The Very Best

by God of Sun

What if Ash never overslept? With his brand new Pokémon partner, Squirtle, he is going to go on a journey to become the next Champion of the Kanto Region! However, his journey is not going to be even remotely easy. Ash will have to deal with powerful enemies, new friendships, and to learn how to become someone that is worthy of being called a Pokémon Master!

15. Not Your Average Fan Club

Good morning, everyone! I assume it's morning for you anyway. Good day, everyone! Wait! There might be people who are reading this at night. Uh... good, everyone!

If you couldn't tell, this will not be a serious chapter. We will have one of our characters develop significantly as I bring back a trio that I know you guys are excited about. This chapter is here to flesh out our group as they participate in this little adventure. This is a chapter that I've been wanting to write since May was introduced, and I hope you guys like how it goes. See you on the flip side!

The Very Best:

Chapter 15:

Not Your Average Fan Club

Opening (If you want to): chAngE (From Bleach, composed by Miwa)

---

Misty closely examined herself in the bathroom mirror, inspecting every part of her face. "Hmm..." Her bathroom kit was beside her as she looked at herself, giving her reflection a confident smile. "I look good." She had to look great as they were five days into their week off, and they all agreed to go on a shopping spree per May's request.

A knock came outside as Ash's voice came through. "Are you almost done? I want to go explore today."

"In a minute, Ashie." She said again as she brought out her brush, putting it through her hair to remove any knots. "Just need to do my hair."

"Your hair? What have you been doing for the last twenty minutes?" Ash asked, not believing that Misty still wasn't done yet.

"Girl stuff." Was the only answer that Misty gave as Ash groaned from outside the door, walking away to continue waiting. Misty smiled as she was finally left alone. She finished brushing out her hair as she got her band out, ready to style it like always.

But this time was different, as Misty stopped putting it on. She looked at her hair as it was down, just like her other sister had it. She had a side ponytail to make herself unique from her sisters, even if she was sometimes made fun of for it. When Ash complimented her natural hair, she rethought the whole idea. She took a strand of her orange hair, feeling how loose it was.

"...Do I really like this?" She thought to herself as she touched the natural hairstyle. Misty took a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror. "I'll keep it like this for today. If Ash likes it, why shouldn't I?"

Misty quickly nodded as she put on some perfume to smell good. She quickly came out as Ash stood up, giving out a relieved sigh. "Finally. Why do you and May always take so long to get ready?" Ash asked his best friend as they grabbed their stuff, Ash gently carrying the egg in its case.

"It's a girl thing. Us ladies want to look our best every day." Misty explained as the two left the room, ready to join everyone else downstairs.

Ash shrugged after hearing that. "I guess that makes sense." The two stepped into the elevator as they descended. Ash looked at Misty as he saw how different her hair was now. "Different hairstyle today?"

"Uh, yeah. I just thought that I should try to be different today." Misty explained, grabbing her hair as she became slightly self-conscious. "Does it look bad?"

Ash took a more extended look at the hair. "It's not bad. It's just different," Ash offered her a friendly smile, something Misty returned as the elevator had stopped. Misty should've known better than to think that Ash would say mean things to her. The two stepped out of the elevator as they turned the corner. Brock perked up as he came over.

"Hey, you two." He greeted them as he brought them to the rest of the group. "Good thing you came because May was prepared to leave you two behind."

"She's really serious about this whole shopping thing, isn't she?" Brock could only nod as they came to everyone else. May was quickly getting excited at shopping as an indifferent Ryan was sitting down on the couch. Wartortle was beside him as the Water-type was shown lying down, trying to get some sleep in when Ash and Misty took too long.

Ash gently rubbed Wartortle's belly as the Water-type woke up. "Did I disrupt your beauty sleep, princess?" Wartortle grumbled as he heard Ash say that. Ash sighed as he made his partner stand up. "Come on. You need to sleep earlier so that this doesn't happen." Wartortle just sighed, knowing how right his Trainer was.

Ryan looked at Misty with surprise. "Wow. You look different."

Misty shrugged as she felt confident. "Just wanted to try something a bit different today."

"I think it looks great." Brock ruffled Misty's hair as the girl playfully swatted away his hand.

May had a big smile as everyone was on board. "This is going to be fun! I know it will be for me, but I promise to make it fun for you too."

Ryan shrugged. "As long as we get food after all this, I will not complain." He wasn't very excited about shopping with May because he knew that May would take the idea a bit too seriously. It was either he goes willingly or be dragged out of the building, literally.

"Don't be like that. I promise we'll get a good outfit for you." May assured the boy in a kind tone, Ryan smiling at the idea of getting new clothes. "Maybe some sunglasses will complete your look."

"Well, what are we standing around for? The earlier, the better!"

"I love that mindset, Ashie!" May complimented her friend, Ash letting out a small groan after hearing that. May had started to use the nickname Misty gave him, and Ash worried that it would only be a matter of time until everyone else followed. At least he was able to make May call Misty by her nickname.

"War war war." Wartortle laughed, finding the use of the nickname funny. Everyone started to leave the hotel they were staying at as they all stuck together as a group. May was happily humming to herself as everything was going her way.

Brock came over as he had to ask a question. "So, any particular store you want to go to, or are you just going to the ones that interest you?"

May shook her head. "I know what stores I do want to go to. I've been mapping out the schedule since when we got here." May suddenly took out a piece of paper. Brock was surprised, seeing that it was a schedule that May had made, complete with times and specific items to get. "The times aren't guaranteed, but this whole thing should take more than three hours."

"You have an entire schedule for your shopping?" Misty asked with disbelief.

"Yes," May responded. Everyone looked at the girl like she had grown a second head, May knowing that this is not how an average person does shopping. "Don't judge me! I like to have everything neat!"

Ryan sweat dropped as he heard that, looking at the girl as he slowly shook his head. "I thought Misty's shopping habits were bad. At least she knew when to stop!" May began to list down each activity on her list, everyone slightly annoyed as they heard that lunch wouldn't be until twelve-thirty.

---

A few hours passed as the group finished all the shopping that May had forced them into. They spend good money on things from clothing, personal products, and a few souvenir items, and even Brock was able to get a massage out of all this. It was indeed a good day as everyone was walking, May giving a satisfied sigh.

"Did I not tell you guys this would be fun?" She remarked as she held her bag. Brock nodded at this question.

Ryan yawned as he had a bag of his own containing the outfit that they decided on for him. "I'm so sleepy. I never knew shopping could wear you out so quickly."

"I agree. That's the first time I've ever gone shopping for that long." Ash remarked as he still held the Dratini egg, looking down at his partner. "You already, bud?"

Wartortle sighed as he was carrying three bags with him. Due to Ash having his hands full and because he agreed to it, Wartorotle was left holding the bag for his Trainer. "War," Wartortle said, giving a fake smile as Ash made a slight frown.

"Sorry. I promise you won't have to do this next time."

The group suddenly heard the sound of a boat as they looked at where the noise came from. The group excitingly ran over as they saw one of the docks of Vermillion, seeing a ship about to leave. "Look at that!"

A massive cruise ship had left the city as it began its journey in the water. The vessel was big, but no one could see all the details from far away. Ash squinted his eyes as he was able to make out the text that was on the side of the ship. "I think it's called... the 'S.S. Anne.'"

"S.S. Anne?" Misty asked as she looked at the ship, seeing the massive thing slowly going away from them. "Where do you guys think it's going to?"

"I'm going to say that it's going to Sinnoh." Brock guessed. A worker walked by as he heard the question, deciding to tell the kids the answer.

"If you're wondering, the S.S. Anne is heading to Hoenn right now." Everyone turned to the guy as he said that. "It's just going there to pick up people and bring them back here."

"Really?" Misty's question was answered with a quick nod as she took it in. "Well, thank you for the info, sir." The man nodded as he walked away.

"Hoenn?" May repeated to herself. Everyone looked at the girl as the ten-year-old was looking at the ship in a longing way. Memories of home came to her as the boat left for her region, and she wondered if her family was alright.

"Getting home sick?"

"Huh?" May quickly shook herself. "No. I was just wondering how everyone back home is doing."

"Wasn't one of the first things you said when you got here was: 'I am going to call my family back home.'?" May gave a massive sweat drop as she heard Ryan remind her. May was so focused on the great and having fun that she had procrastinated calling her family. She kept saying she would do it tomorrow but wouldn't do it the next day.

"I... might have said something like that." May admitted as she suddenly gained new resolve. "I swear, I will call them tonight and talk with them."

The group did believe in her, but the idea that she would not do it today was still there. Brock suddenly stepped forward. "I'll accompany May to the Pokémon Center tonight to make sure she calls them."

Misty looked at Brock as she knew there was an ulterior motive behind that idea. "Are you sure it's for May, or is it for the Nurse Joy that you have been getting close to?"

"Hey! It's nothing like that; we're just friends."

"Then why do you always blush whenever you think about talking to her?" Brock's face suddenly started to turn red as Ash, Misty, and Wartortle began to laugh at how Brock reacted. May lightly chuckled as she also found this funny; Brock crossed his arms as he had to deal with his friends like this.

"Guys! Let's go." Ryan suddenly spoke up as he decided to help Brock out of this situation. "I want to shower, and I bet all of you want to rest on those comfy beds," Ryan said the right thing as everyone agreed with the idea, especially the comfy bed's part. Everyone began to leave as Brock suddenly whispered in Ryan's ear.

"Thank you for the save."

"Anytime, man." The two smiled as they both fist-bumped each other. Ryan looked up at the sky as the group began to walk. A memory of what happened yesterday came by as he suddenly released a defeated sigh.

Ash heard this as he looked at his best friend. "You alright?"

"Huh? Y-Yeah. I was thinking, that's all." Ash knew this was not the final answer but decided to leave it.

The group walked across the now busy streets of Vermillion as the afternoon sun was now in full effect. As they passed through one of the roads, May saw something that caught his eye. On the left side was a small, yet highly fancy, building in the city with all the rich people. There was a massive sign on top that said ' Pokémon Enthusiasts Club. BRING YOUR BEST POKEMON!' In all red letters. "What's this place?"

Everyone turned as they saw the building in front of them. "It's one of those fan clubs," Brock explained as he looked at the elegant design of the building. "It's basically where rich people just off their Pokémon."

Misty cringed at seeing one of these. "Let's keep going." She had been to a few of these places before, and it was something that she could never understand. She couldn't even begin to understand why someone would spend multiple hours just talking about how unique their Pokémon are or the thousand Poke Dollar outfits they would always have their Pokémon wear.

Brock's answer seemed to perk up Ash's interest, wanting to see the Pokémon that these people might have. "Let's go inside. I've never been to one of these before."

"Wart?" Wartortle wasn't expecting his Trainer to be interested in this.

May looked at the building, liking the exterior of this place. "I'll join you, Ash." May suggested as she stood by him. "This place seems interesting." The two nodded as they suddenly started to make their way inside.

"Ash!" Misty's call was ignored as the boy had already set his mind to it, Wartortle beside them as they made their way to the doors. Misty sighed as the three looked at each other, knowing they should stick by each other.

"Let's give them five minutes, then we can go." Brock's idea was decided as the rest of the group entered the building. The group was unaware that someone else was interested in the building.

On top of a nearby roof, a Team Rocket member was looking at the building with binoculars. The boy was zooming in on the building as he noticed every detail. "Meowth! Found anything, Mondo?" Meowth suddenly came next to him as the Normal-type licked his hand.

"No, sir!" Mondo said respectfully as he stood up, walking to the other Team Rocket members. "There appears to be no security on the outside. I've also found a point of weakness for us to exploit."

"Good eye, Mondo," Jessie said to the boy as she and James prepared everything for the break-in. Mondo blushed slightly at being told those words by Jessie herself. "The Pokémon they have in there are not the ones for battle, so we won't have to worry there."

"Wouldn't it be better if we tried to go in with a disguise?" James suggested as he didn't agree with the two main ideas they were deciding on. "We could sweet talk our way into there."

Jessie rolled her eyes. "We're here to get the money in there, and simple words won't get us there." She explained as she looked at the target. This mission for money was one they were most excited about as they had been forced to deal with bottom-of-the-barrel choices from Domino. This mission would finally put them on the girl's good side. "Get everything ready! We need to attack before the sun goes down."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Mondo saluted for Jessie, the girl suddenly getting a smile.

"Oh! I actually like that title." She remarked as she quickly shook herself. "Until this mission ends, you shall refer to me as 'Your Highness.'" She nodded to herself as she went back to making preparations. James rolled his eyes as Meowth jumped into his arms.

"Your Highness is a royal pain," Meowth whispered to James as he referred to Jessie. James could only agree with this sentiment.

"Mr. James," Mondo suddenly called out. The boy seemed nervous as he looked at the ground. "Sorry if this is a bad time. I just wanted to ask if I could do something."

"What do you want to do?"

Mondo looked up at James as he gained the courage to say it. "You know you guys have that song for you two? Is there any way that I can be part of it?"

James was surprised, feeling pride that Mondo enjoyed their theme song and wanted to be part of it. "You want your part of the song?"

"I-If you can. If not, I understand." Mondo responded.

"Hmm." James stroked his chin as he thought. "Sorry. You could be part of the song, but I don't think we could do that redone version for this mission."

Mondo sighed as he heard that, expecting an answer like that for his request. Meowth suddenly came over and placed a hand on the boy's boot. "Meowth. Don't worry, twerp. We can start making that new song whenever we're done here." Mondo smiled at the reassurance. Jessie was putting away the items when she heard about this.

"That song was meant to be an us thing," Jessie explained to the boy as she pointed at herself, James, and Meowth. "But when we got all that money from there, we could easily make some lyrics for you. Then, it will really be an us thing."

Mondo was so happy to hear that. "You're really amazing, your highness."

"I know I am, but I appreciate the compliment." Jessie's smile suddenly went away as she pointed at the group. "Now get back to work!" Despite the sweet moment they had, they had a mission to do. A mission they had no intention of messing up.

The group was now inside as they looked around the truly grand place. Expensive furniture for people and Pokémon made up the main room as all kinds of Pokémon from across the world were showcased here. Ash had stars in his eyes as he saw all the Pokémon from the regions he researched; Ryan was surprised at just how unique some of these Pokémon were. A grand chandelier hung from above as they walked around, feeling really out of place with their casual wear.

"Dang." Misty managed to breathe out as she saw the food offered to the Pokémon, all high-class stuff she wished her Pokémon had. May was just as amazed as she suddenly saw a big stage in the back of the building. May tried to get a good look through all the people and Pokémon there.

"Hello." A female voice suddenly called out to them. The boys gasped as they saw a beautiful blonde woman with a red dress approach them. Her smile was soft as she stood as tall as Brock. "You five look new. Did you come for something?"

The beauty of the woman entranced Ash. He quickly snapped out of it as he tried to explain, but Ryan had beaten him. "We just wanted to see this place for ourselves. Didn't expect this place to look so nice." Ryan explained. The boy seemed immune to the girl's beauty, as he didn't have thoughts or desires like that.

The woman lightly chuckled. "Don't worry, we're not ones to judge based on clothes." She assured them as she looked at them. She looked at Brock as the boy's face was so red it would put a tomato to shame. "You look a bit red, kid."

"Oh ta toe e che og bor." This was a time when Brock actually couldn't speak. The woman's beauty made the teenager unable to make actual sentences. Ash looked at his friend with wide eyes as he moved his hand in front of Brock's face, not even getting a reaction.

"Awww. The boy's nervous," She thought sympathetically. She looked at the rest of the group as she liked the energy she got from these kids, deciding that their time here should at least be worth something. "I know someone that I bet you guys would like to meet. He's the boss of this place."

"YES!" Brock suddenly snapped out of it, accidentally shouting his answer. The boy realized what he did as he tried to make himself seem less of a fool than he already was. "I mean, it would be our pleasure to go with you..." Brock looked down as he felt like a hundred eyes were looking at him.

The woman gave a kind smile. "Well, then, let us go."

"Hold on," Misty suddenly spoke up before anyone could move, not trusting this whole thing with the boss. She looked at the taller woman. "Why should we go along with this?"

"Because there is ice cream cake." She responded. May suddenly got stars in her eyes as she quickly followed the woman. Everyone decided to go along with this as the woman seemed nice enough, and it was not like they had anything else to do. The woman kindly guided them across the central area as Wartortle saw various Pokémon, almost running into a well-groomed Flareon by accident.

"That art's beautiful." Misty couldn't help but compliment the expensive-looking art pieces on display. Ash kindly waved to everyone and their Pokémon as he held the Dratini egg. May was in shock at seeing a multi-tier cake on the table.

Brock looked around. "Wonder how much money they put into this place." Brock suddenly saw from the corner of his eye two Pokémon that seemed to be alone in a corner. The first one was just a simple Eevee, but the other was not native to Kanto.

It was a Ponyta, yet it did not bear a mane made out of fire. Her hair, tail, and fetlocks were covered in long, purple-and-blue, fluffy fur. She had chalk-white fur covering most of her body. Her eyes were purple with light-blue irises, and a small purple-and-white horn was on her forehead. Brock was surprised to see a Galatian Ponyta here. He calmly walked up to the two as they saw someone approaching them.

"Hey," Brock kindly told them. Eevee and Ponyta looked up at the boy, surprised at the unexpected kindness coming from the teenager. Brock tried to think of what to say, realizing he didn't have a reason to see these two. "I just want to see how you two were. You two are just standing on the side when there's a whole party going on."

"Eeve ve e." Eevee explained as he looked down, the Normal-type nervous.

"All the noise and people are making you scared?" Eevee and Ponyta nodded at Brock's question. "Can't blame you. I was overwhelmed when I first saw this place, too."

Ponyta stepped forward. "Pony ta yta ony?" She asked Brock, but the boy didn't know what she was talking about. Brock shook his head as Ponyta was not being understood.

Brock had a good idea to make this whole thing better. "Would you guys like me to get you some food?" The two Pokémon were surprised at the selfless gesture, looking at the kind boy as Brock realized something. "Well, I don't think I could just ask for some food. I could still try because I can see you guys could use a good-"

"Brock!" The older boy turned around and saw Ryan looking around for the boy, finally seeing him as he came closer. "There you are. We can't lose each other in a place like this." Ryan gasped at seeing the unique Ponyta.

"Sorry about that. I just saw these two and thought I could help them." Brock explained as Ryan kneeled at the unique Pokémon. He knew what a Ponyta looked like, so why did this one have colorful hair instead of flames? Ponyta gazed into Ryan's eyes, using her powers to sense no evil intent from the boy.

Ryan gently reached out a hand to touch Ponyta, but the Psychic-type backed away, not trusting the boy completely. "Oh. I didn't mean to scare you." Ryan put his hand down as he gave a gentle smile to Ponyta. "Your hair is beautiful." He complimented, seeing just how fluffy and soft it seemed to be.

Ponyta slightly blushed after hearing that. Eevee suddenly came over as the cute Pokémon had a big smile on his face. "Eeve! Eeve!" He kept shouting as he jumped up and down.

"You want to be petted?" Eevee eagerly nodded as Ryan decided to do it, feeling the soft fur of Eevee. "Brock, you have to feel this fur." Brock went along with it, as Ryan was right about the soft part. Brock scratched a particular part as Eevee started tapping his foot rapidly.

"Feels good?" Eevee slowly nodded as Brock kept comfortable scratching him. Ponyta saw how gentle these two were, still surprised that these two were willing to make sure they were okay. The two stopped as Eevee felt so relaxed now. "I'm glad we could help out. I wonder who your Trainer-"

"BROCK! RYAN!" Misty's shout made the two boys turn as they heard the girl's voice, and she did not sound happy.

"Uh oh..." Ryan hurriedly stood up as he made Brock stand up as well. "It was great to meet you two, but we have to go."

"Sorry, I couldn't get you food." Brock apologized as the two had to go quickly. "I-I'll try to make it up to you." Brock finally said as they disappeared into the crowd, Ponyta and Eevee sharing a little laugh at how scared the two were.

"Eeve ve ev Eevee!" Eevee exclaimed at just how friendly those two were.

Ponyta nodded slightly. "Pony ony," She remarked, finding the two rather interesting.

"Ow! Not so hard!" Ryan pleated as the boys' ears were being pulled by Misty as she brought them somewhere specific. Brock made an uncomfortable face as he was luckily more tolerant of this pain, hearing some woman laughing. The boy could only hope it wasn't because of what was happening to him.

"Maybe don't try to walk off like that again," Misty suggested with a smile as her grip grew tighter on Ryan. They were led to a particular table as Ash and May were talking with the people there, the woman that led them there in the first place having taken a seat.

"I've had this egg for about two weeks," Ash explained as he showed off the egg that the table was curious about. Misty suddenly came with Ryan and Brock as she let go, the two rubbing their ear after being pulled on so hard. May sent a smile to Misty, Misty finding out how effective May's ear pulling was.

"Hello," A male voice from the finest seat on the table greeted them.

Brock and Ryan saw the owner of this place, and they were surprised by his height. He was barely taller than May as he was casually dressed in a sweatshirt with a Poké Ball print on it and blue pants. He had brown shoes. His hair was well shaved, his eyes just like Brock's were. Ash quickly introduced the two. "This is the Brock and Ryan that I was telling you about. This is Mr. Sukizo,"

"Wartort,"

"Pleasure," He sat up in his chair to shake Brock's hand, the boy kindly accepting the offer from the rich man. "Did you come here to talk about Pokémon?"

"No. We just came here to see this place for ourselves." Misty explained as she looked at the shorter man and found him more pleasant than she thought. "We don't have any plans to stay here."

"Well, it's nice to meet new faces," Sukizo remarked as everyone at the table agreed with this. He looked at Ash as they were to resume the conversation. "So, what were you saying about your egg?"

"It's a Dratini egg. I received it from Lance himself as a challenge." This information made the table gasp as the egg was treated like a grand treasure. Ash sighed as he touched the case. "Sadly, it still hasn't moved after all this time."

"Would you like us to take care of the egg?" One of the men suggested as he sent an assuring smile to the boy. "We have eggs brought here sometimes, and we always clean them and make sure they're in good health. An egg such as this deserves treatment like that."

Ash scratched the back of his head nervously. "I'm not sure. I bet it's good, but I want to keep it safe."

"Would you rather carry that around all day?"

Ash thought about Ryan's question as he looked down at his egg. He, of course, loved the thing, but it always required both arms to carry it safely. "Just... for a few minutes." Ash decided as he gave the egg to the man. "You better keep it safe!"

The man nodded as he brought the egg to a special place. May looked around as she tapped the woman's shoulder that led them here. "Is it okay if I have some cake?"

"Of course! Plenty to share," She sliced off a big piece of the cake and gave it to May with a fork, the girl quickly dug into the ice cream cake that she was promised. "Do you kids not want to stay here?"

"I heard you were Trainers," Sukizo remarked as he drank from a cup of tea. "I would be interested in hearing about your travels."

Misty found this surprising, as they had an audience that wanted to hear about their travels. "Well," The girl decided to take advantage of Sukizo's interest. "I guess we could talk about-" A sudden sound of a bottle opening caused an entire group of people and Pokémon to cheer, interrupting the girl's sentence. Sukizo saw the slight annoyance on Misty's face.

"Is it too loud for you? We can go to somewhere quieter." Sukizo suggested as he stood up, wanting to hear Misty's story.

"Oh. That's alright, Mr Sukizo." Brock's respectful response made the man shake his head.

"I wish to know you five more, and I would like to share the story of my Rapidash to some new faces." He explained as he sent them a smile. "We can talk over some treats."

This perked May's interest, as she quickly swallowed. "I would love to speak time with you." The way May said it so quickly caused everyone to laugh, Sukizo smiling at hearing that. The group decided to go along with this, as they figured this shouldn't take more than thirty minutes.

"Follow me," Sukizo left his magnificent chair as he calmly led the group to a room on the side, the shorter man using a key to allow the group in. "I felt a quieter room would be better for talking."

A few sounds of awe came as they saw the side room they would use for talking. It was a lot simpler compared to the main area, but it still had good-looking furniture and even a bed that was explicitly designed for a Pokémon. Wartotle quickly went over to the bed; he placed the bags next to it and lay in it, feeling how soft it was. "Tor..." Wartortle yawned as he felt very exhausted.

"Of course, that's the first thing you go to." Ash's remark was given no reaction by Wartortle as the boy playfully rolled his eyes. He was used to this by now. The boy sat on the wooden chair as he leaned back in it.

Misty sat next to him as the girl felt how comfortable it was. "This feels good." Misty sighed as she rested her hands on the sides of the chair. Everyone sat down as May was still eating her piece of cake, the girl reminding herself that she needed to know what flavor this cake was.

"Which one wants to go first?" Sukizo asked the group as he was drinking his tea.

"How about you go first, sir?" Ryan asked the man. After Sukizo's kindness to them, it would only be fair for him to talk about his Pokémon first. "You mentioned having a Rapidash."

"Ah, my remarkable Rapidash." Sukizo decided to take the offer as he began to talk about his Pokémon, everyone looking at him to listen. "Where to begin? Well, my Rapidash is a kind girl I've had for about ten years. When I got her, she was already a Rapidash, but our connection had become almost immediate. I wasn't sure how to properly raise a Rapidash when I first received her, but now I can confidently say that I am an expert in Rapidash. If you are interested in ever wanting to own one, I can give you a list of tips that I have followed for the last two years. Rapidash's tend to prefer completely open fields with little trees or elevation change, blah blah blah blah blah."

Little did the group know, the story about Sukizo's Rapidash would last a long time.

---

"I always like to make sure that my Rapidash is well fed, as she has a rather strong appetite, so I must give her four meals a day. I always know the specific amount to give her, and due to how much exercise she always gets, she still looks to be in great condition. She always likes to run for about two hours a day."

One entire hour later, Sukizo was still talking about his glorious Rapidash.

Ash and Misty were completely asleep as Misty rested her head on the table. May looked so drowsy as she tried her best to stay awake, pinching herself when everything started to become dark. Ryan seemed to be the only one who hadn't completely given up on the conversation, taking in any information he knew could be helpful for his Pokémon. Brock impatiently tapped his fingers on the table.

"Rapidash has a very particular taste in fashion, and she will refuse to listen unless she can wear something she likes." Sukizo went on as he finally stopped, realizing he hadn't given anyone else a chance to talk. "Oh! I'm sorry." Misty abruptly woke up when she heard Sukizo suddenly apologize; Ryan tapped Ash as the boy groggily opened his eyes.

May gave a relieved sigh at seeing that Sukizo had finally stopped. "I forgot how nice silence was." May looked at Sukizo as the girl wasn't pleased about what she had just sat through.

Brock stopped tapping his finger as he saw Sukizo look at them with full attention. "I think you care about your Rapidash." Brock decided to joke to improve the mood, though no one laughed at it.

"Of course I do." Sukizo shook his head as all the kids finally sat back up. "I've just been going on for so long that I forgot this was supposed to be a conversation about all of our Pokémon. How about you start, Ash?"

Instead of being excited to start, Ash rubbed his eyes tiredly as the boy tried to stay awake. "Um... can someone else start us off?" He kindly asked. Brock quickly sat up in response.

"How about we just go?" Brock suggested, as he knew the group was tired, and he also needed the bathroom. "It was great to meet you, Mr. Sukizo, but we would like to be on our way."

"What a shame," Sukizo remarked before an idea donned on him. "Can I at least know your goals? I know the five of you are Pokémon Trainers traveling Kanto, so each of you must have goals for your journey."

Ash was starting to wake up as he heard what Sukizo wanted to know about them. He quickly shook himself awake as he decided to answer as best as he could. "I'm going to be the Kanto Champion!" Ash declared with full passion. Sukizo was astonished by the way the boy said it.

Misty yawned as she decided to say her goal as well. "Going to be the best Water-type Trainer out there." She said with a sure smile.

"I want to be the best Pokémon Breeder." Brock joined in, Ryan thinking as he tried to make his goal sound as cool as everyone else's.

"I just want to become a powerful Trainer and collect badges."

Sukizo nodded. "It's a simple dream, but one I'm confident you can achieve." Ryan smiled as the man looked at May. "And what is your young lady?"

May opened her mouth as she was about to speak, but she suddenly stopped before any words could come out. "Uh..." May tried her best to make her dream as epic as everyone else's was but ran into a bit of an issue. "My goal. Is.." May felt extremely embarrassed as everyone stared at her to finish, Wartortle having woken up a few seconds earlier.

Sukizo gave an understanding smile to the girl. "If it's embarrassing to say, then I understand."

"No. It's just..." May racked her brain as a dreadful realization hit her. She didn't have a goal. "I'm struggling to think of what to say."

Ash and the others looked at each other as May was left stunned. "What do you mean? Don't you remember that goal that you said when we met?" Ash tried to make her remember.

"I do, but I don't think that's a very good one," May said honestly, as simply traveling looked very unimpressive compared to the high-effort goals that everyone else shared.

"Well, how about we make a new one? One that you're comfortable with?" Sukizo suggested as he saw how the girl felt. "Tell me, do you like Pokémon battling?"

"Not really. I'm not very good at it." May admitted, Sukizo surprised by the answer. He figured this girl would be battle-happy like most of the group was.

Ryan thought of a decent idea. "You said you're good with sports, May. How about you do something with that?" May looked at the boy as she gave an uncomfortable shrug, not liking the idea.

Sukizo rubbed his chin as he wanted to help. "How about Pokémon Contest? Have you ever thought about doing great in that?"

May was confused after hearing that. "Pokémon Contest? What's that?"

"You've never heard of those before?" Brock was shocked when May just shrugged. "If I remember correctly, they are a big thing in the Hoenn region. One of my sisters always hogs the TV whenever one is on air."

May thought to herself as she heard all this new info. "I think I've heard about them but have never watched any. How does it work?" She asked with an intrigued smile.

Sukizo proudly stood up. "My dear, you have just asked the right person for it." Sukizo smiled as he pointed at himself. "I have judged over one hundred separate Pokémon Contest for years and have become one of the best judges out there."

Everyone was shocked after hearing that bit of info. "You're a judge for Pokémon Contest?"

Brock snapped his fingers as he recalled why Sukizo looked so familiar. "I knew I recognized you from somewhere. I saw you on TV during the Pacifilog Contest a few years ago."

"Oh, why thank you. That was one of the more fun ones." Sukizo cleared his throat as he looked at May. "They are quite fun, at least for the people participating."

"How do they work?"

Sukizo smiled as he tried to simplify it for the girl. "Contests are divided into two parts: the Performance Stage and the Battle Stage. The Performance Stage is the first part, where Coordinators have their Pokémon performing their moves to showcase their style and skill." May nodded, she and Ash having no idea what style meant. "The judges, which includes me, will give out points for the moves' appeal and style. Only the people with the most points will advance to the Battle Stage."

May mentally wrote this down. "Okay. I get it so far."

"The Battle Stage plays like any Pokémon battle, with a few specific rules. There is a five-minute time limit, and your goal isn't simply to make the other Pokémon faint but to score more points than the other person."

May and Ryan were confused by this. "Huh?" What kind of Pokémon battle was it if the goal wasn't to beat the opponent's Pokémon?

"Coordinators lose points when their Pokémon are hit by an attack, when their Pokémon's attack fails, when the opponent's Pokémon performs a particularly appealing move, or when the opponent's Pokémon uses their Pokémon's attack to its advantage. Everyone starts with zero, and you aim to have more points than others." Sukizo explained the points to May. "It is possible to win through fainting the opponent, which would be called a Battle Off, but this is generally very frowned upon. I've heard some contests even wanting to ban the usage of fainting to win."

May took all this info as this wasn't confusing, just a lot of new stuff she didn't know about. "What happens if you win?"

"Ah. The person who can make it to the end will receive a ribbon." Sukizo explained as he wished he had an example to show the group. "Ribbons are essential for those that wish to enter any Grand Festival, as you need a total of five to enter. You're allowed multiple years to get these five ribbons, but the five must come from a specific region and cannot be reused to reenter a Grand Festival."

May took in all of this very new information as the more she heard the details of this, the more she became interested in it. "Do you want to be part of this?" Brock asked his friend as he saw how deep in thought the girl was.

"It... sounds kind of fun, actually." May admitted as she slowly nodded to herself. She had never been interested in Pokémon Contest before this, but hearing all about it made her wish to experience it.

"I think you could well, May." Sukizo positively encouraged the girl, as he was like this with anyone interested. "I've never seen your team before, and you'd need some other stuff before you participate, but I see potential in you."

"You think so?"

Ash smiled as he saw May become more enticed by this. "Give it a try, May! I bet you'd be the best Coordinator!"

"Wartort!" Wartortle ultimately agreed as he sat at the table. Due to his height, though, you could only really see his ears.

May looked at her best friend, Ryan, smiling at her. "Go for it. It's better to try and fail than not even attempt it, right?" Ryan realized what he said as he shook himself. "Not saying you'll fail, of course."

May smiled at the encouragement as she looked at the other girl in the group. Misty shrugged and gave a smile. "I'll support you either way." She assured her. May looked at Sukizo as she thought for a couple of seconds, some doubt forming in her mind. She managed to push through as she finally gave her answer.

"Mr. Sukizo," She began with a surprising amount of sureness. "I would like to participate in Pokémon Contest."

The group cheered for May's decision as Sukizo approvingly nodded at this. "You've made a great choice, May." He told the girl as May just nodded to herself.

"I hope so," May remarked, as this would be entirely new for her. "So, what do I have to do first?"

Sukizo smiled as he decided to let everyone outside this room. "Firstly, we should probably get out of this stiff room. People are probably waiting for us."

Everyone began to come out as she mentally sighed to herself. "Looks like we'll be here for a bit longer." She realized as she saw May eagerly asking Sukizo questions as they walked out. "If it's for a friend, I can deal with it." She reminded herself.

---

Sukizo was leading the group outside as everyone cheered on them coming out. "There's the main man." One of the older men said as Sukizo kindly took in all the compliments he received. The group kindly waved as they felt wildly misplaced next to someone this famous.

Brock slowly walked over to Sukizo as they walked. "You seem pretty famous here." He remarked as the man nodded. The teenager had a question come up. "May I ask why-"

"Why do I own a place like this?" Sukizo smiled as he had been asked many times before. "I know it doesn't sound like something I would do, but I've always been interested in stuff like this. This place is my little getaway I always have during the summer months."

"So, you'll judge the contest when summer is over?"

"More or less. I, of course, love to judge Pokémon Contest, but even I need a good break from it all." Brock nodded after hearing this, finding the desire to have a break relatable. "May," The girl quickly came over to him.

"Yes, sir?"

"I'm glad that you are willing to give this a try." He remarked, May nodding as she was glad she decided to try something new. "I feel like a practice version of Pokémon Contest will be a good way for you to get into this whole thing."

May became instantly worried for a second. "Right now?"

Sukizo laughed at seeing how scared the girl got. "Don't worry, you'll have time to prepare." He assured the girl as she quickly relaxed. "I will ask someone to come up on stage to demonstrate what they usually do during the Performance Stage. It's not enough to make your Pokémon use a move."

May was about to ask something before Brock interjected. "Will May be on that stage?" He pointed to the main stage that May was curious about when she came in.

"But of course." He answered as he looked at May. "If you have stage freight of any kind, I understand."

May shook her head as she pumped her fist. "Don't worry, I can handle people looking at me. I am going to do great at this..." She suddenly thought more realistically as she clarified herself. "...Probably."

"You can easily do this, May." Brock tried to make May think more positively. "I have stage fright if that makes you feel any better." May smiled as she saw Brock trying to make her feel better despite his lying.

Everyone was led to an empty table close to the elevated stage as Sukizo excused himself. Everyone sat down at their place. "Is every chair here this comfortable?" Ryan asked as he sat down in the relaxing chair.

"It must be a rich thing," Ash remarked as he sat down as Wartortle sat on his lap like a child. He looked at May as the girl sat down. "Are you excited for this, May?"

"I am," May replied as she looked around. Seeing all the various people and Pokémon interacting with each other made her realize just how many people would soon be viewing her on the stage. "A bit nervous, but that won't stop me."

Misty offered a fist bump as May gladly accepted. "You're tough, May. You can easily do this!" Someone carrying drinks walked by as Misty suddenly raised her hand, bringing the person over to the table. "Hi! Sorry to interrupt, but are you serving drinks?"

"Yes. Care for one?"

Misty thought for a moment. "Do you have a mango milkshake?" The person nodded as they quickly went away to get the drink. "Thank you so much!"

Brock shook his head at seeing that. "Really? This isn't a restaurant, Misty." Brock expressed, knowing that they were ultimately not supposed to be here.

"What? I'm so thirsty." She admitted, though she knew that Brock was ultimately right. "I'll pay for it if they want me to."

Ash just looked at Misty, as he wasn't worried that she had ordered a drink like that. "What's a mango milkshake?"

"You've never had one before? Have you ever had mango before?" Misty gasped slightly as she saw Ash shake his head. "I'll let you have a sip because you need to try this."

"Really? Thank you, Misty." Ash said gratefully as the girl was being very nice by doing this, the two sharing a good smile. Ryan looked off into the distance as he thought back to what happened yesterday. His memory just made the boy feel disappointed, not angry or upset.

"Something on your mind?"

Ryan shook himself as he looked at Ash. "Yeah," He admitted.

"Would talking to your best friend help out?"

Ryan thought for a moment before nodding. "Not right now, but yes." Ash sent a comforting smile to him, showing off that Ash was always there to help out the boy if he ever needed it. A fact that Ryan is so thankful for.

"Eeve! Eve!" Suddenly, an Eevee and Ponyta came to them. The group saw the two Pokémon come and were caught off guard by the appearance of Ponyta.

"Wow! It's a Galarian Ponyta!" Misty said with awe, never having seen one in person before. Galarian Ponyta seemed slightly nervous about how many people were with Brock and Ryan.

"Hello there." Ash kindly greeted them as he offered them a goofy smile. "My name's Ash. It's great to meet a Pokémon as unique as you." He complimented, Ponyta slightly blushing at hearing that.

Brock and Ryan were surprised to see these two again. "I didn't think I'd see you two again," Ryan remarked as he sent the two a kind smile. "Did you come here to see us again?"

"Ta." Ponyta nodded as Eevee was busy getting head scratches from Ash, something the Normal-type loved.

Brock realized his promise as he looked at them with a sad look. "I don't have that food I promised you. I can try to look for some now if you're still hungry."

Eevee shook his head, showing that it was okay. "VEE!" Suddenly, Eevee went underneath the table and he jumped into the lap of Brock. No one was expecting this as Brock had his eyes widened and his arms back.

"That... wasn't the reaction I was expecting," Brock said after a moment as he tried to place Eevee on the ground gently. Eevee struggled against the boy's gentle grip as the Pokémon wanted to stay with the teenager. "What do you want?"

Misty found it cute that Eevee refused to be removed from Brock. "I think Eevee is a big fan of you, Brocky." She teased as Brock finally stopped after a couple of seconds.

May found the Eevee cute as the girl had started to form opinions on what Pokémon she liked after a while. "Let him stay. It's not like he's causing any issues."

Brock looked as he saw Eevee comfortably sitting on his lap; the Normal-types fur was still as soft as before. "I guess you're okay." Brock decided, knowing that Eevee wasn't here to cause any trouble. "But if I need to stand up, I expect you to jump off me."

Eevee nodded as the Normal-type looked at the boy, playfully sticking his tongue as he had gotten his way. Brock gave a sweat drop as he heard Misty chuckling at the little interaction. "Pony?" Ponyta asked if she could sit beside Ryan on the floor, calmly sitting by the boy when Ryan nodded.

"I wonder..." Ash looked at Ponyta as he decided to use Dexter on the girl. He knew it would work on a regular Pokémon, but Ash wondered if his Pokédex would work as he pointed it at Ponyta.

Instead of giving off a message, Dexter did give a description of the Pokémon. "Galarian Ponyta, the unique horn Pokémon. Shares Dex Number 84 with its Kantonian counterpart. Pokémon Typing: Psychic. This Pokémon will look into your eyes and read the contents of your heart. If it finds evil there, it promptly hides away. This specific Galarian Ponyta is female and at level 14. Pokémon Ability: Anticipation (The Pokémon can sense an opposing Pokémon's dangerous moves). This Pokémon has the following moves: Tackle, Growl, Confusion, Tail Whip." The Pokédex displayed a unique image of a Galarian Ponyta as Ash was surprised by how much Oak planned.

"War tot tor?" Wartortle asked in surprise as he heard Dexter give an actual answer.

"I didn't think so either, but I guess it does," Ash remarked as he put his Pokédex away. The person Misty spoke to earlier suddenly came as Misty quickly got her drink, giving her thanks as she put the straw in the cup.

"Alright, Ashie, prepared to have your taste buds change forever." Misty declared as she offered the cup to Ash. Ash looked at the cup as the orange color of the shake was something he wasn't used to.

Ash took a sip as the boy tasted the supposedly fantastic drink. Ash made a weird face as he finished taking his sip. "...Why does it taste like that?"

"You don't like it?" Misty was convinced that Ash would be a fan of this drink. Wartortle decided to take a sip of his own, liking it slightly more than Ash but more or less having the same reaction.

"I guess it's fine. It feels like a weird mixture of sweet and sour." Ash tried his best to explain as he passed the drink back to Misty. Misty huffed as she figured Ash needed more time to appreciate this great drink.

"Can I try?" May asked eagerly after hearing how it tasted. May took a sip, and the girl was pleasantly surprised. "Oh! That's pretty good."

Misty smiled to herself as she heard that. "See, Ash? May knows what tastes good." Ash rolled his eyes as he saw Misty enjoy her drink. The lights of the place started to suddenly dim as all the attention was brought to the main stage. Everyone watched as the stage light grew bright as a microphone turned on.

"Can everyone hear?" Sukizo asked as everyone poured their focus on the stage. Sukizo gave a confident smile. "Hello, my fellow club members. We have a little show to give everyone as one of our most respected members will demonstrate the skills with their Pokémon. Enjoy the demonstration of what a simple Pokémon move can be!"

Everyone clapped as one of the younger men came out with a Pokémon that Ash excitingly pointed out. "Look! A Flareon!" A quadrupedal Pokémon with short, reddish-orange fur walked on stake. He had long ears with black interiors, dark eyes, and a small black nose. There were three tiny toes and yellow paw pads on each foot. Fluffy yellow fur made a small tuft on his head, a bushy tail, and a mane around his chest and neck.

"Just like how we rehearsed." Flareon nodded at the whisper as he looked at the utterly silent crowd. "Fire Spin! Go!"

Flareon suddenly became enveloped in a fiery vortex that lit up most of the room. Everyone was blown away as the closer ones felt the heat, Flareon having such control as not to have any fire escape or harm someone. Flareon made several rings of fire with this move as the Pokémon suddenly conjured up Will-O-Wisp. The two balls of sinister fire went through the constantly moving rings of fire as everyone couldn't help but be impressed with the amount of fire control this Pokémon had. The rings and balls of fire returned to Flareon as everything suddenly went quiet, the Fire-type smirking at the audience when he was finished.

Everyone clapped their hands as everyone was impressed by the show, Ponyta even smiling after getting past how dangerous it looked. The man and his happy Flareon left as Sukizo came on stage. "What a truly great display of Flareon! I doubt I have to ask if this was a performance you enjoyed!"

Eevee stood up on the table as he left Brock's lap. "Eevee! Eev ee vee!" Eevee said to Flareon, declaring him as his hero. Flareon just sent a kind smirk to the unevolved Pokémon as they left.

"But that is not the only performance we'll be having this evening. Someone here is interested in becoming a Pokémon Coordinator, and her first attempt will be on this stage right here!" The crowd cheered as May realized who he was talking about, trying to excite her upcoming performance. "Who could this girl be? What Pokémon may she have? Well, how about we wait to find out?"

Everyone clapped as Sukizo made his way off stage, Eevee sitting comfortably back in Brock's lap. Ash and Ryan looked at May as the girl started feeling slightly overwhelmed. "You excited to be performing, May?"

May shook herself as she tried to think positively. "Yeah. I have to have my Pokémon do whatever that Flareon did. Shouldn't be easy at all!" May laughed before it quickly died down, a look of fear slowly taking over.

Brock placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. "In stuff like this, you shouldn't compare yourself to others." He told the girl as she gave her advice. "We each run our race, and you have your own performance."

May smiled a little at Brock's reassurance, but she still felt a sense of dread come over. "I just wish I knew what my performance should be."

Sukizo came over, and he offered May a kind smile. "I do believe that you'll do well, May. I'll give you thirty minutes, but tell me if you need more time."

"Thank you so much for this." A question came to mind as she stopped him from leaving. "Can I use both of my Pokémon for this?"

"You're usually supposed to use just one, but I see no harm in allowing two at once," Sukizo responded as he had to attend to other matters. Brock gently signaled for Eevee to come off him. Eevee had to step off as the boy stood up.

"You heard the man, May. You got thirty minutes to practice and prepare for this whole thing." May quickly stood up as she went with Brock. The girl would've instead trained with Ash, but Brock's experience by viewing Pokémon Contests was enough to make Ash not accept the offer. Even Ash admitted that he had no idea about this whole thing.

The two went outside to find some open area to train on as May looked around. "Any idea on what I should do?"

"Is this not your performance?" Brock questioned back with a small smile, finding it nice that May was still trying to come to him for guidance. "You should do whatever you think sounds right for this whole thing. I'll at least help you with what moves you pick."

May sighed, figuring that Brock couldn't give her the answer. She brought out her Charmander, knowing he had much more to work with than Beldum. "Char?" Charmander looked around, confused when he saw no opponent to go against.

"Hey, Char. No fighting today." May called him by his nickname as she petted his head. "I need you to do something for me."

"Mander," Charmander nodded, curious about her request.

"I want you to keep practicing on your Dragon Breath, and I want you to make all kinds of unique shapes with that move. Can you please?" Charmander instantly nodded. The request was weird but something he could easily do. "Yes! You're my favorite Fire-type for a reason."

"Isn't Charmander the only Fire-type we have?" Brock thought to himself as he decided not to mention it.

Charmander pumped himself up as he launched the attack of blue fire. It was intense, but he knew that wasn't the goal as he tried to shape it into a unique shape. He curved the blast of fire and could make it bend around itself, but this action could only last for a few seconds before Charmander lost concentration. Charmander gave it his all with every chance, making relatively simple shapes with his dark blue flames.

May looked at Charmander. Though the fire was certainly impressive for the little Pokémon, it just didn't seem good enough to her. She quickly realized that she was probably being unfair. "You getting worried?""

May shook her head as she smiled confidently. "Not at all. I know my Pokémon won't let me down." Charmander smiled, glad to see the girl as determined as Ash usually is.

---

Half an hour later, everyone had been seated for May's upcoming performance.

The group was at the table as they were most excited about this, Ponyta still beside them as she decided to join in. The amount of positive energy she felt from this group was staggering. "May's going to do great!" Ash remarked as he and Wartortle were on the edge of their seats, literally.

"Well, duh. Of course, May's going to do great." Misty answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm glad she decided to try something new out." She remarked as everyone else was talking amongst themselves.

May peered from behind one of the curtains on stage. She just went to take a quick peek as she needed to know how many people she had to impress. "Big crowd..." She thought as she went behind the curtain, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves.

"Are you feeling overwhelmed?" Brock kindly asked her as she looked at them. Brock and May were there to help May get mentally ready for this whole thing.

May gave a relaxed sigh. "A little, but that's not going to change a thing." She said as she tried to be confident.

Ryan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's your first time doing this, so don't beat yourself up if you can't do it now." He assured her as he gave a small smile. "Just know that we'll be cheering you on no matter how the performance goes."

"Thanks'," May said gratefully as they saw Sukizo come up to them, preparing the microphone for the introduction portion.

"It's about time, May." He spoke as he looked at the two boys. "You two go sit down with your friends. I can take it from here." The two nodded as they left May alone, but not before Ryan gave a cheerful smile to her with two big thumbs up. The man looked at May as he patted her back. "Always remember to do your best."

May smiled as she looked at the curtain, the feeling of having Butterfree's in her stomach still present despite her calmness. Ryan and Brock sat down with the group as Eevee was back on Brock's lap. Eevee seemed to refuse to sit on anyone else's lap besides Brock's. The fifteen-year-old was unsure if that was an honor or not.

"How many people will be shocked by her Beldum?" Misty asked Brock as they looked at the stage.

"I'd be speechless if anyone were unimpressed with her Beldum," Brock replied. These people should be smart enough to know how valuable a shiny is. Brock heard Ryan sigh as he looked at his shorter friend. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, but I worry that May isn't," Ryan replied honestly, knowing he had been sighing during this whole thing. "I'm just worried for her."

"Why? She's going to knock this whole thing out of the park." Ash assured him.

"I know she can." Ryan decided that now would be the best time to say it. "I just don't want her to fail like I did with Surge." He admitted as he looked at the stage. He recalled how he tried and lost against Surge two days before, and he didn't want May to have that same feeling.

Ash looked at his best friend as he gave a heartfelt smile. "This is different. There's no strong opponent May has to go up against, no battle to worry about here." He explained as best as he could. "She's going to do great at this, just like you're going to be when you rematch Surge."

Ryan was surprised that he didn't consider it like that. "May Day has this." Misty decided to add, Ryan's fear slowly fading as he felt Ponyta brush against his leg. Even the Fairy-type was there to reassure him. Ryan nodded finally as he decided to be silent, watching the stage for when it would be time for May.

Everyone began to look at the stage as Ash suddenly looked at Ryan from the side. "If you ask me," He started in a whisper as Ryan listened in. "I only consider a battle a failure if you don't put your full effort in. If you do but don't win, then it's just simply a loss."

"Really?"

Ash nodded as Wartortle gave a reassuring thumbs up. "War," Wartotle drank from the rest of Misty's drink as the girl didn't want to complete it.

Ryan smiled as the two best friends looked at each other. "I wish I had your optimism. Is it something that can be taught?"

Ash shrugged. "I was just born with mine. But can I try to teach you if you want to know how." The lights started to dim down as the lights on stage came alive. Ryan's response would have to wait as Sukizo came out with a microphone.

"Hello! Hello!" Sukizo introduced in an energized tone as everyone focused on the short man. "So glad that everyone here could stay for the second show we had planned. We got a special treat tonight as we have a future Pokémon Contest player in the making. And guess what? You will be her first audience!" Everyone cheered after hearing that as Sukizo took a few steps back. May was seemingly talking to herself as she tried to figure out what to say first, but she stopped as she saw Sukizo raise his arm. "May I introduce a girl that came from Hoenn for this. The bandana wearer, May!"

Everyone instantly cheered and clapped after hearing that, especially Ash's group. May stepped out as Sukizo offered her the microphone, the girl taking it with a smile as she waved to the audience. "Hello! Hi, everyone!" She quickly began as she tried to think of the best way to introduce herself. "My name's May, and I'm here to give you a show that will knock your socks off." She said as she introduced herself, though not particularly happy with how she said it.

Ash's table cheered as May looked at them. "You got this!" Brock called out as May smiled.

May held the microphone close as all the eyes on her were starting to make her uncomfortable. "Uh... I got a dual performance with my Beldum and Charmander for you. Be blown away by the fire and dark combo." May realized her mistake as she corrected herself. "I mean, fire and psychic combo! Be blown by a fire and psychic duo."

She was feeling embarrassed after making such a mistake, mentally attacking herself for confusing her own Beldum for a Dark-type. She looked around her as everyone was silent, not making any faces or noises. Their eyes were focused on May as she started to feel something crawling across her back, knowing that there was nothing back there. She took a deep breath in as she opened her eyes, deciding to go through with the show no matter what.

She tossed two Poke Balls into the air and grabbed them, crouching down with her arms stretched out as she looked at the crowd. This was a maneuver she had practiced, and it seemed to have worked. "You ready?" She asked them, her response coming as a massive cheer. She recalled every step of the plan she and Brock created as she was about to call out her two Pokémon.

Suddenly, everything became dark.

Gasps of shock and fear came over as the lights turned off. New lights suddenly came on as Sukizo ensured backup power in case of this. Everyone looked around as the place was dimly lit now, the people and Pokémon calming down when they saw nothing dangerous. May quickly got off stage as she ran to her group.

Brock quickly stood up as he came to Sukizo. "What happened? Why did the power go out?"

"I-I'm not sure," Sukizo replied, truthfully not knowing what happened. "Something must've happened to the power."

"Short circuit?"

Sukizo shook his head at Misty's suggestion. "I don't believe so. I checked this morning and saw no issues with it." Something made Sukizo gasp as he realized something, taking a few steps back. "I need to go check something."

Sukizo suddenly ran off as everyone was concerned by how worried he was. "Do you think everything is okay?" May asked Brock because he usually had the answer. Brock just gave an unsure look.

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Ash answered as he decided to chase after the man. Wartortle was right behind as Misty called out in anger.

"NO!" Ash still went through the crowd as Misty grumbled loudly. "Why does he always do this?" She asked herself before chasing after her knucklehead, figuring that now was just one of those times.

Brock, Eevee, and Ryan were quickly behind as May joined them after a few seconds. "Pony..." May turned around as she saw Ponyta looked somewhat scared, feeling terrible about what may happen.

May went over to comfort her swiftly. "Hey. It'll be okay. My friends are tough." She assured the female Pokémon as Ponyta slightly nodded, the two trying to find their way through the crowd and find the others.

Sukizo ran across a hallway as he reached for a unique key in his pocket, fidgeting a bit as he tried to open the most secure door of this building. "Please be safe. Please be safe." He opened the door as his worst fears were confirmed.

Jessie, James, and Mondo were stealing all the money in the various places of the safest room in the building, taking important documentation and multiple items worth thousands. They all turned as they heard the door open, Jessie stepping forward as she looked as evil as possible. "Hello there. You must be the owner of this place, correct?"

"Team Rocket!" Sukizo said in disdain at seeing the members. "I thought the power may have been tampered with, but I didn't think it'd be you."

James chuckled as he took a good stack of cash and pocketed it. "Well, all this money and treasure were simply too tempting not to steal. Your selection is rather valuable." Sukizo growled as he took a few steps forward.

"I wouldn't do that, sir," Mondo advised him as he saw him coming, the boy genuinely not wanting to harm him. Meowth suddenly jumped from behind and landed in front. Sukizo stopped as Meowth licked his mouth.

"You better listen to the brat." Meowth showed off his sharp claws as he swiped at the air. "Any sudden moves, and you'll have a nice scratch across your face." Sukizo took a step back as he considered his options, knowing that simply walking out was not an option. Of course, this just had to be a day where he decided not to bring any Pokémon with him.

That is when they heard footsteps and saw someone enter through the door. "Mr. Sukizo!" A familiar voice called out as Jessie and James had their eyes widened at who it was. Ash came by and saw what Sukizo was looking at. "Team Rocket!"

"War tort!" Wartotle said as well, seeing the two people that he had encountered before.

Jessie became highly annoyed at seeing who it was. "YOU!"

Everyone else came along. Misty was about to tell Ash off when she saw who had come here to stir up trouble. "Oh. It's you!"

Ryan became very worried for a second at seeing Team Rocket but quickly calmed down at seeing who it was. "Jessie and James. Of course, you would still be causing trouble."

"Meowth! It's our full-time job, brat," Meowth told the group as his claws were still out. "And there's no way we'll let you ruin it this time!"

"Eevee!" Eevee yelled out in defiance. Everyone was surprised to see Eevee willing to fight by their side despite him lacking the power to pose a serious threat.

"Don't you guys have something better to do than stealing?" Brock asked them, genuinely wondering if these guys had any hobbies outside of this. "I saw a place that offered piano lessons. Why don't you try that out?"

Surprisingly, James was interested after hearing this. "Did you get their number?" He asked in a normal tone.

"James!" Jessie called him out as James quickly corrected himself, his love for instruments having taken over. Jessie quickly cleared her throat as she decided to do the song. "Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

Brock and Ryan were caught highly off guard as they heard this, the other three feeling a sense of dread as they listened to this theme song again. "What the?" Ryan thought.

To protect the world from devastation,"

"To unite all people within our nation,"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love,"

"To extend our reach to the stars above,"

"Jessie," Jessie said proudly.

"James," James said proudly.

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth put himself in between Jessie and James. Mondo was unfortunately not part of this as he had no place in the song, so the boy was just on the side as he gave a thumbs up.

Brock and Ryan slowly turned to each other as pure confusion was on their face, not even sure what to say. They slowly faced back to Jessie and James as Brock nodded. "...Sure." Brock decided it would be easier to accept this as reality.

James sighed as he saw how Brock and Ryan were also unimpressed by the song they made. "That's okay. You'll learn to fear the song in time." He assured them as he brought out a Great Ball, ready to fight.

"You want to do this? Didn't work the first two times."

"Well, it's our third, meaning this has to be lucky!" Jessie replied angrily to Misty's sentence. She didn't believe in the whole third time's the charm thing, but she would make an exception for this. "Prepare to lose, brats!"

Everyone stood close together as Ash smiled confidently at the situation. "Me and Brock take on James while you two fight Jessie?"

"Sounds like a plan," Ryan replied as he looked at the two evil members.

"Meowth! You thought you could skip me?" Meowth called them out as Ash genuinely forgot about Meowth, just deciding to take him on as well. Silence rang through as the two groups stared at one another. A battle was about to begin until a noise caught everyone by surprise.

"I'm here! We're here!" May yelled out as Brock saw she and Ponyta ran straight for them. May leaned against the doorframe as she accidentally used up a lot of energy trying to find them. "Didn't think you'd go so far."

The silence was broken as Team Rocket looked at each other, without knowing who this girl that showed up was. "Did we fight her?" Mondo asked, as he couldn't remember seeing this girl.

May realized who was there, and she reacted with complete fear. "TEAM ROCKET!" She screamed, Ponyta a bit stunned by how scared she sounded. Brock placed a comforting hand on her as poor May was having her teeth chatter.

"May! It's okay..." Brock soothingly told the girl. "There's two of them and five of us. We can do this."

Jessie was surprised that the girl showed fear, growing an evil smile. "He's just telling you that to make you feel better. Your opponent is still the great Team Rocket."

May whimpered at hearing that as Brock rubbed her back. "Don't worry, this will be easy. You can sit on the sides to watch a quick battle." Misty told her as May nodded, standing on the sides as Ponyta remained. She probably wouldn't have done well with her two Pokémon.

"Now, where were we?" Ash asked as Wartortle stood before him, both in battle position. James and Jessie smirked as they launched their Pokémon.

"Koffing, go!"

"Show them your beauty, Dustox!" It turns out that Jessie's Cascoon had evolved. She was now a moth-like Pokémon with two pairs of wings. She had a purple, egg-shaped body with a jagged fringe on the rear. Her tattered, green wings were wide and flat, forming a disc shape around the body. There were red markings in rings and streaks, along with a darker green line around the edges of the two pairs of red, stubby legs and yellow, stylized compound eyes. There was a pair of fuzzy, small yellow antennae on top of Dustox's head.

"Dustox!" The Poison-type called out as she hovered in the air with her wings.

Misty decided to bring something up. "It evolved, huh? Looks like it wasn't the Beautifly you were hoping for."

"It was a surprise but a very welcoming one," Jessie replied as she petted her glorious Dustox. "Who is my favorite Bug-type? You are. Yes, you are." The interaction was cute, but no one had time to worry about that.

Brock sent out Geodude as Ryan and Misty released both Slowpoke and Squirtle, respectively. Mondo sent out a Pokémon no one was expecting. A light blue, bipedal, amphibious Pokémon emerged. His head was broad and round, having a minimal neck. He had a wide mouth and tiny, black eyes. A wavy, purple stripe ran down his back. Along his spine was a dark blue fin, his hands and feet having three digits. "Sire..." The thing said in a carefree tone as some droll came out of his mouth.

"A Quagsire?" Misty was surprised at seeing the sluggish Pokémon. "Didn't think you'd have one," Misty said to Mondo, as she slightly respected anyone that used Water-types on their team.

Mondo just shrugged as he and his Quagsire shared a derpy smile. "He was a cute Whopper when I found him. We love making nature art."

Brock ignored what Mondo said. "A Ground and Water-type. Our team is not exactly well equipped for that."

"Well, let's make it even." Ash took out Bulbasaur as the Grass-type smiled at seeing some action. He faced Wartortle. "You can help out too." Wartortle gave a thumbs up as everyone had gotten in attack position.

James made the first move. "Koffing, Smokescreen!" A dark smoke began to encase Team Rocket's Pokémon, which made it slightly difficult to see. Squirtle took this as a challenge as she charged right in; Misty left stunned as she saw her Pokémon go with her own plan.

Ash saw this as he made a move. "Cover Squirtle. Make sure she doesn't get ganged up on." Bulbasaur followed the command as he ran to Squirtle's aid, and Wartortle followed close behind.

"Poison Powder, Dustox!"

"Tox!" Dustox released deadly purple dust from behind the cover of the smoke as Squirtle was still planning to charge right though, smirking as she was willing to take her chances. Wartortle himself had to stop her as Bulbasaur went right through the dust with no issues. Bulbasaur figured out where the Bug-type was as he jumped up and gave a strong Take Down to Dustox in midair. Dustox was surprised as she frowned at the damage she took.

Squirtle hit Wortortle on the head until the dust went away, Wartortle finally letting go of the female Water-type. "Squir tle irt le!" She complained that she would've been fine.

"War tor ort tl le!" Wartortle yelled at her that she would've been poisoned. "Tort ar?" He asked what would happen then, Squirtle just scoffing as she turned away. Koffing saw this squabbling as he released a Sludge attack at the pair. The unsanitary sludge was launched at them as they saw what was coming, but luckily, Geodude could step in.

Geodude took the attack head-on, suffering very little damage as he looked at the two. "Geo du, ude due." Fight now, rip each other's throats later is what he told the pair. Squirtle rolled her eyes as Wartortle agreed with the sensible idea, giving one last look at Squirtle before going back to combat.

Bulbasaur was trying to attack Dustox with his Vine Whip as the Bug-type dodged in the air. "Dus!" Dustox came down to try and use Leech Life, but Wartortle launched an Ice Beam to intercept her. Dustox was forced to cancel her move to escape the Ice-type attack, glaring down at the Water-type. Quagsire failed to use Slam on Squirtle as she used Rapid Spin to dodge.

Slowpoke seemed to be just standing there, but he and Ryan were waiting for something in particular as they had a plan. They saw Dustox fly around and waited until she was about to go for another Leech Life, doing it after a few seconds. "Now!" Ryan declared as Slowpoke used his move.

Dustox hit Wartortle as she was about to drain his energy, but something odd happened. She kept trying to call on the power of Leech Life as she got hit by the first hit of Bulbasaur's Vine Whip, managing to dodge the second one coming for her. Jessie had her eyes widen. "What was that?" She asked in anger.

James looked at Slowpoke as he put two and two together. "I see. That Slowpoke has Disable, Jessie. He made Dustox unable to use Leech Life." He concluded as Ash looked at Ryan.

"Nice shot!" He complimented him and Slowpoke, giving a high-five to the boy. Jessie squinted her eyes as she pointed at the Psychic-type.

"New plan; get rid of that Slowpoke!" She declared as she looked at James. "Also, you know what to call me." Meowth and James groaned as Jessie waited for the boy to correct himself.

"That Slowpoke has Disable, Your Highness," James said in the most monotone voice possible, Jessie smiling at the title. The group was confused by such a name as James looked at them. "Just don't ask."

"I will get rid of that Slowpoke for you, Your Highness!" Mondo suddenly yelled out as he made Quagsire make his move. "Use Yawn!"

"Sire..." Quagsire released a massive yawn that made Slowpoke's vision falter, his eyes feeling heavier than usual. Slowpoke suddenly released a loud yawn as Quagsire began to feel more sluggish than usual, his arms feeling slightly weak now. We now had these two Water-types ready to fall asleep as Ryan and Mondo looked at each other in surprise.

"I didn't even think of that." Ryan chuckled at this interaction, composing himself as he pointed at Slowpoke. "I know you're slow, but use Confusion on that Dustox." Slowpoke just yawned as his eyes suddenly glowed with blue eyes as he called upon his psychic powers. He launched the telekinetic force at the Bugh-type as she dodged. That Psychic-type move could've been dangerous for her.

She was unaware of Geodude behind her as the Rock-type surprised her. "Smack Down!" Geodude launched himself as he rapidly spun, hitting Dustox in the back. The Bug-type took serious damage as she was knocked out of the air and stuck on the ground. She could barely get up as she saw Squirtle come at her with Rapid Spin. She released Psybeam to make the Squirtle stop.

Wartortle released Ice Beam to make contact with Psybeam. Ice and psychic beams clashed as they were in a stalemate, neither getting the upper hand on the other. Dustox glared at him as Wartortle seriously frowned, not breaking his concentration. "I could use some help over here!" Jessie told them as she saw this.

"Come on, Quagsire! We must-" Mondo stopped as he saw that his ground-type was already sleeping on the ground, looking very peaceful as droll came from his mouth. "Oh! You're taking a nap." Mondo quickly realized as he tried to take out another Poke Ball. Having a sleeping Pokémon out wouldn't help with anything.

Ryan realized his Slowpoke was now asleep as he saw how his lazy Pokémon had become lazier. Although, the snore bubble that Slowpoke almost made it good. "You did good, buddy," Ryan said as he rummaged around in his bag, thinking that Butterfree would be the best option for this battle. Suddenly, one of his Poke Balls opened without him clicking it, and he was forced to throw it out into the field.

"Mo-o!" Jangmo-o came out as he didn't waste any time getting into battle and immediately began to target Koffing with his Headbutt attack. Misty looked at Ryan in slight disbelief as the boy shrugged.

"That works," He decided, knowing that trying to make the Dragon-type not fight would only make Jangmo-o more stubborn. He wondered if his little dragon was even more battle-hungry than Misty's Squirtle. "Aim for Meowth!" Meowth quickly dodged the attack as he brought his nails out.

"Come at me, you stupid lizard!" Meowth challenged as Jangmo-o clanged his scales, showing off his bravery to the Normal-type. Mondo had found the Poke Ball as his trusty Ditto came out, the happy blob scanning around to see who he should copy. Dustox released Poison Powder as Wartortle approached her with a strong Aqua Tail, getting a critical hit that knocked Dustox out cold.

Dustox fell to the ground as her eyes were swirls. "Oh! Dustox," Jessie showed actual concern and care for her Bug-type. "You deserved so much better." She reflected as she called back her Dustox, bringing out her trusty Ekans. Ditto quickly transformed into Wartortle. Though he may be two levels lower than the actual Pokémon, he felt the powerful moves he now had access to.

"Squr. Ur squ ir tle le." Squirtle joked about Wartortle having a twin brother, the evolved Pokémon rolling his eyes as he made her focus on what was ahead. Wartortle suddenly felt very weak as he kneeled, his face becoming a slightly purple color. He coughed as he felt some of his health being taken away.

Ash gasped in worry. "Wartortle's poisoned!" The eleven-year-old realized that Dustox's last attack wasn't all for nothing. Bulbasaur sent a glance of concern to Wartortle, but Wartortle insisted he was alright as he returned to the battle. A little poison is something he can handle.

"He'll be fine, Ash. You know he's tough." Brock assured the boy as Ash nodded, knowing they could fix him later. Jangmo-o and Meowth kept their little duel going as neither could harm the other. Meowth was too quick and preferred to attack from a range, and Jangmo-o kept closing the gap and relying on his defenses to keep him going. "Meowth. Could you at least make this fun?"

Jangmo-o agreed this stalemate was dull, but he kept going as he was determined to end this. "Jang!" The little Dragon-type missed once again as Meowth used his reflexes to dodge. The Normal-type suddenly ran away to help the other members on their side. Geodude and Koffing had been fighting for the past few minutes as Koffing couldn't dodge a Smack Down.

That was the last move needed as Koffing had fainted from the Rock-type attack. "No! Koffing!" James cried out in worry as he brought his Pokémon back; knowing his Pokémon no longer had to suffer brought him some peace. Instead of going for the second Pokémon he had, James seemingly stood by and watched.

Jessie focused on Ekans as she was pushed back from using Acid. She then saw how James was standing there. "Unless you have no Pokémon, I don't want to see you standing there!"

James looked left and right as he seemed nervous. "Do I have to send him out? You know how he's going to be."

"Just do it!"

Misty smirked as he heard this, seeing James bring out a Poke Ball with an unsure look. "What's wrong? Worried about your Pokémon fainting again?"

"Shut up!" He yelled at them as he looked at the Poke Ball, giving a small sigh. "Please. Just don't do it this time." He mentally begged as he clicked the button, opening it up. The Pokémon looked massive as the six were worried about what was coming.

"Be careful, kids," Sukizo warned them as the Pokémon fully revealed themselves. "This can be out... of y-your..." He couldn't finish his sentence as he saw what this Pokémon was doing.

"Carnivine!"

A Pokémon had wrapped itself around James, putting his Trainer's head in his mouth. Carnivine was a green plant-like Pokémon resembling a Venus flytrap. His circular eyes had small pupils and spiky teeth. His stem was yellow with green spots, red and green vines beneath with the appearance of tentacles. He had two arms resembling leaves and three leaf fingers at the end.

"No! This is why I didn't want to do this!" James screamed out as Carnivine kept attaching himself to his Trainer. Carnivine had a massive smile as this action seemed to come out of affection and love, but they didn't translate well as James got his head out. Everything stopped for a moment as everyone just looked at what was happening.

Ash and Misty looked at each other, shrugging as they decided not to question it. "Use Razor Leaf!" Bulbasaur released many leaves at Ditto as the fake Wartortle would now be weak to such moves. Ditto could expertly dodge all of the attacks as Brock was honestly impressed by how he weaved in between each move.

"War!" Ditto gathered energy in his hands and released an Ice Beam. Bulbasaur could not react as he was hit with a super-effective attack. Ash cried out in worry as Ditto kept the beam going, feeling its power. Squirtle quickly came and tried to get the fake to stop. Wartortle used Aqua Tail to slap Squirtle away.

Ditto stopped his move and saw Bulbasaur breathing heavily on the ground, the Pokémon approaching him to make him faint. The real Wartortle tried to get there, but his poison kicked in and made him kneel. Bulbasaur looked up as Ditto was about to end this with Bite, looking angrily and fearlessly as the fake Wartortle came down upon him.

That was until something stopped him.

Ditto looked down to see Geodude pushing back against him and protecting Bulbasaur. Ditto quickly composed themselves and pressed even harder against the Rock-type, Geodude struggling as he looked angry. Geodude struggled against the physically stronger Wartortle as he lost the battle of strength. He turned around and saw Bulbasaur try to get up to help him, but the Grass-type found it challenging to stand up.

Geodude kept pushing as he thought to himself. He had to keep going, he thought. He had to protect Bulbasaur and everyone here. He couldn't lose now to some copier!

Geodude suddenly began to shine with white light. Everyone gasped, especially Brock, as this was the first time this would happen to him. "That Geodude! It's evolving!" Mondo said in surprise as Ditto was also bewildered, losing most of his concentration as the battle leaned in Geodude's favor. Geodude became something far larger than before.

The new Pokémon pushed against Ditto as the fake Wartortle couldn't keep up with the new physical strength, being pushed away from Bulbasaur. The Grass-type looked up with an open jaw at the new Rock-type. "Graveler!"

A bipedal boulder Pokémon remained in Geodude's place. His round body was covered with small bumps and had a rocky crest above his small eyes and mouth. He had four arms, each with a three-fingered hand. However, a pair of arms were tucked into his chest. Graveler smiled as he looked down at himself, liking the arms that he had gotten.

Brock smiled as he saw his new Pokémon, wishing he could hug him immediately. "He's so cool." He thought, not believing that one of his Pokémon had just evolved.

That is when he heard someone snap their fingers next to him. "Focus, Brock! We need you." Misty advised him. Just because his Pokémon evolved doesn't mean he can stand there the whole time.

"Right. Geod-Graveler," He corrected himself, smiling at saying that new name. "Go for Rollout!"

Graveler became a ball and began continually rolling. He charged at Ditto, who placed up Protect, stopping Graveler as the Rock-type was pushed back. Just as Ditto removed his shield, unavoidable stars came down his back. He turned to see Eevee and the unique Ponyta were still there. "Ee Eevee!" Eevee told him not to underestimate him as he used Quick Attack.

Ditto managed to dodge the blur that was Eevee before being met with a Psybeam from Ponyta, who was surprised to see that her shot worked. Ditto was then hit with Vine Whip from Bulbasaur and a Shell Bash from Squirtle, the Shell Bash landing a critical hit on him. The poor Pokémon was getting ganged up on by all the Pokémon on Ash's side, excluding Wartortle, as the damage was getting too much for them.

"Mo-o!" Jangmo-o had the honor of landing the finishing blow as he used Iron Tail to slap the fake Wartortle across the face. Wartortle landed on his face as he transformed back into his regular Ditto self, signaling to Mondo that Ditto had fainted.

"I'm sorry, your highness!" Mondo apologized as he recalled back his Ditto. "I did my best, but my Ditto was ganged up!" He tried to explain to Jessie. Mondo was out of the battle as all he had left was a Quagsire, a Pokémon that wasn't exactly awake. James couldn't convince his Carnivine to fight, so he returned the Pokémon. All that effort to escape was for nothing.

Ekans was all that was left since Meowth left the battle entirely. Ekans was extremely angry as her Trainer was about to call it off—no point in making Ekans go against a losing battle. Ekans looked around and saw that May was still in the corner as she cheered on her team. Ekans gained a dark smile as she began to slither away.

"Ekans!' Jessie called out, as her Poison-type was not the kind to suddenly disobey. Bulbasaur and Squirtle got ready but were confused when Ekans just ignored them. Everyone soon realized that Ekans was coming straight for May. Jessie was shocked, not wanting this since May wasn't the issue. "Wait, stop!" Ekans jumped at May as she had her teeth drawn, pure fear in the face of May.

"MAY!" Ryan called out as pure instinct took over. The boy came to her as he suddenly reached out his hand against Ekans. Everyone was shocked as Ryan grabbed Ekans slightly below the head, not even hesitating as he gripped Poison-type. May was saved as she felt her fear begin to fade.

Ekans began to wiggle around like a worm in Ryan's hand, the boy holding the Pokémon with both hands to get her to calm down. Ekans kept trying to bite them as Ryan threw Ekans away from them. Ekans quickly recovered as she hissed at them. "EKANSSS!" Just as she was about to try again, she was shot in the back by a Psybeam.

Ponyta relaxed as she saw Ekans finally fainted, meaning the Poison-type would no longer be able to hurt anyone. Jessie tried to keep it together as she called back her Pokémon. "Ekans, return!" She angrily stomped her foot on the ground at what had happened.

Brock gave them a deep frown, unhappy with what Ekans just tried to do. "You have no Pokémon. Leave." No mercy was present in his voice.

Jessie also frowned deeply as she took out a smoke bomb and a surprisingly small bomb. "Enjoy this victory because I promise this won't happen again!" She assured them as she threw the smoke bomb down. In the cover of the highly thick smoke, she also threw the other bomb in her hands and launched it at one of the walls.

BOOM!

Everyone took a few steps back, some even covering themselves, as they heard the loud explosion. The smoke began to go away and revealed that Team Rocket had kindly left a blown-up wall for them, probably out of spite. Sukizo looked around worryingly.

"Is everyone alright?"

Ash looked around, seeing that everyone had gone by unscathed. "I think we're okay." He told the group as he petted his Bulbasaur, so proud of the Grass-type for tanking that Ice Beam. Sukizo quickly went to the area Team Rocket had initially blocked as he began to check a lot of things to make sure that nothing was taken.

Ryan picked up his Jangmo-o as he gently tapped the end of his nose. "Good job on taking down that Ditto, bud. You're slowly becoming the fierce warrior you want to be." He said to him.

Jangmo-o genuinely smiled at Ryan, wishing to bite his ear out of affection. Misty had a similar conversation with Squirtle, who took in all the praise as she heard it. The Water-type looked at Wartortle as she saw him still under the poison's effect. "Squ irt?" She asked if he was okay, actually having concern in her voice.

"War art or." Wartortle responded that he would be, being sprayed with an Antidote by Ash. Wartortle felt the poison leave his body as he found breathing easier than before. Ash hugged Wartortle as Squirtle looked on, looking down after seeing the wholesome moment between Pokémon and Trainer.

Brock came to Graveler with a big smile. "Hello, Graveler." He greeted as he shook hands with the massive and rocky arm of Graveler. "Sorry, but I'm just so excited about this. You look cool!" Graveler looked at his arms before smiling, agreeing with the compliment. Brock was ecstatic about this.

Sukizo checked everything as he gave a relieved sigh. "They took some money and items, but they only took around ten percent." He remarked as he looked at the group. "Thank you so much for doing this. I cannot express my gratitude in just simple words."

"We were just doing the right thing, sir," Ash said in a humble tone as he looked at Ponyta and Eevee. He smiled as he pointed at the pair. "You should give credit to these two. They helped out."

"Thank you, Ponyta and Eevee, for stopping Team Rocket." He kindly told them as Ponyta slightly blushed. "I'm glad that you came to help us. I hope you can find some Trainers to care for you in time."

Everyone wasn't expecting that last part. "They don't have a Trainer?"

"Unfortunately, no. They aren't the first Pokémon we have taken in, but they have been with us the longest. I still don't understand why these two haven't found a new home with a new Trainer." He gave a sad sigh. "I do hope they find one."

Eevee came to Brock as the Normal-type begged to be picked up, Brock placing him on his head. Ponyta came to Ryan. "Ta..." She told the boy, the kid giving a smile in return. May was standing around, still trying to get over what had happened. She didn't believe in luck, but that might change after today.

"Are you alright?" Sukizo asked, May nodding as the man placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're okay. After all, do we not have your show to watch?"

May wasn't expecting that. "You still want to do my performance?"

Sukizo smiled. "You know what they say: 'The show must go on, even when a bunch of thieves have broken in.'" Everyone looked at one another after hearing that. That was not a quote, but they wouldn't call him out.

---

The Team Rocket group had gotten far away from Vermillion as they resided in the forest nearby. They did their best to ensure no one saw them escaping and were in a place obscure enough that Jenny and her team would take a while to find them. Everyone was sitting down, Meowth hogging the only rock there, as Jessie angrily paced back and forth.

She had a heartbroken look as she considered what had just happened. "Unbelievable! I can't believe you three failed at this!" She angrily pointed to them.

James quickly stood up after hearing that. "Excuse me? I think this failure was all of our fault." He told her, Meowth was also defying against that claim. Mondo said nothing as he worried that an argument was about to brew. "I told you cutting out the power was a bad idea."

"Well, how else were we supposed to enter the safes?" Jessie asked mockingly. "Did you forget that they required a code to enter? What if the codes we had didn't work?"

"We could simply get the door removed or find some way to get inside. We had the tools for something like that."

Jessie just scoffed as she couldn't think of a good answer. "Meowth. Why are you two still yapping about it?" He asked them. "I don't like losing, but we can't reverse time, can we?"

"We're still yapping about it because this mission was meant to show Domino we were ready for real missions again," Jessie explained as her anger grew. "When we tell her what happens, we'll be stuck with bottom-of-the-barrel stuff again. Or worse, kitchen duty."

James and Meowth gasped and gave a slight shutter, knowing just how unbearable the job was. Kitchen duty was as low as you could go in the Team Rocket organization. Mondo gave a sad sigh after hearing that. "I don't mind kitchen duty."

"That is why we need to have you three work harder next time and not mess it up." Jessie pointed at them. "I am understood?"

James nodded. "We understand, but you yelling at us isn't help." Jessie felt her anger about to tip over as James tried to reason with her. "We just got unlucky this time. Next time we can-"

"IF YOU THINK YOU ARE SO GOOD, WHY DON'T YOU LEAD?!" Jessie suddenly screamed in anger, causing everyone to freeze in fear as the girl was on the verge of having a meltdown. "I'M CLEARLY THE PROBLEM HERE AND NOT THE IDIOTS I HAVE TO WORK WITH!"

Jessie stopped her rage as she looked at the three, seeing how scared they were of her. She looked at her hands as her breathing became faster, a look of regret slowing coming over her face. She slammed her arms into a nearby tree in anger a few times. She finally stopped as she leaned against the tree, not moving at all.

The three looked at each other as they didn't know what to do. Jessie was not in the mood to hear any advice or support. Mondo wanted to go to her to show he was not angry with her, but Meowth quickly stopped him. He slowly shook his head to tell him that it was a lousy idea silently. Jessie stood against the tree as she felt shame for letting her anger get the best of her. A few minutes passed before she turned around, the three slightly flinching.

Jessie looked at them with a calmer look. "I don't want us to do just do well. I want us to be respected, to be feared!" She declared as she looked at the tree line, thinking about how her group differed from most of the organization. "I just want people to... to..." She couldn't get the last few words out as she gave a light scoff.

James, Meowth, and Mondo looked at each other. Talking was not the best choice anymore. "Does anyone still want some of the leftovers? It should still be good."

James and Meowth agreed having some grub should help their spirits right now. Jessie was unresponsive, not turning around as she heard this. "Yes. You know how I like mine, Mondo."

Mondo nodded as James and Meowth decided to get other stuff done for Jessie. "Would you want some water, your highness? It's not cold."

"No. I'll-" Jessie paused after what she heard Meowth say. Didn't they agree only to use that title for the mission? "What did you call me?"

"Well, I thought you would like it if we still used that name," Meowth explained as he thought he made a mistake. "I promise not to call you that if-"

Jessie lightly chuckled at hearing that answer. She found it sweet that they tried their best to make her happy. "Thanks'. However, Jessie is fine."

The two were surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah." Jessie shrugged before snapping her fingers. "Although, I expect you to use that title all day tomorrow."

James sighed and smiled because it couldn't be that simple. "Of course," The three had a small meal. Nothing too special, but it was a nice moment of silence as Jessie calmed down slightly after eating. Jessie apologized to the group when everything was said and done. She wasn't good with sentimental stuff, but she tried her best with this one. The three were kind enough to forgive her as they knew it came from overflowing anger, but they did tell Jessie to be less angry next time. Jessie agreed but made no promises.

Jessie was grateful to have these three knuckleheads with her, but you could never get her to say that.

---

An hour later, everything had calmed down enough. Everything seemed to have relaxed enough as everyone was now back in their seats for May's show. Sure, there was a massive hole in one of the walls, and everyone was slightly on edge as the Pokémon had far sharper eyes than before. Nonetheless, there was still a show to stay for.

Wartortle made a slight face of discomfort as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You alright, bud?" Wartortle just nodded. The Pokémon's injuries weren't too severe, and some adults were kind enough to give a few Potions, but that didn't fix Wartortle.

Ryan stretched himself out as he had Ponyta by his side. "That was a bit rough. Glad it's over." He remarked, hoping that he didn't accidentally jinx his group. He petted Ponyta as he had come to like the Psychic-type. A feeling Ponyta had given in return, as she wasn't too scared of being around this group.

Ash was drinking from a simple cup of water as he looked at the stage. "What do you think May has in store?" He decided to make conversation with the group.

"Something cool," Misty replied as she was highly excited about this. "I'm excited for May Day's performance, but I also want to sleep on a bed already."

"I couldn't agree more," Brock added as he heard a conversation close by. He saw Ryan's Slowpoke with some of the other Pokémon that were here, the group sharing a good laugh as Slowpoke was holding a cup close to him with his tail. "Slowpoke seems to be enjoying himself." He remarked.

Ryan moved to see his own Pokémon hanging out with a group of other Pokémon, all just as sassy as Slowpoke tended to be. "Don't know how he got into their group."

"Eevee!" Eevee said loudly, making everyone turn to the stage as the lights dimmed again. Sukizo and May came out as everyone cheered at the two coming out.

"Greetings, people and Pokémon." Sukizo introduced, keeping this part short so as to not repeat himself. "We went through some technical difficulties, but the issues have mostly been cleared up. We have a show to get through, and a special girl will lead us all the way!"

Sukizo handed May the microphone with a smile as May looked at the crowd, some of them clapping at seeing her be the focus. "Hi! My name's May, came from Hoenn. I have two Pokémon with me. You already know this." May said quickly as she took two Poke Balls from her belt, doing the same trick and getting the same pose as before. She suddenly seemed to stop as she looked around for a few seconds, looking at the crowd with a smile. "Just had to make sure of no extra surprises this time."

The crowd lightly chuckled after hearing that comment as May took a deep breath, bringing Beldum and Charmander from their Poke Balls. Everyone instantly cheered at seeing Beldum come out, the silver-colored Pokémon having been highly anticipated the whole hour. Charmander received his fair share of cheers as the two Pokémon looked at one another, nodding their heads as they were ready. "Dum,"

May was calmer due to the extra time to be ready, though she was still nervous. She looked up as she fully stood up, signaling to her Charmander with a voice of energy. "Bring out your blue flames!"

"Char!" Charmander released Dragon Breath that bent and turned in a simple way. Everyone was pleasantly surprised by the control this little Charmander had. Sukizo was near the front as he looked at this, writing something down in a few strokes. May waited until the fire had become large enough for her next move.

"You think you can get through, Beldum?" She asked, already knowing the answer as the Steel-type approached the fire. No one was expecting something this bold.

"Is Beldum going to pass through that fire?" Someone asked out as whispers were apparent. Ash's group was impressed by such an idea.

Misty quickly went to Brock's ear. "You're idea?"

"No. Came from May herself." Brock responded, so proud of May for thinking this out of the box. Beldum flew across the twists and turns of fire in unique ways, even doing a loopy-loop a few times as everyone was glued to their seats at the sight. May was smiling a bit as the show was going smoothly so far.

Beldum went through open spaces as he wasn't paying close enough attention to his surroundings. The blast of fire hit him as Beldum was hit with a full-on Dragon Breath. Charmander quickly stopped as he saw his partner get hurt, May gasping, and she came to Beldum.

Everyone gasped a little at seeing the accident happen, Ash being among the few who cringed at seeing Beldum getting hurt. "You, okay?" May genuinely asked her Pokémon, Beldum nodding their entire body. They should be lucky it wasn't an actual Fire-type attack. "You can sit out if you want. You did great."

Misty looked at her friend as she crossed her fingers for her. "Come on, May. Don't let that slow you down."

Beldum agreed as he floated off the stage. May looked at the crowd as she tried to think of a new act on the spot with Beldum gone. A quick idea came as she looked at Charmander. "Give them the mightiest Growl they've ever heard!" Charmander nodded as he ran forward, ready to release a mighty Growl to get this performance back on track.

That was the plan until Charmander accidentally slipped and fell on his back.

Ash's group cringed at seeing Charmander get hurt like that. "Poke," Slowpoke said something along the lines of 'Ouch' at seeing Charmander go through that. Sukizo gave a slight frown as he wrote something down. May quickly came over as she helped her Pokémon up, comforting his back as the pressure worsened.

"Okay. Um..." May looked at the crowd as she was so glad that they were being civil and not laughing at her misfortune. "Charmander, see if we can give these people one last ball of fire to end this!" She said with all the confidence she had.

"Mander!" Charmander focused on launching three small balls of fire from his mouth. He threw three small Embers into the air, and they quickly disappeared after being launched. It was an excellent way to go out, but not the planned way. Charmander stopped his attack as he looked at the crowd, fully open with a slightly constrained smile due to the pain.

One of the women from the audience pointed at the stage. "The curtain caught on fire!" Charmander and May quickly looked as they saw that one of Charmander's Embers caused a fire to appear. Before anyone could panic, Slowpoke came forward with surprising speed.

Slowpoke quickly used Water Gun to extinguish the fire in record time. The fire was gone as Slowpoke's table of Pokémon cheered him on, even other tables clapping for his help. "Pok..." Slowpoke soaked it all up as he calmly returned to his table.

May looked at the crowd and decided it was best to end this whole thing now. "TA-DA!" She yelled out with jazz hands, Charmander doing the same thing as his head was still in pain. Beldum quickly floated over, accidentally bumping into someone, as they came on stage and did the same action as the other two.

The three stopped as they froze on stage, waiting to see what the final reaction was going to be from the audience. Everyone was silent momentarily as various thoughts ran through May's head. She recalled all that had happened as her mind tried to make the worst of the situation. Despite her optimism and effort, her fear of it not being enough overcame her as these two seconds felt like an eternity.

"I should've known this wasn't going to work out! I messed up so badly! Everyone's going to laugh at me!"

That is when the sound of cheers came through.

May looked down to see Ash's table cheering her own and making all kinds of commotion for May. Some other tables saw this and just decided to shrug, a few cheering for her as most just gave a simple and leisurely clap for her. May looked around with a confused look because she thought that her show wasn't worth all these cheers and claps. Ash and Wartortle came to the edge of the stage and signaled for May to come over.

May walked over as she came off stage, being met with a massive hug from Wartortle. "WAR!" He said with full excitement.

"That was great, May!" Ash told her with the biggest smile possible. "I saw you out there, and you nailed it!"

"I did?" May was genuinely puzzled by such a comment. Everyone else came along to give her congratulations. Despite her performance not being the best, it didn't stop them from cheering on their friend the whole way through.

"That was good," Misty told her with a smile. "But don't strife for just good. Always do better for next time."

"That Beldum and Charmander one was creative." Ryan complimented as May decided to bring out her smile, taking all of this positivity.

"Yeah. I...I guess that was creative." May agreed with him as Brock wrapped an arm around her.

"What were you scared of again? Giving a good show for everyone here?" He asked sarcastically.

May had not felt this accomplished or truly happy in a while. She didn't care how her performance may have stacked against others because she knew her thing was on her own. Her fear was entirely gone as she had friends who supported her despite all the mistakes she made. May almost wanted to tear up but held it in as she looked at her Charmander and Beldum. The girl came to her Pokémon and hugged them close to her.

"Thank you so much." She told them. "What did I do to deserve you two?" Charmander felt that sentence far more than Beldum as he tightened his grip, the Psychic-type just eye-smiling as he was close to the two.

"May..." May broke her hug as she saw Sukizo come to her with his notes. May took a deep breath as she approached the man, knowing that whatever he said couldn't be changed.

"Well, how terrible was it?" May asked with a full-on smile. "Worst show you've ever seen?"

"... In all my years of judging, I've seen worse," Sukizo replied as May was pleasantly surprised. The girl was fully expecting her show to be below rock bottom. "I'll be honest, I still wouldn't call it good by my standards, but I can tell that you and your Pokémon put all your effort in. That is the most important part in any contest."

May smiled as she felt Ash hug her. The girl was bewildered as Ash looked at her. "I'm just so proud of you. I had to do it." He explained as he broke the hug for the girl, May smiling as that sounded exactly like what her brother would do. The girl looked at Sukizo as he showed her his notes—everything she did right and wrong for this show.

"There were some problems, but that's understandable for a beginner. I can tell that you did have fun with this whole thing."

"Fun isn't the word that I would use," May remarked as she looked closely at her mistakes, mentally knowing what to do next time as she handed the paper back to the short man. "Don't worry. I promise to be more careful and not burn anything next time!" She thought for a moment. "...Hopefully."

"Next time, huh? Are you going to commit to this?" Sukizo asked May with a raised eyebrow. May hesitated briefly but bravely nodded, for she felt a connection to this idea she rarely ever felt. Sukizo smiled as he took something out of his pocket. "If that's the case, you might need this."

May reached for the item she was being given, hearing Brock gasp at what he saw. It was a simple pink card with a blue ribbon and a Poke Ball in the direct center. It had various text on the front as May flipped it around and saw all kinds of information. Her date of birth, hometown, and even a picture of her giving a smile as she struck a pose. That explained why Sukizo needed to ask all those questions and wanted a photo before the show.

"A Contest Pass!" Brock said in surprise as May looked at the card in her hand, not believing that she just had this with her.

"You're correct, Brock. If you need a refresher, this little card will let you enter Pokémon Contest in the first place. You can join an official contest with this thing." He tapped the card as he explained. "This card only works for Kanto, but I doubt that will be a huge issue. It also counts as a form of ID, so it has other purposes."

May felt so ecstatic at holding this card, holding it close to her chest as she squealed with joy. "Thank you so much! I don't know how to repay you!" May was about to give a hug when she realized what she was about to do, quickly stopping herself. Sukizo smiled at how grateful the girl was trying to be as he offered a high five, something the girl happily took.

"That's alright. You fighting for us against Team Rocket was enough." Sukizo answered as he decided to talk about his things. "Would you guys like to stay for some more talking? I've got a few stories of my Rapidash that you'll like."

Misty and Brock looked at each other in pure panic and fear, uninterested in staying another hour. "Oh! That sounds nice, but we better be going." Brock fake yawned. "We need our sleep."

"Ah. That's understandable for your age." Sukizo said as he waved them goodbye. "It was a pleasure to meet folk as interesting as you."

Misty smiled at hearing that. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Sukizo. I'll admit, this was fun." She said honestly, seeing this trip as a positive thing overall. "But I'd rather go to my bed now."

Ash and Wartortle gave a respectful bow to the man as May shook the man's hand. "May we see each other again at a Pokémon Contest."

"I'll be there." May promised him. Ryan and Brock looked at Ponyta and Eevee, who were right by the two the whole time.

Ryan looked at the two as he petted both Ponyta and Eevee, Eevee giving a small smile. "It was great to meet you two. You can come with us if you want."

"I don't think Eevee would let me leave if I tried to go without him." Brock deadpanned as he saw the Normal-type rest on his head, the Pokémon giving a cheeky laugh at the factual statement. Sukizo saw the two Pokémon act so friendly to the two. It was quite bizarre when he considered how shy the two were before meeting them.

Sukizo nodded his head. "Those two can go with you. I can tell they'll be in capable hands and experience some great adventure." Sukizo said as Ponyta was a bit scared at the idea of adventure, but as long as Ryan was there, she could push through.

Brock looked up at Eevee as he shrugged. "I'm glad for this, but I don't think I'm given any other option." He remarked as he picked Eevee from his head. He held the Pokémon in one arm as he tickled Eevee's belly with the other, which made the Normal-type laugh wildly. Ponyta gave a small smile to Ryan as the boy gently petted her head.

May sighed as she saw the two boys with their brand-new Pokémon, as she wasn't even given the chance. Ash sensed these feelings as he comforted her. "Don't worry, you'll get a new Pokémon one day."

"Yeah. One day." May repeated as she decided to make it her goal to catch a new Pokémon soon. After all, she didn't have to fight Charmander to make him part of her team. Ash felt a tap on his back as he turned around. A man with a particular egg was there.

"Your Dratini egg, sir. Cleaned and well taken care of." He told the boy. Ash felt stupid as he realized that he almost forgot about his Dratini egg, the same one an Elite Four personally came him.

"Oh no!" Ash couldn't help but laugh as his mind came around, getting the Dratini egg from him as he looked at his precious egg. "Thank you! Really!" Wartortle was laughing at not only the fact his Trainer forgot but also, he somehow forgot too.

"Did you really forget about the egg?" Misty asked, barely able to contain her laughter.

"No! At least, not on purpose." Misty laughed after that response, Ash giving a massive sweat drop as everyone decided to join in. This was one of those moments that Ash wouldn't forget about, and the group would ensure that.

---

It was a truly eventful day as the group kindly waved goodbye to the club and Sukizo, promising to visit again before they left. They had a great dinner with well-cooked food and spent time with the people and Pokémon there. Everyone had agreed to return to their rooms for the night, even the Pokémon figuring they could go to the Pokémon Center tomorrow. However, May decided to go to the Pokémon Center for the Pokémon that were injured and for one other reason.

A promise that she had made and had finally stopped putting off.

May took a deep breath in as she inputted her home's number on the Pokémon Center's computer, hearing the ringing as she steadied herself. "Why am I nervous? I may not have talked to them for a while, but they're my closest family." She thought as she looked at the screen. The once-black screen suddenly changed.

The screen showed the interior of a house with cream-colored couches, a boxy TV just out of view, and a front door that showed how dark it was through the small window it had. No one was on the screen as suddenly a hand shaped like a mouth came up, someone moving it left to right as a voice finally spoke. "Who is this? Why have you called, girl?" The voice was clearly young despite how hard the boy tried to make it sound deep and imposing.

May couldn't help but smile as she knew precisely what this was. "Max..." She warned in a fun way.

"Max? I have no idea who this Max is." The hand told her as the person made it face the screen. "How dare you call Mr. Serious at this hour, little girl. I will make-Ow!" The serious voice suddenly stopped as a younger voice finally took over. "I hit my head on the chair."

May suddenly laughed out loud as whoever this was finally came out from underneath the table, sitting in the chair as May looked at the screen. "That wouldn't have happened if you just showed yourself first."

"I was trying to be fun." The boy clarified as he adjusted his glasses. "You should give it a try." This was May's seven-year-old brother, Max. He had short, dark cyan hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a money-green-colored T-shirt with a white collar and button, along with charcoal-colored shorts. His glasses were black and had half-moon frames.

May rolled her eyes at the little jab as she looked at her little brother. "So, how has everything been?"

"It's been pretty average," Max said honestly as he rubbed the part where his head hurt. "Me getting hurt is probably the most exciting part about today."

"Don't be like that. Did you finish that book yet?"

"Yup, yesterday. A whole three hundred pages in less than two weeks." Max said with some pride as he looked at his sister. "I didn't think you'd care enough to ask."

"Of course, I care about what you do," May responded, her sisterly instincts talking as that reassurance made Max smile. "I just want to make sure my smart midget is getting smarter."

Max shrugged. "Don't worry; this midget is still reading every day. Sure, it would be nice to travel across an entirely different region with a group of friends, but oh well. Guess it wasn't meant to be." Max sighed as he thought about how lucky his sister was. He decided to try to be more positive, as his teachers always told him to be that way. "How is Vermillion City like?"

"It's like Lilycove City back home, except the beach is much more beautiful." Max was surprised, as the beaches of Lilycove were among the best that Hoenn had to offer. "Definitely has a lot more shops than Lillycove."

Max slightly rolled his eyes. "Of course, you would be interested in the shops of all things." He should've indeed expected this.

"Hey! I just like to go shopping." May quickly defended herself.

"Is having an entire schedule of your shopping part of the experience?" Max asked sarcastically, the list that even their mother thought was odd. May slightly grumbled to herself as he had a point. "Did you challenge the Gym Leader there?"

May thought before she answered, wondering if this was the time to reveal it. "No. You know I'm not interested in collecting badges."

"Just thought it was a good question to ask," Max remarked as he looked at May's face, knowing that the girl had something on her mind. "You thinking of something?"

"Just about today. Today was pretty fun, and I think I found something I like to do." Max wasn't expecting this as he paid attention to what May would say next. "I just learned about-"

"Max," A middle-aged woman's voice suddenly called out as the steps of someone approaching could be heard. "Are you talking to May?"

May's face lifted as she heard the all-too-familiar voice. "No." Max lied in such an obvious way. "I'm clearly talking to April from school."

Their mother smiled at the sarcasm as she stepped in, pulling up a chair to speak. "Well, I should still say hi to this April." She sat down and looked at the screen, giving a confused look. "Huh? This April girl looks a lot like my daughter for some reason." She joked.

Max and May both laughed as May corrected herself. "Hi, mom! How are you?"

"I was doing good, but since I know you're here, I'm doing great!" She said with excitement. Caroline looked quite beautiful. Her brown hair was styled into zigzag pigtails, her eyes a lovely lavender color. She wore a yellow sleeveless shirt with a white stripe covering her shoulders. A brown sash crossed her belly as a pair of violet spherical earrings completed her look.

"I'm doing great, too," May responded as her mother smiled. "Sorry, I took so long to call."

"It's okay, honey. I understand that you were probably busy these past few days." May was utterly silent as that was not the reason why she hadn't called, but just decided to nod her head. "I want to hear all about what you have been doing today."

"Yeah, May. You said something about you really liking something." Max brought up, Caroline becoming even more curious about what her daughter had been doing.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story," May answered. "Why don't you tell me about your day, mom?"

"Oh. I'm very excited to hear about it." Caroline thought to herself as she thought about her day. "Nothing really important today. I did my work, went shopping, and ate some leftovers. I bet your day was far more interesting than mine."

May sighed quickly as she knew it was now or never to tell her family about her new passion. "Today, me and my friends went on a shopping spree for about three hours. As we returned to the hotel, we stumbled across a Pokémon Club, and we decided to check it out. It was very fancy, to say the least."

Caroline and Max listened closely as the girl talked. "Was it fun?"

"It was," May said with a smile. "I learned about Pokémon Contest while there, and I grew interested in the whole thing. I even got this after learning all about it." May showed off her Contest Pass as the two gasped at seeing it.

"Wait? You're interested in Pokémon Contest?" Max asked with surprise, never expecting this from his sister.

"I really am. I also finally figured out what my dream is going to be." May pointed directly to herself as she smiled. "I'm going to be a Top Coordinator!"

Caroline squealed happily as she clapped at hearing this. "May! I'm so proud of you for trying out new things!"

Max smiled as he nodded. "Good job, sis. I think you'll do great."

"Thank you so much," May said softly, as she still had more to say. "I even did a little version of the Pokémon Contest today... and it went as well as someone doing this without experience." She admitted as she thought back to her version of the Performance Stage.

Caroline saw the little doubt May had as she gave a smile to her daughter. "You know, me and Max would've cheered you the whole way through. Not everyone can do what you are planning to do." These words touched May.

The three smiled lovingly at each other as May felt so glad that her own family supported this whole thing. Well, that was until Max decided to ask a question. "Do you have any new Pokémon with you? You'll need more than two for this whole contest thing."

May became extremely quiet as she heard that question. She had not gotten any new Pokémon since the last time they called, and she knew Max would make fun of her if she told the truth. "Yes."

Max looked at his sister as he folded his arms. "May. You're a terrible liar."

"No, I'm not!" She then saw how her mother made a sign with her hand to show she was only half right. "Mom!"

"I'm just kidding, sweetheart." She chuckled as May had a bit of a frown. "I'm happy for you, May. I'm so happy you are going out there and trying new things."

May's frown went away as she gave a tender smile. "Thank you so much. I miss you a lot."

"I know, and I feel the same way." The two placed their hand on the screen as the mother and daughter wished to be with each other again, but that time was not now. "Well, we better get some sleep. This one just went past his bedtime." Caroline ruffled Max's hair.

Max gave a slight groan. "Do I have to go to sleep so early?"

"You should already know the answer to that." Caroline smiled at the screen. "I love you, May. Get good sleep."

"I love you too," May answered as she looked at Max. "Love you, Max."

"You're pretty good too, May."

"Max!" Caroline put her hands on her hips after hearing that response.

"Okay, fine. I love you too, darling sister." Max finally said as he gave a smile to her. "You know I mean that, right?"

"I do. You just have a unique way of showing that love." May looked at her family one last time and happily waved to them. "See you next time."

"BYE MAY!" The two said in unison as the girl ended the call, the screen becoming the same black color it once was. May sighed happily as she felt so much better after the conversation. Hearing her family was always something that made her happy. She leaned back and smiled as she quickly stood up.

Joy was listening to her music when she suddenly saw May coming towards her, taking off her headphones as she smiled. "How was the call?"

"It was good. It was good." May replied as Joy brought out the Poke Balls that May had given her. "I'm sorry Brock couldn't tonight. We had a long day."

"That's fine. We can always talk tomorrow." Joy shrugged as the boy she had gotten close to didn't have the energy for today, something that even Ryan was surprised by. "See you next time, May Day."

"See you." That is what May said, but she thought of something different. "No! Now she's using it too!" She quickly turned around as she headed for the door, looking at the Poke Balls as she was busy sorting through them. Unfortunately, this distracted her from what was ahead as a boy suddenly bumped into her.

May hit her head on a boy's chest. She looked in slight pain as the boy rubbed his chest, a displeased scowl as he looked at her. May didn't recognize the boy at all. "Use your eyes next time if you even know how to." The boy pointed at the girl as he walked past. "Idiot," He muttered loud enough for May to hear.

May put her hands on her hips as she looked at the boy angrily. "Jerk," She muttered and quickly made her way out, not intending to be here anymore.

"Hello, Nurse Joy. The name's Paul." Was the last thing she heard from the guy before she stormed out. May took a walk back to the hotel as she quickly cooled herself off, walking around always being one of her favorite activities. She arrived at the hotel, and she came inside, surprised to see who was waiting for her at the bottom.

Ryan looked completely different as he was in his new outfit they had shopped for this morning. He wore a blue vest with yellow outlines, a white undershirt with short sleeves and a red stripe, indigo shorts with black outlines, and black sneakers with blue highlights. He also had a blue and black hat, but he wasn't currently wearing that. Gone was his simplistic outfit, as May was surprised by how well he looked. His backpack remained the same.

"There you are," Ryan said as he came to her. May surprised by how he looked now. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I didn't think the clothes we picked out would look so good." May complimented as Ryan looked down, holding a piece of the shirt.

"It's a bit stiff, but I like it. Ash was a big fan of this." He expressed as the two made their way for the elevator, Ryan deciding to explain why he was waiting at the bottom floor. "Sorry. Brock wanted me to make sure you came back."

"Aww. I'm glad he cares so much." May remarked as she clicked the button for the elevator. She sighed as her great bed and shower were just within reach. "What a day. Going against Team Rocket was a lot easier this time around." She decided to joke.

"Couldn't agree more."

The elevator doors opened, and they quickly went inside. May realized now would be a good time as she returned Ryan his Pokémon. "Here."

"Thank you. You know you didn't have to go and get our Pokémon healed up, right?"

"Just felt it was the right thing to do." She shrugged, Ryan smiling at the kind act she did as the doors closed. The elevator began to ascend as the two looked at nothing in particular.

The two were silent as their elevator was a bit on the slower side, meaning they had some time alone. May thought back across the day as this was going to be one of the more memorial days for her. She looked at Ryan as she thought back to what Ryan did for her back at the Pokémon club. That is when she realized that she never even thanked him for what she did.

"Ryan,"

The boy looked up. "Hmm? What's up?"

She smiled as she looked at him. "I just want to say thank you." She explained. "For saving back when that Ekans almost got me."

Ryan just lightly chuckled as he recalled that moment of dumb bravery. "It was nothing. I was trying to be a good friend." He said as the elevator finally opened, the two stepping out and heading for their rooms.

May smiled as the two looked at each other when they arrived at their doors. "It was more than that. I doubt I would've done the same thing if that was me."

"Well, I just didn't want you to get-"

Suddenly, May hugged the boy before he could finish.

Ryan was caught off guard as he felt the girl slowly tighten her hold on her best friend. Ryan smiled lightly as he hugged back, closing his eyes as he felt so peaceful. May showed her gratitude in this hug as she felt so lucky to have a friend like Ryan. She really did have a great group of friends who would always have her back, no matter what may happen.

May hugged Ryan closely as she opened her eyes. It was then she saw Ash looked at the two with his mouth slightly open. "Ash!" May said in shock as she quickly broke the hug. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I just got out. I just wanted to tell you that the shower was open." Ash explained as he could tell that he accidentally messed up something important. "Sorry."

"It's fine, Ash. May was telling me thanks for earlier." Ryan explained as he smiled at May. "You're welcome, and have a great night, May."

"Good night. Take these Poke Balls." May presented Brock and Misty's Poke Balls. "The left ones are Brock's."

Ryan nodded as the two waved each other good night, May smiling as she saw Ryan walk off. She quickly went to the room and gave Ash his Poke Balls. "Here you go, Ash."

"Thank you so much, May." Ash kindly said as he looked at the girl. "Sorry again for budging in like that."

"That's okay." May shrugged, not upset in any way. She smiled as she remembered her hug with Ryan, feeling so good after that moment. Today was a great day.

END OF CHAPTER 15

---

I almost forgot how fun it was to write the Team Rocket trio, and I'm glad I could include them here! Mondo was also fun to write, as was May discovering her passion for Pokémon Contest. That means the Pokémon Contests are fully implemented into the story, and we'll have a few chapters focused on those events. This chapter mainly gave character moments to Misty, Ryan, and May, as I felt the latter two could use more time to flesh them out. Giving Eevee and Ponyta may have seemed a bit random, but it's a decision I'll stick by as they'll be important down the line. See you next time!

Edit 10/05/23: Returning to this chapter, I'm shocked that I didn't consider the Pokémon Fan Club. My original plan was just a poorly thought out and, for some reason that I can't explain, edgy version of the S.S. Anne. I'm glad I could diverge from that path, as while the boat remains, I've used it for a different purpose. As for the feather that Misty has, you'll see the answer in the next chapter. Considering who has arrived at Vermillion, it may be easy to tell what will happen next. Adios!

Ash's Team: Wartortle (M), Pidgey (F), Nidorino (M), Bulbasaur (M), Dratini Egg (N/G)

Misty's Team: Starmie (N/G), Azumarill (M), Horsea (F), Magikarp (M), Jigglypuff (F), Squirtle (F)

Misty's Other Members: Seaking (F)

Ryan's Team: Pinsir (M), Butterfree (M), Jangmo-o (M), Oddish (M), Slowpoke (M), Ponyta (Galarian, F)

Brock's Team: Graveler (M), Onix (M), Zubat (M), Eevee (M)

May's Team: Beldum (Shiny, N/G), Charmander (M)