"Alright, if I'm reading this correctly, it shouldn't take us long to get to the ruins my dad is looking into." Molly said, looking at Ash's Pokegear's map.
"You know, couldn't you just ask before taking things from my pockets?" Ash asked.
"Sorry, I'm just really excited to show my dad Cyndaquil and Mareep." Molly said.
"And meet your new friends." Casey said.
"Oh he knows Ash." Molly said.
"But you said you weren't actually cousins." Casey said.
"We're not, but we're not strangers, our parents are old friends." Ash explained. "We played a lot before Molly's family moved out here to Johto."
"Hey Ash, I think your Pokegear is going on the fritz, you didn't take a bath with it, did you?" Molly asked.
"What, no of course not!" Ash said, grabbing the Pokegear to see the map was glitching.
"You sure you didn't do anything wrong, like spill food, or sit on it?" Casey asked, grabbing it and smacking it a few times.
"I'm telling you it's fine, I don't know why it suddenly isn't working." Ash said, taking it back and walking away. "See, look, it's working again."
"Either Casey hit it really hard, or something else is up with it." Molly said, looking at the Pokegear. "Bring it back over."
"Alright, but I'm not sure what that will prove." Ash said, making his way closer, watching as the map got more and more distorted.
"Weird, I wonder why that's happening." Casey said.
"I might be able to shed some light on that." A mans voice said.
"Dad!" Molly exclaimed excitedly.
"Well now isn't this a surprise, and Ash it's good to see you as well." Dr. Hale said, shaking Ash's hand. "And you must be Casey, Molly has said so much about all of your adventures."
"Dad, dad I want you to meet my Pokemon." Molly said, grabbing her two Pokeballs. "Cyndaquil, Mareep, come on out!"
Cyndaquil and Mareep came out, instantly recognizing a similar scent on Molly's father.
"Now aren't these two friendly." Dr Hale said.
"Professor Hale, I was curious, you said you might have an explanation as to why the Pokegear is acting weird, what is it?" Casey asked.
"It's Doctor Hale, but please you're friends of Molly, call me Spencer, and as for the reason, follow me." Dr. Hale said.
The trio followed Dr Hale into some ruins nearby to see what he was talking about.
"Now where is my flashlight?" Dr Hale said.
"Don't worry. Mareep, use Flash!" Molly called out.
Mareep shook her tail emanating a glow that illuminated the room.
"Haha! A true explorer in the making already. Just like me." Dr Hale said proudly. "Now as I was saying, take a look at these, I think these symbols create a sort of radio frequency that disrupts electronic signals."
"So no technology works in here?" Casey asked.
"Not quite, listen to this." Dr Hale said, taking out a radio and turning it on.
"What are these symbols?" Ash asked, touching them lightly.
'Help us, the masked man is coming.' A voice called out.
"WOAH!" Ash exclaimed tumbling back, a surge of red light coming from the symbols.
"Ashton!" Dr Hale said, catching him.
"Ash, what happened?" Molly asked.
"Your name is Ashton?" Casey questioned.
"There was a call for help, tons of people calling out for me." Ash said.
"I didn't hear anything." Molly said in confusion.
"Maybe if I?" Ash asked, reaching his hand out.
'Help us, the masked man is coming, don't let him get it.' The voices called out.
Ash fell back, red energy flowing from his fingertips.
"They're warning about a masked man." Ash said still in a daze. "Didn't you say Team Rocket here in Johto wears masks?"
"I mean yeah, but they said Masked Man?" Casey asked.
"Yeah, both times." Ash said, shaking his head.
"That implies a singular person." Dr Hale said in thought.
"You don't honestly believe this is possible, right dad?" Molly asked.
"Considering everything we know about these ruins, the idea that messages are locked deep within these symbols is far from unlikely." Dr Hale explained.
"I mean they look like letters, but do you really think it's possible for there to be messages deep within them?" Molly questioned.
"I'm not sure, but once Schuyler and I can take a closer look at these ruins, we can say for certain." Dr Hale said.
"So are we just staying here until they're finished?" Casey asked curiously.
"Of course not, an expedition like this would take weeks for us to complete." Dr Hale said. "If we find anything I'm sure we can call to tell you about it."
"Are you sure dad?" Molly asked.
"Molly, you're on a journey of your own, if you want to travel with Ash and Casey then I won't stop you, there are plenty of mysteries out there with or without me." Dr Hale said.
"Molly, come on your dad is a pro at this, besides we'll find plenty of exciting things out there!" Ash assured.
"Right, just be careful." Molly said, hugging her dad.
"Stop by Greenfield once we're done, I'd be happy to have all of you over to go over everything we've all found." Dr Hale said.
"Of course, we'll see you then." Ash assured.
Authors notes
Yeah a quick and simple chapter, but I couldn't not go over the third movie when they're right next to the first Unown ruins in the series history.