Ash, "Hello Steven, this is a surprise."
Gou, "Steven is here."
Steven, "I would be the one saying that. Ruby, you look well."
Ruby, "Obviously."
Steven grinned, "Wallace and I should have made you guide younger trainers way back then if this was the result. How have you all been?"
May, "We have been well."
Max nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, things have been awesome so far."
Molly, "Watermelon Mr Steven? It is really sweet."
Steven smiled, "Thank you, my dear."
Ash, "Have a sit. Something tells me this is not just a check in."
Steven nodded, "Yes, you are right about that."
Ruby, "What's going on?"
Steven, "Ash, you once requested an investigation on the trainers of your Jhoto starters."
Ash, "Yes, I did. Was there more updates?"
Steven, "You could say that. One of the trainers got on the wrong end of the wild high level Pokemon. Second is still missing. Third one was murdered."
Ash, "That much I know."
Steven looked serious, "Chikorita's late trainer was captured in an old CCTV footage hitting Chikorita. There was no audio but that is no way to treat or train your Pokemon."
Ash, "So, which one was that trainer. The one murdered or the one who pissed off a high level Pokemon and was killed as retaliation?"
Steven had a grim expression, "Murder."
Molly gasped, "What"
Steven, "We do not know the motive yet. It could be revenge. It could be frustration. Or it could be jealousy. Things sometimes can be pretty dark."
Ash, "Was there anything found before?"
Steven, "Initial investigations showed no clues or motive but with this coming to light.... Well... "
Ash's expression hardened, "Chikorita is a lot of things but not a murderer."
May looked concerned, "They are not thinking Chikorita did it, are they?"
Gou, "That would be impossible. Chikorita was still pretty young when we met her. No way she would have that sort of thoughts."
Ruby, "Calm down you two. Let's listen to what Steven has to say."
Steven, "Thank you Ruby. Ash, it is possible Meganium will most likely not appear in Hoenn because of this case."
Ash, "I get it. Do not worry. I will not shout at you for this, you know?"
Steven laughed wryly, "It is not you the officials were orried about."
Ash, "Huh?"
Gou, "They were worried about your Pokemon, Ash."
Max, "Oh! I get it. They were expecting Ash's Pokemon to be over protective and possessive because of everything that happened."
Steven nodded, "Your Pokemon have a strong reputation about being protective of you, if you have not noticed. Every time a reporter tried to stop and ask you questions, they mention the murder looks from your Pokemon would stop them."
Ash sighed, "Let me guess, if looks could kill."
Steven chuckled, "Yes indeed, it is mostly dragon types who show such behaviour but your Pokemon put that theory to the test."
Ash, "I think any Pokemon is capable of being protective. And honestly speaking the reporters mostly approached us after a battle or some incident. I do not blame them for being irritated."
May nodded, "I agree. I would be pissed off too."
Ruby was smug, "Orion just lifts me away whenever he gets tired of waiting."
Max, "Breloom, should we get a flying type too?"
Kirlia huffed, -You have me, Max. Just you wait, I will master teleport and then we can easily teleport away from troublesome folks.-
Max grinned, "That is true. Okay, Kirlia, I will depend on you."
May looked at her starter, "My Honchkrow is strong enough to pick me up and fly away anytime."
Honchkrow harrumped, "Kro kro hocnchkrow."
Torchic, "Tor? Tor tor torchic."
May, "And sometimes I fear whatever he is teaching the rest of my Pokemon. He is the true leader, I am the contact between them and the rest of the world."
Gou, "I know what you mean. Cinderace, Inteleon and Rillaboom act similarly."
Steven, "Metagross is very protective as well. He does trust me to take care of myself, though it does not stop him from monitoring me."
Ash looked at the blue haired man's shoulder, "So, that's why the little guy is floating around you. I had heard they were hive minded. Hello Metagross, why don't you join us next time? We would love to meet you again."
Ruby, "Agreed."
Molly, "Me too, a friend and family of Ash is a friend and family to me."
Beldum nodded, "Dum."
Steven got up, "I will join you to Lake May. I need to have a meeting with the Raangers there as well."
Ash, "I don't mind."
Gou, "I don;t either."
Ruby, "Sure, been a while since we spend time together."
May, "Can we train together a bit?"
Molly, "Yes, it will be fun."
Max, "I am in. We should totally battle too."
Steven grinned as he agreed and decided to have a mock battle after they finished eating the watermelons. Steven recognised the watermelons were from young Natasha's field, they were famous all over Hoenn. Anyone could recognise the rich red clour and sweet taste that won the best watermelon prize multiple times. May and Max teamed up to have a double battle with Steven. Ever since they had a double battle match with Natasha, the siblings had become very interested in teaming up and battling together. Steven had been grinning the whole battle looking more and more excited as Gou and Molly battled with him next. Ash's battle was longer as Gengar decided to be tricky against Steven's own ghost and steel type, Honedge. Ruby however passed battling Steven as he was not feeling like changing the lanndscape which was already affected. The Rangers would not be happy with them, if they messed around more than what already happened. Steven was disappointed but agreed, the Rangers would be already annoyed by the changes.
Ash, "We should fix this place up."
May got up, "Right, I will get the string shots,"
Molly, "I will help dry the wet spots."
Max, "I will get the leaves. We might have gone overboard with those."
Gou laughed, "Yeah, we all did."
Ash, "We will help too."
Steven. "Do you always clean up after battling?"
Ruby mused, "It helps keep stalkers at bay so yes, though I think it is a big safety concern considering Ash has a bunch of Hunters after him."
Steven, "Because of Kanto's Tyrantrum, yeah?"
Ruby nodded, "He is the first and only one to be discovered so far. It makes him a hot commodity for many branches and questionable groups."
Steven, "And Ash looks like someone who is not afraid to cut down a bitch if necessary."
Ruby drawled, "He almost did a few weeks ago. I am pretty sure the only reason we do not have any dead Team Aqua or Magma members is because his Pokemon are not critically hurt."
Steven, "I do not think anyone would hold it against him though."
Ruby, "I just hope he does not have to kill someone."
Steven, "You know it is not your fault, right?"
Ruby, "I know. He was an unrepentant poacher but still.... Sometimes I cannot help but wonder if I had tried talking to him more."
Steven, "Stop! You saved mny Pokemon and most likely trainer's lives that day. So, do not blame yourself for doing what needed to be done."
Ruby, "Thank you, stone dad."
Steven gave a smirk, "Sure kiddo, I am telling Wallace."
Ruby, "No! Steven!"
Gou, "They look like they are having fun."
Ash, "I am glad. Ruby looked weighed down the last few days."
May, "As long as he has someone he can talk to. Let's just support him."
Molly giggled, "I finished cleaning up."
Max, "Me too. We will go tell them we are done."
Steven stopped the call he was on and tteasing Ruby when he saw Max and Molly approach them telling them they were done. The group then started to travel to Fallabor town and walked all the way till evening stopping by a lake. One look at the sign showed it was lake May, making Molly gush about how May and the lake shared the same name. It made the older girl a little flustered to be compared to a beautiful lake that was now glowing golden due to the sunset being reflected. Ruby smiled and agreed with Molly, the lake was indeed beautiful and would be a lovely place to set up camp for the night. Steven though had to leave them there as he was meeting up with the Rangers on the northern side of the lake. Ash quickly dove into his bag and passed a packed dinner to the blue haired man as meetings could take forever and there was no gaurantee he would be back for dinner.
Steven, "Thank you kiddo. Oh! By the way, there is a popular campsite run by a couple just a bit further. You can get camping gear there."
Gou, "Romeo and Juliet Camp Lake. Sounds pretty decent, the reviews are good too."
Ash, "Okay, we will go there. We do not want to be arrested for camping in a no camp zone."
Ruby, "Ah! I know them. Emerald and I helped them out once with the kids camp. They are Masters of Volbeat and Illumise lines."
Molly gushed, "Oh! I saw those bug types before. They are so adorable."
Steven nodded, "You kids enjoy the camp. See you around."
Gou, "Take care Steven."
Ash, "Make sure you do not over work. Heaven knows we already have one over worker."
Ruby, "See you soon stone dad."
Max, "Stone dad? Really?"
May, "I think that's a fun nickname."
Molly, "See you again."
Ash, "Ah! Let's see. The camp is over there."
Ruby, "Come on! Follow me."
Max, "Can we go fishing?"
Molly, "I don't see a sign saying we can't."
May, "We should ask either way."
Ruby greeted the receptionist, "Hello, can we book a camp site?"
Receprionist, "Sure, your ID please.... Ah! Mr Ruby, you have a camp area booked for you already. Please head to this area. The cabin is yours and for your friends to use."
Ruby, "Thank you, miss. Let's go gang."
Ash, "Cool!"
Gou, "Wao! That is a beautiful view."
They turned to where Gou was looking at and had to agree. The sunset had turned a beautiful bright red making it look like a red carpet had been draped over the lake and the forest. They entered the cabin and found it was a lovely modest dwelling with six bunk beds in one of the rooms, a kitchen, two bathrooms and an outhouse. Ash and Ruby head to the kitchen and start preparing their dinner. It was Ruby's special roast pot and Ash enjoyed learning the process to prep and bake it. The others were settling in and getting the table outside ready. The camp boasted about having beautiful starry nights and Ruby took out the low powered lights. There really were bright stars in the sky adding a nice touch to the dinner time. Gou was enjoying the moment and took out the watermelon that was put into the fridge earlier to have for desert. When dinner was done they saw Illumise and Volbeat appear and start their dance.
Gou, "How beautiful!"
Ash, "I think it is romantic."
May, "You are right."
Molly, "Totally romantic."
Max, "Hey, are those couples?"
Ruby, "This camp is known for being popular among couples."
The night went by with the Illumise and Volbeat giving a show before disappearing and they turned in as well. Max and Molly slept with May between them in the lower bunk while Ruby, Gou and Ash slept on the top bunk. The morning came loud with the bug type Pokemon chriping and trilling at each other. Ash woke up before the alarm went off with Diance and Ralts on top of him sleeping like a log. Ash chuckled as they sleepily got up and got ready to train together. Ash was still thinking about their talk with Steven a day ago and hoped the case will be dealt with soon.