For the two weeks it took Ash, Serena and May to go from Slateport City to Mauville City, almost nothing of importance happened. In fact, it was so boring that at one point the gang just decided to hurry it up and reach the Mauville as soon as possible and not spend as much time on training as they did the first week.
The only time they could alleviate that boredom was in the middle of the second week, when they run into Wally, who was going from Mauville toward Slateport and then from there to Dewford Island for his next gym battle.
Wally told them that as of right now, he has two badges which he won in Rustboro and Mauville, and is on his way for the third badge. He congratulated to Ash and Serena when they told him they won the badges in Petalburg, Rustboro and Dewford Gyms.
This meeting has led to Wally challenging the gang to a battle, and all three agreed to have a double battle against Wally.
The first battle was May against Wally, in which May used her Beautifly and Loudred to battle against Wally's Swablu and Skitty. In a double brawl which followed, May was able to win, though it wasn't easy, as she has lost her Loudred from a combination attack performed by Skitty who fired Ember with Assist, and Swablu's Whirlwind, which empowered Ember by making it bigger and stronger.
Unfortunately for Wally, while he did get the lead in the match, May's Beautifly was her strongest Pokemon, and was able to take out first Swablu with Silver Wind, which she has just perfected few days earlier, and then took out Skitty with Sleep Powder.
The next battle was Serena was Wally. Serena used Mudkip and Golbat against Wally's Roselia and Magneton. Unfortunately for Wally, he lost again, but this time he was closer to defeat Serena then he was to defeat May as the two Pokemon he chose for this round had a huge advantage against Serena's Pokemon. He was able to defeat Golbat, then Serena's Mudkip defeated his Roselia. In the final one-v-one, Serena's Mudkip was able to pull a win against Magneton even though he was at a disadvantage against Electric Type Pokemon.
At the end of this battle, after Mudkip defeated Roselia and Magneton, he evolved into Marshtomp. Serena was very happy for her Pokemon, who was equally happy, as this evolution means he is getting stronger.
In the final double battle, Ash used his Duskull and Grovyle against Wally's Kirlia and Grovyle. Kirlia and Grovyle have proven very quickly that they were Wally's strongest Pokemon, and were able to hold their own for a while against Ash's Duskull and Grovyle. But, in the end, Ash's Pokemon have just been trained harder than Wally's and Ash was much more experienced then Wally, so Ash won without losing even a single of his Pokemon. At the end of a battle, Duskull evolved into Dusclops.
At the end of it all, even though the journey from Slateport to Mauville was boring as shit, that one day where they battled against Wally, and Serena and Ash had one Pokemon evolve, each, fixed their mood a little bit.
XXX
When Ash, Serena and May arrived in the Mauville City, they immediately headed to the Pokemon Center, from where they will see if Steven is there, and if not, they will call him to see where he is.
After the meeting with Steven, Ash plans to call his father and see if he is in Mauville City so they can meet as well, as they haven't seen each other for a while, and so Red can meet Serena and May, as he hasn't met them before.
They arrived in front of the Pokemon Center about 20 minutes later. When they walked through the front door, they found almost empty Pokemon Center, with the only person there being Nurse Joy, who was standing behind the reception desk, along with Chansey.
"Welcome to the Pokemon Center, kids," Nurse Joy greeted them with a smile. Chansey also greeted them. "How may I help you today?"
"We will need two rooms." Ash said as he first approached the counter.
"Ok," Nurse Joy said, and started typing on her computer. "Just give me a minute."
"Can you tell us if maybe Steven Stone happens to be here," Ash asked while Nurse Joy was typing on the computer. She was really surprised when she heard Ash's question, but then remembered that Steven told her about meeting some trainers, so she smiled at Ash and said.
"Yes, he was here," Ash, Serena and May smiled as they heard this. "I'm assuming you are the trainers he said he is meeting."
"Yes," Ash confirmed. "We met near the Granite Cave, and agreed to meet here in a few weeks to do come exchanging."
Nurse Joy nodded, and few moments later, she had their rooms ready, so she gave them the keys for them. "Steven was here few hours ago to check if you had arrived, but since you didn't, he left to meet with some people, and said that if you come, to give him a call, and he will return here."
"Thanks', Nurse Joy," Ash said. "Also, can you check out our Pokemon? We haven't been in a Pokemon Center since Slateport City, so they really need a checkup."
"Of course." Nurse Joy said with a smile, and Ash, Serena and May left all of their Pokemon with Nurse Joy.
They then went to their rooms to leave their stuff, and to call Steven and see how quickly they can meet, so they can decide what to do after the meeting.
XXX
Steven arrived in the Pokemon Center about an hour after Ash, Serena and May called him. Right now, all four of them were in the Pokemon Center Cafeteria.
"It's nice to see you again, kids," Steven said with a smile. "I hope your journey is going fine."
"It's nice to see you as well, Steven," Ash said. "And yes, our journey was mostly ok since we last saw each other."
Steven noticed that the smile on Ash's face doesn't really reach his eyes, and the case is the same with Serena and May. "I heard about what happened in the Mudkip Swamp," Steven said, surprising the three, but then they remembered that he is a Hoenn Champion, so he should know stuff like that happening. "And I'm really sorry you had to go through that."
"It's ok," Ash said. "It's not your fault so there is no need to apologize."
"I know, but still…" Steven didn't finish, as there was no need. Everyone know what he meant and how he felt. "By the way. Where is that other kid who was with you the last time? I think his name was Max… right."
May answered. "He went back home after what happened in the swamp. He felt he needs some help to deal with seeing Kenji's corpse all bloodied and burned."
"I see…" Steven said. He really felt sorry for the little guy, actually, he felt sorry for all four of the kids… even Ash, who is an Aura Guardian and is much tougher than the other three, he is still a kid, and seeing stuff like that can change anyone's life, forever. Of course, he doesn't know that Ash has already killed Proton, and is much tougher then he thinks.
Steven decided to change the topic, so he took out from his pocket, two rocks. One was a Mega Stone, and the other was a Key Stone. "As per our agreement, I brought you Altarianite as well as a Key Stone."
Serena then went and pulled out a Steelixite from her backpack and placed it on the table. "And here is the Steelixite," she said. "But are you sure you want to give me a Key Stone as well? I mean, I'm only giving you a Mega Stone."
Steven smiled. "Don't worry about it, Serena," he said. "I'm just very grateful to you for not only finding Steelixite, but also for deciding to trade it with me, as that's one of the Mega Stones I spent a lot of time searching for. Besides, you will need a Key Stone in order to activate the Mega Evolution, and not just a Mega Stone."
He then went and explained to Serena how she and her Pokemon can wear the stones. "For a Mega Stone, your Altaria must have it strapped somewhere on its body. You can potentially attach it to a choker and then place it around Altaria's neck," Serena nodded at this, as she held her new Mega Stone as well as a Key Stone. "As for the Key Stone," here he pointed at his Stickpin, "you can wear it like I do, or maybe in some other way, as there are ways to attach the Key Stone to a ring or a glove or anything really. It all depends on how you want to wear it."
"Thanks', Steven," Serena said. "I really appreciate it you giving me a Key Stone and not just a Mega Stone. And I'll be sure to find something which will be close to me to attach the Key Stone to. The same goes for Altaria. I'll find the best way possible for her to wear it."
Steven nodded. "Well, anyway, I need to go," Steven said, as he stood up from his chair, followed up by Ash, Serena and May, who stood up as well. "I have some important business to attend to, so I'm in a little hurry. I apologize if I make you feel like I'm escaping from you or anything."
"Don't worry about it," Ash waived it off. "We know that you are a busy man, so we are not bothered." Serena and May nodded in agreement.
"Goodbye then," Steven said and shook hands with all three of them. "I'm sure we will see each other again soon. If not before, then at least at the Ever Grande Conference, as I'll most likely be there."
And so, Steven left the Pokemon Center and went on to his business, whatever it is, while Ash, Serena and May stayed behind. "Are you going to call your dad now, Ash?" Serena asked. She was a little excited but also scared as this will be the first time meeting the father of her boyfriend. She was also wondering what kind of man he is, as Ash doesn't talk about him that much, and the only thing she knows about him is that he travels a lot for his job, which she also doesn't know what it is.
"I guess I will." Ash said, and then dialed Red using his Pokedex.
"Hey Ash," came Red's voice from the Pokedex. "How's it been? I heard from Steven earlier that you and your friends are already here in Mauville."
"Yeah," Ash said. "We are in the Pokemon Center, and have just finished with Steven, so I thought to call you and see where you are."
"Did you happen to see a small Island of the coast of Mauville City when you came there," Red asked, and Ash nodded?
"Yes, we saw it." Ash said.
"Well, that's where I am," Red said. "Come here, and I'll tell you about what's been happening lately, as I'm sure the three of you haven't noticed anything yet."
"Ok," Ash said a little confused. "We'll be there as soon as possible." After that, Ash shut down the connection, and looked at Serena and May. "Are we going immediately, or do you have something else to do here."
"We are fine to go right now if you want to," May said.
XXX
Ash, Serena and May used Ash's Lapras to get to the small island of the coast of Mauville City. It took them about 20 minutes to get there from the Pokemon Center, and once they were there, they saw the place crawling with people. They were all workers, though, which surprised them a little and made them wonder what's going on.
As the three were walking around the place looking for Red or Riley, they noticed that the place looks like an abandoned power plant, which was now turned into some sort of base or something.
"Hey Ash!" Ash, Serena and May heard a voice call Ash, and once they turned around, they saw Red approaching them with a smile on his face.
"Hey dad," Ash said when Red finally came in front of him, and the two hugged each other. "It's nice to see you."
"You too, Ash," Red said after they let go if each other. "I'm sorry we couldn't see each other after… you know," Ash nodded, as he was reminded again of what happened in Dewford Island, "but I was stuck in Unova and I couldn't come back immediately."
"It's ok," Ash said. "Don't worry about it. "But anyway, these are Serena and May," Ash pointed to the two girls, who shook hands with Red.
"It's nice to finally meet you both," Red said with a smile. "Especially you, Serena, since you have been traveling with Ash for a while, and are his girlfriend, and we never met until now."
"Yeah, we never really had the chance, Mr. Ketchum," Serena said. "And I understand you were busy."
"Oh please, drop that Mr. Ketchum business," Red said. "Just call me Red. You too, May. Anyway," Red decided to go to business. "I bet you are all wondering why I'm here in Mauville City."
"Yeah," Ash said very interested.
"Well, remember what we talked about when you were in Johto," Red questioned? "About the colored shards," Ash nodded. "Well, you see as I told you back then, the colored shard big enough which is constantly exposed to a sun can power up the entire city, forever.
"Back then, we though to implement the shards in every bigger city in the world, but over time we made some changes, and are now planning something different." He stopped here to get the three kids worked up before he continued.
"Well, are you going to tell us?" Ash asked annoyed that Red just stopped and left them literally hanging for information.
Red smiled and continued. "We decided to see if it is possible to build a residential, commercial and entertainment tower which will be so big that in that one tower you will be able to house and employ all the people from one city."
Eyes went wide in disbelief when they heard this. Ash, Serena and May couldn't believe what Red was saying, as they thought something like that is impossible.
"How would that work," Ash asked? "I mean, that tower… if it could even be called like that, would have to be monstrous."
"Yes, it would be really big," Red confirmed. "For example, the Mauville City is the most populated and biggest city in size in the Hoenn Region with just a little short of 1, 5 mill people leaving in the city and some small settlements around it. Urahara made some calculations, and we looked at the amount of houses, business's and everything which is in the city, and made a plan for how big the tower would have to be to cover everything. In the end, we came up with a tower which will be 1, 5 kilometers in height as well as have each of its four sides be 800 meters in length. The tower will basically be a square at the ground level with each side the same length of 800 meters.
"The top most level of the building will be opened, and the shard will be there. That shard will be absorbing the radiation from the sun, and will be able to power up the entire building. And I mean everything will be powered by the shard, the electricity, the water heating, the room heating… everything."
"But I still don't understand," Serena said. "What's the point in this? I mean, yes, that shard powering up everything will be like placing solar panels and wind turbines for the renewable electricity and could potentially turn the entire city into a green city, but why not just place the shards somewhere in the city without building that tower?"
"Mauville City as the largest and most populated city in Hoenn Region affects the environment really badly," Red said. "I mean all that electricity needed to be produced, all the exhaustion from the cars, busses, factory's and everything else which pollutes the city is not good, not just for the city's environment, but for the entire Region. And just think how many cities like that are around the world. The daily pollution is astronomical on the world level.
"The tower like the one we will be building will be big, yes, but still it will take more then 20 times less space the Mauville City takes up now. The building goes in height instead of width, so all the free space can be turned into forests or parks.
"On top of that, with everyone living and working in the same place, people won't need cars and busses to go to work or anywhere really unless they were to go to another town or city. That way, there will be no exhaustion and over time the atmosphere will clean itself from the pollution.
"Do you now see the worth of something like this? This will change the whole world for the better."
"Would the average people even want to live in a place like that," Ash asked? "No matter how big and comfortable you make this tower, it will still be just one tower, and if you place almost 1, 5 million people in such a small place… I don't think it will go that easy.
"Not to mention the fact that, there are people who have their own houses with back yards and everything, so why would they even agree to this?"
"Well, those are good questions, and the truth is, not everyone likes this," Red said. "And that's actually one of the reasons we are starting here in Mauville City instead of some other place."
"What do you mean?" Ash asked.
"When Urahara, Riley and I first came up with this idea, we presented it to the leaders of every region in the world," Red said. "Some of them were skeptical, while some outright laughed at our faces. But there were few governments which were very interested, and one of them was Hoenn Government. So, after the meeting, it was agreed to organize the referendum in Mauville City so that people can decided themselves if they are for this or not.
"We, of course, had to explain to them everything about the plan and the benefit of it, as well as reassure them that everything will be safe as much as possible, as none of us wants to be responsible to the potential death of over 1 mil people. We also told them that once the building is compete, they will get the apartments and everything for free since they houses and apartments will be demolished.
"Then, at the referendum, the majority of the Mauville City citizens agreed to this idea, and the construction could start as soon as we find a place where to build. We chose to build north from the city so that the sea won't make problems for the foundation, and to the north the ground is stronger and better suited for the job like this one."
"Ok," Ash said. "I am really surprised by all this especially that the people agreed, but another questions I have is. Who's paying for the construction of the building and later the demolition of the city? And, what's in this for us?"
"The Hoenn Government is paying everything," Red said. "They are the first region who agreed to this, and the first who decided to battle against pollution and global warming. As for the second question, well, I created a construction company which will do the work. We will be paid for the job and are also getting money for the shard piece which will power up the tower, as the shard is ours and we have the right to do with it what we want. I thought about selling it to the Hoenn Government, but in the end I decided to rent it to them, and they will pay us the rent yearly."
"Interesting," Ash said. "But besides Mauville, are there any other places where you will build this tower?"
"For now, no," Red said. "The Hoenn Government will be able to fund only this one, and no other for a while, but they are estimating that they will have less costs to maintain the tower then the entire city, so they would be able to earn more money more quickly, and in the future they plan to build more towers around Hoenn Region. As for the other Regions, they are all waiting to see how this turns out, and then they will decide."
"So, is the tower going to have everything which is currently in Mauville City," May asked? "I mean, houses, apartments, businesses, factories."
"Almost everything except factories and some other things, like the zoo, which will stay where it is, as well as some parks for walk," Red said. "It is impossible to include the factories into the building, so they won't be there, and will be moved to another locations. From what I understood, Hoenn Government plans to relocate all factories from all over the Region to several uninhabited Island in the southern Hoenn. There won't be anyone living there besides those who work in those factories, who will all live in several building which will be built on those island. As for the zoo and the parks, we simply don't want to put them inside of the building, as they would take a lot of space."
"What are they trying to pull by doing that?" Ash asked, referring to the relocations of the factories.
"Well, they hope to decrease the pollution to the places where there is human and Pokemon populations," Red said. "Those island are uninhabited by humans and Pokemon, so there is no damage to anyone if the places get a bit more pollution than normal. It will be similar to the Gringey City in Kanto, though it won't be that close to other humans and Pokemon, so it will be better."
"Ok," Ash said. "So, how will this building look like?"
"As I said, it will be 1, 5 kilometers in height, but that's from the ground level," Red said, and got raised eyebrows. "There will also be about 500 meters foundation below the ground. The part below the ground will also be wider, while at the base of the ground level the building will have four sides, 800 meters in length each, the lowest part below the ground will be a 1, 2 km on each side. As the building goes higher and higher, it will decrease it girth, so the top level will only be about 50 meters each side.
"On the lowest level below the ground, there will be parking's for all the people who have cars, as while they won't be able to use them while in Mauville Tower - that's the name of the tower, by the way - they will be able to use them to go to other places around Hoenn. Below ground there will also be swimming pools, indoor sport arenas and Pokemon Battlefields along with Mauville Gym, the Pokemon Center, Hospitals, entertainment centers for kids, and other stuff like that. From the ground level up there will be offices for the businesses. That will go to about 500 meters in height. Everything above that will be residential area with apartments where the people will live. The top 100 meters will be unoccupied except the offices for the maintenance of the building as well as the maintenance of the shard if that is ever needed."
"The Mauville Tower will truly be one amazing thing." Serena commented, with Red nodding with a smile.
"It sure will," Red said. "If this works, and I know it will, we will be able to build more around the world. One day, I'm sure these towers will be the greatest legacy a single family has left to the world."
Ash, Serena and May were amazed by everything Red, Riley and Urahara have come up with and done, and had to agree that Red is right when he says that these towers could potentially become the greatest legacy to the world.
After that, Red led the three to meet with Riley and Urahara who were inside of the former Power Plant, and now the base for Red's construction company where all the workers spend the time when they are not working, as well as the place where they store supplies for the construction of the Mauville Tower.
XXX
While at the meeting, Ash, Serena and May talked with Red, Riley and Urahara and learned everything about the plans they made for the towers, as well as some other plans which Red and Riley are coming up with and Urahara is trying to make them happen.
Besides the talks about the construction company and the towers, Ash, Serena and May also talked about their journey so far, about the badges they won, the Pokemon they caught and in the end, how they like their travels through the Hoenn Region compared to their previous travels, though this was only the case with Ash and Serena since May didn't travel before.
"You know, I run into Amber about a week ago," Red suddenly said, drawing Ash's and Serena's attention, while May was curious as she wasn't sure who Amber is.
"Really," Ash asked? "Where?"
"She and her friends were here for their gym battle, after which they went to Slateport City," Red said. "She said that after that, they will visit several islands in south Hoenn on the way to Sootopolis City, where they are going to try and win their final badge."
"I see," Ash said a little surprised but still smiled. "We haven't talked in a while, but I'm surprised that they already have seven badge and only need one more to qualify for the Hoenn League."
"Well, they did come here months before Serena and you," Red said. "I think they already had four when the two of you first arrived in Hoenn."
"Did she say anything," Ash asked? "Were there any troubles on their journey?"
"She didn't mention anything," Red said. "And I didn't want to pry, so I just let her be. Though, I'm sure you will find out if something did happen when you see her."
"Of course I will," Ash nodded. "She can't hide anything from me and you know that."
"I sure do." Red said with a smile, which was mimicked by Riley, Urahara and Serena who knew how much Amber likes Ash, and how much he cares for her, which is why Amber will never hide anything from Ash.
May was the only one confused as she didn't know Amber, so she asked. "Who is Amber?"
"My younger sister," Ash said, surprised May. "She was the one who battled against me in Silver Conference final, last year."
"That's right," May said. "I totally forgot about that. I think Max mentioned something like that happening before."
From there, the conversations moved toward Ash's, Serena's and May's plans for the continuation of their journey.
"Well, after Mauville, we are heading north," Ash said. "Though in which town we will go first is unknown. But, if I have to guess, I'd say in Lavaridge Town as that's where the closest gym from here is."
After that, they talked for a while longer, before Ash, Serena and May left the base, and returned to the Pokemon Center were they will spend the rest of the day and the night, before they go to the Mauville Gym the next morning.
The next day after breakfast, Ash, Serena and May went to the Mauville City Gym where Ash and Serena are to have the battles for the fourth badges on their journey through Hoenn Region.
They have arrived in the gym about 10 minutes after they left Pokemon Center since the distance in between the two is not so great, and right now, they are walking through the corridor in the gym.
They've been walking for a few minutes until they were met by two men, one older with graying hair, and one younger with brown hair and glasses.
"Hey kids," the older man said. "Are you here for the gym battle?"
"Yes, we are," Ash waked forward and said. "I'm Ash, and these are Serena and May. Serena and I are here to challenge you to a gym battle."
"That's great," the old man said, and then laughed. "I'm Wattson, the gym leader of Mauville Gym, and this guy behind me is Watt. He is my assistant.
"It's nice to meet you both." Serena said, after which, the three young trainers followed the gym leader and his assistant to the battlefield.
XXX
It was decided that Ash will go first after they arrived on the battlefield.
In a three-on-three battle, Ash used Grovyle, Dusclops and Combusken to battle against Wattson's Voltorb, Magnemite and Magneton.
It didn't take long to Ash to defeat all three of Wattson's Pokemon with three of his, as by now, Ash's Pokemon have advanced above the level of normal gym leader and are swiftly heading toward the high level Pokemon of the trainers who reach the top spots in the regional championships. Dusclops was first and he defeated Voltorb with only two attacks, without receiving any damage.
Combusken was next and he fought against Magnemite. He was struck once by Thunderbolt, but then defeated his opponent with a powerful Flamethrower. And finally in the third round, Grovyle defeated Magneton with a well-executed three way combination attack, where he first hit Magneton with Quick Attack, sending it flying and unable to dodge or defend against Leaf Blade and then Iron Tail as a finisher.
After the battle, Ash was awarded Dynamo Badge, his fourth badge in Hoenn Region, making him now half way to the Ever Grande Conference.
After Ash had his battle, it was time for Serena, and now she was standing on the challenger spot on the battlefield, while Ash and May were standing behind her close to the gym wall.
After Watt announced the match, and after Wattson chose Electrode as his first Pokemon, while Serena chose one of her two Tyrogue as her first Pokemon, Watt started the battle.
"BEGIN!"
XXX
Now. I'm not an architect, so I don't really know if it's possible to build something like Mauvile Tower, nor do I know if it's possible for 1, 5 million people to live and work in there as well as, still be any space left for anything else. I doubt it, though. But, for this story, let's say that it is possible, and leave it at that. If some of you are unsatisfied, then I'm sorry, but I'm not changing this.