Ash and Yohana walked along the beach, looking for someone they could ask what region they were in. Suicune had already been sent away with the promise that she'd be called if they needed her help.
Finally, they came across a girl and pokemon who were sun tanning while watching a little boy playing in the water.
"Excuse me." Ash said. "But, could you tell us where we are?"
The girl looked at them, annoyed. "You're in Lilycove City in the Hoenn region. How could you not know that?"
"Thank you, miss." Yohana said.
"The name's May. I come from Petalburg City. People from my hometown actually know which city they're in!" The girl told them.
"Um… You're being kind of rude…" Yohana said, holding back an angry Ash.
"Yeah, May! You're being rude!" The little boy had come up to them while they were talking to May.
"Maybe I wouldn't be in such a bad mood if I hadn't been stuck watching you while on vacation!" May snapped.
"Hi! I'm Max! I'm May's younger brother!" The little boy yelled. "It's nice to meet you! What are your names?!"
"I'm Yohana and this is Ash." Yohana replied as Ash started to calm down.
"Are you boyfriend and girlfriend?!" Max asked.
Yohana and Ash both blushed red-hot. "No!"
Max laughed. "It sure looks like it!"
"We're just friends." Ash stammered, adding under his breath. "I think."
"Y-yeah… just friends…" Yohana put in. She thought to herself. 'Then why were we so open about it to each other before?'
"Do you want to hang out with us for a little while?! We don't bite!" Max asked.
Ash and Yohana exchanged glances.
"Uh… sure?" Ash said.
Yohana nodded her agreement.
Later…
Ash and Yohana collapsed in a room they had rented in the pokemon center. They had been playing games with Max for hours before Max and May's parents called the Max and May for dinner and Ash and Yohana went to get some food themselves, before calling Celadon City Officer Jenny to let everyone know they were all right.
Ash mustered up enough energy to climb onto a bed before falling into a sleep he well deserved.
Yohana watched him for a few minutes before climbing onto a different bed and going to sleep as well. She was still tired from excessive energy usage just as Ash was from staying up all night the night before.
The next morning…
"Squirtle, Water Gun attack." Ash sighed as he had to use unconventional methods to wake Yohana once again.
Yohana yelped as the cold water soaked her to the bone. She shot up into a sitting position.
"It's almost noon, Yohana. We overslept." Ash told her. "We missed the boat back and there's not another one to Celadon City for at least two weeks."
"TWO WEEKS?! What are we going to do for TWO WEEKS?!" Yohana yelled.
"Calm down, Yohana. We'll be fine. It's only for two weeks. Then, we can go back to Kanto and continue our journey." Ash comforted, sitting down beside her.
"But what if that Officer Jenny comes back and kidnaps us again? You know we can't trust her." Yohana said.
"We'll just stay away from Officer Jennys. As long as nothing bad happens, it won't be a problem." Ash told her.
"But what if something bad does happen?" Yohana asked.
"We'll deal with it ourselves. It shouldn't be a problem." Ash shrugged. "I hear there's an art museum in town. Why don't we go check it out? I know how much you love looking at art."
Yohana smiled, the prospect of the art museum pushing her worries away. "Okay! Let's go!"
Later…
Ash and Yohana had been wandering about the art museum for about an hour when they met up with May and Max and their parents again.
"I thought you'd left for Celadon City." Max said when he saw them.
"We overslept and missed the boat." Ash explained.
May snickered.
"May! Be nice!" Her mother scolded.
Ash ignored them. "The next boat isn't for two weeks so we're kind of lost for what to do while we wait."
"You can hang out with us!" Max suggested.
"Well…" Ash began.
"Pleeeeeease…" Max begged.
"What do you think, Yohana?" Ash asked telepathically.
"We can protect them if anything goes wrong. We can't really say no without telling them our reason." Yohana replied.
Ash nodded. "Okay, Max. If that's what you want…"
"Yay!" Max cheered.
"Shh! Max, this is an art museum! Be quiet!" His mother hissed.
"Sorry, Mom." Max whispered.
The group explored the art museum a little more before leaving and going to get a small snack at the café on the corner.
The television was showing the news and most of the customers were watching it.
"What's going on?" May asked someone.
Ash glimpsed the television. They were reporting about the fall of Team Rocket.
"Yohana, we need to get out of sight." He told his friend.
"Don't tell me they're talking about how we defeated Team Rocket! If the whole world finds out about that, it'll be a nightmare!" Yohana thought.
"Are you sure you don't want me to tell you that?" Ash asked.
"That means it's true, doesn't it?" Yohana tried to see the television.
"Yep." Ash took her hand and they started out of the café.
"Wow! Those two must be really brave to have taken on Team Rocket like that! Even with the whole police department backing them up!" A girl said.
Everyone murmured their agreement.
Ash opened the door and the bell ringed, signaling someone was going in/out. All faces turned to look at him and Yohana, causing their faces to turn red from embarrassment.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" Max asked. "I thought you were going to hang out with us until…"
"We have to go get something from the pokemon center real quick!" Ash blurted out. "Be back later!"
He and Yohana made their escape.
"That was weird. What do you think is up with them?" May asked. "They weren't worried about anything at the Pokemon Center before we came here."
Max shrugged. "Maybe they just forgot."
"Maybe…" May murmured.
Their mother walked over to them with a box of cinnamon rolls. "Here. Why don't you go meet your friends at the Pokemon Center? I got cinnamon rolls for both you two and those two. My treat."
"Thanks, Mom!" Max and May said in unison. Max took the box of cinnamon rolls from her.
"Come on, Max! Let's go check out what was so important they had to leave so quickly!" May said, grabbing Max and taking off.
"We'll meet you at the hotel for dinner!" Their mother called after them. "6 o'clock!"