The Aura is With Me (Advanceshipping)

[Vilya]

Wow, a fic about Aura! I was absolutely thrilled to find this, and still thrilled to see the subject in such good hands.

Some time ago, as I was craving Aura fics but couldn't find any, I started writing my own. And so I have thought extensively about the nature of Aura and conceived a theory around it, and, from what you've let us understand so far, I can see it is totally different from yours. So I was very interested to read another take on it, and I can't wait to learn more about it.

I very much like your style of writing: I don't really know how to say this, but I find the vocabulary and expressions you use original and colourful. I was very impressed by the fight scene between Buizel and Infernape. One thing I find a bit odd though is when you describe people or events we have seen in the show. For the most part, we know what the characters look like, and we remember the episodes enough not to need a move-by-move coverage of the action. But I greatly enjoyed reading your fic so far, and will be sticking around for the rest of it (even though I'm really not a fan of Advanceshipping).

Thank you for writing this!

[rowly]

Wow, i really like your writing style and plot development. It's first class i must say. Descriptions are spot on and that battle was intense!

I like how you take things slowly and surely, (i wish i could say the same for my fic...)

excellent work! keep it up!

[Shadow-saur]

sweet. i love everything about this fic! the background of buizel gives him a very real personality, way more than 'i like to battle'. the way you described the battles, and made variations on the moves way incredible as well! i was a little confused with the prolouge, but that might have just been from reading italics... keep up the good work

[lunarshadow]

Chapter Four: The Telephone Game

Without a doubt, Sinnoh was probably her favorite region in the entire world. It had everything, the ocean, rolling hills, frozen wonderlands, treacherous mountains, and of course, some of the best views a woman could ask for.

[17:36 P.M.] Pokémon League Summit, Sinnoh Region

Cynthia ran this over in her mind as she paced in her residential quarters on the island continent of the Sinnoh League. After all, as Sinnoh Champion, she had to be close to headquarters, thus, her home was only a walk’s journey away. Everything in the region was close to her, her work, her family, her friends, Sinnoh was her home, and she was about to protect it.

Usually she was out in the field doing some training, researching ancient Sinnoh legends, or eating ice cream, but today it was crucial that she would be in a fixed location. After all, most of the places she went, like Mt. Coronet, couldn’t receive any cell phone service due to the remoteness of the setting.

Cynthia paced some more and ran over the plan she had perfectly laid out several days ago. She couldn’t afford any mess-ups with so many things and even lives at stake. All she had to do was to wait for the phone call from Flint, and then carry out as she planned.

The Sinnoh Pokémon League was perched on a mountain on an island north of Sunyshore City but south of the Stark Mountain Island. The range was smaller, naturally because the island developed later, and rose up into the sky to roughly 1000 ft. The Pokémon league stood just short of the very top, on a plateau of the mountain just behind a large lake spring. The elevation caused the spring lake to overflow and generate an impressive waterfall, which was instantly sighted by any who passed through the Victory Road cave.

Cynthia's house was just out of sight of the league, roughly five minutes of brisk walking across the mountain terrain. Built with sturdy wood logs, her house was a cabin, unfitting for an impressively paid elite champion, but suiting her very modest and cozy lifestyle. On her wooden door lay a typical “Welcome Home” sign, and beside the doorstep in front of the wall lay several potted flowers.

Inside, her whole house lay inside of her living room with only a single wall and corner walkway separating it from her bedroom. Upon entering through her door, her coat and bag hanger lay to her upper right while her left held the kitchen and dining table. In front held the living room, with a circular red and blue embossed carpet spanning the entire wooden panel floor, a modest TV and stand in the corner, a videophone right next to it, and three plush couches in the center. Cynthia made good use of the carpet, especially in times like this.

She wasn’t the only one in the living room. Elite Four member Lucian was quietly sitting in one of the small sofas reading Homer’s The Odyssey in its original ancient Greek. He was a very intellectual guy, resourceful, and an incredible mentor. Once, he confronted the trio of Pokémon trainers Ash, Brock, and Dawn, and helped Dawn’s Buizel to realize certain things he needed to adapt, and likewise with Dawn. He had long, purple hair that flowed down to his shoulders, and large crystal clear glasses. He wore dark red dress pants, shoes, and a red suit with a purple hued feather in the outer pocket. He dressed to impress, and his battling skills backed it all up.

Lucian was usually calm during hours of anticipation such as right now, but nonetheless couldn’t help but feel the importance of success with this endeavor. “Excuse me, Cynthia?” he asked his superior.

Cynthia continued to walk up and down the fuzzy carpet hanging her head and using her hands to articulate to herself what she thought. “What’s up, Lucian?”

“It’s really unnecessary to pace like that in nervousness. I don’t think you’re doing yourself any good that way.”

Cynthia stopped and turner her head toward him. “I apologize, you’re right, but I cannot help but feel the need to make sure I hadn’t left anything out.”

Lucian quietly closed his book and flicked a smile up at Cynthia. “I doubt you’ve left anything out. We are dealing with the biggest crime syndicate in all of Sinnoh so I’m sure you’ve thought this out as thoroughly as possible. You have been known for your impressive strategies and decision making on and off the battlefield.”

“I know,” Cynthia said. “And I appreciate your praise. But, still, I am starting to worry that perhaps Flint didn’t ”

RINGRINGRING!!! PHONECALLPHONECALL!!! Lucian mildly turned his attention to the video phone right behind Cynthia. “I think our wait is over.”

Cynthia bolted over to the video phone and immediately picked it up. “Hello? Is that you Flint?”

Back at the Sunyshore Pokémon Center, Flint started up the video call and began talking, “Yo, Cynth! What’s up? You wanted a call right? Here it is, at your service!”

Cynthia chuckled to herself and answered back, “Well, I’m glad you remembered. So you did find Ash, Brock, and Dawn right?”

“Yeah, I got all three of them!”

At that moment, Ash, Brock, Dawn, and Pikachu reached Flint’s side. Cynthia looked up at the adolescent teens. “Hey guys! It’s great to see you all again! You too, Pikachu!”

Ash, seeing that Cynthia was calling, talked towards the screen, “Hi, Cynthia! Long time no see! What’s up?”

"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash’s shoulder and onto the videophone desk.

“Hey, Cynthia! It’s great to see you!” Dawn waved.

Brock then, once again feeling his hormones rev back up, rushed to the screen and spoke, “Oh, Cynthia! So many months it has been and my heart is sick with longing!”

“Hey Brock! It’s good to see you again as well!”

“Oh, Cynthia! Now that I have seen you again at last, could you cure my lovesick heart with your–ACK...! Not again…!” Brock fell down, paralyzed once again by his Croagunk.

Cynthia in unison with Brock’s Croagunk chuckled again and she began talking to Flint. “So, Flint, how did your battle go?”

Flint looked at Cynthia and spoke with a slight twitch in his eye, “Well, hehe. You’ve got me beat, Cynth, I really got my fro handed to me with this one.”

Cynthia laughed with such satisfaction, “Hah! I told you Flint! I TOLD YOU! Ash, congratulations!”

Flint retorted in his defense, "HEY! It wasn't an official six on six battle, so I still have a chance to beat him you know!"

Cynthia flew at the videophone’s camera and jabbed a finger at the lens. “I! TOLD! YOU! SO! I knew it would happen and I probably should’ve put a wager on it! You would’ve lost SO bad!”

“HEY! How was I supposed to know? Dude, next time, feel free to bet a million bucks on Ash and prepare to loose it! This only happened once!”

Cynthia just roller her eyes. "Right. Sure, we'll find out at the Sinnoh League when it counts for the record books. That million bucks is as good as mine! How about you, Ash? How was your battle against an Elite Four member?"

Ash then pumped up his fist as he spoke in reply, “It was really an awesome battle, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” then Ash looked down slightly and lowered his fist. “But now Buizel is in his ward resting up. He really gave it every last bit of energy he had.”

Lucian then squeezed into the videophone screen and surprised Ash. “Wait Ash, did I hear correctly? You have Buizel? I thought Buizel was Dawn's Pokémon?”

“Hey, Lucian! How’s it going? Yeah, long story short, Dawn and I did a trade,” Ash stated simply.

“Really? What did Ash trade to you Dawn?” Lucian asked.

Dawn replied, “Hey, Lucian! Yeah, Ash traded me his Aipom. We figured that Aipom really liked contests, and I wasn’t cut out to really work with Buizel’s best in regular battles, so we traded.”

“Well, congratulations, Dawn. I see you’ve made a good choice. I was hoping you would find out what Buizel truly wanted, and I’m glad to see that you did. I wasn’t expecting a trade, but it seems like it worked out perfectly. I’m so glad to hear that! But to business, Cynthia, we’d better not keep these three waiting, you’d better explain.”

Cynthia then centered herself in the videophone camera. “Alright. Ash, I do believe Flint has mentioned the situation with Volkner and his Gym.”

“Yeah, he mentioned. Flint said that I should get Volkner’s spirit back with a Gym battle. But I will definitely challenge him. I was about to anyways.”

Cynthia grinned. “I knew you would be the man for the job, Ash. I know you won’t disappoint. By the way, just a little side note, Volkner always demands a four on four battle, just as a little heads up."

“Hey, thanks for the advice, Cynthia!”

“Oh yeah, one more thing. The two of us will be heading over to Sunyshore in a couple of minutes. I, for one, want to have the honor of seeing your last battle in the Sinnoh Gym circuit and your entry point to the Sinnoh League. And I think Lucian wouldn’t want to miss out on that either.”

Lucian behind her nodded as she acknowledged his intentions. “Ash, I didn’t have the privilege of seeing your battle skills the last time we met. I promised you a battle once you conquered the Sinnoh League, but I think I need to have a taste of your power.”

Ash was now grinning from ear to ear. “Hey, thanks both of you. I am so psyched about my battle tomorrow! Hey, when will we see you?”

“We’ll be there in just twenty minutes or so. Don’t go anywhere!”

“Alright, bye Cynthia!” Ash called out.

“Pika! Pikachu!” Pikachu said.

“Bye, Cynthia!” Dawn waved goodbye.

“See you soon, Cynth,” Flint said.

“Oh…ACK…Cynthia…!” Brock mustered while on the floor.

Cynthia chuckled to herself and spoke again, “Bye, Ash, Dawn, Pikachu, Flint, and Brock. See you soon!” She hung up and quickly hustled around.

Up in the Sinnoh League HQ, Lucian was under the impression they would depart immediately and had already pulled out his specific PokéBall for the job. “Cynthia, shouldn’t we teleport right now?”

She continued to pack everything together and replied, “Well, I still need to make one last phone call,” She picked up her modest black purse, wallet, PokéBalls, slung it around there shoulder and dialed one last number in to her videophone.

“Hello, Mom? Dad?”

Back in humble Celestic Town, two elderly citizens of Sinnoh picked up and saw their one and only Sinnoh Champion daughter smiling at them. “Darling! It’s so good to hear your voice once again!”

“Thanks, guys. It's so good to see you guys again! Hey mom, dad? Are you guys alright?”

The champion’s father then replied, “Hey, hey, your old folks can handle themselves. We’re fine, but things are starting to get tighter here. We’ve been keeping tabs on the Museum but nothing seems to have changed.”

Cynthia pressed on, “Has anything drastic happened with their re-investigation in the ruins?”

Her mother clutched her heart and replied, "Nothing yet dear, thank God, but they’ve taken the Museum as their base for now. Last time they were here they simply made off with the two Orbs of Dimension, and now they must be back for something more."

Cynthia sighed a small relief, "I was beginning to worry. I remember when that trio of admins destroyed the ruins, and thankfully nothing else was taken, but I’m still completely stumped about what they are trying to come up with. I'm coming back though. I have to protect you guys and my hometown.”

“Well, it’ll be tough. We are the only ones who know about the fact that they’re back in Celestic Town. Your mother and grandmother just went to the Museum one day, and it was locked. No one else suspects a thing. I mean, they’ve taken the entire Police Department hostage, using their own henchmen as temporary Police, are using the museum as a base. Anyone who’s tried to get inside has been caught and thrown into captivity like the Police. We were the lucky ones. We saw them just as they were locking down the entire Museum from the inside out. They’ve even tapped the phone lines of the Pokémon Center, and I don’t even know about any of the civilian houses.” Cynthia’s father mentioned.

“Is it starting to get out of hand?” Cynthia with a burdened voice.

Cynthia’s mother looked at her husband and then at her daughter and sighed, “Yes. Things are changing.”

“So it’ll only be a short amount of time before they finally take over?”

The Sinnoh Champion’s parents glanced at each other and stated with a reverberating, “Yes.”

A long and awkward silence settled under the roofs of the champion’s parents and over the roof of the champion herself.

Cynthia buried her eyes in her right hand while she held the receiver in her left. Lucian saw this and tenderly put his hand on her shoulder, “Cynthia, they’re waiting. The sooner we can solve a small Gym crisis, the sooner we can end Celestic’s.”

“You’re right.” Cynthia took her hand away from her face and talked again to her parents. “This means I’ll just have to make Ash aware as quickly as humanly possible.”

Her mother sat back upright and talked frustrated, “Cynthia please. I just don’t understand why you want him to help you. You said it yourself six weeks ago that he didn’t come to actually help you out, you two just happened to meet up. Besides, for goodness sake Cynthia, he’s just a boy.”

“Mom. Boy or not, I think Ash will be able to do more about this crisis than anyone can.”

“Why?”

“I have my reasons.”

“Well, honey, I hope you know what you’re dealing with, trying to take all of them down and all, along with a thirteen year old boy, no less.”

"It’ll be fine! Besides, I think you’ll like him pretty quickly. Grandma’s already met him and he’s a really great Pokémon Trainer and a really great person in anyone’s eyes. And come on. Mom, have I ever not known what I was dealing with?”

Cynthia’s mother cracked a smile at the thought despite the foreboding air. It wasn’t the first time she asked this question, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last. “Well, there was that one time…”

“Hey! That was when I was three or something! We don’t need to go all over this again, please? I just climbed a tree, slipped, and sorta fell on top of you. What’s the big deal?” Both mother and daughter were laughing and massaged the backs of their neck where they landed.

Lucian off to the side smiled and cocked his right eyebrow up to his scalp thinking, Wow. I always thought she was weird, but this is pushing it!

“Well, I’ll leave you to round up the boy and take care of your business Cynth.”

“Thanks mom. I’ll make sure to come back as soon as I can. Trust me. Things will turn out alright at the end of this. I promise!”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Cynthia’s mother and father glanced at each other and knew that what their daughter said was and will hold true. A promise was a promise, and there was no greater commitment than that. “Alright, Cynth, you promised!” her mom said. “Take care,” her dad added. “We love you!” the two said simultaneously.

“Bye mom! Bye dad! I will, and I love you!” At that, both parents and daughter hung up their receivers.

Lucian looked at the clock closest to him and saw that roughly fifteen minutes had passed during the phone call. Consequently, he withdrew the same PokéBall out of his jacket coat, about to call out his Pokémon when he stopped and saw Cynthia rising from her telephone stool. “Cynthia?”

“What, Lucian?” she had just slung her handbag over her shoulder for a more comfortable fit when she continued, “I thought you said we should go.”

“I know, but I have just one question.”

“Yeah, what’s that?”

Lucian raised his eyebrow quizzically at the Champion, “Why do you want to take Ash along with us? I mean, Flint asked you and all you said was that he could hold his own in battle, and your parents even asked you and all you said was, ‘I have my reasons’. There has to be some actual reason that you’re hiding.”

Cynthia cracked a sly grin at her overly analytical comrade and said, “You’ll know soon enough. As soon as we get over to Sunyshore City that is.”

Lucian pushed the center button of the ball with his thumb as it made the satisfying click and continued talking to Cynthia. “Are you going to tell all of us then?”

“Yeah, of course. I have to.” Cynthia replied as Lucian threw his PokéBall into the air.

“Why?” Lucian pressed as he watched the emitted white light shape into a humanoid figure.

“Well, because Ash is going to ask me the same question.”

Lucian paused as he watched his Alakazam appear right in front of him and conceded to the Sinnoh Champion. “Alright then. You ready, Alakazam?”

Lucian’s Alakazam replied with a sturdy, “Ala-kazam!” as he raised his psychic spoons up into the air.

“Alright, Cynthia, let your mind rely on mine.” Lucian instructed as he closed his eyes in unshakeable concentration.

“Gotcha.” Cynthia too closed her eyes and focused all of her mental attention to the man in the red blazer in front of her.

Lucian’s Alakazam’s eyes glowed a dark blue, signaling it’s trainer to make the order. “Alright then, Alakazam. Use teleport. Let’s go!”

[17:49 P.M.] Sunyshore City (Pokémon Center), Sinnoh Region

Back in the Pokémon Center in Sunyshore City, Ash Ketchum hung up the videophone and began pondering why the Champion of all of Sinnoh was coming over to see a single Gym battle of a teenager. That was definitely unusual.

"Wow, I can't believe that Cynthia and Lucian are going to be watching my Gym battle tomorrow," Ash said astounded.

Flint stood there nodding, "You know I'll also be there. I want to see my old friend be brought back to his normal self. But yeah, that is a bit unusual. But like you know, Cynthia is a very outgoing person. And she does seem to take a liking to you."

“Yeah, well, Cynthia might like Ash, but Brock is still in denial,” Dawn giggled.

Brock got up from the floor and returned his Croagunk. "Agh, man that was two jabs by Croagunk in a single day! I need a break from my love life."

Ash, Dawn, and Flint laughed a little bit before Ash told the rest of the group, "Hey guys, since my Gym battle is tomorrow, I'm going outside to train a bit."

Flint spoke up to remind Ash, "Don't you remember that Cynthia will be coming in like 20 minutes or so? Cool down a bit. Chill, relax!"

Ash instead just ran out of the sliding doors of the Pokémon Center and yelled back, "Don't worry! It'll be short! Come on Pikachu!"

“Pika!” Pikachu jumped off the desk and ran after his trainer outside the Pokémon Center.

Flint was about to run after him before Brock spoke up, "Hey, Flint, why don't we just let Ash train a bit? He's probably not going to have any time to train once Cynthia and Lucian come anyways. Let's just freshen up and shower. I mean, I'm drenched in sweat after the battle the two of you had."

“Yeah, please, Flint? I feel so disgusting after days without a shower and then a melting battlefield!” Dawn pleaded.

Flint laughed a bit and agreed, "Yeah, why not? After all, Cynthia is coming. I've got the Sinnoh Champion to look handsome for!"

Brock spoke back, "That makes two of us." Dawn just rolled her eyes as she ran to the showers.

Ash stopped outside of the Pokémon Center and looked up at the sky, hoping to get some inspiration. Training was never a concrete thing, and it was more of a do-what-you-can process. Make-it-up-as-you-go-along. Hm, Ash thought. I think we might as well start training right now here outside as soon as possible. You know what? I'll get the guys to have some fun today! "Come on out! Chimchar, Turtwig, Staravia, and Gliscor!"

Ash's own Fire type Monferno came out flared up and jumping up and down. "Mon, Monferno!" Monferno was actually not originally his own, much like Buizel was. However, Monferno was originally Paul's Pokémon as a Chimchar, and was treated roughly, without any compassion or love. Paul, ruthless to his Pokémon, claimed that they wanted the treatment, and that if he cared for them at all, they would become spoiled. Chimchar was tossed aside as the weakest link in his arsenal and had to overcome fears of Zangoose, the emotional trauma of being treated like a tool, and the lack of affection until Ash extended his hand to him and welcomed him to the fold. Oddly enough, his evolution was the result of a battle against his former master. He, like Buizel, eventually adjusted and has grown immensely powerful since.

Grotle, a Grass type Pokémon, he stood willing and sturdy for his trainer. "Gro, tle!" Grotle was Ash's second Pokémon that he caught in the Sinnoh region. He originally stayed near an elderly woman as a Turtwig in the middle of the forest between Sangdem and Jubilife and was enormously sacrificial and righteous. He constantly stayed near the elderly woman because the forest was full of Pokémon bickering and picking fights amongst each other. Turtwig actually took it upon himself to keep the peace. Ash came along, and Turtwig, seeing how he protected all of his Pokémon as though they were children, he eagerly joined Ash's team, evolved, and partook in many of the most challenging battles Ash participated in.

The Flying addition to Ash's team, Staraptor, took to the skies from its PokéBall. "Staraptor!" Staraptor evolved from the very first Pokémon that Ash had caught in the Sinnoh region. Originally, Starly was caught to do one job; find Pikachu after he was blown away from Ash upon arriving at the Sinnoh region. Starly had found them, and since then stuck with Ash to become the most powerful Pokémon he could be. Every once in a while, he was rejected due to type disadvantage like against Roark, a rock type Gym Leader but he has since re-asserted itself as a powerhouse in Ash's team, especially after evolving into its final stage after the Poké Ringer Competition. Now, Staraptor still finishes search and rescue missions like a pro, and learned many of the most advanced flying techniques a bird could possibly learn.

Last out came Gliscor, the Flying and Ground variant on the team who happily bounced on its stinger tail eagerly waiting for its trainer’s requests, “Gli, Gliscor, gli!” Still the clown on the team, Gliscor had evolved from a Gligar once it had gained confidence in itself. Originally, Gligar was afraid of very many things including heights, incoming attacks, stares of opponents, and even taunts from his own teammates. It had been an uphill battle for Ash to try and improve Gligar’s self-esteem, but eventually the both of them pulled through, and Gligar had since risen to the uber-tier of Ash’s team, knowing moves like X-Scissor.

And of course, Pikachu was Ash's best friend in the entire world. No one, not even a human ever had a place in his heart as much as Pikachu had. They stuck together through thick and thin, better and worse, and even death. They were inseparable, and each day furthered their bond, and love for each other, much like blood brothers and best friends. Pikachu jumped back up on Ash’s shoulder, and seeing all of his friends and brothers in arms before him, he sounded off, "Pika, pikachu!"

Ash was ready for some intense training to be done if he was going to win the final badge for his entry into the Sinnoh League. "Alright guys, this is the final test, and finale to our Sinnoh Gym career. Let's win our last badge! Who's with me!?"

Everyone responded in their Pokémon tongue, ("We are!")

"Yes! And guess what? The champion of the Sinnoh region is coming to see this battle, so let’s win this one!"

As soon as Ash had finished his pep talk, Gliscor, as always, became over excited and leapt up into the air, specifically to come pan caking down on Ash. “Glig! Gligo!”

“Wait Gliscor, a, wait, wait, no, no, no, NO! ACK! KAH!” Ash managed to cough out just as Gliscor flattened Ash.

Gliscor laughed merrily with her game of trainer flattening, “Gli! Gli, gliscor!”

What am I going to do with you? Ash thought…*Cough!*

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

You know, I keep using the same excuse of Homework and School and stuff, but it's unfortunately the real reason why these updates are so far in between.

Anyway! Happy Thanksgiving! I thought I might as well kick back my old regiment with a new chapter, so again, rate and review to reader's discretion!

To Vilya: You know, I was actually coming up with this fic because I couldn't find any satisfying Aura works, except for Destiny Bond by EarthBorn, but there were things that I think describe Aura as well, and I wanted to put them in here.

To rowly: That is really what I'm going for. Slow but steady, and with detail, that is my style. Thanks!

To Shadow-saur: That was also what I was going for, a personification of Buizel because he is often thought of as a bully and a robot, but he is one of my favorites on Ash's team.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Insidious_Dreamer]

*smiles* Wow, probably the best fanfic Ive read in a while - nice work my friend!

[CyberBlaziken]

Very nice chapter Lunar.I think this is going to be great.So far one of the best I'm reading.

[lunarshadow]

*smiles* Wow, probably the best fanfic Ive read in a while - nice work my friend!

Very nice chapter Lunar.I think this is going to be great.So far one of the best I'm reading.

You know, it's really, really nice to know that people out there actually think that my work is decent! Thanks for the reviews, both of you!

[Sp1derp1g]

I'm liking this fic, but I want some more Advanceshippy moments...

Can you add me to those PM lists of yours?

[lunarshadow]

I'm liking this fic, but I want some more Advanceshippy moments...

Can you add me to those PM lists of yours?

You know, for some reason, I get some kind of 500 Internal Server Error EVERY STINKING TIME I TRY TO EDIT MY FIRST POST, so I can't do any of that. I will make a mental note of that though for the next chapter.

[Vilya]

It's times like these I really wish I could get my hands on a DS and D/P! It's so sad I'm not able to appreciate the references to the game you make.

Thank you for the chapter! Can't wait to see where this goes, but hey, take all the time you need!

Oh and I went and read Destiny Bond, thanks for the link!

[EarthBorn]

Bah, I hate being really late to review. Better late than never, I guess.

So...we have good characterization here. I love the way you protrayed the Sinnoh Elite 4, they seem to be quite likable and quite game and anime based. Cynthia especially.

Now, I'm wondering exactly when May's gonna show up, but I guess we'll have to wait till after Ash's Gym Battle.

Keep it up!

[lunarshadow]

Chapter Five: Dream On

It was an evening with only a few clouds in the sky, and the sun had just set itself under the Earth’s horizon. Underneath the blackened blue-open overhead lay a stadium erupting in cheers in response to the battle taking place within. On the sandy ground, a field was outlined by the borders, boundaries, and the all-too recognizable PokéBall shape in the middle, where all of the night’s action centered. On both ends stood trainers, each commanding a Pokémon of choice, but on one side, the advantage was his beyond the shadow of a doubt.

From the vantage point of the Pokémon League torch, now ablaze with simmering glory, the right-most side of the enormous stadium hosted a young teen of thirteen who stood tall, invigorated, and in his red cap and jeans complete. On his side stood his faithful and loyal partner and friend, Pikachu, and out on the field was his blubbery, yet nimble Pokémon, Snorlax. Ash Ketchum ordered the final attack.

“Snorlax, use Hyper Beam and finish this up! Full power!” he shouted out in the distance amidst the ear-splitting crowd.

Immediately, as if it were a doomsday sentence, an enormous mass of body weight appeared in the sky just as it pounced to unleash its savage, charged beam of pure energy upon its target.

A young boy of just ten on the opposite side wore black rimmed glasses, a green polo shirt, and dark green shorts. As each fraction of a second speed by, his entire body cringed ever more rigidly as he looked up at his opponent in the sky. His hands were both balled into sweaty fists as he turned his gaze out onto the rock and sand stadium. A Swellow was lying in the dust trying to shake off the pain from the last assault, but the boy knew it was over no matter what he ordered next. Max’s Pokémon was about to be pulverized.

“No! Swellow, use Agility to dodge it!” he yelled out in a desperate attempt to evade the colossal assault.

The Swallow Pokémon looked up to see where its opponent had gone, but no sooner had it looked up the Snorlax unleashed its attack. “Swe? Swellow!” it yelled out in surprise.

The brunt of the energy burst nailed its target and sent it and the field around it in a furious cloud of rock, sand, and dust. Max shielded his eyes against the savage gusts of debris and waited for the aftermath for it to reveal itself. Max tore his eyes away from his arms and saw what he dreaded, but knew he would see. The battle-worn bird fell from the air to the ground knocked out.

Another, familiar voice called out in the distance, “Swellow is unable to continue battling; Snorlax is the winner!” The surrounding crowd let loose an ear-splitting cheer, but the boy was oblivious to both entities. He could care about the referee’s verdict, or the crowd’s over-enthusiastic affirmation. All he knew was that before the ref even uttered his decision he had known what would have happened, and it was his entire fault that it did, and every attack he ordered summed up to a defeat.

The young boy looked up from the field and stole a glance at the scoreboard up in the middle of the stands. He looked to the right half of the scoreboard to look at the Pokémon that were in his opponent’s slots. Only four slots were filled and all were in full light and color. The boy’s opponent hadn’t lost a single Pokémon, nor had he sent out his full roster. The boy looked above for the human slot and saw the same vibrant, confident, and red-caped face he did across him on the field. Looking to the left, he saw his own determined face beginning to fade into gray on the screen, and underneath it, all six slots filled with his Pokémon, and all of them were also faded gray, knocked out, all six.

On screen, the animation switched from the bi-sectional win and loss table straight to a dominant portrait of Ash in its center blaring “Ash Ketchum! Winner! Congratulations!” It was final, official, “finito”. It was game over. Max lost.

Continuing his duty, the referee raised his right flag high into the air and vainly announced to the all-too-knowing stadium, “The winner goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!”. As soon as he raised his red flag in his right hand, he continued on, “Ash Ketchum is the winner of the Hoenn Pokémon League!”

Max’s mind had gone from gruesome slow motion into reverse. All six of my Pokémon. It’s over. I lost… It’s over... I lost! He summoned what little strength he had left to tear his eyes off of the recorded truth on the scoreboard and back to his fallen warrior, center field.

Water began to build up in his eyes and filled his eyelids to the brim as he ran out into the dusty field even though it hadn’t settled yet. He collapsed on his knees before his fallen being of the sky and picked up the exhausted bird. His words became distorted with his sadness and self rage. “I’m sorry Swellow, you did my best and I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

“Swel, swellow,” the bird cawed out.

The boy solemnly nodded at his Pokémon’s response and said back, “Here, have a long rest.” He drew from his belt a compressed PokéBall, enlarged it, and loosed a stream of red light and withdrew his tired Pokémon.

Immediately large tears overflowed from his face and cheeks onto the sandy battleground and softened the hard surface. He couldn’t let them fall in the presence of his friends, and now, there was nothing to stop him. I’m so sorry everyone! Max inwardly scolded himself. I couldn’t do it. I’m just not strong enough, and you were. All of you!

After several moments of melancholy silence, Max noticed a pair of sneakers planted within arm’s reach from his point. They were red and black sneakers, and definitely belonged to Ash’s. He looked up and saw the familiar smiling face and a yellow electric rodent perched on his shoulder. As he offered a handshake to Max, Ash said, “Max, that was a great battle!”

On the ground, Max knelt put with his knees and feet in the soil, and turned his head sharply away as more tears continued to empty themselves out of Max’s eyes. “Ash, what are you talking about? That was a terrible battle! After all I promised you that I would beat you one day, and now that day is today, and I barely laid a scratch on you at all! You didn’t even have to send out Pikachu!”

Ash recoiled slightly and Pikachu seemed taken aback by the half-compliment and half-scorn, but Ash’s hand was still outstretched for Max to take. “Hey, Max. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Winning is not what a trainer needs to think about first.” Pikachu on Ash’s shoulder tried to console Max the same, “Pika, pikachu!”

Max still kept his head down to prevent Ash from seeing his reddened eyes as he said, “I know that, but I thought I’d win because I knew all of your battle strategies! I mean, I did travel with you for a whole year through two regions! I thought I might actually be a challenge for you!”

Ash then dropped his knees to the ground and knelt in front of Max which prompted him to look up. Ash put his extended arm onto Max’s shoulder and mock spoke, “You know, as soon as I heard you say that back after the Terracotta Contest, I’ve been changing my strategies up a bit.”

Max’s face turned from defeat to defeat and instant shock. “Wha- what! You mean you’ve been planning this the whole time!?”

Ash’s smile grew ever larger as he replied, “In a way, yeah. Ever since you’ve said that to me, I’ve been thinking. I knew that you’d figure out a way to counter every strategy I had by the time you challenged me, so I went ahead and added more strategies I had learned back in Sinnoh.”

Max wiped the tears from his eyes now that he knew why Ash was barely affected by his counter-strategies. But it still didn’t add up. “Wait, then why did I lose? I’ve fought a bunch of trainers and they’ve all used different styles and I could counter those perfectly fine! Why are you so different?”

Ash withdrew his hand that was on Max’s shoulder and stood up profoundly and said, “Come. I’ll show you.”

Now the sad face that was on Max was instantly re-written with sheer excitement and he leapt up off of the ground. “Wait, really? Right now?”

Ash replied, “Sure! But first, great battle right?” Ash re-extended his arm and held out his hand.

Max smiled with determination and said, “Deal!” he firmly gripped Ash’s hand and the whole stadium noise seemed to melt away. “So what do I have to do first?”

Ash replied, “That’s easy. Wake up.”

That was a surprise. “Huh? Wait, wake up? I am awake!” Max stated.

“Max, wake up.” Ash said with a louder voice.

Is Ash playing games with me or what? He thought. Max raised his voice as well, “I am awake!”

“Max, wake up!” Ash shouted. His figure seemed to become foggy.

“I am awake!” Max shouted back.

“Max get out of bed or I’m going personally get you out! And could you please let go of my hand!?” a different voice sounded.

“Wait, wait, bed? Hand? Dad?” Max realized that the entire stadium had gone from his vision, and both Ash and Pikachu were no longer grabbing his hand, but rather his dad was, kneeling on the floor in front of his bed, fully dressed for the day to begin, and his face distorted from sudden awkwardness.

“Geez, Max! You’ve overslept much longer than usual! It’s nearly 9:30! Come on, get up! And could you let go of my hand please for the second time?” Norman ranted.

“Oh, sorry Dad.” Max finally let go of his dad’s hand and they both rubbed theirs of their discomfort. “I guess it was a dream.”

Max looked out with his real eyes and saw his room just as it was before he fell asleep the night before. He saw his single bed with different Pokémon embossed on his sheets, a small desk off to his right with a lamplight and drawing materials, a bookshelf on his left crammed full with Pokémon novels, manga, enclopedias, and now his dad above him beckoning him to get out of bed.

“Well, come on, Mom’s already made us breakfast and everything. We don’t want to be late for the first challenger.”

Max practically exploded out of his sheets and leapt up out of his bed. “Yes! I knew today was the day! That’s why I had that dream! Thanks dad!”

Norman stood up and faced his only son with a Gym Leader’s grin and said, “Of course kiddo! You’ve been practically counting down the hours since I told you I’d finally let you about a month ago!”

Max eyed his father and could barely contain his excitement as he jittered, “Yeah, I’m so glad the wait is over! Pokémon Master, here I come!”

Norman just shook his head as he started toward Max’s bedroom door. “You’ll get there someday. But first, I need some of your mom’s cooking, otherwise I’ll be at a stomach disadvantage when that challenger gets here. Come down as soon as you get dressed.”

Again, nearly flying across the room with energy, he threw off his dark green night clothes against the wall to the wash basket. “Ya don’t have to tell me twice!”

Norman continued towards the door, but he eyed something nailed to the door. It was a calendar with X’s marking off the days until a particular day, the 30th of the same month the page was turned to. Max’s birthdate is on the 30th, but it doesn’t say birthday there or anything. Norman thought. “Max, your birthday is on the 30th of next month right?”

Max surprisingly had already put on a clean set of boxers, socks and shorts when he noticed his dad’s question, “Yeah, of course! Why do ya ask?” He raced over to his dresser and fumbled around for his green polo.

“Well,” Norman began amidst the raucous of shifting clothes, “You didn’t write ‘birthday’ or ten years old or anything. It just says Pokémon Journey in big letters.”

Max slowed down with his shirt half put on, “Oh. Well, I don’t really care about being ten or not. As far as me goes, I was ten even while I was traveling with Ash.”

Norman turned around and saw Max squirming inside his own shirt and grinned, “So, I guess you don’t really care about the 30th being your birthday so much this year, huh.” He walked over to help out his strangled son.

Max further squirmed in his clothes, “Dad! I’m fine! You don’t need to put my clothes on for me ya know! HEY!”

Norman had already taken Max’s backwards shirt and flipped it before he could even protest. “Dad! I’m not five anymore, geez!” Max protested.

Norman laughed; it wasn’t the first time this happened. “No matter how much you try to grow up Max, you’re still my son right?”

Max just hung his head in defeat and looked off to where his calendar was saying, “I guess so…”

Norman patted his son on the shoulder and said, “Well, come on son! You’re going to want to mark down yesterday on that calendar, right?”

“Oh yeah!” Again, flying across the room, he snatched a marker off of his desk and sloppily X’ed off the 2nd on his calendar. “Only twenty-eight more days to go!” He looked up to his dad a last time, “Hey, Dad?”

Norman looked back at his son expecting some more father-son talk experience, “Yeah, what Max?”

It didn’t come. “RACE YOU TO THE TABLE!” At that Max darted off downstairs in the direction of delectable scent. Norman stood blinking, then laughing, again fooled by his kid’s tricks. “Max! I’ll get you for that!” And he too darted behind the exuberant boy in the green polo, slamming the door behind him, and making the calendar on the other side knock back, a reminder of the twenty-eight days left to spend together.

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Author's note: I hope this chapter portrayed Max and his dad just like the Anime had. That was a real challenge for me. Also, I hope everyone got the whole dream thing going on, so, yeah. That's what this is all about!

*And yes, the title was inspired by Aerosmith's "Dream On"!*

To Vilya: You know, I feel really bad for you that you don't have a DS. YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON SO MUCH! Then again, school is really what you must focus on right now.

To EarthBorn: You know, I'm just about to introduce May in the next chapter...finally!

Merry Holiday Break to Everyone!

[Shadow-saur]

First to read XD

Yay, Max is here You just made my day. Seriously.

They were red and black sneakers, and definitely belonged to Ash’s

I think you mean they belonged to Ash.

That's the only thing I noticed right now. Very descriptive and well-written. Another great chapter.

[EarthBorn]

“Max, your birthday is on the 30th of next month right?”

Don't you mean the same month? Norman did say that there were 28 more days to go!
Oh, and I'm wondering how old May is at this point. I hope she's not much younger than Ash in any case.

I didn't expect a shift in perspective, and this did seem like a filler, apart from the fact that you hinted at Ash changing his strategy and style. I'm definitely expecting Max to lose though, just like you described it. It would be bad on Ash's part to lose after so much experience, and even worse to hold back.

Waiting for May's introduction next chapter.

[CyberBlaziken]

Yea!!!New chapter
Good chapter.
Waiting for May.

[shaymin_girl]

Wow i love this story
i hope May appears soon!

[Stage On]

Wow I just read through all 5 chapters so far and this is fantastic! The only shame is that their isn't more. The next chapter will defenilty be worth the wait whenever it's done xd

[lunarshadow]

Chapter Six: Realization

As fate would turn out, no matter where you go, you will always find life. This can be both good and bad. Life brings innovation and luxury, education and science. Sometimes it brings love, other times they bring peace. Other times, it’s just there for the fun of it. This trio of life forms does not fall into any one of the above categories. They’ve just been blasted into the Sinnoh sky for being notoriously bad at what they do: being Team Rocket.

[17:20 P.M.] Sunyshore City Border (3330 Feet Meters Elevation), Sinnoh Region

“AAAAAHHHHH!” the trio of thieves yelled at the top of their lungs.

For all they were worth, it was a sight to see. The trio of two humans, Jesse and James, and one Pokemon, Meowth, were tumbling in the afternoon sky down to the earth at startling speeds. The surrounding landscape swept horizontally beneath them as if they were flying over a map, the sea enlarged itself as if under a microscope, and underneath the city began to show off its skyscrapers and innovative solar panel walkways in rapid succession. But with all due respect to the glorious Team Rocket, things always ended this way for them; blasting off into the sky farther than plain eyesight could ever see. Today was no different.

At roughly 500 feet of elevation left to go, Meowth with his scratchy voice yelled out amidst the rushing wind, “Prepare for a crash landin’!”

Jesse already bored with this routine yelled back, “Yeah, just like EVERY landing we’ve ever had!”

James on the other hand couldn’t help but recall, “Well, there was that one time when we just ran away like a bunch of —”

—SMASH! An impact into the trees of a courtyard cut his memory short.

Surprisingly, it was a relatively nice place to land. From the shoreline, roughly 90 feet parallel to the shore existed a simple concrete walkway that ran from the Pokémon Center all the way to the Sunyshore Lighthouse about 700 feet away. Along the side of the sidewalk nearest the shoreline existed peachy perfect sand, and the waves nuzzling inside it, while on the other side existed a grassy walkway littered with thick trees, and coincidentally, Team Rocket swinging up in one of those branches, a short walk’s away from the Pokémon Center entrance.

Jesse on the other hand was not in the mood for evaluating the odds and counting blessings. It wouldn’t matter if they landed in sand, snow, lava, or trees, it was always the same crashing story’s end. “WHY!? Why is it always us? Why do we have to keep doing what we do best?”

Meowth, no more enthusiastic, “Uh, now wat might dat be, Jess?”

James saved Jesse the trouble of explaining, “Failing at life.”

An audible sigh resounded from all of their mouths simultaneously as they each swung on the same branch on the same tree, the same way: Jesse and James were hung by their pants, and Meowth in a similar fashion with his fur.

“We can’t keep going like this guys,” complained James.

“Yeah, especially for you, seeing how you were Mr. Richie for all of your childhood!” Jesse spat.

“Hey, hey! That all in the past! Besides, I gave that up a long time ago to join Team Rocket, remember Jess?” James defended himself.

Meowth couldn’t help but share his sympathy. “Yeah, just like I gave up chasing dat no-good-fur ball-of-a-feline Meowsy to live a life of crime.”

“And I gave up my dreams of become rich and famous and living like a queen just to be on the run from the law for the rest of my days!” Jesse admitted.

“It’s all dat brat boy’s fault!” Meowth realized to himself. His face contorted into sheer frustration. “He and dat Pikachu just keep blasting apart our mechas left and right—even if dey are electro-proof!”

Jesse smashed her right fist into her left hand and all the same changed her facial expression to anger and frustration. “If he wasn’t our target all the time, we would’ve gotten loads of Pokémon by now. We’ve got to beat that kid no matter what it takes!”

James pumped his fist up in team spirit, “Yeah—” CRACK.

“Huh? Did you guys hear something?” James asked. —CRACK.

Meowth did. “Uh oh. I tink dat branch is going to give way!”

Jesse squealed in helplessness as the branch continued to noisily break off, “No, no, no, no!”

As if their luck couldn’t get any worse, a certain bluish blob of a Pokémon exploded out of its ball, on top of the same branch and happily cheered, “WO-BBUFFET!”

CRACK! Another 30 feet the trio plummeted down to the solid ground. Jesse, James, and Meowth again simultaneously groaned while Wobbufet still teetered on top of the three bodies happy as a June Bug.

[17:51 P.M.] Sunyshore City (Pokémon Center Entrance), Sinnoh Region

“Gliscor, oomph! Would you please contain yourself!?” Ash struggled to get out.

Gliscor, the Fang Scorp Pokémon that had flattened itself onto Ash still giggled its guts out, rejoicing in the never ending game she played. “Gli! Gli!” she gushed out as she winked and leapt up off of her trainer’s chest.

“Alright then guys.” Ash stood up and brushed off the dust on his vest as he said, “We’ll be doing a bit of training today, so I want everyone’s best, alright?”

Everyone responded, (“You can count on it!”).

“Alright then. Since Cynthia is coming soon, we won’t have much time to train as usual, so I think it’s time for a little fun! Who’s up for a game of beach ball?”

[18:11 P.M.] Sunyshore City (Pokémon Center), Sinnoh Region

As a man of simplicity, Brock always knew what was best. Cooking was simple yet elegant, and his attire was nothing fancy but built for the job. Today’s twenty minute flat shower was a testament to such simplicity. Oddly enough though, he wasn’t the first one out of the complimentary Pokémon Center showers.

The Pokémon Center, a by no means worn down facility, had a lobby structured with a front desk in the center of view and several squashy armchairs for the tired trainer not intending to stick around. To the right of the desk lay the hallway of the human lounge, rooms and beds, and the public facilities, and to the left of the desk lay the Pokémon treatment facilities including the check up room, resting room, emergency room, and critical room.

Brock walked out of the shower facilities fully dressed and carrying his towel and borrowed cleaning lotions. He deposited the spent items and used towel into the waste bin and laundry bin respectively, and proceeded down that hallway to the lounging area, where he found Flint sitting down on the couch, completely dressed, and poofing his afro with specialized combs.


Flint, who was already waiting in the lobby down the hallway, asked, “Now here’s my question to you Brock. Why is it so that me such as yourself and I can take showers as short as five minutes, yet the ladies consistently must take thirty-five minutes?”

Brock chuckled a little at the age old question and settled himself across Flint on the couch. “Heh, I really don’t have an answer for you Flint! If I did, I might just be that much closer to understanding girls!” Brock talked and raised his hand and formed a pincer grasp about a quarter of an inch apart.

“I hear you man, I hear you. Ever since I’ve become an elite four member, I really haven’t been able to do much socializing. It’s really a lot of training dedicated just to hold the title.” Flint sighed.

“I understand, I was a Gym leader at one point, so I know what it’s like to get cut off from the outside world and only have the option to think about what pertained to my job. But since the day that Ash challenged me, I’ve had next to limitless chances to expand my horizons! And, get around to a bit more womanizing, if you know what I mean,” Brock noted.

“But somehow I get the impression you always get cut short every time you try, right?” Flint raised his eyebrow mockingly.

“Yeah, Croagunk stabs me every time I get close to a girl! It’s almost maddening!” Brock laughed.

“How about Ash and Dawn? Do they have any interests besides their job as trainers?” Flint inquired.

“Oh, no, are you kidding? Ash is a one track-minded person. He’s probably still training as hard as he can outside right now. He’s probably never given any kind of thought to relationships besides him and his Pokémon! Dawn I’m not so sure about, though. Don’t get me wrong, the bond between her and her Pokémon is steadily growing, but I wouldn’t doubt it if Dawn sometimes thinks about other things. Both are really, really motivated by their dreams.”

Flint nodded and looked off towards the female quarter of the shower facilities to check for Dawn, and returned back to reply, “That makes sense. Dawn obviously is more energetic than Ash is, but she probably doesn’t get much chance to expand.” Flint sighed and looked off into the distance again. “I just feel trapped.”

“What do you mean, Flint? Surely such a person such as yourself has a love life, right? I mean, come on! You’re one of the Elite Four!” Brock asked.

“That’s the thing. I’m one of the Elite Four, so I’m trapped to my job, and I have to constantly train and train for upcoming challengers. I don’t have any room or time to offer up for candle light dinners, or movies, or any of that kind of stuff.” Flint responded. “In fact, the last time I personally saw anyone else was when Cynthia told me to come look for you guys a while ago.”

“And what about Lucian or Aaron?” Brock questioned.

“Well, firstly and fore mostly, we’re rivals, and since Aaron is the new kid somewhat, he’s mostly away training for a championship rematch, and Lucian is always training so that I never catch up to him!” Flint explained. Then he sighed. “But Cynthia on the other hand, she’s a whole new person, and a lot of fun to be around.”

“I guess you two are pretty close friends right?” Brock pressed on.

“Yeah. We are, but the thing is, I’d like more than anything to get closer—”

“—Hey guys, whatcha talking about?” Dawn exploded, as if out of nowhere.

“Gah! Dawn, geez!” Brock flinched at the notice of Dawn. “Next time announce when you’re going to finally get out of the shower!” Brock suggested.

“Yeah, yo, we were getting into a deeper than ocean blue conversation here!” Flint added.

“I’m sorry, but I was hoping for a good second opinion, does my hair look fine? I really can’t be sure if I’m the only one looking at it,” Dawn gushed out.

“Dawn—” Brock began.

“I didn’t have Piplup so I don’t think my hair sheens when she does it, but does it look OK?” Dawn began fiddling with her hair and kept moving about.

I hate it when she does this…Brock thought. “Dawn—?”

“I don’t want to have to go back and do it all over again! Do I have to fix it? Can I even walk outside with this? And what if I—”

“DAWN!” Brock forcefully spoke out.

Dawn came to a screeching halt and nervously looked over at Brock. “Yeah?”

Brock chuckled and said, “It looks fine. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Dawn heaved a sigh and her hand clutched over her chest. “Ah, what a relief. Hey, I didn’t hear your opinion Flint? How does it look?” Dawn did a beauty twist on the spot and let her hair fly.

Flint got caught by surprise, thankful for a good change of topic, “Oh, yeah, it’s fine.”

Brock noticed Flint’s mannerism and wondered out loud, “Hey Flint, shouldn’t we go and wait for Lucian and Cynthia to arrive?”

Flint looked grateful at Brock who caught right on and stood up saying, “Yeah, if I know Lucian and Cynthia, they’ll be here anytime soon. Let’s get outside to Ash before they do!”

Brock too stood up and started walking towards the exit of the lounge area. “Who knows, maybe they’re there already.”

“Hey Flint?” Dawn asked as they were walking.

“What’s up?” Flint asked back.

Dawn cocked her right eyebrow and smirking slightly asked, “What were you two talking about before I got out of my shower that was so deep anyway?”

Crap, now is NOT the time for this! Flint thought. “Oh, uh, you know, just this and that, and—”

Brock saved Flint again who breathed a slight sigh of relief. “We were just talking about the fact that you girls always take the longest showers and worry about useless things.”

Now completely befuddled Dawn asked, “Like what?”

Both Brock and Flint started cracking up and said in unison, “Your hair of course!”

Dawn felt a 3rd degree burn after that one.

[09:39 A.M.] Petalburg City (Gym Living Quarters), Hoenn Region

The air inside of the kitchen was almost toxic. Aromas of superb scrambled eggs laced with spices floated throughout the air, poisoning those who couldn’t have a taste of it, Sausages sizzled on the frying pan, bubbling and writhing in sauce, ready to be fallen in love with at first smell, and yes, freshly flopped pancakes wafted in and around the two noses devouring the delectable food in front of them; Max and his father, Norman.

Caroline, Max’s mother and Norman’s wife, was busy working like a factory worker producing copious amounts of food for both seated at the table. “Geez! I’ve said this before, time and time again,” she loudly announced while flipping the pancake pan. “CHEW WITH YOUR MOUTH CLOSED!”

Who could blame her? The only sound other than the sound of scrambled eggs cooking, sausages sizzling, and pancakes pancaking was UM-NUMNUMNUM! UMNUM! UMNUMNUMNUMNUM!

Norman tried to apologize but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a garbled, “Foo forry, honee! I jhuph haph too feeneesh fiss beefoor Maaph!”

Max also tried to apologize, but similarly, his apology was just as indistinguishable. “Yaaa, forry mom!”

Caroline back in the kitchen just shook her head and smiled. It may be pointless to argue, but it’s still humorous.

RINGRINGRING!!! PHONECALLPHONECALL!!!

“Hey, Norman! Honey! I’m going to pick up the phone, so if you want any more eggs you’ll have to scramble them yourself!” Caroline called out to her husband.

Still ever stuffed, he replied, “Fure! Whaever hoonee!”

At that, Caronline hastily turned down the heat on the scrambled eggs, pancake, and sausage pan to prevent them from burning, and rushed over the videophone located in the family living room.

Hm. I wonder who it could be. She thought as she rushed to catch the phone. I sure hope it’s not that stupid gym inspection authority or whatever it is! They’ve been here already four times only to go back with a squeaky clean report! I swear if it’s them, I’ll personally—Oh, well, that’s weird.

Instead of the caller ID stating the gym inspectors’ number, it displayed another number, and underneath in smaller print read Cianwood Island Pokémon Center. What in the world would the Cianwood Pokémon Center call me for? Hey! Maybe she’s finished with one of her little contests!

Caroline picked up the green receiver and spoke, “Hello? Oh my gosh! It’s so great to see you, I was wondering where you were and…May!” Caroline gasped and brought her hand close to her mouth as she saw what was on her screen. Her thirteen year old daughter, with her respective receiver in her right hand up to her ear, displayed a pitiful sight. Her eyes had become swollen and blood shot, and on her cheeks were traces of glazed tears.

“Hey, mom.”

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Author's note: I really haven't been working much on this project in recent days due to school really consuming my life for the better, but I hope this chapter will mark the start of a string of good chapters!

To Shadow-saur: Heh, I'm really really glad you liked it! Plus it WAS a filler regardless.

To EarthBorn/CyberBlaziken/shaymin_girl: MAY IS HERE!!! For about three sentences...

To Tsubasa no Tenshi: Hey, thanks for the great compliments! I hope the wait was well worth it for you!

[midnightjewelz]

Nice chapter overall. now to my newest question to myself.

"What happened to May?"

Can't wait for the next chapter. ^^

[EarthBorn]

Ooh, goodies chapter. It's been a while, but I'm not one to complain.

Brock and Flint's conversation was gold, especially the part where Dawn comes out asking about her hair. I guess Flint's got a point there...being in the E4 and all - mind if I borrow that argument for future use?

Poor May.

Why's she sad? Is it because she lost a contest? Is it because of WHO she lost the contest TO?

Why does this seem to remind me of some random coordinator with green hair, eyes...:P

Keep up the good work anyways.