"Alright, Professor Oak, I've received Quilava and Taillow!"
"I've received Pidgeot and Treecko on my end. Ash, you've got this!"
"Got it!"
Ash's updated team: Pikachu, Eevee, Primeape, Bayleef, Quilava, Taillow.
After his call with Professor Oak, Ash rejoined Brock and May.
"Ash, we checked, and the closest Gym to us is the Dewford Gym on Dewford Island!" Max reported to Ash.
"Great! Let's challenge the Dewford Gym! What do you think, Brock?" Ash nodded in agreement. "Pika~"
Meanwhile, Brock and May were flipping through a Rustboro City travel guide. One was thinking of a huge shopping spree, and the other was thinking of delicious food.
"Brock!" Ash said, looking bewildered.
Brock looked up and explained, "The connecting boat to Dewford Island has three departures: morning, noon, and evening. The noon boat has already left. If we take the evening one, we'll have some free time before then, right?"
"I agree!" ＼＼\\?(?'w')?//／／ May was the first to agree.
"In that case, alright!" Ash nodded in agreement.
Max was drinking a beverage and thinking about what to do when he accidentally spilled his drink all over his PokéNav.
"Ah!" Max was startled and quickly wiped the drink off with a handkerchief. He tried to operate it, but there was no response.
"Oh no!" Max's heart sank.
The other three turned to look at Max. "What's wrong, Max?" May asked.
Max quickly hid the PokéNav behind his back. "N-nothing at all! We're all free to do what we want, right? See you later!"
With that, Max ran off. All he could think about was not letting May find out, or she'd tease him to death.
The three of them then went their separate ways.
Ash went to train his Pokémon. For the Dewford Gym, Ash decided to use Primeape and Taillow, so he prepared a secret weapon for them! His other Pokémon also got some training in.
Meanwhile, Max ran into an old man showing off his strange inventions to some children!
This old man was none other than the president of the Devon Corporation and the father of the former Hoenn Champion, President Stone!
President Stone really liked Max. Not only did he help Max fix his PokéNav, but he also took him on a tour of the company and had his black-suited secretary invite Ash and the others over.
After President Stone finished showing Max the Fossil Reviver, they ran into a suspicious person!
Just then, Ash and the others met up at the Pokémon Center. Brock was finished with his shopping spree, and May was lying on a chair, too full to move. Then, they were told that Max had gone to the Devon Corporation and that he had invited them to join him.
Ash and the others then experienced the life of the wealthy, riding in a luxurious stretch limousine to the Devon Corporation.
"It seems you are also Pokémon Trainers! Our young master here at Devon Corporation is also a very strong Trainer," the secretary introduced.
"Of course, Mr. Steven is very strong!" Ash said with certainty.
"Wait~ Ash, you know Steven?" May asked, confused.
"Come on, May! Are you even from Hoenn? Steven is the former Hoenn Champion!" Ash said helplessly.
"The Hoenn Champion!" ???(?'?'?)??????
On the other side, President Stone and Max were tracking the suspicious person. Because of a mistake by Max, the person got away!
"It's all my fault," (?﹏?) Max said, looking down and blaming himself.
"No, you were a huge help," President Stone consoled him.
Max (?????)?????
"His panicked escape proves that he's a suspicious person. Alright, let's chase him!" It had to be said that President Stone was very good at comforting people; at least Max couldn't see through him.
At that moment, the lab was in chaos, and the secretary received a call from the president. "Hello? This is Kuroda... Mr. President... We've discovered that two sealed bottles of culture fluid are missing from the lab! Yes! I'll be right there!" Kuroda hung up the phone and said to Ash and the others, "The president and Max are together, and they're chasing the suspicious person!"
"What?! What if something happens to Max?!" May said, worried about Max.
"Don't worry! Max is with the president. He just called, which means they're okay. We should hurry and catch up!" Ash said, comforting May.
"I'll lead the way. I know a shortcut that can get us ahead of the culprit and trap him," Kuroda said.
Soon, on a balcony, the group who took the shortcut blocked the suspicious man. Max and President Stone then arrived, catching up to them.
"You're surrounded! I suggest you surrender and tell us who you are!" Ash said, looking at the man with a serious expression.
"Max, are you okay?" May asked, looking at Max with concern.
"I'm fine. This is my big sister, and that's Ash," Max said, scratching his head and introducing them.
"Is that so! It's nice to meet you!" President Stone greeted Ash and the others, then turned to the suspicious man. "Give us back the sealed bottles you stole."
"Hmph, it won't be that easy. Come on out, Corphish!" The suspicious man sent out a Corphish.
[Corphish]
[Strength: Gym-Level Peak]
"You're doing this, and you have a Corphish! It seems you're part of the Hoenn's dark organization, Team Aqua!" Ash said, analyzing the man.
"Pika~" Pikachu looked at the man seriously.
"Go, Pikachu! Volt Tackle!"
Pikachu was surrounded by electricity and charged at Corphish, knocking it down!
"Get up, Corphish! Use Crabhammer!"
Corphish's huge claw glowed white as it went to attack Pikachu.
"Double Team!" You have to remember, Pikachu is always improving!
Pikachu created many clones, dodging the Crabhammer.
"Pikachu, use..." Before he could finish, the Team Rocket trio showed up.
"Team Rocket! What are you doing here?" May shouted. They were in the middle of a heated battle! What a letdown.
"Since you're asking, we will answer! (Team Rocket's opening speech)..."
"You three, don't run away!" Just then, Officer Jenny showed up, chasing after them.
"Ah! She's here!" The Team Rocket trio hugged each other and shouted as they saw Officer Jenny.
"What in the world is going on here?" Officer Jenny asked, confused, as she looked at the situation.
"Hmph! Corphish, use Bubble Beam!"
"Pikachu, finish it with Electro Ball!"
Corphish fired a beam of foam from its claws at Pikachu. Pikachu gathered a yellow electric ball on its tail and threw it at Corphish!
Boom!! The Electro Ball flew out of the smoke, hitting and knocking out Corphish.
"Pikachu, finish it off with one more Thunderbolt!" "Pikachu"
Pikachu released a yellow electrical current that hit Corphish. Corphish was unable to battle!
"Curse you! Return, Corphish!" The Team Aqua member then tried to run towards a box.
Ash's Aura had been on him the whole time. "Don't move! Pikachu, Thunder Shock!"
"Pika~" "Ah!" The Team Aqua member was also knocked down by the electricity.
Officer Jenny went up and cuffed him. "You're under arrest!"
Afterward, the culture fluid was recovered and returned to President Stone.
The group went to the box and opened it to find a small rocket booster inside.
"Thank you so much, Ash! He would have gotten away otherwise, and we would have never gotten the culture fluid back," President Stone said gratefully.
"Oh, it was nothing. It was the right thing to do," Ash said modestly to President Stone. Then, his Aura sensed something from Team Rocket. "Hmm? Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Pikachu"
"This feels awful!" "Sonnans (???)~"
[Ding~ You have completed the achievement: First time defeating Team Aqua. Reward: 5x Small Rare Candy.]
Rare Candies?! Are they what I think they are?
[Ding~ Small Rare Candies can instantly raise a Pokémon's level by one (excluding the Elite Four's level cap). Medium Rare Candies can instantly raise a Pokémon's level by one (excluding the Champion's level cap). Large Rare Candies can instantly raise a Pokémon's level by one (excluding the Legendary Pokémon's level cap). Each Pokémon can only take one of each Rare Candy (Small, Medium, and Large) in its lifetime.]
"Ah! Seriously? The limits are so big. But without any limits, a regular Pokémon could defeat Arceus!" Ash was disappointed, but it also made sense.
Afterward, to show his gratitude, President Stone treated Ash and the others to a luxurious dinner. He then took out a Pokémon Egg and gave it to Ash. "Ash, consider this a token of my gratitude. Thank you so much for your help!"
"Oh! You're too kind," Ash said, looking at the Pokémon Egg. He was very interested but also a little embarrassed to take it.
"Haha, it's nothing. Steven actually gave me this Egg a while ago. He said he found it in the wild, so I'm just passing it on," President Stone said, trying to persuade Ash.
"Okay, I'll take good care of it," Ash said, accepting it after President Stone's persuasion.
"Oh, by the way, my son Steven is on Dewford Island. You should go meet him!" President Stone said with a smile.
Suddenly, May had a whim to check the information for Dewford Island on her PokéNav. President Stone quietly handed the PokéNav to Max, and Max successfully escaped from being found out.
Then, the group said goodbye to President Stone!
To be continued...