A/N: Hello again guys! Let's jump right into it, shall we?
Drawing ever closer to Professor Oak's lab, a very mischievous haunter carried his trainer's backpack in an attempt to hide it from him, but hadn't been able to shake the persistent boy yet. He spotted a lot of commotion atop a hill in the distance and began racing toward it, the boy and his ninetails following close behind.
"Remind me again why I ever caught him?" The boy yelled to his ninetails as they attempted not to let the haunter out of their sight. It had happened before and it was more than a day before they found where he had hidden their stuff. The boy picked up speed when he noticed where the haunter was headed: straight toward a party of some sort.
"Poof, no! Don't you dare! We don't know anybody here and I know what you have in mind! Don't do it!" The haunter simply snickered, turning around and making a face at the boy while keeping pace. He turned back around and sped up, and the boy knew it was inevitable. He could only hope to arrive before his haunter caused too much damage.
Atop the hill, the cake had been eaten down to the last few pieces and everyone was enjoying a fun game of "Pin the tail on the tauros." So far, without cheating, May had been the closest, pinning it on one of the hind legs. The professor was off by a mile, pinning the tail right on the nose, which prompted quite a few puns about his profession. Bulbasaur had lifted the blindfolds off and Bayleef had caught him in the act, ensuing a fight between the two that was quickly broken up by Brock's chansey.
Up next was Misty, who donned on the blindfold as Delia spun her around. Everyone was looking on in anticipation, waiting for someone to hit the target dead-on. Almost immediately after her five spins, Misty jumped forward with the tail-pin in her hand and stuck it right into Ash's leg.
"Ooooowwaahhh!" Ash screamed, grabbing his leg in pain. "Why'd you do that!" He jumped up, hopping up and down on his uninjured leg. Brock's chansey was quick to respond, coming to Ash's aid with a bandage in hand.
"Ehh…I…didn't…" Misty said, taking the blindfold off and looking at her hands, "Someone grabbed my hand and pulled me, I swear!"
"But who? We were all sitting right here…" Brock asked, a perplexed look on his face. Professor Oak stepped forward, his hand raised, finger pointed and eyes closed in his usual "matter-of-fact" expression, seemingly ready to say something. Instead he started making faces at everyone.
"Lehhhhhhhgggggg," was the sound that came out of the professor's mouth, nothing coherent at all. Suddenly his eyes opened wide and he grabbed his mouth with both hands and looked around. He took his hands down and waited cautiously before talking again. "…It would seem…as though we have a visitor…"
Everyone began looking at each other, confused as to what the professor might mean. Before anybody else could say anything, May cried out in terror. When they turned to look, everyone saw that she was floating ten feet off of the ground, wiggling in place.
"Get me down! Wah!" Suddenly a haunter appeared behind her wearing a backpack and snickering. It gave her a big hug before slowly lowering her down to the ground.
A boy appeared about twenty feet away and pulled out a pokeball. "Poof, return!" The haunter gave May a big smile before returning to the pokeball as his trainer commanded, letting the pack drop behind him. "Finally…" The boy took a moment to catch his breath. "I'm really, really sorry about him. He's a typical haunter, and we've been chasing him all day." The boy flopped down in the grass and began resting. "I really hope he didn't cause too much trouble, and I promise to pay for anything he broke."
Everyone looked at the boy for a second, speechless as to what just happened. May was still a little flustered by the ordeal, though she had a few choice words she would have wanted to share with the boy. Ash was the first to speak.
"Hey jerk! Your haunter stabbed me in the leg with a pin!" He was still sitting on the bench while Chansey patted his leg. "Just who do you think-Oh!" Ash stopped and gasped as he saw the ninetails come up and sit next to the boy. He realized the boy was a pokemon trainer and he might be able to get a battle in on his birthday.
The boy put a hand on the ninetails' head and looked up. "I'm sorry, how rude of me. My name's Mason, and this is Noone. The haunter you had the 'pleasure' of meeting earlier was Poof," the boy said, putting emphasis on the word "pleasure." "We were just passing through and I let my pokemon out to eat, and that's when he took my shoes. I managed to get them back, but he decided he wasn't done having fun for the day." He chuckled and looked toward May. "I've gotta thank you for being there, Poof seemed to like you," Mason said as he regarded May, "and I think I can see why."
May let out an uneasy chuckle, caught off-guard by what she believed to be a compliment, though she wasn't sure. "Oh…it's no problem," she managed a smile, "he was very gentle, and even gave me a hug, I think."
"Well that's good to hear, and thanks again. I'm really sorry to interrupt here, guys. It looks like you guys were having a fun time." He looked back the way he came. "Do you guys know if there's a pokemon center in town? I doubt we'll be able to make it back to where we were before the day's done."
"Hold on!" Ash yelled, "If you've got those pokemon, that must mean you're a trainer! Let's have a battle!" Ash stood up and his pokemon rallied behind him, happy and ready to fight.
"Ehh…I don't know, we've been running around all day, and Noone's not really a big fan of pokemon battles, let alone taking part in them." Noone nodded in agreement.
"Aw…How about just a quick one? It is my birthday after all!" Ash wasn't ready to let Mason go easily, he was ready for a battle. "Besides, it was your haunter that crashed the party."
"Well…" Mason was still pretty wary, but Noone gave him a nudge and looked at him eagerly. Mason gave a big grin, "Alright then, you're on!"
((This scene is written in present tense purposefully))
The battle is a 3-on-3 battle, with the first to two victories being claimed the victor. For the first pokemon, Ash sends out Bayleef, while Mason sends out Seven, his igglybuff. A comical scene pans out as Mason orders a sing attack at the same time Ash orders a sleep powder attack and both pokemon fall asleep. However Bayleef quickly recovers and attacks with a razor leaf. Seven wakes up, but a moment too late as she's hit by the brunt of the attack. She recovers and charges forward with a double-slap attack. Bayleef takes a few hits, but is able to push Seven back and regain her ground. Ash then orders a vine-whip attack. The whips lash out at the small igglybuff, but Mason calls out for a counter-attack, sending the whips flying back at Bayleef with twice the force. Bayleef takes the attack and stands her ground, still raring to fight. Ash tells Bayleef to use a body slam attack while Mason orders the same thing. The two pokemon meet in the middle of the battlefield and collide head-on, but Bayleef overpowers Seven and sends her flying back, knocked out. Bayleef runs back to Ash with a tackle attack to show her affection and joy to be battling with him again. Mason consoles Seven before recalling her into her pokeball.
Next up for Ashe is Infernape, who takes the field confident and ready to fight again. Mason sends Poof back out, who makes a quick grab for Mason's backpack. Mason snatches it up and points toward the field, which Poof takes reluctantly. Infernape opens up with a flamethrower attack, which Mason orders Poof to counter with a night shade attack. The night shade bursts through the flamethrower and hits Infernape dead on. Infernape is quick to recover, however, and charges at Poof with a flame wheel. Mason tells Poof to use a psychic attack, stopping Infernape in his tracks and lifting him into the air. Poof follows up with a confusion attack that sends Infernape flying back to his side of the field. Infernape attempts to get closer to Poof by using agility and flare blitz, and pops up behind the haunter, taking him by surprise and knocking him forward a ways. Poof turns around with a shadow ball already formed and fires it off, much to Infernape's surprise. The attack lands and Infernape is knocked to the ground. He gets back up once more, only to be put back down by a hypnosis attack. To finish him off, Poof uses a dream eater attack and knocks Infernape out. Ash runs to his Infernape and helps it to its feet. It hangs its head and leaves the battlefield. Meanwhile, Mason and Poof are rejoicing over their win. Mason gives Poof a hug and Poof shows his affection with a lick attack, stunning Mason. Mason holds the pokeball up and recalls Poof.
Finally, Pikachu takes the battlefield followed by Noone. Pikachu opens with a quick attack, taking Noone by surprise when he switches sides at the last second. Noone seizes the up-close opportunity and charges up a flame wheel, slamming into Pikachu and forcing him back to his side of the battlefield. Pikachu takes the attack and responds immediately with a series of thunderbolts, each of which Noone dodges. Noone unleashes a flamethrower attack that engulfs nearly the entire field. Ash has Pikachu jump into the air to avoid the attack and has him come down with an iron tail attack. The attack lands and Noone is knocked to the ground. Much to Ash and Pikachu's surprise, Noone gets back to her feet, and Pikachu is suddenly rendered immobile by a disable attack. Pikachu is then lifted into the air by what seems to be either a confusion attack or a psychic attack. Immobile and stuck in the air, Pikachu is defenseless as Noone fires off a massive firespin attack, smashing Pikachu with a relentless wall of fire. When the attack ends, Pikachu falls to the ground knocked out. Ash runs and picks up his best friend, reassuring him that he did his best. Noone walks back to Mason and jumps up, hugging him as he hugs back. She gives him a kiss on the cheek as he ruffles the hair on her head. The match is over, Mason is the victor.
After the battle, the group invited Mason to finish out the party with them. He let Seven and Poof out of their pokeballs - making sure to have Poof promise to behave - and joined the group at the tables with Noone accompanying him.
"That was an amazing battle, Mason. I'm Ash, by the way. Ash Ketchum." Ash said as he shook Mason's hand.
"Yeah it was, it's been a long time since Noone and I have battled, and even longer since we had such a difficult fight. She can hit pretty hard, are you sure Pikachu's okay?" Mason asked, looking at Pikachu on Ash's shoulder.
"Yeah, he's tough like me." Ash said with a chuckle, petting Pikachu's head. "So how was it that Noone was able to fight the way she did?" Ash asked, looking curiously at the ninetails as she rested her head on Mason's lap.
"I wish I could tell you," Mason answered, "ever since she evolved into a ninetails, Noone's done some things that have amazed and confounded me. I haven't really been able to explain it, but in the end it doesn't matter. I love her just the way she is, huh?" Noone lifted her head up and gave him a smile.
"That really is a wonderful looking ninetails you have there. When did you guys decide to evolve her?" Brock asked, remembering his time with Suzy's vulpix.
"We didn't. She just evolved." Mason answered, leaving everyone shocked. "Like I said, she's shown some pretty odd traits, and she didn't need a fire stone to evolve. I was just as surprised as you guys are now, believe me."
"Well either way, I know a good ninetails when I see one," Brock said, "and that's a wonderful companion you have there." Brock leaned over and gave Noone a pat on the head. Mason reached down and scratched her behind her ear, causing her to let out a small whimper in excitement. Pikachu's ears perked up and he jumped off of Ash's shoulder to investigate the noise, crawling up on Mason's lap and sniffing his hand.
"Hey, Pikachu! Don't be rude!" Ash called out after him.
"Don't worry, he's no bother," Mason said, reaching down to Pikachu and scratching him under his chin. Pikachu let out a high-pitched squeal in excitement, kicking his leg instinctively. Mason pulled his hand up higher and Pikachu followed, stretching his neck out.
"Woah…I've never seen him act like that," Ash said, looking on, amazed at how Mason was interacting with Pikachu. "Pikachu, what are you doing?" Ash asked. Pikachu turned back and gave Ash a look of ecstasy, obviously really enjoying himself. Mason gave Pikachu a rub on the head before he returned to Ash.
"What was that?" Brock asked. He, as well as everyone else, was looking on the entire time, also taken aback at how Pikachu was acting with a complete stranger.
"What was what?" Mason asked.
"What you just did, with Pikachu," Ash said, "I've never seen him do that."
"You just have to know where the sweet spot is," Mason said, "ever since I was a kid I've always been able to tell what pokemon like. I just feel more at home with pokemon than I do people, so it seems like common knowledge to me."
May's glaceon was now investigating where the sounds were coming from. Mason reached down with both hands, rubbing her sides back and forth. Glaceon leaned into Mason more and more as he went on, purring as she went, until she was eventually on her back with her feet stretched out in the air.
May watched, mouth agape, astonished at what Mason was doing. Soon the entire party of pokemon had gathered around, eager for a turn.
"Eheh…seems like I got more than I bargained for," Mason said as he was swamped by the crowd of pokemon. With the help of his new friends, Mason safely calmed the lot of them and they went back to their business.
Back at the lab, Tracey, Professor Oak and Delia looked on.
"Hm, it seems as though that boy really knows how to interact with pokemon," Professor Oak said, "Even Sceptile was curious enough to venture over."
"And did you see the way he battled with his haunter and ninetails?" Tracey spoke up, "I've never seen anything like it, Professor!"
"Well it's obvious that Poof is very skilled in combat, no matter how mischievous it may be, but there have also been known anomalies amongst pokemon, giving them strengths and abilities that would normally be uncharacteristic of their type," Professor Oak paused for a second, and then grunted as if agreeing with himself, "It seems only natural that a pokemon of that sort would be attracted to someone with an affinity for understanding pokemon."
Tracey just looked on and grunted, a usual sign from the Pokemon Watcher that he understood. Delia's attention hadn't left her son.
"They grow up so fast don't they…" she said quietly as she began to tear up, "I know everyone says that, but when you find yourself washing pokemon pajamas one day and watching your son compete in a regional championship the next, it really hits home. I bet you he's starting to think about his next adventure now. He's going to leave me again, soon. But I'll be here, ready and waiting for my little pokemon master to come home!" Delia cried out, much louder than intended. Luckily the group at the tables was caught up in small talk and didn't notice, but she left Tracey and Oak staring in an awkward silence.
"He's always been able to take care of himself, Mrs. Kethcum," Tracey reassured her, "I'm sure that even if he does take off again he'll be fine." Professor Oak nodded, remembering back to the day when Ash first received Pikachu.
"He really has grown quite a bit since meeting Pikachu. I've got a lot of faith in that young man," Oak said, "I believe he'll do just fine in life, no matter where he is or who he's with."
The sun began setting and the group had moved inside, recalling their pokemon. "Well, happy birthday Ash, and I'm glad I could give you a present of some sort," Mason said with a smile, "but we'd better get going if we're going to make it to the pokemon center before dark."
"Why don't you just stay here for the night?" Ash suggested. "There's plenty of room and I'm sure the professor won't mind."
"Not to mention the pokemon loved meeting you, and I'm sure they'd like to see you once more before you go!" Dawn chimed in.
"Well, I don't see why not. I'd really appreciate having a place to stay," Mason said, then looked down at Noone. "Whaddya think? Wanna stay here tonight?" he asked her. She nodded, yawning as she did so. "Well, it's settled then. Thanks you guys."
Ash and Delia stood in the doorway, ready to go home. Ash had a sudden thought and turned back to everyone. "You guys'll be here in the morning, right?" he asked, afraid his time with his friends might already be over.
"We'll be here," Misty answered, "Promise. We'll be staying here for the week, right, Mrs. Ketchum?" Ash's face lit up at hearing this.
"That's right, I made sure everyone was set for a small vacation before they came over." Delia said with a certain tone of accomplishment.
"Alright!" Ash jumped with joy, "It'll be just like old times. I'm sure we can find tons of things to do!"
"Already taken care of too," Professor Oak said, "Your mom made arrangements and plans for the entire week. Trust me when I say you guys will have a blast." He smiled at Delia who let out a giggle.
"I wish Max could have been here with us, but I'm glad to hear he's doing so well at the gym," Ash said as he looked at the time, "I wonder why he hasn't called yet."
"Oh you know Max, Ash. I'm sure he's been dying to tell you all about his adventures at the gym, but he's also doing everything he can to make sure he doesn't mess up." May smiled, "He'll call as soon as he gets the chance, I'm sure of it."
"Yeah!" Ash laughed, "Alright guys. I'll see you bright and early! Thanks again for everyone coming over! And it was great meeting you Mason!" Ash and Delia took off down the hill towards home.
Within a few minutes, the tables were empty and the last of the dishes were being done.
"Man…I've gotta say, it's great being here with everyone!" May said, washing up at the sink. "It seems like it's been forever since I last saw any of you guys."
"Yeah, and it's been great meeting everyone, too!" Dawn said as she winked at Misty who winked back. "It's so exciting thinking about spending an entire week here!"
"Yes, very," Professor Oak butted in, "but for now I think it's time to get some rest. I'll show you to your rooms." Professor Oak led everyone but Tracey upstairs. There was a long hallway filled with rooms for guests, plenty of space for everyone to stay. He led everyone to their respective rooms before returning downstairs to help Tracey, who was finishing up closing the lab down for the evening, taking care to lock every door and window. Finally, he checked on the pokemon outside, who were all fast asleep and calm as usual. The lights in the lab went out and everything was still.
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. He decided that he'd continue his work tomorrow.
As he was putting his books away back on the shelf he looked at the calendar and realized what day it was. "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 called out to him, one he hadn't heard in a long time. Only this time it seemed different somehow.
"It…can't be…" Max dropped the remaining books and walked mindlessly to the window.
At the same time, a boy was passing the gym heading to the pokemon center next door. The sudden appearance of Max in the Gym's window brought him to a halt. He stood in shock for a few moments. After taking a closer look, he noticed the tears in Max's eyes. As sudden as his appearance in the window, Max came crashing through the gym doors and went tearing off into the night.
"Uh…Hey! Wait!" The boy took off after Max, chasing him through what was left of the town and into the nearby forest. Max was obviously upset for some reason and it wouldn't be safe in the forest alone. "Stop! Where are you-" There was obviously no stopping him, so the boy 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 old friend in such a state. "Jirachi! Where are you?" He cried out as he ran. The boy behind him couldn'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.
Max tripped over what he thought at first was a stick and tumbled to the ground. He turned around to find that it was actually a sleeping seviper; or at least it had been. The pokemon turned to Max, enraged not only at having been woken up but at the new injury on its tail as well. Max finally realized exactly how far he'd run and that he was completely defenseless without any pokemon.
"Flamethrower!" Max was taken by surprise again when he spotted a boy and a charmander about 10 feet away. The charmander let out a flamethrower attack on the seviper, engulfing it in flames. The seviper quickly turned and slithered away back into the brush. "Hey, stop!" The boy yelled, even though Max had no intention of running any further. All he wanted was to cry, knowing his friend was in pain somewhere and there was nothing he could do to help.
"Jirachi…" Max looked up once more, then buried his face into has hands and sobbed. "I can't…I can't do anything to help! I'm a horrible friend!"
Max went on crying for a couple of minutes as the boy who had chased him down stood waiting, letting him get everything out. After the sobbing had died down a bit, Max stood up and wiped his eyes, approaching the stranger.
"Thanks for the help…what are you doing out here anyway?" Max asked.
"Chasing you, obviously. It's late and it's not safe out here, especially considering the fact that you don't have any pokemon." Max was obviously very distraught over something, and even though the boy knew he was probably crazy, he decided to help him back to wherever it was he needed to be. He held out his hand for Max to take. "I'm Tyrel, Pokemon Breeder. What's your name?"
Max took the boy's hand and gave 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 said, giving Max a smile, "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 him so sad before. What was even more curious was that he was awake. It had 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 let out a cry, and he recalled her into her pokeball before giving chase once more.
"Sorry! I need to figure out how to get to Kanto as soon as possible!" Max yelled back as he ran. He was surprisingly fast and was slowly pulling away from Tyrel before Tyrel yelled back.
"There's a ferry in Slateport tomorrow! Wait!" Tyrel continued running, almost as fast as he could. Nearly a second too late he realized that Max had stopped and was standing in his path. He screeched to a halt only inches away from the young boy. After catching his breath, he continued. "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 know how to take care of yourself, 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.
A/N: I'm sorry if it seems pieced together a little differently than last time, I'm trying to make the flow a little more smooth. =P Thanks again for reading!