Ruby was on his phone, "Uh huh! Uh huh! Sure, got it. I am surprised you got to get away from work though.... Fine! We will be there, promise."
Ash looked at him, "Was that your parents?"
Ruby, "Yeah."
Molly, "You look upset."
May, "What happened?"
Ruby ruffled his hair, "They are holding a party."
Gou, "Ah! They want to show you around as a prize."
Ruby, "If it was just that much I would not mind."
Ash, "What else then?"
Ruby hesitated for a moment, "They want to meet Cheryl. They do not know about your secondary identity."
Ash deadpanned, "Those rumours about you dating Cheryl really making rounds out there."
Ruby gave a guilty smile, "I apologize for the trouble Ash."
Ash waved it off looking at it strategically, "Well, on the other hand it will be useful for the bigger picture. According to Meowth, the two teams have shown interest in Cheryl and Diance."
Gou, "You met with Meowth."
Max, "Is he ok?"
Ash smirked, "He is having fun making them run around and he has been helping Pokemon that have been abandoned as well."
Ruby laughed, "Of course he is."
Ash frowned, "Taking them in and training them was what he was doing.... "
Molly, "Did something happen?"
May, "Wait... Don't tell me."
Ash sighed, "Team Aqua caught on and they have been taking in water types who were abandoned and their army has become bigger. Those Pokemon are absolutely loyal to team Aqua and dealing with them might be harder."
Max, "Damn! Dammit! Why are they even trainers if they cannot be responsible?"
May placed her hand on his shoulder, "Calm down Max. I understand the feeling. Trust me."
Max, "Ugh! Yeah, I am okay. Anyway, back to the topic. Ruby, a party?"
Ruby, "At Slateport city, we will reach it tomorrow morning most likely."
Molly, "When is the party?"
Ruby, "A few days after the Pokemon contest."
May, "I was planning on taking part in the contest but.... "
Gou, "If the same group appear at different places at the same time too many times it can get suspicious."
Max, "Or if some of the group members go missing while certain characters appear somewhere. While it is a long shot for most people to connect. When it comes to teams like Aqua and Magma even a small clue could have them on our trail like blood Houndooms."
Ash, "I have an idea."
Molly, "What sort of idea?"
Ash, "I will go as Cheryl to this party, but I will leave Lucario here to train you. In the meantime, I will ask Jessibell to make a surprise appearance."
May perked up, "Jessibell? The International Co -ordinator Master? Will she really agree?"
Lucario, -She is already in Hoenn, I just need to call and explain. She could use a break from her work anyway.-
Ash, "Been talking to her Pokemon, have you?"
Lucario nodded, -Yes, they are frustrated she has not taken a break at all ever since reaching Hoenn.-
Ash, "Ah! This might just work."
May, "Watching Jessibell perform will be awesome."
Ruby, "And the perfect distraction. I can tell my parents Cheryl will be here late. They will see her in the day of the party so no need to meet them early."
Molly giggled, "We are going to use confuse and it will be super effective."
Ash, "Indeed. Come on! I see the City. Let's get a room at the Pokemon centre and plan out our stay here."
May, "Right! My second ribbon, here I come."
They decided to travel despite the evening turning into darkness and reached the outskirts of the port City. Ruby went to book one of the larger rooms for them while May went with Molly to register for the contest. Ash, Gou and Max decided to order dinner for all of them, it had been a while since they ordered take out. They had been taking turns cooking and had only been eating healthy fresh cooked food. All of them wanted to indulge in junk food for one night after eating healthy meals. Lucario while not exactly approving agreed a little indulgence never hurt anyone as long as it came from a clean and hygienic restaurant. In their room, May was telling them about the theme for the contest which was sunny beach, so she was planning on making a performance that combined games and moves. Ash on the other hand was working on the next horror novel, he had recalled a story about a demoness that liked taking pretty girls who could dance for herself. The night went by without any incidents and Lucario contacting Jessie's Pokemon.
Ruby stretched himself after the morning training, "Alright, I am off to meet my parents. I will see you in three days."
Ash, "Cheryl will meet you at the port before the party starts."
Ruby, "Works for me. See you around and May good luck."
May, "Thanks Ruby. I will do my best to win."
Lucario, -Meema, come with me.-
Ash, "Sure. I will see you guys later."
Molly, "Lucario is still being protective."
Max, "I mean, our Pokemon are no different."
Molly looked at her Mudkip who was positioned in a way to keep her in sight, "I guess so, hope everyone calms down soon though. I want us to have fun."
Max, "Me too. I am finished with breakfast. Hey sis, want to train some more?"
May, "Sure! I could use extra practice for tomorrow."
Gou, "You have fun. I am heading to the post office to send these observations."
Molly, "I will go with you."
Gou, "I do not mind."
A boisterous dark haired woman spoke on the screen, "Good morning Slateport City, I am your host Aliana. Welcome to the forth Pokemon contest. We have a special surprise for you today. But first let us go through the rules and welcome the judges."
The crowd cheered as the rules were read and Aliana turned to the judge panel, "First is Mr Sukizo."
Sukizo, "Hello everyone."
Aliana, "Next is Mr Contesta."
Contesta, "Remarkable."
Aliana, "And finally our very own Nurse Joy."
Nurse Joy, "Hello everyone, it is wonderful to be here."
Aliana, "Now, as I have said, we have a surprise for you. Give your hands up for one and only Jessibell."
Jessibell appeared spreading kisses as the crowd went wild, "Hello, hello, dear Hoenn ~ I am back again. I missed all your love and cheers. Now without further ado, come and dazzle them my dear Oricorios."
May had stars in her eyes as four different Oricorios appeared. They started to perform for the audience using moves that show cased their fire, electric, psychic and ghost typings in a playful manner. Since the theme for the contest was 'fun beach' the performance given was really playful with the four Oricorios telling a story about four friends going on adventures and having fun. It was not just May who was gushing, a man in a green outfit was cheering as well, he seemed familiar but she could not put her finger on why. She shrugged and focused on the performance getting hyped up for her own performance later on. She and Max had brainstormed a lot and she was going to do her best to win this. Ash and Gou were sitting behind Molly and Max cheering Jessibell on as she wowed the audience with her Pokemon. Ash had definitely missed her witty remarks and elegant attitude.
Gou, "Do you want to catch up with her?"
Ash, "Later after May's performance."
Max, "Woo Hoo! That was awesome."
Molly, "I want to become a co - ordinator when I am finally eligible to travel as a full fledged trainer."
Gou, "I have no doubt you will be amazing Molly."
Molly, "I hope so Gou. this is so awesome."
Aliana, "Let's give a big round of applause for Jessibell, who by the way is also a surprise judge."
Jessibell, "I can't wait to see what the young co - ordinators have in store for me."
Aliana, "We do as well. Now, let us welcome our first contestant from Hoenn, Harley."
May realized why he seemed familiar now, 'He was in one of the contest videos I watched earlier. He specializes in using poison types.'
Harley, "Go Pumpkaboo, Cacnea. Will O Wisp followed by seed bomb and shadow ball."
The large Pumpkaboo and Cacnea used will o wisp to dance around like one of those fire dancers on the beach they saw last night. The seed bomb and shadow ball twirled around adding a fun and eerie effect to the dance. It was like a ghost dancer had come to join you and have fun one last time before leaving for the other side. She loved the idea, too bad she did not have a ghost type yet so she would have to wait before trying to even try such a theme. Soon enough her turn came after the tenth performer from Alola gave his all to get full points. May took a deep breath and stepped up the stage, the feeling of excitement thrumming through her got her more pumped up.
May, "Come join me Marill and Ponyta."
Marill and Ponyta appeared in an array of bubbles and ember creating a mist effect in the end through which they stepped through. May called for sunny day and rain dance which the two Pokemon obliged creating a rainbow in the sky. Ash grinned at the lovely spectacle remembering the number of time he had ended up with a rainbow during battles. Unlike his battles however, this rainbow would last longer as it was intentionally created for a background effect. May then caught everyone's attention by making Marill create aqua rings that the little water type threw to the sky. She called for flame thrower from Ponyta and the fire horse answered making it a game between the two. That had another effect of cold water and hot fire clashing and bursting in splashes of bright ember colour that became colorless.
Ash, "Beautiful art work."
Gou had a recorder on, "Agreed, it is not easy to perform. She is using double the amount of attack right."
Lucario, -Yes, flamethrower first then ember which gets reflected before it dies out due to the water.-
Diance clapped, -Cool.-
Ash, "It sure is, isn't it baby?"
Another thing that made the day better was Diance being able to say a few words after practicing with Lucario for days. Gou was not even surprised anymore, though everyone was excited over the development. Everyone told Diance to take it easy though as there was no rush. The disguised legendary just squealed happily agreeing with it, she was just happy to make them happy apparently. When Lucario pointed that out, it made Ash, Gou, Ruby nd May feel a little bit more protective over the baby jewel Princess. What if someone tried to take advantage of the kind heart Diance had? They would not let that happen. Orion had huffed muttering hypocrite under his breath at the kind and foolish souls his partner surrounded himself with. Was it a wonder why Ruby was so selfless as well?
Aliana, "Let's give a big round of applause for May. That was such a fun performance."
May, "Thank you. We trained hard to make it flawless."
Aliana, "And the score is.... A full forty. You are the third person to get that score today. Congratulations! Let's go to the judges."
Jessibell, "I must say, this truly embodied the theme beach fun. Pokemon having fun while performing."
Nurse Joy, "The Pokemon did not even tire out nor show any exhaustion. They are well taken care of."
Contesta, "Remarkable!"
Sukizo, "I have heard you are traveling with another co - ordinator. Are they training you?"
May straightened, Ruby had warned her this would come up, "I am travelling with a veteran battler, a Gym runner, a research assistant and their two charges. I am the only contestant in the group. You can check it out too in the public forum."
Contesta, "I see, I see, remarkable group."
Nurse Joy, "It is refreshing to see trainers from different walks of life help each other."
Jessibell, "It is more fun too this way."
Aliana, "Ladies and gentlemen, another round of applause for May from Hoenn."