A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for not updating yesterday. I had honestly planned to, but my internet was bugging out on me. Here's the daily upload!
And again, I'm still looking for a Beta Reader! Give me a shout if you're interested!
The ferry rocks slightly to the left as a wave collides with the side of it. Most of the passengers barely notice it. Tyrel, however, was already leaning heavily to one side as he slept in his chair, and the slight motion of the ferry was just enough to tip him over. He crashes to the ground with a thud and jumps right back up, examining the room for the culprit before remembering where he is.
"Ohh…my head…" Tyrel shakes it off and looks on the desk where his work is and sees that he's drooled on some of it. "Blegh…gross…" He gets some paper towels from the kitchen area and begins wiping the desk off. "Oh no!" He stands straight up and checks his watch, remembering he was supposed to meet the others in the dining hall. He sighs in relief when his watch tells him he's got about ten minutes to go.
After cleaning off his papers and storing them back in his pack, he decides to go look for Max. He leaves his room and makes his way downstairs. To his surprise he sees Max towards the end of one of the hallways walking with a boy and his pikachu. They turn off and enter what he assumes to be Max's room. He walks down to investigate.
In Max's room, Max and his new friend are standing in the doorway. "Wow, this is a pretty big room!" The boy walks around, admiring all of the amenities. "How'd you pay for a room like this?"
"Oh I didn't. I ran into someone who was also heading to Kanto and we came here together. It just so happened he had an extra ticket and he was nice enough to give it to me."
"Well it's good to know there's someone nice on the ship." The boy chuckled and smiled toward Max. "I'm Ritchie, and this is Sparky."
"I'm Max! Nice to meet you Ritchie and Sparky!" Max shook Ritchie's hand and patted Sparky on the head. "My friend Ash has a pikachu too! He doesn't like staying in a pokeball either!" Max laughed.
"Ash?" Ritchie asked, "You wouldn't mean Ash Ketchum by any chance, would you?"
"Yeah! From Pallet Town!" Max's eyes widened, amazed at how many people Ash knew. "Wow! You know him too?"
"Oh yeah! I battled him in the Indigo Plateau! We also helped save a lugia and her baby from Team Rocket!"
"No way!" Max was about to burst with excitement, "You've seen a lugia? That's so cool! And Ash too? He never told me about that!"
Ritchie laughed, "How do you know him?"
"My sister and I were with him all throughout his journey through Hoenn. My sister was going to be a trainer, but ended up becoming a coordinator. Ash helped her out a lot with learning everything about pokemon. I was the navigator." Max held up his PokeNav proudly, "And it still works too!"
"Cool! I was actually just on my way back to Kanto to see him. His mom somehow got a hold of me through an old PokeGear I still carry around and said his birthday was coming up. I couldn't make it on time, but I figured better late than never. Besides, it'll be nice to see Professor Oak and everyone else again."
"That's where I was headed too!" Max laughed aloud, "Gary Oak's onboard too, we're both going! He's Ash's friend too!"
"Alright! It'll be one big late birthday surprise for him!" Ritchie smiled and gave Max a high-five.
The door opened and Tryel came in and saw the two. Max ran up to him, his face beaming. "Hey Tyrel! This is Ritchie, and he knows Ash too! He was going back to see him for his birthday just like me and Gary!"
"Hello Ritchie, nice to meet you." He nodded toward Ritchie who nodded back. He smiled at Max. "I guess this 'Ash' must be quite the character if he has so many people traveling so far to see him."
"He's an awesome trainer! And he's good friends with Professor Oak too!" Max was still bursting with excitement over the chance meeting.
"Wow, the Professor Oak? I've always wanted to meet him…" Tyrel trailed off, knowing exactly what Max was going to say next.
"Why don't you come with us? You can meet him and Ash and May and everyone else!" Tyrel laughed, having seen the question coming from a mile away. He hadn't actually considered the possibility a moment ago, but took a moment to think about it. It would be great to discuss his findings with the greatest Pokemon Professor in the world, or even just to meet him and introduce himself.
"I guess I can take a little side trip. Why not?" Tyrel smiled, then took a step back, prepared for what was sure to come next.
"Yeah!" Max yells at the top of his lungs, "This is the coolest day ever!" Tyrel and Ritchie laughed as Max continued to celebrate.
Tyrel looks at his watch. "Woah, almost time to go. You ready, Max?"
"Huh? Oh yeah!" Max checked his PokeNav, "Wow! Better hurry, Gary's probably already there waiting for us." He turned to Ritchie, "Hey, why don't you come with us? We're all going to the dining hall for lunch and to watch the show."
"Sounds like fun. Count me in!" Ritchie gave a thumbs-up and Sparky gave a peace sign. The boys left the room and locked it behind them. The weather was starting to clear up and just for a moment, things seemed alright again.
Ash and Mason are running down the street as fast as they can, clearing a path between people as they go. "Hurry up, Mason! We were supposed to be there half an hour ago!"
Mason gasped as he ran, "This is worse than chasing Poof around!" He said to Noone, "You'd think we'd be used to it by now!" They were turning corners at break-neck speeds, nearly skidding into the street every time.
At the Burger Shop, Misty sighed. "Did anyone expect anything less from him?" Everyone but Brock giggled. He was still trying to sort through all of the stuff May had had him carry. She had called him on his PokeGear not long after they split up saying she needed a hand carrying a few things. He ended up following her around as she piled bag after bag onto him.
Soon Ash and Mason came zooming by the window and bursting through the doors. They looked around for a second before spotting the group and running over to their table.
They pulled up some chairs (avoiding Brock and all of his bags) and caught their breath. Azurill excitedly hopped onto the table and jumped into Mason's arms once again. Mason teased him for a second by pretending not to notice, causing Azurill to tear up. He laughed and gave him what he wanted, a few tugs on his ears as he wiggled his feet in excitement. Mason set Azurill back on the table and he ran back to Misty with a smile on his face.
"Sorry we're late, we were on a roll in the battle tower. Eight matches in a row undefeated!" Ash bragged while Pikachu held up a peace sign and cried out.
"Wow, that's quite the achievement." Brock had finished with his bags and was facing the group again. "You guys must have racked up quite a few battle points."
"Aw…We forgot to spend our points!" Ash slumped down in his chair.
"Don't worry, we can head back there after lunch," Mason said and smiled, "He said they don't reset until the end of the day, remember?"
"Yeah!" Ash perked back up, "Speaking of lunch, where is it? I'm starving!" As if to answer his wishes, a man appeared from around a corner carrying a rather large platter of burgers and set it in the middle of the group. "Alright!" Without a second thought, Ash begins tearing into two burgers at once, one in each hand. Everyone else joined in until the platter in front of them was completely empty.
"Blegh…I'm stuffed!" Dawn was slouching back in her seat with a content look on her face.
"So Brock, what's the big deal about lunch anyway?" Misty seized the opportunity to ask while she wiped her face with a napkin, "Why'd we all have to meet up for it? We're more than capable of finding our way to a burger stand somewhere."
"Hey…she's right!" Ash seemed to be the last one to catch on, "And we had to forfeit our spot as champions to come down here!"
"Don't worry," Brock reassured them, "I just figured that it would be a lot easier to explain everything to everyone away from all of that hustle and bustle by the station. Not to mention on a full stomach." Everyone laughed. Brock pulled his map back out and laid it on the center of the table over the platter. "Okay, here," Brock pointed to a rather large looking square on the map, "is where we'll be staying for the night. Ash's mom reserved two suites, one for the boys and one for the girls."
The girls' faces all lit up at the same time. "Wow! Mrs. Ketchum is the nicest woman in the world!" Dawn said.
"I can't believe it!" Misty added, "How did she afford something like that?"
Confused, Ash took another look at the spot on the map that Brock had pointed to. Again, he saw nothing more than a larger-than-normal square amongst other squares. "I dunno…looks kinda boring to me."
Everyone stopped and stared at Ash. "You're…kidding, right?" Brock asked, fearing the worst.
"Hold on, guys. Let me try to explain it…" Mason said, also filled with excitement at the thought of where they would be staying. "Ash, do you see the name of the hotel?"
Ash leaned in closer and now saw the tiny black text on the square Brock had pointed to. After a second he laughed excitedly. "The Yamada? I've heard all about that place on T.V.!" Everyone else sighed in relief.
"Five star rooms, gourmet room service, and they even hold special events in their enormous ballroom!" Misty began daydreaming, "Lounging all day in a silk robe with three waiters at your beck and call…" Soon everyone was lost in the same daydream, all of them sighing with relaxed looks on their faces.
"Er-Yes" Brock snapped out of it, "it's going to be great, but that's not all!" Everyone else joined him back in the world of reality as he produced six slips of paper and held them in front of everyone. "She also took the liberty of buying us each a ticket to the annual 'Starter Kickoff Dance' tonight that celebrates young trainers beginning their adventures."
"Amazing!" Dawn's face was still beaming, "Your mom really knows what she's doing, Ash!" Everyone reached forward and took their ticket.
"Awesome! There's always tons of really good food at those things!" Ash said, "And maybe even some trainers who'll want to battle!"
"No battling tonight, Ash." Brock informed him, "Strict rules of the dance. And speaking of rules, the dress attire is formal, and of course they encourage everyone to look their best! So while you're out shopping today, be sure to pick out something nice to wear tonight!"
"But what about the battle tower? We were doing so good!" Ash lamented the idea of shopping for clothes, especially over battling.
"You bring another wonderful point, Ash." Brock says, ignoring his pleas, "This is not something you want to be late for, unlike lunch today. The doors for admission close only five minutes after the dance starts, so we'll be using the buddy system. Everyone will pair up and keep tabs on time no matter what or there'll be no dance for the both of you!"
"That's just fine, me and Mason were doing awesome in the battle tower anyway, right?" Ash looked toward Mason.
Before Mason could reply, Misty spoke up: "Not so fast, Ash Ketchum. You still need to find something to wear tonight and I know you won't do that if left to your own free will. Don't worry Brock, I'll have Ash back on time." She gave him a wink.
"Come on! I'm supposed to be enjoying my time here however I want to!"
"Then you'll just have to enjoy our little alone time together!" Misty said in a high tone before thinking.
"Huh?" Ash yelled, not sure he had just heard Misty correctly. Everyone turned away and stifled their giggles and chuckles as Misty turned bright red.
Misty gave an embarrassed chuckle, "Eh-well-what I meant was-" She looked around frantically for something to change the subject to. "Er-What about Mason? He doesn't have a PokeGear still and probably doesn't have anything to wear to the dance."
To Misty's relief, Brock picked up the new conversational direction and ran with it. "Hey, she's right. May could probably help him with that, and it'd also be nice to take a break from carrying all of those bags around. As long as you don't mind, Mason, why don't you go with May and I'll go with Dawn?"
"Yeah!" May and Mason both burst out at the same time before covering their mouths. Misty, Ash and Dawn turned and gave a confused look while Brock just smirked.
"I mean, good idea." Mason laughed, "I've never been one for shopping, anyway and it'd be nice to have the help of an expert." Everyone around the table laughed. Underneath the table sitting next to Mason, Noone stood up gave his leg a hard nudge. He peeked under the table at her and saw the big smile on her face. "Quiet, you," he said to her and tossed her what remainded of his last burger.
"Alright, it's settled then," Brock said as he folded up the map in the middle of the table. "Now we've got plenty of time before the dance, but remember, don't be late. Check the clock periodically and set an alarm if you have to, but we can't miss this one guys."
Everyone gave a thumbs up as they prepared to leave. Before they split up, Mason pulled his battle tower pass out of his pocket and handed it to Ash. "Here, I don't think I'll be making it that way again so go ahead and use my points up."
"Really?" Ash took the pass from Mason, "We both worked for these, you deserve a reward."
"It was plenty of a reward just to be battling again, and alongside such a great trainer too!" Mason laughed.
"We were a great team!" Ash held up his hand, "We'll have to do it again sometime!"
"Count me in!" Mason said and grasped Ash's hand.
"Come on, guys, let's go!" Mason and Ash looked around and noticed that Brock and Dawn had already left and Misty and May were waiting on them. "Alright, see you guys at the dance!" Ash yelled behind him as he ran.
Far south of Azalea Town, over the seas, lies the city of Alto Mare. This city is known for its streets, which happen to be made out of the very ocean the city sits on top of. Also known throughout the island is the legend of Latios and Latias, the protectors of Alto Mare. Twice in history has a Latios given his life in order to save the city from certain destruction, creating a Soul Dew in the process. The Soul Dew is a gem of mysterious power that lies in a Secret Garden, sustaining the life and soul of the island.
The Soul Dew also powers a magnificent and powerful device called the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare, a machine created to control and protect the city after the first Latios perished. Our heroes once stopped this device from being used to take control of the city and unleashing powerful extinct pokemon upon the world.
The island has lain undisturbed for some time now, the citizens having resumed their normal day-to-day business. Little do they know there are traitors in their midst. A pair of "tourists" that have been in town for the past couple of weeks now enacts a plan that will doom the island.
"Is everything ready?" A man in a colorful t-shirt and sunglasses speaks into a concealed microphone.
"Affirmative." Hiding in the shadows nearby is the man's partner, prepared to make his move. The man in the colorful t-shirt begins walking past a very narrow alleyway.
He points into the air and yells, "Look, it's Latias! Look everyone!" Everyone passing on the sidewalks crowds around, looking into the air. Once the alleyway is blocked off by the commotion, the man in the shadows runs forward directly into the wall in front of him. As was expected, the wall is only an illusion and he finds himself in a lush, green environment. He darts forward with incredible speed, jumping onto a nearby fountain. He reaches his hand in and snatches the Soul Dew.
Back on the street, everyone is still looking intently into the sky, waiting for the legendary pokemon to appear. "Where, I don't see it?" The crowd looks around for the man in the sunglasses, but he's nowhere to be found.
Around a few corners, the man takes off his t-shirt and reveals a black shirt underneath with a red "R" plastered onto it. He jumps into a speedboat already in motion as it passes by.
"Did you get it?" He asks his partner.
"Of course I got it. I wouldn't dare leave if I didn't, not if what Giovanni has planned actually works." He chuckles. "Did you get the blueprints?"
"Right here:" The t-shirt man holds up an old, dusty roll of paper. "Let's get out of here, things are about to get ugly."
"10-4." The driver pushes the throttle all the way down and they take off back toward the Jotho mainland.
Somewhere in the oceans between Hoenn and Kanto, the S.S. Cloud sails through smooth seas and sunny skies. Gary Oak sits in the dining hall awaiting Tyrel and Max. After a few minutes he sees them come through the door with another boy and his pikachu. Gary is suddenly reminded of Ash and his pikachu from the striking resemblance he and this boy share.
Tyrel, Max and Ritchie make their way over to the table after spotting Gary and take their seats. Max takes the initiative and makes the introductions, "Hey Gary! This is Ritchie, he battled Ash in the Indigo Plateau and helped him save a lugia and her baby! He was on his way to Kanto to see him for his birthday, too!"
Gary chuckled as he shook Ritchie's hand. "I was just thinking of how much you reminded me of Ash. Nice to meet you, Ritchie, I'm Gary Oak."
"Nice to meet you too. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who missed Ash's party." They shared a laugh. Soon the show started, a story about a forbidden love between two pokemon, voiced over by actors off-screen. As it started, Gary waved down one of the waiters.
"We'd like to order now, if that's alright."
"Oh of course!" The waiter said, pulling up a cart. He took the platter off of the cart and placed it on the table. "Appetizers on the house! Now, what can I get you?" As he spoke, Meowth crawled out from under the cart and snuck under the table, getting his device ready.
"I think I'll have-" Tyrel started to say, but Max cut him off.
"Hey…" Max was staring intently at their waiter, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
James, their disguised waiter, began sweating nervously. "Er, I don't believe so, though I do hear that a lot! Let me tell you, funny story-" He's interrupted by the applause of the audience as the blaziken on stage has finally confessed his love to Gardevoir, even though they can never be together. Meowth seizes the opportunity and powers on his suction device, pulling the pokeballs right off of the groups belts. He shuts the machine off before the applause ends and nobody hears a thing.
"Aw, how lovely!" James tries to remain calm. "Anyway, back to your orders."
"Oh, right. I'll take-" Tyrel is interrupted once again as a waitress steps in between him and James.
"So sorry to interrupt but Jim is very popular amongst his tables and his attention is required elsewhere." The red-headed waitress smiled, "We'll send someone over to assist you momentarily! Thank you for your patience!"
Tyrel, Max, Gary and Ritchie just stared as the two of them wheeled away the cart the first waiter had brought over. Ritchie spoke up, "Man. Those two were kind of weird…" Suddenly Sparky's ears perked up and he jumped off of Ritchie's shoulder and looked at Ritchie's belt. He began shouting and pointing and Ritchie looked to where he was pointing and gasped. "My pokemon! Their gone!"
The rest of the table checked to find their pokeballs missing as well. "I knew there was something fishy about him! Those weren't waiters, that was Team Rocket!"
"The one and only!" At the back of the room near one of the exits, Team Rocket had taken their disguises off and were standing in their usual pose. "Prepare for trouble!"
"Make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth finishes the motto in his usual way and the three of them stand there in silence for a moment. Suddenly they all turned and faced each other with tears in their eyes.
"That felt so good!" Jessie cried.
"Yeah, it's been too long!" Meowth wiped the tears from his eyes.
"If only the twerp and his pikachu were here to hear us…" James said.
"Enough! Let's go! Meowth, finish up here!" Jessie ordered.
"Sorry to interrupt your meals, folks, but we'll be takin' the stars of the show with us!" Meowth turned his suction device back on and pulled Blaziken and Gardevoir off of the stage and into a cage outside on the deck. Jessie and James had already gotten the speedboat ready and were loading the cage in.
"Stop right there!" Ritchie yelled. He and Gary took off toward the door. Team Rocket had already jumped into their speedboat and were about to take off.
"So long, twerps!" Jessie yelled back as Meowth accelerated.
"Sparky, thunderbolt!"
"Umbreon, hidden power!" The two of them unleashed their attacks. Umbreon's hidden power attack stopped the boat dead in the water as Sparky's thunderbolt electrocuted Team Rocket and overloaded the systems onboard.
After the attacks end, Team Rocket lays fried on the floor of the boat. "We really gotta wait until da fat lady sings, from now on," Meowth whines.
"Well, at least we'll get to say it one more time!" James cries happily just before the boat explodes, sending the cage and the stolen pokeballs back to the ferry and Team Rocket flying through the air.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" The three of them yell as they shrink into the distance. The audience begins applauding the four of them for their amazing acting and pokemon battling skills.
"What a plot twist!" One of the passengers yells.
"Never saw it coming! Amazing!"
"And it looks like Blaziken and Gardevoir can be together after all!"
The four boys simply smile and wave at everyone through the doorway. "Well, at least now we won't have to explain ourselves!" Max says. The other three laugh as they continue to wave to the crowd.
A/N: I'm probably going to update two chapters today. There just wasn't enough in this chapter. =[
Ritchie's introduced himself to Max who, after learning a bit about his past, was very excited to meet yet another friend of Ash's. Tyrel's agreed to go with them to meet Ash and Professor Oak, making one big late birthday surprise for Ash! Speaking of Ash, he and Mason made their way to the meeting spot for lunch (late, of course) where Brock informed everyone of the wonderful news: Not only will they be staying in what is possibly the most luxurious hotel in the world, they'll be attending the annual Starter Kickoff dance! With this news in mind, they all pair up and head out, looking for something to wear. Meanwhile on the S.S. Cloud, Max, Tyrel, Ritchie and Gary have a run-in with none other than our favorite trio of pokemon thieves: Team Rocket. With minimal effort, the three are sent blasting off and the boys have saved the day. Little do they know that the captain witnessed the entire event, and has a special treat in store for them. How's Ash going to handle shopping for clothes? And why is the S.S. Cloud suddenly picking up speed? As always, keep checking in to find out!
And Review! Pleeeasssee! It'd be the perfect Christmas gift 3