Thanks for the reviews guys I really appreciate you taking the time to write one.

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Here's chapter 18 I hope you enjoy.

In conversations:

'- Translation of Poké Speech – No human unless otherwise stated can understand it. Ash can get the gist of what his Pokémon are saying due to his close bond with them.

"- Human speech

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Ash quickly found Salem and Pikachu sat downstairs. The former was gently stroking the latter's head who had a smile on her face as she was guzzling a bottle of brown sauce. Ash thought it amazing that they had found probably the only other Pokémon on this planet that would gladly drink a condiment. It still made his stomach turn when he watched Pikachu and Raichu start drinking that stuff. Thankfully Pikachu finished the bottle and handed the now empty bottle back to Salem. Ash then walked over to them and saw Pikachu was now rubbing her stomach with a satisfied look on her face.

"Hey Salem we're going to the beach do you wanna join us?"

"Yeah I'll just go and get my bag."

Pikachu jumped on to Salem's shoulder who then ran upstairs and after a few minutes she came back down with her bag.

"All right let's go." Salem said.

Ash nodded and walked out of the Pokémon Centre quickly followed by Salem.

After a short walk they got to the beach and were pleasantly surprised to find that the beach was pretty much empty. Ash and Salem shrugged off the lack of people guessing that they must be attending the Trading Event. Due to the lack of other people Ash and Salem decided to let their Pokémon out and they watched as they spread out along the beach. Both trainers laughed as they watched Treecko and Tyrogue trying to prove who was the bad ass of the group. Charizard was clearly not amused as he walked over and stomped on the ground making both Pokémon fall over. Their laughter intensified as Treecko and Tyrogue walked away from Charizard grumbling.

Ash heard Eevee and Ralts whine as they wanted to get into the water so he placed the young Pokémon on the ground and he quickly walked over to the changing room and got changed into his trunks. He left the changing room and after picking up Ralts and Eevee he waded into the water and held on to his daughters tightly as they played in the water. He looked back to the beach to check on everyone else just in time to see Salem walk out of the changing room. His jaw dropped and his cheeks turned bright red as he watched her walk along the beach in a yellow bikini which showed off her athletic body that she had thanks to all the travelling she had done in previous regions.

Eevee and Ralts looked curiously at their dad as he stared at Salem. They exchanged a smirk and then threw all the water they could at Ash. This snapped him out of his trance and he looked down at his giggling daughters and smiled. He tightly hugged them and they returned the hug.

On the beach Salem was in a similar state to Ash. Even though he had told her that he'd trained with his Pokémon she hadn't expected him to have such a toned body. He wasn't overly muscled like a Machoke, his body was leaner but showed off a great deal of strength similar to a Lucario's physique. She watched Wartortle swim over and after Ralts and Eevee jumped on his back he started to swim quickly which was making both young Pokémon laugh.

A devious smile then formed on Salem's face as she saw that Ash was only paying attention to Ralts, Eevee and Wartortle. She got into the water and quietly swam up behind him. When she was close she dunked his head under the water, Ash quickly reacted by grabbing her leg and pulling her under the water. They both resurfaced and started laughing Salem then swept her arms through the water covering Ash in a small wave of water. Ash repaid the favour and started to chase Salem when she swam away. As they carried on their game neither of them noticed the rather large wave headed their way until the wave crashed on them.

Ash groaned as he landed hard on to the beach. As he regained his senses he looked around and couldn't see Salem anywhere. Suddenly he heard Salem scream, he looked out to where it came from and saw that a Tentacruel had grabbed her and was now dragging her under he water.

"Wartortle we need to get out there fast!" Ash exclaimed.

Wartortle was in the water before Ash had even finished and was now swimming as fast as he could towards the Tentacruel.

"Use Aqua Bash!" Ash yelled from the beach hoping Wartortle heard him.

Wartortle heard Ash loud and clear and shot out of the water. He then lowered his head and rocketed towards Tentacruel. Everyone watched from the beach as Wartortle shot into the water and moments later they heard the Tentacruel let out a pained cry. The pain caused him to release his grip on Salem who had passed out. Wartortle grabbed Salem and quickly swam back to the shore, he carried her out of the water and laid her down in front of Ash. He looked at Salem in horror as he saw that she was not breathing. Ash suddenly remembered an advert by the Kanto Heart Foundation that he'd seen on TV and got on his knees. He placed the heel of his right hand on the centre of her chest, then placed his other hand on top and he started to press down on her chest.

"Charizard go and get someone who can help us. Meganium take the young Pokémon away."

Both Pokémon nodded, Charizard then flew off towards the Pokémon Centre and Meganium led the younger Pokémon away from Ash. After a minute Salem still hadn't breathed which was making everyone genuine fear that she may die.

'I-it's not working.' Raichu said worriedly.

"I fucking know that Raichu but I don't know what else I can do. Where the fuck is Charizard?!"

Ash continued to administer CPR but she still wasn't breathing. Tears started to form in Ash's eyes as he was starting to think that he'd lost Salem.

"Please breathe Salem." Ash begged as a few of his tears dripped on to her skin.

Still nothing happened. Ash knew only one other thing he could do so he pinched her nose and sealed his mouth over hers and blew steadily and firmly into her mouth. He then went back to pressing down on her chest. After doing this a couple more times Salem coughed up a mouthful of water and started to breathe again.

"Oh thank Arceus." Ash said.

Salem gave Ash a small smile and then passed out again. Charizard suddenly landed with Nurse Joy on his back.

"Oh my, what happened?" Nurse Joy asked.

"We were out in the ocean when a Tentacruel grabbed her and pulled her under the water. She wasn't breathing at first but after I did some CPR she started again."

"Well I'm impressed. Right I'll take her back to the Pokémon Centre so she can get some rest."

"Okay my Charizard will fly you there. I'll meet you there soon."

Nurse Joy got on to Charizard and Ash placed Salem on the dragons back. Charizard then took off leaving Ash and the rest of the Pokémon on the beach. Ash quickly got changed and after returning all of his and Salem's Pokémon he picked up all of their bags and walked towards the Pokémon Centre.

When Ash got to the Pokémon Centre he spotted Charizard stood outside. He returned the dragon and walked inside just in time to see Nurse Joy walk out of a room. Ash approached her and was relieved to see a smile on her face.

"How is she?" Ash asked.

"She's fine thanks to you." Nurse Joy replied.

"That's a relief."

Ash took Salem's clothes out of her bag.

"Hey these are Salem's clothes could you go in there and get her changed? I just think she might be a bit embarrassed if she wakes up in her bikini."

"Ok I'll get her changed."

Nurse Joy took Salem's clothes from Ash and entered the room. Five minutes later Nurse Joy walked back out.

"Ok I've changed her into her clothes."

"Thanks Nurse Joy. Can I stay in the room with her?" Ash asked.

"Sure just don't disturb her."

Ash gave Nurse Joy a small smile and then walked into the room. He took as seat in the chair next to Salem's bed and watched her as she slept. Pikachu jumped on to the bed and curled up next to her trainer. Ash considered sending out their Pokémon but decided against it as they might wake her up. As night fell Eevee, Ralts, Pikachu, Raichu and Meowth all fell to sleep. Ash finally fell to sleep but was plagued with nightmares of Salem dying on that beach.

The next morning Salem's silver eyes flickered open. She quickly glanced around the room and the first thing she saw was Ash who was asleep in the chair next to her bed. She was amazed he was asleep as he appeared to be in a very uncomfortable position. Salem sat up and groaned as she stretched out her arms. The quiet noise woke Ash up, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes which lit up when he saw that Salem was awake. Suddenly Ash sprang forward and wrapped his arms around Salem, she was initially surprised by the action but she quickly returned the hug.

"I was so worried about you. I thought I'd lost you." Ash said.

"You don't need to worry anymore, I'm fine Ash."

After a couple of minutes Ash pulled back and his chocolate brown eyes met Salem's silvery grey eyes. They gazed into each others eyes and both of them could feel their hearts pounding in their chests. Suddenly the door opened and Nurse Joy walked in.

"Ah you're awake." Nurse Joy said brightly.

Ash and Salem broke the gaze and blushed. Nurse Joy looked at the two and realised that she had probably chosen a bad moment to walk in.

"Sorry am I interrupting. If so I can come back."

"N-no you're not interrupting. Um I'm gonna go and get some fresh air." Ash said as he quickly left the room.

Ash walked out of the Pokémon Centre and leant against the wall. He shut his eyes and thought about how he and Salem had gazed at each other. He wondered what would have happened had Nurse Joy not walked into the room. He was broken out of his thoughts when he felt something tug on his trousers. He looked down and saw Raichu, Meowth, Ralts and Eevee looking up at him. On instinct he bent down and picked up Ralts and Eevee. After giving them a tight hug they climbed out of his arms and stood on his shoulders. Ash was confused by the action as they had never shown an interest in being out of his arms

"Why are you two stood on my shoulder?" Ash asked as he looked at them.

Ash heard Ralts say her name as series of times and saw Eevee nod once Ralts stopped talking. Ash looked at Raichu waiting for a translation.

'They want to prove that they are growing up which is why they want to stand on your shoulders now.' Raichu said.

"Ok well if you're sure and if it's okay with Raichu and Meowth."

Raichu and Meowth were both fine with it which pleased Eevee and Ralts who nuzzled Ash. He laughed as Ralts' hair and Eevee's fur tickled his skin. Once Eevee and Ralts stopped their nuzzling Ash walked back inside and decided to wait for Salem in the lobby .

After she was given the all clear by Nurse Joy Salem left the room she had been sleeping in and met Ash in the lobby. Both of the young trainers quickly went up to their rooms and gathered their things and after thanking Nurse Joy again they left the Pokémon Centre and went to the Poké Mart as Ash needed to top up his supplies. After purchasing everything they needed Ash and Salem walked out of Slateport with full backpacks and headed towards Cycling Road. They were hoping that the road may have been fixed earlier than expected but they both knew that they couldn't be that lucky. After an hours walk they arrived at the entrance to Cycling Road. They could see some of the road but from what they could see it didn't look like the road was open. They entered the building and were surprised to see a man working behind the main desk. They walked over to the desk and he immediately stopped his work.

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"Yeah we were wondering if the road was open yet." Salem replied.

"Sorry kids but the damage was far worse than we first thought. It seems that it will be at least another week before Cycling Road will be cleared. Also don't try Route 110 as it is still blocked."

"Thanks for the info." Ash said.

Ash and Salem then left the building. Once outside Ash took out his Pokénav and brought up the map feature.

"Ash what are you doing?" Salem asked.

"I'm finding us another way to Mauville. There has to be some path through the forest north west from here."

Salem watched as Ash checked the map and after a few minutes a smile appeared on his face.

"Well it looks like there is a path we can use. It will take us straight past Route 110 and exit just outside of the Daycare Centre."

"That's great news. How long will it take for us to get there?" Salem asked.

"If we move quickly we could probably do it in four or five days but I'd rather take my time and do some training. It's your choice."

"I'd like to get some training done too actually so let's take our time."

"Sounds good to me. Well let's get going. If we start now hopefully we can find a good clearing to stay in by this afternoon."

Everyone cheered in agreement and the group headed north east.

Finding a suitable clearing to train in turned out to be much harder than Ash had expected. It was nigh on tea time when they finally came across an area that would be good for training. Ash and Salem sent all of their Pokémon who all seemed to agree with their trainers choice of training area. Ash's Pokémon all sat down and waited for Ash to make their meals, Salem's Pokémon on the hand surrounded their trainer and were relieved that she was okay. After getting tackled to the ground by her Pokémon and repeatedly nuzzled by them they got off of her and started talking with Ash's Pokémon. Salem got up and walked over to Ash who was making tea.

"Do you need a hand?" Salem asked.

"Sure. Can you stir this for me?"

"Yeah I can do that."

Ash handed the spoon over to Salem and started to prepare the rest of the meal. Thanks to Salem's help tea was ready in no time and everyone was now sat around the clearing eating and chatting. Ash and Salem were the only ones who sat in silence as they ate mainly because they were too busy glancing at each other out of the corner of their eyes and hoping that they wouldn't be caught by the other.

As Ash looked at Salem he finally accepted the fact that Dalamyr was right. He had actually fallen for Salem. The only problem now was how to approach this, after all Ash had no clue whether or not Salem felt the same way. He needed advice but sadly the only male people he had registered in his Pokénav were Professor Oak who hadn't gotten any in about a hundred years, Thalion who he honestly didn't know well enough to talk about something this private, Tracey who was not exactly an expert in love either and the man he sees as a brother and the biggest pervert on the planet Brock. Ash sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he knew that out of all them Brock was probably the best one to talk to. He'd have to wait until they get to Mauville though as right now Salem would hear everything and if she didn't feel the same way that could make things awkward.

After finishing tea Ash and Salem cleaned all of the plates and bowls in the stream that flowed through the clearing. They spent a couple of hours relaxing with their Pokémon and decided what training they should do tomorrow. As night fell everyone found themselves an area to sleep in. The only ones who were unsure were Ralts and Eevee. They wanted to prove to their dad that they were growing up but at the same time they wanted to feel the warmth of his embrace.

Ash looked at his daughters and then reached out pulling them into the sleeping bag with him and Raichu. He stroked Eevee's fur and Ralts' head which made them sigh in content.

"You're never to old to sleep in my sleeping bag." Ash whispered.

Ralts and Eevee smiled at Ash and then snuggled into his shirt. Ash wrapped his arms around them and drifted off to sleep.

In the morning after everyone had eaten their breakfast Ash and Salem went to their Pokémon to tell them what to do. Raichu had shown Salem's Pokémon the Counter Shield technique and now Salem was helping Luxray, Galvantula, Zebstrika and Mareep try to do their own variants of the move.

Ash looked at his Pokémon who quickly gathered around him waiting for instructions.

"Right guys we're doing some serious training today to make up for lost time."

All of his Pokémon cheered.

"Tyrogue I want you to spar with Meowth. Hopefully this will be good training for Tyrogue to evolve into Hitmontop and Meowth this will help you defend against physical attacks."

Meowth and Tyrogue quickly headed to a clear area and got into battle stances. A heavy weight then knocked Ash to the ground. He groaned as he hit the ground but started to laugh as Meganium started to nuzzle him. He stroked her neck and smiled. After a few minutes she got off of Ash allowing him to get back up.

"Ok Meganium I'll choose your training next. Do you think can you work on Reflect and Light Screen?"

Meganium was more than happy with Ash's choices and started forming barriers in front of her although she couldn't sustain them for long. Wartortle was the next to step forward, Ash looked at his first water type and was now thinking about whether his idea last night was a good one.

"Wartortle I want you to start practising Rain Dance. It'll make you a perfect counter to other weather users. I'm not quite sure how you use it though so for now try forming a Water Pulse and then fire it into a cloud."

The former leader of the Squirtle Squad gave Ash a thumbs up and walked towards a more barren part of the clearing. As Wartortle walked away Ash was wishing he could use the upgrade to his Pokénav that he got from Mr Stone to find out how to use Rain Dance. But he couldn't, not until he told Salem the truth about everything Mr Stone gave him. He shook away the thought and looked at Sableye and Sandshrew.

"Sableye I think you should learn Dark Pulse. So gather dark energy like you would for Night Slash but release the dark power as an energy wave instead of charging it into your claws and Sandshrew I know I said about learning Magnitude but I think it would be better for my Phanpy to teach you. So what do you think of learning Iron Tail?"

Sableye and Sandshrew both nodded and walked away. Ash then looked at Charizard.

"Charizard I want you to keep working on Brick Break but first teach Chimchar and Treecko how to use it.

The trio of Pokémon nodded and started making their way over to an area where it wouldn't matter if there was a little deforestation. Charizard quickly stopped when he felt Ash grab his shoulder. The dragon looked at his trainer who was looking from him to Chimchar.

"Charizard take care of Chimchar. His former trained treated him like crap and I think that you'd be able to help him since you had a bad trainer too."

The dragon nodded in agreement. He knew what it was like when your trainer said you were worthless and he could remember how long it took for him to get past that. Charizard walked over to Chimchar and Treecko and started to show them how to use Brick Break by smashing anything that he could try it on. Chimchar and Treecko nodded once they'd seen Charizard use it and started to mimic the move.

Charizard was shocked when he saw Chimchar and Treecko actually forming the attack. He watched as Chimchar and Treecko aimed their hands at a tree and they both made a crack in it. Chimchar looked at the crack he had made and then at Treecko's and saw that the one Treecko had made was larger than the one he had made. This made Chimchar look down disappointedly. Charizard knew how it felt to believe that you're letting Ash down.

'Hey that was a pretty good first attempt by both of you.' Charizard said.

Treecko looked cockily at Charizard and Chimchar looked up at the dragon in disbelief, he'd never been praised before even when he had thought he'd done really well.

'R-really?' Chimchar said in disbelief.

'Yeah it's not a simple move to learn.'

"Well I'd better practice more. I don't want to let Ash down.'

'Wait a second Chimchar.'

Chimchar did as Charizard asked while Treecko kept attacking the tree.

'Ash told me about your former trainer and how he berated you. I know what that feels like Chimchar. I nearly died when my old trainer tricked me into staying on a rock to wait for him when he had no intention of returning. I can still remember that night, rain was pelting my body as the leaf I was using to shield myself did very little to protect me. I was attacked by some Spearow and I could feel myself getting weaker as I slowly got closer to death. That's when Ash showed up. Raichu who was a Pikachu at the time scared the Spearow away and Ash helped carry me to a Pokémon Centre while shielding my tail flame from the rain..'

Chimchar was amazed at the story and he now felt a kinship with Charizard due to their pasts.

'Listen Ash will never judge you or yell at you just because you don't do something right. What he'll do is help you get it right. Now let's get back to training.'

Chimchar nodded and both of the fire Pokémon started to attack the nearby trees.

Ash smiled as he watched Charizard and Chimchar. When he saw Chimchar look down after attacking the first log Ash was worried. He was about to go over to the fire monkey but he waited as he saw Charizard speak to Chimchar. Ash had no idea what Charizard said but it clearly worked as they were both attacking the trees. Ash looked away from them and jumped when he saw Salem stood right next to him.

"Holy Mew you scared the hell out of me. How the hell do you move so Arceus damn quietly." Ash asked.

"I guess it's just one of my talents. Hey Ash can I borrow Raichu for today?" Salem asked.

"Um ok, can I just ask why?"

"Well I want Pikachu to work on Quick Attack and I thought a good way to do that would be having her try to catch Raichu."

"That's a good idea. Hey Raichu you're with Salem today."

Raichu nodded and walked over to Salem.

"Okay Pikachu you are going to chase Raichu who will be running as fast as he can without losing Quick Attack. The only way you'll be able to catch him is if you use Quick Attack. Not only will this help with Quick Attack it is also good stamina training."

Pikachu responded by pouting again.

'It's not fair. I want to evolve. Why do have to wait until I learn stupid Quick Attack?' Pikachu whined.

'Well there's a couple of reasons. First you can't learn Quick Attack as a Raichu and trust me it's a useful move and two if you evolve without knowing Quick Attack you'll be a fatter and slower Raichu unlike me.'

'I thought all Raichu were really fat but then I saw you and I started to wonder why you were skinny by a Raichu's standards.'

'It's all down to my speed training while I was a Pikachu. If Ash will let me borrow his Pokédex I'll show you images of what you'll look like as a Raichu depending upon whether or not you know Quick Attack.'

Raichu walked over to Ash who was thinking about Ralts and Eevee's training.

'Ash can I borrow the Pokédex for a minute?' Raichu asked.

"Sure but why?"

'Pikachu is still complaining about not being allowed to evolve so I thought I'd show her the difference knowing Quick Attack will make to her physique.'

"That's a good idea buddy."

Ash took his Pokédex off of his belt and handed it to Raichu who walked back over to Pikachu. After pressing a few buttons two images of female Raichu's appeared on the screen. Pikachu looked at the pictures and was amazed that the Raichu that knew Quick Attack had a much thinner body compared to the others bulkier appearance.

'Wow knowing Quick Attack will make a big difference.' she said.

'Yeah it will. Now let's start your training after all we can let a pretty little Pikachu like you turn into a fat Raichu.'

Pikachu blushed at the compliment and shyly looked away. Raichu smirked when he saw the blush on Pikachu's face and then he shot off making Pikachu chase after him.

'Hey I wasn't ready to start yet. That's not fair.' Pikachu whined.

Raichu just laughed in response and looked back at Pikachu. After a few minutes she was starting to get closer so Raichu darted off into the trees weaving between them making it harder for Pikachu to continue chasing him. Raichu kept dodging through the trees while Pikachu struggled to keep up. After making a sharp turn Raichu looked back and smirked at Pikachu who nearly crashed into a tree.

'Come on Pikachu hurry up.' Raichu taunted.

Pikachu was getting seriously pissed off at all of the taunting from Raichu. She was determined to shut him up so she started pushing herself harder and gradually she was picking up the pace. Suddenly they got to an open bit of terrain and streaks of white flashed off Pikachu. She shot forward and to her surprise she caught Raichu and tackled him. The Pokémon rolled along the ground until they came to a stop with Pikachu pinning Raichu down as both Pokémon panted heavily.

'Ha I caught you.' Pikachu whispered between pants.

Back in the clearing Ash was trying to think of how he should start Eevee's training. She really needed some get some more strength but she couldn't use any kind of weights yet. He suddenly got an idea as he saw Ralts get on to Eevee's back as she walked around.

"Alright you two I've got an idea for your training."

His daughters looked at Ash with a determined look in their eyes. Ash was incredibly proud at how much his daughters had matured.

"Ralts can you lift Eevee?"

Ralts shuffled over to Eevee and grabbed on to her. She then tried lifting her but couldn't, after a few moment she gave up and looked Ash with a cheeky grin on her face.

"I meant with your psychic powers." Ash said with a sigh.

Ralts and Eevee giggled at their dads reaction. Once she stopped giggling Ralts lifted her arm and both her and Eevee were surrounded in a blue glow. Eevee start to giggle as she felt a slight tingling sensation while she was levitated. Ralts then gently set her sister back on the ground and looked at her dad.

"That was very impressive Ralts. So Ralts you are going to sit on Eevee's back while she does laps around the clearing. When Eevee starts to get tired you get off of her back and lift her with your psychic powers until you get tired. Keep doing that for as long as you can."

Eevee and Ralts nodded and then quickly got to work. Ash stood by a tree and watched as everyone trained, he was impressed by what he was seeing as everyone was showing massive improvements. About ten minutes later Salem joined him and they watched their Pokémon train although they were both wondering where Pikachu and Raichu now were.

Notes

Next chapter we have some Pikachu and Raichu, a battle and then I'm not sure. Maybe we'll get to the daycare.

Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

Please give a review telling me what you liked/didn't like.

If you have any questions I am more than happy to answer them.

Ash:

Kanto - Raichu, Meowth, Ivysaur, Wartortle, Charizard, Pidgeot, Kingler, Muk, Tauros(x26), Snorlax, Sandshrew & Eevee (Shiny)

Johto - Totodile, Meganium, Cyndaquil, Heracross, Noctowl (Shiny), Phanpy, Tyrogue & Sneasel

Hoenn - Marshtomp, Nincada, Treecko, Zangoose, Sableye & Ralts

Sinnoh - Chimchar

Pokémon on hand – Raichu, Meowth, Charizard, Meganium, Wartortle, Treecko, Sableye, Chimchar, Sandshrew, Tyrogue, Ralts & Eevee

Salem:

Kanto - Pikachu & Jolteon

Johto - Chinchou & Mareep

Sinnoh - Luxray

Unova - Zebstrika & Galvantula

Pokémon on hand – Pikachu, Mareep, Chinchou, Luxray, Zebstrika & Galvantula