Chapter 5

"Ahhh, I'm so full I can't even move! Hey that rhymes!"

"Same here Ash! Oh, I LOVE food!"

"Seriously you two, it's not like today is the last day you can eat you know?" Brock said, helping Nurse Joy to clear the table.

"Hey what should we do now? Continue our travelling?" Max asked, pulling out his fully charged pokenav for directions. "Hmm we can either take route 11 to Lacunosa City, or take-"

"Oh come on Max; let's just rest here for a while. The pokémons are napping too." May said, looking at the sleeping pokémons.

"Yeah sure, I mean what about later?"

"Hmm, you and Brock can decide!"

"Geez, you always leave things to us and go off relaxing with Ash..." Max muttered, though it was loud enough for Ash and May to hear it.

"It doesn't matter. You always have to follow us around last time anyway, now you get the chance to plan our journey!" Ash said, lowering the atmosphere that was just going tense.

"Well, I like the way you say it Ash! I'll see..." Max continued staring at his pokenav.

May heaved a sigh of relief, happy that the situation didn't lead anywhere else. After all Max do knows that she likes Ash, it is better not to get on his bad side. Who knows he might just blurt out everything if they argues, and things might get worse.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM*
"AHHHH!"

"What's going on?"

As if the pokémon center isn't damaged enough, a laser had shot through it, making a gigantic hole in the wall. Ash squinted his eyes to try to see through the smoke.

"Well, it's been a long time..."

"Damn! I should have known it was you!" Ash recognized that voice immediately, quickly standing up. The smoke slowly cleared out, revealing Hunter J and her henchmen.

"Who is she?" Max asked.

"She is Hunter J. We met her when we travelled through Sinnoh. She always captures pokémon illegally!" Brock explained

"Not exactly, I merely capture them because my clients request for them. So I am just doing them a favor."

"There is no way you're getting the pokémons!" Nurse Joy shouted, before realizing there was already not much pokémon in the centre.

"Yeah, why don't you just get lost?" Ash shouted. Thinking back to how she captured his beloved Pikachu before, there is no way he is going to let that happens again.

"Oh slow down. No one's interested in your useless pokémons. Right not my target is you."

"Huh? What would you want to do with Ash?" May questioned. It is the first time for her meeting Hunter J. Just knowing that she is so malicious, May was even more aghast that she wanted her Ash instead.

"She has always tried to kill me back in Sinnoh, just because I interfered in her capturing before."

"WHAT? No way!"

"Don't worry May, I'll be fine. If it's a battle she wants, then she'll get it!" Ash said, his pokémons all ready to battle as well.

"You really think I'll waste my time with that? Salamence, dragon pulse!"

"OH NO! EVERYONE LOOK OUT!"

Ash covered his head with his arms like he did before. Somehow he knows that it will work. He knows that it will come surging out of him again and protect him, and perhaps everyone else. If this is the only way to find out...

But he felt nothing.

All the others looked at Ash with astonishment. A blue light outlined his body. At his arms where the dragon pulse hit, was a blue sphere-like shield. It quickly expanded, surrounding Ash and the others, such that they were protected in the sphere.

Ash slowly moved his arms down when he realized what happened. As if under command, the blue sphere disappeared, and the dragon pulse vanished into thin air.

No one said a word, not even Hunter J. She stood back, watching Ash's every movement. 'Incredible. Just incredible, the power he has...'

Ash looked down at his hands. There is nothing, of course, since whatever it is, is hidden deep inside him. But part of Ash's mind still couldn't register what just happened.

"All right! You're mine!"

"Pikapi!"

Ash looked back up and saw that Hunter J was directing her cannon at him. He quickly dodged it, as it aimed to a table near them. It quickly turned into a stone table, to May and Max disbelief.

"Finally I've found you! You're under arrest, Hunter J! You better surrender!" Officer Jenny came out of nowhere on her motorbike again.

"And exactly how do you think you'll arrest me, with just you alone? Perhaps you should just screw back to your police station."

"Of course not, I've called for backup long before I came. You had better surrender, or else your henchmen will have to pay the price as well!"

"Well do you think I'm stupid enough to wait for your backup to appear? Salamence, hyper beam!"

The hyper beam hit the floor hard, sending everyone else flying back. Hunter J shot her cannon towards Ash again, "This time I'm not missing."

Ash, who was blurred after hitting his head on the floor, could only see the cannon aimed towards him. He couldn't react, until he saw something red loomed in front of him.

"MAY! NO!"

All he saw was May lying in his arms, slowly turning into stone.

'No way... No way!'

"How could you! You'll pay for this!" Officer Jenny took out her pokémon. Her backup has arrived too, each officer getting their pokémon, ready to attack.

"Damn it! Go attack them!" Hunter J shouted to her henchmen, as she retreated back out on her Salamence, and went in her airship.

"No stop! Turn my sister back!" Max cried, helpless as he couldn't do anything. He quickly went to May, who was still in Ash's arms.

"There is a way to do that! We need a pokémon that has hidden power ability!" Brock blurt out, quickly trying to think of any other way to save May. He turned to Nurse Joy, "Is there anyone with a pokémon which knows that move?"

"No, I'm afraid you're the only ones here now. All the other pokémons are still in that thief's hand!"

"What are we gonna do? We have to save May! We have to save my sister!" Max cried, "May wake up! MAY!"

"Max calm down!" said Brock, though he was also panicking inside.

But May just lie still, not even breathing. She was completely turned to stone, and there was no other way to get her out of it.