt a lot better, but they became scared.
A provoked Cacturne suddenly attacked! Kamon quickly switched to battle mode and dodged out of its way.
Axel jumped and struck the living cactus, digging in his claws and biting into the plant body repeatedly. The Persian then suddenly cried out in pain and fell back into the sand. He had been pricked by the cactus' razor-sharp needles.
Duncan then called out Ember. "Quick, let's take care of Cacturne!"
Axel then went to work removing the needles from his body, using his paws and teeth. These would heal up right away. After removing the needles, Axel pounced once again towards the cactus Pokémon, this time not letting any needles stop him. He then bit into the Cacturne repeatedly, gripping its body.
Duncan then pulled out a PokéBall and tossed it at the cactus. The ball shook a few times. The cactus then popped out and ran off into the desert.
"It was worth a try," assured Crystal. "At least it won't attack us again."
---
In the morning, Tabitha had gotten a notice from Maxie ordering him and Courtney to appear on Mt. Chimney. "Cool! We get to go on the volcano!"