Just like in the anime, Brock returns to the group, so it's time to reveal everybody's age!

Ash + Ashley: 12
Brock: 18
May: 10
Max: 7

If you have any suggestions about which Pokémon a certain character should catch, besides the ones they caught in the anime, let me know in the reviews, please!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 4: You Never Can Taillow

With May's little brother Max joining us on the journey, we were now four people in total. Four was quite a common number for us to travel as a group, so it felt pretty normal. I stilled missed Misty and Brock and wondered how they were doing in their Gyms.

We reached the Petalburg Woods the same day we left Petalburg City and that was a couple of days ago. May felt a little uncomfortable when we camped outside for the first time, but she slept well the whole night once she crawled into her sleeping bag. Now we were awake and walked through the vast forest which was strangely quiet.

"Hmm… How strange", Max commented as he looked around the forest with a pair of binoculars. "I don't see any wild Pokémon at all."

He was right. I hadn't seen or heard any Pokémon ever since we entered the woods. Usually, forests were a hot spot for wild Pokémon. When it was all silent like this, it was more like a warning that some kind of flock had taken over the place, like that time when a flock of Spearows had occupied a forest on Route 1 in Kanto and Ash released Pidgeot to protect the wild Pidgeys and Pidgeottos.

"I'm hungry", May whined. "When do we stop to eat lunch?"

"But we haven't seen a single Pokémon yet!" Max said.

"Max, did you really think you could just look up and see one whenever you wanted to, Max?" Ash asked. "It doesn't work like that."

"But I heard the Petalburg Woods is packed of Pokémon, so it doesn't make any sense why we haven't seen them", Max retorted. "I wonder if we're in the wrong part of the woods."

"Max is right", I nodded as I opened my PokéGear to check the map. "There are so many different paths in the Petalburg Woods that I'm afraid we might get lost."

"Please! I'm starving!" May yelled and tugged on my arm. "Let's eat lunch!"

"No! Let's go a different way!" Max argued and grabbed Ash's arm.

"Lunch!"

"Pokémon!"

"Lunch!"

"Pokémon!"

"Stop!" Ash and I shouted simultaneously, scaring the siblings so they let go of us.

"We can't do both things at the same time, so let's do this!" Ash said seriously. "We'll take a quick lunch break and then we'll look for a different path to see if we can find any Pokémon! Is that okay?"

"That's perfect!" May smiled at him like he was a god. Somehow, it made me a little irritated at my own brother, which was a rare case.

"That works for me too!" Max nodded.

To be honest, I was a little worried. Even though we had stocked up on food for us and the Pokémon, there was just very little left that I was afraid it wasn't enough for a full meal.

I grabbed a few canned foods from my backpack and used some tricks I've learned from Brock to make the meal look a little more appetizing. I divided the portions on small wood plates and passed them over to my brother and the Maple siblings. Pikachu got his Pokémon fodder and gladly ate it while the rest of us ate a meal consisting of pre-cooked rice with some canned beans stored in a sauce with spices.

"This was good", May said as she finished her plate. "But the portion was too small."

"I'm sorry, May, but both my and Ash's backpacks aren't large enough to store lots of food along with other necessary stuff", I apologized as I stacked up the plates and spoons to wash them.

"Yeah, Brock's always had a huge backpack that he could store literally everything", Ash chuckled after he licked his spoon clean.

"Brock? You mean one of the two Gym Leaders you traveled with before?" Max asked.

"Yep. He's a Pokémon Breeder, so he knows a lot about Pokémon", Ash nodded. "And he's a great cook too. He can make amazing dishes with simple ingredients."

"I learned a lot from him during our travels since I can cook while Ash cannot", I added.

"Hey! I can cook!" Ash retorted, offended by the statement.

"But it's true", I said, not scared of my brother. "I still have a lot to learn, though, until I can reach Brock or even our mom's level of skills."

"You'll get there, sis. I know you can", Ash encouraged me.

"May's actually terrible in the kitchen too", Max confessed.

May flushed when her little brother revealed one of her dark secrets. "Max! You don't have to tell them that!"

"One time, she blew up the oven when she tried baking simple sugar cookies", Max continued, embarrassing his big sister more.

"Stop it, Max!" May shrieked with her face having the same color as her red shirt.

"Boy… Now I suddenly got a craving for sweets", Ash laughed sheepishly when his stomach growled loudly.

I got up from the ground and grabbed the dishes and the empty cans. "I'll go wash these real quick. I'll be back."

"I'll go with you, Ashley", May said as she followed behind me. "I need to get away from my little brother for a minute."

"Does he love teasing you?" I asked as we found a small rivulet where clean water flowed through.

May sighed. "Yeah…"

We got down on our knees and washed the wood utensils with our hands. I was extremely careful with the cans since their sharp edges could slice my fingers open like a knife.

"I'm not good with lots of stuff like cooking or baking", May confessed. "The minimum I can do is help preparing vegetables. But I want to find something that I know I can be good at and aim for that. That's partially why I decided to travel."

"So… You don't plan participating in the Hoenn League?" I asked after I rinsed the last can.

"I don't know what I want to do yet", May shook her head as she washed the last plate. "I just want to travel around and see the world."

I stood up and brushed my legs clean from grass and dust. "You want to be a globetrotter?"

"Maybe, but I'm not sure…", May sighed and stood up with the utensils. "Do you think I'll find a dream like you and Ash?"

"I'm sure you will", I smiled softly while I carried the cans. "Everyone is different, so you don't need a goal right from the start. A dream can appear while you travel across the world. So don't feel pressured that you don't have a goal right now. It will come in time."

"Thanks, Ashley…", May smiled hesitantly. "It eases my heart a little hearing that."

She still didn't look so convinced and I didn't like seeing her smiling like that. She looked so much better with a big real smile.

We walked back to the boys. "We're back", I called and put the cans upside down to let them dry in the sun.

"Did you find any berries or something?" Ash asked while caressing Pikachu's fur.

"That's the first thing you ask us?" May said disappointingly as she passed the plates and spoons to me so I could wipe them dry with a towel.

"Well… I'm still hungry", Ash laughed sheepishly.

Pikachu grimaced. "Pika pika…"

"You're not alone with that", May whined and rubbed her stomach. "I still feel hungry."

"Hmm…", Max grabbed his backpack and dug his hand inside of it. "I wanted to keep this a secret, but-"

"Do you have something, Max?" May asked her little brother with voice full of hope.

"Well…", Max held back a grimace before he revealed a small package of chocolate cookies.

"Chocolate cookies?!" Ash brightened up at the sight of the package. "Those are yummy!"

"Surely you'll share some with your big sister, right, Max?" May asked.

"I was going to, but…", Max said before he opened the package and pulled out one chocolate cookie. "I only have one left."

"Only one?" Ash muttered disappointingly.

"Did you eat them all, Max?" May glared at him.

"No! I just ate a few couple of days ago 'cause I was craving for something sweet!" Max retorted. "This was also supposed to be my emergency stash."

"Then you should save that cookie for later", I spoke up once I finished packing all stuff, including the trash. "And when it comes down to the worst, we can split that cookie in equal bits."

"That's what I thought too", Max nodded. "So I'll put it away-" He was just about to put the cookie back in the package when a quick silhouette flew by and snatched the biscuit out of his fingers.

"Looow!"

At first, I couldn't register what just happened, but I snapped out of it when May ran after the Pokémon that had stolen Max's chocolate cookie. "Come back with the cookie, you chocolate thief!" she shrieked.

Ash and Max ran after her as soon as they grabbed their backpacks, Pikachu jumping onto my brother's shoulder. I snatched mine too from the ground and ran after the bird Pokémon that carried Max's sweet in its claws. "Is that a Taillow?!" Ash called, recognizing it because Ritchie used one against me in our battle at the Silver Conference.

"Yes!" Max called back. "It's supposed to be common here!"

In the midst of chaos, Ash pulled out his Pokédex and checked the data of Taillow.

Taillow, the tiny swallow Pokémon. Normal and flying-type. Taillow courageously stands its ground against foes, however strong they may be. This gutsy Pokémon will remain defiant even after a loss. It will take on a larger Skarmory on an equal footing. However, its will weakens if it becomes hungry.

Taillow settled down on a branch out of our reach and ate the chocolate cookie in peace. Well, not exactly in peace because May was yelling at the wild Pokémon. "Give back the chocolate cookie! That's our ration!"

Taillow ignored the brunette's complaints and ate the whole cookie. "Lo taillow!" it chirped happily, having a chocolate moustache.

"Noooo!" May cried and collapsed on her knees. "It ate the whole thing…"

I caught the scent of something sweet in the air. I took a quick moment to look around us and noticed we were in a clearing with fruit trees. There were tons of fresh fruit that looked ripe enough to eat.

"Why did Taillow steal that chocolate cookie in the first place?" Ash wondered.

"No idea, but I'm kinda glad it liked it", Max giggled.

Taillow chirped happily. "Tai lo loow!"

"You're glad, Max?!" May yelled at her little brother. "It's a food thief!"

"Guys, can't you see we're surrounded by food?" I spoke up. "This area is full of fruit trees."

May cheered when she finally saw the apples. "Yay! We've found food! Let's get some and fill our bellies!"

"Wait, May!" Max quickly grabbed his sister's hand. "When there's one Taillow there should be a whole flock!"

"I only see one Taillow here, so it shouldn't be a problem!" May smiled. "Ash, Ashley, can you help us get the apples?"

I felt a shiver run down my spine when I sensed multiple glares. Next thing we knew, we were surrounded by a large flock of Taillows that had hidden in the trees. The Taillow that took Max's cookie flew in front of the flock, which was a clear sign it was actually the leader.

And it didn't look pleased.

"What's going on now?!" May whined.

"I think this part of the forest is their territory and they don't want us to touch their food", Max suggested.

"What?! How dare you keep all the food to yourselves?!" May yelled angrily at the birds.

"Don't yell, May!" I shouted. "You will only anger them even more!"

"We've gotta get out of here before they attack us!" Ash said. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"PikaCHUUU!" Pikachu launched a lightning bolt and hit every single Taillow. They were all electrocuted and dropped like Cutieflies, whimpering in pain.

"Great job, Pikachu!" Ash praised his Pokémon.

"Now's our chance to flee!" I called.

We were only able to run a few meters before we were once again surrounded by the Taillows that swiftly recovered from that super effective attack. "How did they recover so fast?!" Ash exclaimed in disbelief.

"That's what I wanted to ask!" Max shouted.

"The Pokédex said Taillows are resilient Pokémon and refuse to give up!" I exclaimed.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt them again!" Ash screamed.

Pikachu shocked the wild flock a second time. At the first glance, we thought we had them, but the Taillows still had enough strength to remain flying in the air, even when they were looking tired.

"I think we can get them if Pikachu shocks them a third time!" I pointed out.

"Pikachu, can you use Thunderbolt one more time?" Ash asked.

Pikachu nodded and made his cheeks sparkle in preparation for another Thunderbolt. However, he got interrupted by the Taillow with chocolate moustache. The wild Pokémon used Quick Attack on him and threw him back.

"Pikachu!" Ash picked him up. "Are you okay?"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded determinedly.

The leader of the Taillows chirped before the flock dived toward us, their sharp beaks glowing in the sunlight. May grabbed Max and held him close while Ash pulled me into his arms with Pikachu to protect us from the incoming attack. I braced myself to feel pain, but then like a godsend I heard the familiar voice of our savior.

"Forretress, use Explosion!"

A large bomb exploded and the smoke engulfed us while we heard the Taillows chirping in fear and panic. I coughed to clear my throat as the smoke faded away, revealing our savior was none other than Brock!

"Brock!" Ash and I gasped in surprise.

"Hey, guys!" Brock smiled after he recalled his fainted Forretress. "Glad I made it in time before those Taillows got you!"

"The Taillows are gone!" May sighed in relief now that the flock was gone.

"Wow, talk about timing!" Max said while he dusted his clothes. "Thanks for saving us!"

"No problem!" Brock smiled. "I'm just glad I caught up with you."

"It's nice seeing you again, Brock", Ash smiled. "But what are you doing here in Hoenn?"

"Yeah… Didn't you say you had problems with the Pewter City Gym?" I asked.

"I'll explain later, we need to get to a safe part of the forest", Brock pointed out. "I put up a camp not far from here, so follow me."

We walked for a while until we reached a stream at the edge of the forest. I was on the edge the whole time looking left and right to make sure no Taillows followed us.

"We should be safe here", Brock said. "I see you two got new friends, Ash and Ashley."

"Yeah, they are May and Max, children of the new Petalburg City Gym Leader", Ash introduced them.

"Hi, Brock!" May waved her hand.

"We've heard about you from the twins", Max said. "You're not just a Gym Leader but also a Pokémon Breeder?"

"That's right, but now I'm a former Gym Leader", Brock chuckled. "Everything's now fine with the Gym, so I thought I'd surprise you guys."

Ash's face turned into a big smile. "Does that mean you want to travel with us again?"

"Yep, if you don't mind."

"Of course we don't mind!" I smiled. "You're like a big brother to us!"

"Yeah, and a great friend!" Ash shook hands with Brock. "Welcome aboard!"

"It's great being back", Brock chuckled.

May stepped closer to our friend with a nervous smile. "Hey, umm… The twins told us you are a great cook, so… Umm…"

Brock chuckled. "Let me guess; you haven't had lunch yet."

"We did, but we only had little food left", I explained, feeling embarrassed by my way of saving food.

"I'm sure you did your best to preserve food, Ashley", Brock patted my shoulder. "But don't worry; my bag's packed, so let's get some more."

Brock led us to his campsite, but it was a wreck. His new large backpack was open with some traces of rice scattered around. "No! I had many rice balls ready to eat!"

"No!" May whined hungrily.

"Did you eat them already, Brock?" Max asked.

"No, but I was just about to have some when I heard Pikachu's Thunderbolt, so I ran off without securing the bag!" Brock replied.

"Maybe it was a wild Pokémon that took them?" Ash wondered.

"Probably, if they were harassed by those Taillows and couldn't eat any of their fruit", Max hummed.

"Taillows are very aggressive and territorial and fly in flock looking for food and devour it to regain their strength", Brock nodded.

"That might explain why we couldn't find any other Pokémon, because they were hiding from those Taillows", I said. "Do you still have everything else in your backpack?"

Brock checked his inventory. "Yeah, weirdly they didn't touch the preserved food I have. Even the ones in plastic bags are completely untouched."

"That's strange…", Ash mumbled.

"But if you still have food, you can cook a meal, right?" I asked.

"Really?!" May's eyes lit up like fireworks.

"Yep, it'll take some time for it to be ready, though", Brock said.

"It's okay! I can wait now that I know my tummy will be full!" May shrieked happily.

"And I've got Pikachu's favorite fodder", Brock said, holding up a familiar can.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cheered joyously.

Brock gave Pikachu his food first before he set up his cooking equipment. "Come out, Magcargo!"

"Caargoo!" Magcargo groaned when he was released.

"Wow, you've got a Magcargo too?" Max stared at it in awe.

"Yep, he helps me a lot cooking meals with his flames he releases from his shell", Brock explained while he put a cauldron above Magcargo's shell. "There's something about his heat that makes my stew extra delicious."

"And we can also save firewood with his help", Ash chuckled.

"Ashley, can I rely on you preparing the vegetables?" Brock asked.

"Of course", I nodded.

I washed my hands and got to work. May helped me out by peeling the vegetables before I sliced them up. Ash and Max helped Brock prepare the utensils and boiled water from the river in the cauldron until it was safe to drink. Brock made his homemade white sauce and mixed it with the water before I poured the vegetables.

Now all we had to do wait to wait for the vegetables and the dried meat to cook before we could eat. In the meantime, I let out Emerald and Ruby so they could stretch their legs and have something to eat too. May did the same for Torchic.

Everything was peaceful until my blood froze to ice by a familiar cry.

"Taillooow!"

"No! It's a Taillow!" May shrieked and stood in front of Magcargo and the cauldron to protect it from hungry mouths.

"That could be a scout from the flock!" Max exclaimed.

"No, it's the leader! It's got the chocolate moustache!" Ash shouted.

"He's right!" I nodded. "But what is it doing here?"

Our Pokémon minus Magcargo got ready to battle. Taillow landed in front of Pikachu, the two of them exchanging words.

"What's going on?" May wondered.

"That Taillow probably wants to finish the battle we started", Ash suggested. "Is that right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

"But why?" Max was very confused.

"I think this Taillow wants to prove it's stronger than Pikachu", Brock hummed. "Territorial Pokémon usually tracks down an opponent they seem worthy to challenge."

"If so, we accept the challenge, Taillow!" Ash exclaimed eagerly.

May and I recalled our Pokémon so they wouldn't accidently get involved. The battle between Pikachu and Taillow was intense. Despite being struck by electric moves, Taillow simply refused to give up. That turned out to be a problem.

"Ash, you need to end this battle now!" Brock yelled out.

"Why?" my brother wondered.

"If Taillow continues battle like this, it will strain and cause internal damage to itself!"

"No way!" I gasped.

"Is this like Pikachu again?!" May yelped.

"What do you mean?" Max wondered. He hadn't heard the full story of what happened back at Professor Birch's lab.

"I won't let Taillow hurt itself!" Ash threw an empty Poké Ball. "Go, Poké Ball!"

Taillow was distracted by flying toward Pikachu for another attack, so it didn't see the capture device heading its way. It yelped when the Poké Ball came in touch and absorbed it. The Poké Ball landed on the ground and wobbled for a long time. Everyone held their breath until the Poké Ball stopped shaking and blinking red.

"I… I caught it!" Ash exclaimed after he got over the initial surprise.

"Thank Arceus…", I sighed.

"We better check Taillow and make sure it doesn't suffer from any damage", Brock said as he grabbed a Super Potion.

Ash called Taillow out and it was in a bad shape. It was pale and gasped for air. Clearly, it had exhausted itself after this and the previous battle with the flock. "Looow… Looow…"

"Poor Taillow, it made itself all ragged", May mumbled.

"No kidding, especially that Thunder it took", Max nodded.

Brock sprayed Taillow with the Super Potion, making it chirp loudly by the stinging pain from its wounds. "There, that should do it. And a quick spray for Pikachu too."

"Pikaaaaa!" Pikachu yelped when he got a dose of medicine.

Ash crouched down to Taillow's eye level. "Well, Taillow. How would you like joining us on our journey?"

Taillow already looked much better and became friendly. "Taillow loow!"

"I think that was a yes", I giggled before I wiped its beak clean from the chocolate moustache. "There we go. All better."

"But what about its flock?" Max remarked. "Taillow is the leader of that."

"We might have to go back so Taillow can explain for them", Ash suggested.

"Or the flock can come to youuuu~!" three familiar voices sang before the air was filled with chirps from the Taillow flock.

"Team Rocket!" all of us exclaimed in surprise.

Team Rocket cackled proudly as the flock flew above them. Taillow tried talking sense to them, but his voice fell deaf to their ears.

"They won't listen to ya!" Meowth smirked.

"They've joined Team Rocket's Aerial Force One!" James announced.

"We finally got an army of fierce Pokémon that won't give in no matter how many electric attacks they take from Pikachu!" Jessie smiled. "We will finally get him!"

"Wooobbuffet!"

"No way!" Ash yelled back.

"You know the deal, Taillows!" Jessie shouted. "You'll get more rice balls when you defeat Pikachu!"

"Wait! Were you the ones who ransacked my backpack?!" Brock growled.

"Your backpack? We just found a lost one and we needed bait, so we took the ready-to-go snacks", Jessie scoffed.

"Wait! It's that old twerp!" Meowth finally noticed Brock. "Where'd you come from?"

"That doesn't matter because you were the ones who stole my food!" Brock yelled back.

"Well, maybe you should write your name on your lunch bag next time!" Jessie argued.

"Besides, they've already been given to the Taillows!" Meowth shouted. "Taillows, get Pikachu!"

Despite his best for trying to tell his flock to stay put, they surrounded Pikachu who was ready to battle. I was ready to call out Ruby to assist him when Magcargo groaned loudly.

"Magcargoo cargooo!"

"Oh? You're saying the stew's ready, Magcargo?" Brock asked, ignoring the dire situation.

"Huh?!" May and Max dropped their jaws.

"Magcargo has a great sense of smell and can tell when the food's cooked", I explained, remembering the Pokémon's habit. "He also loves to eat, so he's like a gourmet."

The flock lost all their focus on Pikachu and turned to the simmering cauldron. Brock poured some of the stew on a small plate for a taste test. "Mm! It's perfect!"

"Awesome! I'm starving!" Ash smiled.

"Hey, are you guys forgetting there's a battle here?!" Jessie shouted.

"Yeah, you can't just have lunch in the middle of a crisis like this!" James nodded.

A Taillow landed on Brock's shoulder and chirped eagerly. "You want to try it?" Brock chuckled. "I've got food for everyone, so you and your friends can join us."

The flock chirped excitedly and landed on the ground wailing for food. "Wow! Brock's stew can really mend peace!" Max commented.

"And my hunger can finally be put to rest!" May smiled.

"Hey! This is mutiny!" Meowth gasped angrily. "You're supposed to work for us!"

"Clearly, they trust us more because Ash caught their leader", I retorted.

Ash grinned mischievously. "Pikachu, send Team Rocket flying with Thunderbolt!"

"PikaCHUUU!" Pikachu electrocuted the bad guys before they could comprehend what was happening. The Thunderbolt was so strong it threw them up and far away into the sky.

"WE'RE HUNGRY TOOOooooo…!"

"Too bad for them, but we won't share our meal with them", Max giggled.

We helped each other dividing the stew so everybody including our Pokémon got some. The flock happily devoured the stew while their leader sat with Pikachu sharing a bowl.

May hummed delightfully when she ate her first spoon. "It's delicious!"

"The twins weren't kidding when they said you can cook, Brock!" Max licked his lips clean. "It's so good!"

"Glad to hear you like it", Brock chuckled.

Eating a warm meal tasted way better than cold preserved food. "It tastes even better than before, Brock. Did you add something?"

"I changed the recipe for the white sauce, and I'm glad it paid off", Brock replied.

"One of your best stews yet, Brock!" Ash smiled. "I'm glad the Taillows enjoy it too."

Everyone soon finished their plate and it was time for the flock to leave. Ash's Taillow shared his goodbyes with them before they flew off to another part of the Petalburg Woods. Taillow flew back and landed on my brother's shoulder with a big smile.

"Glad to have you onboard, Taillow", Ash smiled.

"Tailloow!"

"So now we can move on to Rustboro City?" I asked.

"Yep! That's where our first badge is waiting!" Ash nodded.

"But before that, we've gotta do the dishes first", Brock reminded us.

Now with Brock by our side, our journey was certainly going to be a lot livelier. And I was happy that Ash caught his first Pokémon in Hoenn. Now we were even with Pokémon.

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Ashley's party:
Emerald the Treecko (male)
Ruby the Ralts (female)

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Ash's party:
Pikachu (male)
Tallow (male)

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May's party:
Torchic (male)

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Brock's party:
Forretress (male)
Magcargo (male)