"Hmph! I don't believe you! Go, Spheal!" The boy sent out his Spheal, with a look that said, "Today, I will uphold justice."
The boy commanded, "Spheal, aim at those two thieves and use Water Gun on them!"
Spheal just clapped its flippers in place.
Ash and Max's mouths twitched. (?_?)...
(??w???) The boy was also embarrassed: "Spheal, not like that! You're supposed to use Water Gun!"
This time, Spheal seemed to understand and shot a jet of water at the boy, successfully washing his face for him. After it was done, Spheal continued to clap its flippers!
...
The boy shook his hair. "Fine, next, use Body Slam."
Spheal jumped up and body-slammed toward Ash and Max. Ash and Max immediately dodged, causing Spheal to crash into the wall behind them. It bounced back into the boy's arms and started acting all cute.
The boy was so flustered he was about to cry.
"I think their teamwork is really bad!" Max griped, speechless.
"The kid probably just became a trainer not too long ago!" Ash said, making an excuse for him. "Pikachu~" Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"In that case, Spheal, use Blizzard on them." The boy was still caught up in his hero fantasy and launched a powerful Ice-type move.
"Ralts, Teleport and then use Psychic to hold them still!" "Ralts~"
Spheal spewed a fierce blizzard. Ash and Max instantly teleported behind it to avoid the attack, and then used Psychic to restrain the boy and Spheal.
"Ah! How did this happen? Help! You bad guys!" the boy yelled.
"Stop!" Just then, a middle-aged man in a suit came out of the museum. Ash had already let them down.
"Curator Kusunoki!" the boy said in surprise. "These people are thieves! Please call Officer Jenny."
Ash and Max quickly explained to prevent the misunderstanding from getting worse, and they finally cleared it up.
"Oh, I see! You should have said so earlier. Hello, my name is Yosuke!" Yosuke introduced himself.
"We did say it earlier! You just didn't believe us and had Spheal attack us!" Max retorted.
"Ah?! I guess you're right! My bad, my bad!" Yosuke finally realized his mistake and quickly apologized.
"It seems your misunderstanding has been cleared up. My name is Kusunoki, and I'm the curator of this Sea Museum," Curator Kusunoki introduced himself.
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town. This is Pikachu and Ralts. Nice to meet you!"
"Pika Pikachu" "Ralts~"
"Hello, my name is Max."
"We had to close the museum temporarily today because of some unforeseen circumstances. But since you're here, I'll invite you in for a look." Curator Kusunoki invited them.
"That's awesome!" (´?`)? Max jumped for joy. They had the whole museum to themselves!
Curator Kusunoki took Ash and the others on a tour of the museum.
He introduced them: "By the way, I specialize in Pokémon marine science, and I also publish my research findings here."
Ash saw that the museum had many models of Water-type Pokémon, even a Wailord!
Curator Kusunoki explained: "If we use models, people can better understand Pokémon ecology."
"I see!" Max said, with a look of sudden realization.
"My favorite Pokémon is Goldeen. One day, I'm going to catch it and evolve it into a Gyarados," Yosuke said proudly.
Goldeen evolves into Gyarados??? Ash and Max were stunned.
"That's not right! It's Magikarp that evolves into Gyarados. Do you even know anything about Pokémon?" Max asked, puzzled.
"Hmph, you'll figure out those nit-picky details on the sea." Looks like he's another slacker.
Afterward, Yosuke showed Ash and Max a submarine model and said that the curator's shipyard was building it. It seems every slacker has a reason for not studying.
"By the way, Curator Kusunoki, why did you have to close the museum today?" Ash asked, puzzled.
"This..." The curator thought for a moment, then took Ash and Max to his workshop and picked up a box from the table. "It's because of this. This important material arrived last night, and in order to study it properly, I decided to close the museum temporarily today." Curator Kusunoki said, opening the box. Inside was a black stone.
"This looks like a burnt stone," Ash said, frowning.
"You're right. Although the time period isn't clear, this object must have been burned at very high temperatures in the deep sea."
Max was astonished. "Could something like that happen?"
"There are many possible reasons. It's possible that this wasn't formed naturally but was created by the power of a certain Pokémon."
Could it be Groudon and Kyogre?! Team Magma is probably on their way, Ash thought to himself.
Just then, a voice came from outside: "Cool, cool shaved ice."
"Want some delicious shaved ice, a specialty of Slateport City?"
"Shaved ice!" The two kids didn't want to move once they heard the word.
Curator Kusunoki suggested: "Perfect. You can all take a break and get some shaved ice. I'll pass; I need to get ready for my official research on this stone."
Afterward, Ash, Max, and Yosuke went to the shaved ice stand outside. "Come on, come on, welcome! Welcome!"
"Delicious and ice-cold shaved ice!"
Ash used his Aura to sense that it was Team Rocket. Thinking of Team Magma, Ash didn't want to get tangled up with them.
Ash walked over and whispered: "Team Rocket, you have two choices: one, get blasted off by me; two, don't cause trouble, and we'll pay you." "Pikapi" Pikachu's cheeks sparked with electricity when it heard they were Team Rocket.
The Team Rocket trio was stunned at first to be recognized, then they chose to play it safe and obediently made shaved ice for Ash. As they were eating the shaved ice, the museum was attacked by Team Magma.
Just as Ash had guessed, the stone was likely related to Groudon, so this time, it was led by Team Magma's operations unit leader, Tabitha, whom Ash had seen before! Although Curator Kusunoki tried to stop them, Team Magma used their Mightyena to create a smokescreen and took the opportunity to retreat with the stone.
As Team Magma was about to escape from the museum entrance, they ran into Ash and the two kids who had just finished their shaved ice!
Ash looked at their red uniforms. "Team Magma! And that stone! Don't even think about escaping! Leave the stone behind!" Ash blocked Team Magma's path.
"Hmph! You've got a death wish! Mightyena, use Tackle!" Tabitha said angrily when he saw Ash blocking them.
[Mightyena]
[Strength: Approaching Elite Four-level]
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" "Pika~" Pikachu's tail turned to steel and knocked Mightyena away.
"You brat! All of you, let's go, take him down!" Tabitha ordered, not wanting to waste any more time.
Just then, two more Mightyena appeared. Ash sent out Aggron and Corphish, using Stone Edge and Bubble Beam to distract Team Magma.
Ash went all out. "Pikachu, let's finish them off in one go!" Ash activated the Z-Ring on his wrist and put in the Electricium Z!
Ash and Pikachu performed their synchronized movements. "Gigavolt Havoc!" "Pika~"
A huge electric light burst from Pikachu's tiny fist. It sent all three Mightyena flying into Tabitha, and the stone dropped as well.
Tabitha didn't have time to pick up the stone. He recalled his Mightyena and immediately fled the scene, not forgetting to leave a final threat as he left: "Kid, I'll remember you! You're finished for daring to stop Team Magma!"
Ash shook his head and didn't give chase. He picked up the stone. He heard the sound of a helicopter from that direction, and he knew chasing them would be a disaster.
Just then, Curator Kusunoki ran over, and Ash returned the stone to him.
Curator Kusunoki took the stone and thanked him: "Thank you so much, Ash."
The curator then once again personally led Ash and Max on a tour of the remaining exhibits.
As they were saying goodbye, the curator said: "Ash, as a Pokémon Trainer, you should know what this is for! This is one of my early collections, and I'd like to give it to you!" The curator handed Ash a Mega Stone.
"Is that a Mega Stone?!" Max exclaimed.
"That's right. This should be a Swampertite. I hope you become a powerful Trainer," the curator said.
"But it's too valuable," Ash said.
"Take it. Team Magma wanted this stone, which means it's not a simple stone. If it weren't for you, Team Magma would have already stolen it. This is nothing in comparison!"
At the curator's urging, Ash accepted the Swampertite. Afterward, Ash and Max said goodbye to the curator and went to meet up with Brock and May.
To be continued...