"You're finally setting off. May, did you forget anything?" Caroline asked, looking at May with concern.
"I'm fine!" May said, patting her chest as a promise.
May had decided to travel with Ash, and Norman and Caroline supported her decision.
"Wait for me! Big sister doesn't know anything about Pokémon, so I'm going with them too. Besides, I understand what Dad said now. I want to go out and see the world!" At that moment, Max came running out with his backpack.
"Well, it's good for Max to go out and learn. And he's an expert on Pokémon knowledge, so we'll feel more at ease," Norman said after some thought.
"That's right!" Caroline agreed.
"Ash, I'm sorry to ask, but I hope you can take our Max with you on your journey," Norman requested.
"No problem! The more people on a journey, the more fun it is!" Ash had already expected to travel with May and Max! And having Max meant he had a tool to control Brock, otherwise he would have to handle Brock's infatuations himself!
"Alright! Max, you have to be well-behaved."
"This is great! I'll do my best!"
"Then, I'd like to give you these," Norman said, taking out two grayish-blue boxes and handing them to Ash and May. "These are badge cases to hold your Gym badges."
Ash and May accepted the badge cases and thanked him.
"And take this with you as well," Norman said, taking out a small device.
"Ah! This is...!" (?) Max's eyes lit up as he snatched the device.
"This is a Pokémon Navigator. With this, you'll always know your location," Norman explained.
"I'll take this one," Max said, putting it away.
"By the way, the closest Gym from here is in Rustboro City, so you three can head there first," Norman said.
The three of them said goodbye and set off for their next Gym destination, Rustboro City!
"This is great! The kids are all on their journeys. We can have our alone time now."
"That's right!"
Norman and Caroline discussed quietly as they watched the three of them walk away.
Due to his awakened Aura, Ash's hearing was sharper than usual, and he just barely heard those two sentences. A twitch appeared at the corner of Ash's mouth. Parents are true love, and children are just a delightful accident!
Petalburg Woods
"That's weird, I don't see any Pokémon at all," Max said disappointedly, looking around with binoculars.
"We're on a man-made path. There are very few Pokémon here. They're all deep in the forest!" Ash explained helplessly.
"Forget that, I'm so hungry. Can we have lunch now?" May was already tired and only wanted to rest and eat. She pleaded with Ash.
Ash nodded. "Okay! Let's eat first! Everyone, come on out!"
He took out the bento boxes he had prepared in advance from his backpack, as well as the Pokémon food. He also mixed in some Pokéblocks to make the food nutritious and delicious!
Pikachu and the other Pokémon received their food and started eating.
Meanwhile, the two siblings...
"What are you doing?" May and Max weren't getting their own food, but instead stared at Ash's bento box. "Uh... you guys didn't pack lunch, did you?"
"Well... I thought big sister would have prepared it," Max said, scratching his head.
"I didn't think this would happen, so I completely forgot." (????.??????) May gave Ash a pleading look.
"Sigh! These are the last two portions, so you can have them. If we don't find a Pokémon Center before dark, we're going to starve." Fortunately, Ash knew the two siblings were unreliable and had prepared an extra two portions. He wasn't worried about dinner since Brock should be arriving soon.
"Ah! Thank you, Ash! Ash, you're the best!" The siblings happily started to eat!
"Bui" "Pika Pika~" Wham! At that moment, there was a commotion from the Pokémon's side.
The three of them turned to look. A swallow-like Pokémon was stealing a Normal-type Pokéblock from Eevee's food. Eevee couldn't stand it and immediately launched a Swift attack.
May took out her Pokédex and scanned it:
Taillow...
It was a Taillow, the regional bird of Hoenn. It was known as the "buggy swallow" because of its stubborn and arrogant nature.
[Taillow]
[Type: Normal, Flying]
[Ability: Guts (When affected by a status condition other than fainting, its Attack is increased by 50% and it ignores the Attack decrease from a burn.)]
[Strength: Early Elite-Level]
[Moves: Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Double Team, Endure, Supersonic]
[Terastal Type: Flying]
"Siba~" Taillow faced Eevee and the others without a hint of fear.
"Taillow, do you want to have a battle with me? If you lose, these Pokéblocks are all yours!" Ash said, taking out some Flying-type Pokéblocks from his backpack.
"Siba~" Taillow saw the Pokéblocks and nodded without hesitation.
"Let's go, Eevee, let's catch it!" "Bui~" Eevee had been eager to fight and immediately charged forward.
Swoosh! A white light appeared on Taillow's wings as it attacked Eevee.
"Eevee, use Quick Attack to dodge." Although Taillow was at the Early Elite-Level, Eevee's strength was not to be underestimated.
"Bui~" Eevee dodged nimbly.
"Eevee, use Swift!" Eevee's tail flashed with stars as it launched an attack on Taillow.
Back and forth, Eevee dodged flexibly, using its moves to wear down Taillow. Taillow began to pant, clearly exhausted.
"Excellent! Eevee, give it the finishing blow!" Ash activated the Z-Ring on his wrist.
Finishing blow? (?) Max was confused. Even though Taillow was exhausted, it shouldn't have been a one-hit KO for Eevee. How can it be a one-shot?
Ash and Eevee performed a pose. "Go, Eevee, Breakneck Blitz!" "Bui~"
A huge white light enveloped Eevee as it charged toward Taillow.
"Siba~" "Go, Poké Ball!"
The Poké Ball flashed a red light. Boom!
Taillow burst out, panting heavily on a rock.
"Good! I like your fighting spirit, Taillow! Eevee, one more Swift!"
Wham! The last straw for Taillow. Ash threw another Poké Ball!
This time, the Poké Ball shook three times, a star flashed, and the capture was successful!
Ash was glad that Taillow didn't have a trainer, otherwise, defeating it would not have been so easy and would have come at a great cost!
"Bui~" Eevee brought the Poké Ball back to Ash!
Ash took it. "Alright! I caught a Taillow!" "Bui" "Pika Pi"
"I'm so jealous! I want to catch a new Pokémon too!" "Me too!!" ?((???))? May and Max looked at Ash with envy.
Clap! Clap! Clap! "Ash, it's been a long time. I can't believe how strong you've become!"
To be continued...