A/N: I got the char. profile up for Mason, you can find it in my profile. If you guys would prefer, I can just add in things like that as extra chapters. Otherwise I'll keep doin' it the way I am. Let me know!
Here's the update for the day, hope you like it!
Back in Hoenn, even with all of the lights out across most of the towns, a few restless souls were still stirring. May's brother Max was still hard at work studying an upcoming challenger's pokemon for his dad. He'd already taken care of his chores and locked the gym up, and he was starting to feel drowsy. Soon he decides that he'll continue his work tomorrow.
As he's putting his books away back on the shelf he looks at the calendar and realizes what day it is. "Waaah! Oh no! I was supposed to call Ash and wish him a happy birthday! I wonder if it's too late! Maybe if I just-"
"Max…" A very familiar voice calls out to him, one he hasn't heard in a long time.
"It…can't be…" Max drops the remaining books and slowly walks to the window, looking out and waiting.
At the same time, a boy is passing the gym heading to the pokemon center next door. He stops when he sees Max suddenly appear in the window of the gym, looking up to the sky with tears in his eyes. He stands there in shock for a few moments before the boy comes crashing out of the gym, running straight past him.
"Uh…Hey! Wait!" The boy takes off after Max, chasing him through what was left of the town and into the nearby forest. The boy was obviously upset for some reason and it wouldn't be safe in the forest. "Stop! Where are you-Gahhh." There was obviously no stopping Max, so he just decided to keep chasing him until he tired himself out.
Max was sure of it when he heard the voice the second time, but it was so sad, and completely empty. It filled Max with pain hearing his best friend in such a state. "Don't worry! I'm coming Jirachi!" He yells as he keeps running. The boy behind him can't help but become even more confused after hearing Max mention the legendary pokemon Jirachi, the supposed wish granter that's only supposed to appear once every thousand years.
Suddenly Max trips over what he thinks at first is a stick, but he turns around to find that it was actually a sleeping seviper. The pokemon turns to Max, enraged not only at having been woken up, but at the new injury on its tail. Max finally realizes exactly how far he's run and that he's completely defenseless without any pokemon.
"Flamethrower!" Max is taken by surprise again when he sees a boy and a charmander about 10 feet away. The charmander uses a flamethrower attack on the seviper, engulfing it in flames. The seviper quickly turns and slithers away back into the brush. "Hey, stop!" The boy yells, even though Max has no intention of running any further. All he wants now is to cry, knowing his friend's in pain somewhere and there's nothing he can do to help.
"Jirachi…" Max looks up once more, then buries his face into has hands and begins crying. "I can't…I can't do anything to help him! I'm a horrible friend!"
After a minute of sobbing, he stands up and wipes his eyes, approaching the stranger. "Thanks for the help…what are you doing out here anyway?"
"Chasing you, obviously. It's late and it's not safe out here, especially without any pokemon." The boy can see that Max is very distraught over something, and even though he knows Max is obviously crazy, decides to help the boy back to wherever it is he needs to be. He holds out his hand for Max to take. "I'm Tyrel, Pokemon Breeder. What's your name?"
Max takes the boys hand and gives it a quick shake. "My name's Max. My dad's the leader of the Petalburg gym, where I'm studying to become a Pokemon Trainer. How'd you know I was out here in the first place?" Max asked, still confused as to why this boy was here.
"I followed you after you came tearing out of the gym. I was on my way to the pokemon center at the time," Tyrel smiled, "You're lucky I was late getting into town. Seviper's poison sting can leave a nasty mark."
"Yeah, I guess," Max replied, his mind still fixed on Jirachi. He had never heard his friend so sad before, and shouldn't he be resting? It's only been a few years since the incident with the millennium comet, nowhere near a thousand. Something was wrong, and he was determined to find out what it was. If there was anyone in the world who had any idea what might have happened, it was Professor Oak.
"Let's get you back to the gym," Tyrel suggested, "I'm sure your dad wouldn't want you out here this la- Hey! Wait!" Suddenly the boy began running again, this time back towards the town. "What the…where does this kid get so much energy?" Tyrel's charmander lets out a cry, and he recalls her into her pokeball, then starts chasing after the boy again. "Wait up!"
"Sorry! I need to figure out how to get to Kanto as soon as possible!" Max yells back as he keeps running. He's surprisingly fast and is slowly pulling away from Tyrel before Tyrel yells back.
"There's a ferry in Slateport tomorrow! Wait!" Tyrel continues running, almost as fast as he can now. Almost a second too late he realizes that Max has stopped and is standing in his path. He screeches to a halt only inches away from the young boy. After catching his breath, he continues. "I was passing through town on my way to Slateport. We can take a boat there tomorrow, and the ferry leaves in the late afternoon. We can be in Kanto the day after tomorrow."
Max's eyes lit up at the thought of meeting Professor Oak again. The moment was short-lived when he realized why it was he needed to see the professor in the first place. "So you don't mind if I go with you? I don't have any pokemon yet and I don't know if I could make it by myself…"
"Why not? As long as you're not a nuisance, it'd be nice to have some company along the way." Tyrel smiled, realizing the boy was still depressed about something. "First we've got to get you back to the gym and make sure it's alright with your parents that you go."
"Sure. Follow me." Max led Tyrel back to town and to the gym, the pokemon center resting right next door. "I'll ask my dad in the morning. Where will you be?"
"I'll be staying next door in the pokemon center. I'll be up bright and early, so be ready to leave." Tyrel waved goodbye to Max and walked over and into the pokemon center. Max went back into the gym and tried to sleep, but couldn't get the sound of Jirachi's voice out of his head. He finally fell asleep to the memory of his mom's lullaby being sung by May.
At Professor Oak's lab, while everything is still and quiet, a pokeball opens and goes unnoticed. Moments later, another one opens, and then one more. The three pokemon had waited until their trainer was fast-asleep before sneaking out. However, they didn't go very far.
Hours pass and the sun begins to shine through into the lab. Tracey is already up, preparing for another day of work. Brock, Mason and Dawn are still asleep while Misty and May are climbing out of bed to get ready for a fun day of activities. Suddenly a cry is heard coming from May's room. Dawn, who was staying in the same room, jumps out of her bed as Misty rushes in to investigate. Tracey shows up a few seconds later.
"My pokemon! Team Rocket must have been here, Munchlax, Glaceon and Skitty are gone!" May was holding her three empty pokeballs in her hand for everyone to see. "Do those guys ever give up?"
Misty was the first to notice the discrepancies and spoke up. "May, why would Team Rocket only steal those three? And why would they take them out of their pokeballs instead of just taking the pokeballs too?"
"Besides, I locked all of the doors and windows, and they were still locked this morning when I woke up." Tracey added, "Nobody came in or out all night, or if they did, they were really good at concealing their tracks, and that doesn't sound like Team Rocket."
"But if nobody stole them, then where…wait a minute, where's that boy Mason?" Everyone looked around at each other for a second, then May became furious, still not taking into account what Misty and Tracey had just mentioned. "That little thief! It was all a plot to come here and steal our pokemon!"
Before anybody could stop her, May went storming out of the room headed straight for Mason's to look for any evidence he might have left behind. She opened the door and gasped, shocked at what she saw. There in the bed was Mason, fast asleep. Cuddled up next to him with his arm draped over her was Noone, while on his other side lay Glaceon. Skitty was asleep at the head of the bed and Munchlax had fallen asleep towards the foot of the bed. Noone's ears perked up and she lifted her head as May entered the room. She gave what seemed to be a smile and a small whine before laying her head back down.
"What is it, Noone?" Mason asked without opening his eyes, "Just give it a minute, it'll go away." May was a little confused by this but wrote it off as an effect of still being half-asleep. She then cleared her throat, bringing Mason to full alert. "Eh-Oh hi. May was it? Sorry, did I sleep in too long?"
"Noooo,' May said with a high tone, finding the scene in front of her to be rather cute, "Look on the bed." Mason took a quick glance around and noticed the company that had joined him overnight. "It looks like you made quite the impression yesterday!" May giggled, "They've never let themselves out of their pokeballs before. They must really like you."
"Yeah," Mason chuckled, slightly embarrassed, "that happens. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to cause any trouble." Glaceon and Skitty lifted their heads and stretched before rolling back into the bed, inching just a little closer to Mason.
"Oh, no! There's no trouble!" May said quietly, not wanting to wake her pokemon again, "I was afraid someone had taken them, but I can see they're in good hands." She smiled as Mason reached over and gave Glaceon a pat on the belly. "We'll be downstairs in a few minutes for breakfast, you're welcome to join us!"
"That'd be lovely," Mason answered. May gave a big smile before leaving and closing the door behind her. She turned and jumped, surprised to see everyone was standing directly behind her.
"So what is it? What's wrong?" Dawn asked, still droopy-eyed and dressed in her pajamas.
May giggled, reminded again of the cute scene she had just witnessed. "Apparently they snuck off in the middle of the night to fall asleep with Mason. I'd probably be mad at them, but they just seemed so happy there with him that I figured I'd give them a few more minutes before any scoldings."
"Aw, how cute!" Dawn cried, clasping her hands together. She and the other girls giggled. Tracey just smiled at seeing how well they all got along. Ash said it right when he said they were meant to meet, and to become best friends. He'd be happy to see them all again today, but there was still a lot to do, so Tracey headed downstairs to get breakfast ready.
Everyone else returned to their rooms to get dressed for the day. Misty took the liberty of waking Brock from his rather pleasant dreams of working alongside Nurse Joy, much to his dismay. In a few minutes everyone began making their way into the kitchen. Last to arrive was Mason. Cowering behind him were Glaceon, Skitty and Munchlax, afraid to face their trainer after having misbehaved.
Mason laughed, "Aw, looks like they know they're in trouble." He reached down and rubbed Munchlax's head and whispered, "Don't worry, I don't think she was too angry. Just try giving her a hug and see what she says then." The three pokemon slowly walked over to May with their heads down, then suddenly jumped up and showered her in hugs. She fell back with the three pokemon, laughing and hugging them while everyone laughed with her. They calmed down and she recalled them all into their pokeballs.
Everybody sat down to enjoy their breakfast. It was oddly silent amongst all of them, so Dawn decided to spark a conversation.
"So May, how go the contests?" She asked.
"Oh, same old news. I've gotten quite a few more ribbons but I still couldn't ever beat Drew," May said without smiling.
"Speaking of Drew…" Brock started, hoping May would finish for him.
"Let's not." May said, and forced a smile. Brock was left confused, sure he had seen something between the two of them when they were traveling together. After a moment, May continued. "Let's just say that he can't buy me, or anyone of the other two, with just a few roses." Brock slumped into his chair, disappointed at the news.
"Sorry to hear that," he said, "he seemed like a pretty nice guy."
May smiled, "Part of the past, we're here to have fun, right?"
Brock laughed, "Yeah!" Not much was said for the rest of breakfast. Soon the food was all gone and everyone was helping to clean up.
"Thanks again for giving us a place to stay, and for the breakfast" Mason said to Tracey, "we really do appreciate it. And the food was spectacular." Noone hummed in agreement. Mason walked to the doorway and turned around, "Thanks for everything, everyone! And sorry about Poof's shenanigans yesterday, he's really sweet when he's not being a nuisance," he turned to May, "And sorry about last night. I hope they're not in too much trouble."
May smiled, "After the way they acted this morning, I decided to let them off with a warning." They both laughed.
"Maybe we'll see you guys again sometime," Mason said. Misty's azurill ran up and jumped into Mason's arms to give him a hug before he left. He tugged on its ear a little and it gave a happy sigh before jumping down and running back to Misy. "Bye everyone!" Everyone waved goodbye as Mason opened the door and Ash came bursting through.
"Good Morn-Oh, hey Mason! Sorry!" Mason stepped back a bit and let Ash through.
"Oh no worries, come on in." Ash and Delia came through the door. "I was just saying goodbye. It was great meeting you, and you're an excellent trainer." Ash shook Mason's hand.
"You too! Maybe we can battle again someday!" Ash looked at the rest of the group as Mason and Noone slipped out the door. Mason could hear everyone laughing and enjoying themselves as he made his way down the hill. It was definitely a much more eventful night than he had planned, but they obviously had plans and Mason was more than content to continue on his way with some good memories.
Back at Oak's, the group was chatting amongst themselves as they finished cleaning up after breakfast. Brock and Tracey were discussing pokemon at the sink as they washed dishes, Dawn and Misty were recalling stories of Ash dressing up as a girl while Ash simply gave a few embarrassed chuckles now and again, and May was helping Delia wash off the table.
"So where'd that young man make it off to?" Delia asked May.
"I'm not sure. He never really said where he was going, just that he had to go."
"Well that's too bad, he seemed like a really nice boy. And he had such a lovely ninetails." Delia shrugged, "I guess we were going to be busy today anyway. I'm sure if he's ever back in town he'll stop by for a visit."
"Yeah…" May thought about mentioning that she probably wouldn't be here if that ever happened, but wondered why that would matter in the first place.
Soon there was yelling coming from Ash and Misty as Dawn cowered in the middle of them.
"You are so immature and egotistical!" Misty was in Ash's face, staring him down as he stared right back.
"Well I was the chosen one, right? If you guys are going to be gossiping about all the times I goofed up you might as well acknowledge some of the things I did to help!"
"Well, mister 'Chosen One,' if you're so high and mighty, how come you never paid me back for my bike that you destroyed?"
Suddenly Ash cringed as the room filled with an air of hostility. A chain reaction was about to occur that he knew wouldn't end well for him.
"Wait a minute…he destroyed your bike?" May asked, walking over. "He torched mine too, brand new and everything." Ash prayed that Dawn wouldn't say anything.
"Hey…now that I think of it, his pikachu is the one who broke my bike…" Pikachu cowered behind Ash's shoulder.
"You mean…you destroyed their bikes…too?" Misty was holding back what seemed to be rage, something Ash had experienced before. He simply shut his eyes tight and waited for his just desserts. To his surprise, she began bursting with laughter as the other two joined in.
"You're not…mad?" Ash asked, his arms still up and ready to block whatever's thrown his way.
"I got over the bike thing months before I went back to Cerulean, I just liked giving you a hard time about it," Misty said, talking in-between giggles.
"Mine wasn't really such a big deal either," Dawn added, "it was a lot more fun walking the whole way anyway." The four of them all began laughing and joking with each other, still reminiscing in adventures past.
Further back, Tracey, Brock, Professor Oak and Delia were all watching, chuckling to themselves.
"I remember when things were much more hostile whenever those two were together," Tracey said, gesturing to Ash and Misty. "A lot's changed between them over the years."
"And I've got a pretty good feeling that a lot hasn't," Brock said with a grin on his face, "Time has a way of changing a lot of things in a lot of ways, but once those two start talking again, time always seems to get put on hold."
Tracey chuckled, while Delia and Professor Oak just looked at each other and smiled.
In the middle of the ocean, a nearly-forgotten island sits, covered in what was once a great laboratory used for cloning. A man in an orange suit stands over the remains of a machine, once used to generate immense amounts of energy, now part of the very island it sits on.
"Is the data entry there?" The man asks. A scientist kneels over the machine and begins picking apart at it. A few seconds later, he holds a small box in his hand, seemingly still operational.
"This is it, sir." The scientist informs the man.
"Perfect. Let's leave this forsaken place." The men get into a helicopter, lifting off and leaving the island for nature to do with what it pleases. They got what they came for. The man in the suit lets out a deep chuckle as he holds just another piece of his elaborate plan in the palm of his hand.
A/N: And there you have it; is Max really hearing Jirachi's voice or is he just plain crazy? Either way, he's lucky that Tyrel came along when he did or he might have been in for more trouble than he was looking for. Mason's said his "thank you's" and "goodbye's" and continued on his way while Ash and friends continue to reminisce in times gone by. Check back in as Tyrel and Max begin their trek to Kanto, shadowed by a very familiar trio of no-good bandits. Plus, who's that crazy kid running around Pallet Town, and is he chasing a haunter?
I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave a review, they make me =D! Also, going to wait until we learn a li'l bit more about Tyrel before I add his character profile, hope nobody minds.