Sceptile and Blaziken erupted into light, lighting up the empty streets as they both transformed into their Mega forms. They both stood across from each other.
May took the first move, "Blaziken, [Flare Blitz]!"
Blaziken immediately burst forward, its entire body becoming surrounded by flames as it launched itself across the battlefield.
Ash quickly countered, "Sceptile, [Detect]!"
Sceptile's eyes flashed, and at the last second, he twisted his body out of the way as Blaziken shot past, the flames barely missing his side.
But May smiled, "Now! [Brave Bird]!"
Blaziken dug her feet into the ground and immediately changed direction, launching herself back toward Sceptile with blue fire surrounding her body.
"Already?" Ash asked as he quickly countered, "[Leaf Blade]!"
Sceptile crossed his blades in front of himself just as Blaziken crashed into him. The impact sent a shockwave across the street, blowing dust and leaves away from the battlefield. Sceptile pushed against Blaziken as she pushed him back, making them both slide backward.
But May didn't stop. She was giving it all she had this time, "Blaziken, [Sky Uppercut]!" she called out as her eyes started slowly flickering.
Blaziken suddenly pulled back her arm and pushed forward, forcing Sceptile away before jumping upward. Her fist became surrounded by Fighting-type energy as she launched herself toward Sceptile.
Ash reacted instantly, "Sceptile, [Agility]!"
Sceptile vanished in a blur, moving out of the way just as Blaziken's fist struck the ground, creating a small crater.
"Now! [Leaf Blade]!"
Sceptile appeared behind Blaziken, his arm blades glowing bright green as he slashed downward.
"[Detect]!" May called out quickly.
Blaziken's eyes flashed as she quickly twisted her body, barely avoiding the attack. She landed on one foot before immediately spinning around.
"Now, [Blaze Kick]!" May continued.
Her leg ignited with flames as she swung upward, catching Sceptile in the side and sending him flying backward.
Sceptile flipped through the air, landing on one hand before pushing himself back onto his feet.
"Now, [Flare Blitz]!" May kept up the assault.
Blaziken surrounded herself in flames once more, charging straight toward Sceptile.
But Ash was watching, and he had gotten enough information. Now it was time to counterattack, "Sceptile, [Detect]!"
Sceptile braced himself, and when Blaziken got up close, he shot his hand out and caught Blaziken's foot as she came in with a kick. Then quickly, he jabbed down with his elbow, hitting her on the knee.
Blaziken grunted, then she ignited her leg, forcing Sceptile to let go, or he'd end up getting burned.
Ash put a hand on his waist and looked over at May, "You've gotten better."
May puffed out her chest, "What, trying to flatter me? I have been training hard. I might even be stronger than you now~"
Ash snorted, "Oh really? Is that what you think? Then clearly I've been too easy on you. Sceptile, show her."
Sceptile's eyes shined as he moved in a blur and appeared behind Blaziken, delivering a [Night Slash] to her back.
Blaziken staggered forward, then Blaziken tried spinning to send a [Blaze Kick] into Sceptile's head, but when she did, the place where Sceptile was standing was empty, and she just kicked the ground.
Sceptile reappeared back at his original spot and was charging energy into his arm blades.
And while this was going on, the light and fighting finally alerted the people in the house. Max was the first to run out, and looking over the porch, he saw May and Ash fighting.
"Hey, May and Ash are having a battle!" Max called out to everyone inside.
"Wait, really? Why didn't they tell us?" Brendan cried out as he ran next to Max to watch.
"Oh, let's enjoy the show, everyone," Caroline said warmly, looking at all the guests and pushing everyone to go and watch. After all, it was their own personal show they got to watch while eating.
Norman meanwhile had already stopped outside before Caroline pushed him out, and he watched the battle happen with his arms crossed.
But Ash and May didn't seem to notice right now. Well, May didn't because she was putting all her focus into this battle, so much that her eyes were now glowing blue again as she activated 'that' again, giving Blaziken a power boost.
Ash meanwhile noticed it and activated his Resonance, making his eyes glow bright red too, and Sceptile let out a cool breath.
Then both Ash and May called out.
"Sceptile, [Leaf Blade]!"
"Blaziken, [Flare Blitz]!"
Sceptile dashed across the street, both blades cutting through the air, while Blaziken became a blazing missile of fire, and they ran at each other. Again, Sceptile raised his blade hands, blocking Blaziken.
But this time, Sceptile twisted his body, using the momentum of the collision to slide around her and push her forward with his blade hands.
Ash called, "[X-Scissor]!"
Sceptile crossed his glowing blades into an X and sliced Blaziken in the back. Then, when Sceptile was going to go in for another one, May finally reacted to the second attack, "[Detect]!"
Her eyes flashed, and she moved just enough for the attack to miss a direct hit.
But this time, Ash saw right through it, "Now, [Dragon Tail]!"
Sceptile planted his feet and immediately swung his tail, and Blaziken was focusing too much on Sceptile's hands that she didn't expect the tail to come in and send Blaziken into the ground.
Blaziken hit the ground hard, sliding across the street before catching herself with one hand and pushing back up. For a moment, she stayed there, breathing heavily.
May stared at her, then smiled, "Still standing?"
Blaziken looked back and gave a thumbs up, making May smile in relief, "Good."
Ash smiled too, "That's the Blaziken and May I know."
May clenched her fist, "Don't think that means I'm done!"
Her eyes flashed again, the blue glow becoming stronger for a moment as she pushed herself further, "Blaziken, [Close Combat]!"
Blaziken exploded forward, moving faster than before. She threw a barrage of punches and kicks, each one carrying all the strength she had left.
Ash quickly countered, "Sceptile, [Detect]!"
Sceptile's eyes flashed, and he started weaving between every strike as Blaziken continued attacking.
But May didn't stop, "Now! [Blaze Kick]!"
Her leg ignited as she spun, aiming directly for Sceptile.
Ash reacted instantly, "Sceptile, not this time. Block with [Brutal Swing]!"
Sceptile's eyes flashed, then he brought his tail down, using it to clash against Blaziken's foot, and that forced Blaziken to jump back quickly.
But this time, it was time for Ash to go aggressive, "[Scale Shot], then [Leaf Storm]!"
Sceptile took off running toward Blaziken as he threw out multiple purple scales toward her. Blaziken dodged some and blocked others, but some still hit her.
But then the leaves appeared and started spiraling.
But what made it worse was that the scales got packed up and were added into the tornado, starting to chip away at her too, one after the other.
May saw this, then took a breath and called, "[Overheat]!"
Blaziken charged fire around herself, causing all the fire and scales to burn up into nothing but ash, and now she looked at Sceptile.
"Fine, Blaziken, give it everything you have, [Temper Flare]!" May cried out, letting out all her built-up emotion into it.
The fire around Blaziken grew bigger as she let out a cry into the air, and then she ran directly at Sceptile. Technically, since the last move she used didn't work, that meant this move got stronger.
Ash meanwhile watched and smiled, "Alright, May, you really have gotten better. I'm glad. You really are ready to go on your own." But then he shot his hand out, "But that doesn't mean you can beat me. [Dragon Rush]!"
Sceptile's blades extended and became bright purple, then his body was covered in purple energy, and he ran forward, meeting Blaziken halfway there.
They clashed again. Blaziken was crying out as loud as she could, while Sceptile narrowed his eyes and pushed forward. They both gave it everything they had in this last push.
Meanwhile, May was still trying hard, trying to give Blaziken as much energy as she could. She didn't know how the thing that Kyogre left her worked. Even with Spenser's training, it didn't help all that much. She just knew how to push herself to give her Pokémon more power, and that's what she was doing here.
She was just trying to give enough. She was pushing so hard that she clenched her eyes and teeth, just trying to give a little more.
But then she felt a hand fall on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked back. It was Norman. He didn't say anything to her. He just stood there, leaving his hand on her shoulder, but that was enough.
May felt a lump in her throat, and that look Norman was giving her was everything. She wasn't strong enough. Even with her pushing past her limits here, she couldn't. But that wasn't a bad thing. It also meant that she had to let go.
May's fists finally unclenched, and she looked down, while Blaziken's strength finally gave out. Sceptile pushed through, slashing down in an X motion, knocking her out of her Mega form and sending her flying back to the ground by May's feet.
Norman watched and raised his voice so the others could hear, "Blaziken is unable to battle, so Ash and Sceptile win."
The group on the porch gave a round of applause. Meanwhile, May looked down at Blaziken and went to her knee, rubbing her head.
"You did great. It's okay, just get some rest," she said softly before returning her to the Poké Ball.
Then she stood up and looked over at Norman. Norman looked at her and gave her a proud smile, putting a hand on her shoulder before pulling her in for a hug.
As he did, Norman looked back, giving Caroline a look. Caroline understood that look and quickly caught everyone's attention, "Well, after a great battle like that, how about we get some dessert? I have a cake in the oven, come on!" she said, practically ushering everyone back inside.
Norman meanwhile patted May on the head and pulled back. Taking some steps back, he went to go inside, letting May do her thing here,
Ash meanwhile walked up to May, while Sceptile followed him for now. Ash noticed the way May was acting right now, "Hey, May, you good?"
May turned to him, but her head was down. Her shoulders shook slightly, then she looked up and had a smile on her face.
"Ha, well, guess after all that I wasn't strong enough to beat you, huh?" she said as her eyes were kinda glossy.
She gave a small smile as she looked down again, "To be honest, the request I was gonna ask for was if you could come with me to Johto and keep traveling with me. I don't know if I'm ready to go do things on my own, but I guess I couldn't win to ask, huh?" she said while still keeping her smile.
But Ash noticed and pulled out a handkerchief, raising it to wipe May's cheek
"Hey, May," he said gently, "I know it's kinda scary to go on after we've been together through this whole adventure, but you're stronger than even you think. And I know that even without me, you're going to go and be the best."
May froze slightly, then looked down, kinda ashamed, "But...it's just, I…"
"May," Ash interrupted her, "You said before, if I remember what I told you, I always did, and I still mean it. Even if we're far away, I'm always gonna be in your corner cheering you on. So cheer up. We can't have our Top Coordinator looking sad, can we?"
May's lips slowly twitched, forming into a small smile, "I really hate how you can say thoughtful things, but when we get in there, you're probably gonna gloat about how you beat me…"
Ash gave her a smirk back, "Hey, I have to keep up appearances. I have a reputation as a pain in the butt to uphold, remember?"
"Yeah, I do," May said nostalgically, remembering that was almost exactly what Ash said when they started traveling with each other.
"Plus, that reminds me. This," Ash said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out something: a ribbon. Specifically, May's Grand Festival ribbon.
It was what May had actually given Ash on Christmas. Of course, she still had the trophy in her room, but May had tried to give Ash the ribbon.
May saw it and immediately crossed her arms, "No, don't even try to give it back. I want you to have it. You're the one that helped me the most. I wouldn't have won if you weren't here."
Ash chuckled, "May, I already told you, you could have done it without me. I just helped push what was already there. But if you insist, I have a better idea."
Ash said as he threw the ribbon into the air. May quickly looked up after it, and Sceptile quickly moved up and gave one clean slice. Then, when it fell, Ash caught it again, and she saw Sceptile had cut it perfectly in half.
Ash took one piece and held out the other to May, "Here. And this way we can both remember. Plus, we can say it's only complete with the other. How about it?"
May looked at Ash, then at the half of the ribbon. She let out a snort and a laugh, "I can't believe you, haha. You're an idiot." But she still reached out and slowly took the other half, holding it, "Fine, okay. I'll keep it safe, so you better do it too, okay?"
"Promise," Ash smiled as he clenched his hand around the ribbon.
"Oh yeah, by the way, you won, so what's your request?" May asked.
Ash smirked, "Well, I can't really think of one right now, sooo I think I'll save it for now. Plus…"
Ash poked May's nose, "That means we have to meet again, so we can both look forward to it."
May blinked, surprised by what Ash did, but slowly she smiled, "Yeah...that sounds like something you'd say. Alright, next time. And there will be a next time, got it?"
"Sure. Now let's get back in before people get suspicious," Ash said as he went over to where he dropped off his bag and picked it up. Checking inside, he saw Pikachu and Vee both laying there, napping after going into a small food coma.
He picked it up and put it on his back, "Let's go."
But before that, May quickly ran up to him, "One more thing." She gave Ash one more hug hugging him tightly, "Thank you, for being you."
—
The night ended with everyone heading home, and like usual, Brock and Ash were pretty much dragged to stay the night, so they had to oblige. But everyone agreed to meet somewhere because May told everyone about how she was finally going to go on her own, and her ship would leave tomorrow, so everyone agreed to go and see her off.
So the next day, Ash used Gardevoir to go pick everyone up, and they met up over at the docks on Route 104.
May stood there looking at the cruise ship that was going to Johto as she held her ticket in her hand. She looked back at everyone and smiled, "So I guess this is it."
"Yeah, we're all going our own way," Wally said softly, but he still gave a smile, "May, good luck."
May smiled, "Thanks, Wally." She still felt a bit nervous, so she quickly tried to make a little small talk before she had to leave, like she was hoping that as long as they kept talking, the world would slow down, "How about you guys?"
Wally scratched the back of his head, "Um, well, I'm gonna go back home for a bit, but, um, I kinda already have plans to go somewhere else. It's a new place called the Battle Resort."
"Wow, that sounds cool, and it makes sense. You've got to get stronger. I respect it," Brendan said with a nod. Then he crossed his arms, "As for me, I'm finally gonna go home and get my Professor license. It's about time, and hey, who says I can't keep having fun while doing it?"
Max meanwhile was trying to stay strong and not let this goodbye affect him, "Well, obviously I'm gonna stay here and start training so I can go on my own journey. Then I'll become super strong and take over Dad's Gym!"
Yeah, Max wasn't going with May. May insisted that he stay here. And let's just say, last night he nearly cried himself to sleep. After all, he'd been traveling and having so much fun for so long, it was hard to say goodbye. Plus, his plan wasn't done yet.
And as he tried to stay strong, Ash rubbed his head, making Max finally let go and hug Ash around the waist, "But I don't want it to end, Big Bro Ash."
Ash rubbed his head, "Hey, all things have to end, but it's not like this is the last time. How about it? Next time we meet, and after you become a strong trainer, let's meet up again and have a battle."
Max pulled back, still sniffling, "Do I get to ask for one favor like May tried to do if I win?" he said, and that made May blush, looking embarrassed.
But Ash didn't flinch. He rubbed Max's head, "Alright, if you win, I'll do one request."
Max pulled back and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, "Then I'll become the strongest and beat you!" Max said determinedly. The plan wasn't over yet. There was still hope.
Norman smiled and went to rub Max's head, "Okay, then I guess that means I'll have no choice but to put you through intense training if you ever want to have a chance against Ash."
Max nodded, "Okay!" and that made everyone let out a soft chuckle.
And that left Brock now. He scratched his cheek and sighed, "Well...I wanted to tell you this, but I never had a good time to do it, so...I guess now's as good a time as any."
Brock took a breath, "Ash, ever since I met you, you've always been amazing, and you've inspired me to be better too. For a while, I didn't know what I wanted to do after the whole Breeder stuff, but even then, you never tried to push me to do something I didn't want to. You supported me anyway."
He looked down at his hands, then down at his Poké Balls, "All I knew is that I loved helping Pokémon, and I wanted to do something for them. But being with you made me understand that what I do doesn't matter. What does is that I do something I want to do."
He reached into his bag and pulled out a Happiny Egg in an incubator, "So, I talked to Rose, and she helped me get set up. I'm going to be a Pokémon Doctor, and I'm even gonna keep being a breeder, and I'll keep running the Gym, at least until Forrest is old enough to take over. And this time, it's what I want to do, and I wouldn't have understood any of it if it wasn't for you, Ash."
"So Ash, I may not be going to Sinnoh with you, but the time I spent with you made me understand what I want to do. So thank you, and you'll always be like a brother to me."
Ash heard everything he said. He was slightly surprised since he thought Brock would have wanted to go and become a Pokémon Doctor after Sinnoh, but he understood, and he smiled. Walking up, he held his hand out,
"Brock, I understand, and you've always been like the brother I never had. I'll never forget you, you Big Oaf."
Brock returned it, clasping hands with Ash, and then May couldn't stop herself. She moved up to them and hugged them both, and slowly Max joined in. Then Wally got pulled in by Brendan as they all gave each other a group hug.
When May pulled back, Caroline and Norman pulled her into a hug too, "May, you'll always be our superstar," Caroline said, putting a hand on May's cheek, "And we'll always be here cheering for you."
Norman nodded, "And if you ever need help, or just someone to talk to, we'll always be here. We love you."
May hugged them back, "I love you guys too…"
Max also ran in and hugged May's waist, making May smile and hug him too, "I'll miss you too, Max."
Max tried to play it cool, "Who cares? Just make sure you call, okay?" And that made May smile.
Then the ship's horn whistled, and May pulled back and quickly waved at everyone before running to the ship. When she got on, she went to the edge to look off, and she kept waving at everyone as the ship sailed off, finally leaving everyone's view.
And now, the journey was over, and it was bittersweet. But everyone was still happy, and hey, this was just hello for another time.
—
A few days later, after May left, Ash offered everyone a drop-off home, and after everyone got home safely, Ash went to his own home. Of course, his friends from school weren't there since school was out, but it would start up soon.
And when he got home, Delia and Molly quickly ran up to greet him and celebrate with him again.
And that's how he spent the last 3 days, helping out in the restaurant and chilling with Molly. After all, he kinda had to wait for May 22 for his birthday so he could actually get his trainer license for Sinnoh. Plus, Dawn and Barry aren't even gonna start then; they're starting next month, so Ash had to do a whole lot of waiting. Not much to do.
Not even Liko and the gang texted him to ask for his help with anything. He considered going over to Damian to expand the Tauros stuff, but he thought against it. He already gave Damian everything he could use.
Oh yeah, speaking of which, Mauville Holdings was officially revived, and after the incident where Mauville Holdings was the main place where people went, plus all the extra funding Mr. Stone gave them, Mauville Holdings was back and better than ever.
And since Ash had to get them to start working, he already set them up to start developing stuff. Now, Devon Corporation had the monopoly on a lot of things, and Silph Co. wasn't that far behind. In fact, they were rivals, but that wasn't a story for right now.
With Ash's knowledge and the things he stole, Ash created some things to start producing. The first of many things: a robotics department, specifically focusing on working to make nanotech to help the medical industry and prosthetic limbs.
Now, part of that was also because of the whole Zinnia situation. If he could get that stuff working, it would help her walk again faster. Because while the physical therapy was helping, it was not fast. You need to remember her spine was completely severed. The fact that Ash managed to reconnect it was a miracle itself, but walking...that would take a long time.
And hey, even if she could walk before it was done, it could still help a lot of people.
Oh, and if you're asking where he was getting the plans, you do remember he had future tech, right? All that Paradox tech really helped. Which reminded him, he would also make just robots, specifically for the space expeditions. He still needed to look into that, and explorer robots would do just that.
Sure, this world was pretty advanced considering they had Pokémon and all that. I mean, they had flying cars and stuff, but they were behind in some other ways, so Ash could take advantage of that.
But that was something for later, and it had to be developed. It probably wouldn't take too long, though. As soon as Ash showed Wattson the plans, he nearly exploded with excitement and got to work. All that was missing was for him to get muscular, and we'd get a Kaseki.
But I mean, he really doesn't need to. That man is married. Ash met his wife, and she invited Ash to join them for dinner, so clearly he was doing something right.
Anyway, today was another day. He walked out of his room stretching. Pikachu and Vee were napping, and actually, in the center of the room was Riolu, who was hanging there after getting wrapped up in web by Pikachu. Since last night Riolu wasn't going to sleep and wanted to fight them, Pikachu just wrapped him up, and Vee hung him up from the ceiling.
Ash would deal with that later. Right now, he went to brush his teeth and go have breakfast. But after he finished his morning routine and put on a black shirt, walking downstairs, he walked into the living room where Green and Gary were sitting with Molly.
Ash walked past them, then stopped, he slowly turned and had to do a double take, realizing Green and Gary were here.
"Morning, Ashy~" Green said as Molly was sitting on her lap.
Ash sighed, rubbing his temple, "Do I even want to ask what you guys are doing in my house so early?"
"Wow, not even gonna say hello," Gary said, leaning back on the couch with a smirk, "I mean, I came back just to talk to you."
"Gary, dude, if it was just you, I'd get it and hear you out, but Green is with you," Ash pointed out.
Green looked offended for half a second, then stopped and thought about it, "No, wait, you have a point. I wouldn't trust me either."
"Okay, so where is my mom, by the way? And I guess, why are you guys here?" Ash said, walking to the kitchen and putting some bread in the toaster while he got some eggs to cook.
"Oh, make me something too," Green raised her hand.
"Me too, Big Brother," Molly said, raising her hand and copying Green.
"Aight," Ash said, getting more eggs.
"So, Delia said she was going to run some errands, so she let us come in to take care of Molly," Gary started explaining.
"Okay, so why did you guys come over? You said you went to Sinnoh, so if you're back, you clearly want something," Ash said as he put a pan on the stove.
"Well, you're kinda right, but it was more—"
Green cut in, thinking this was taking too long, "He wants to ask if you're down for another journey, with the three of us?"
"Green!" Gary called out, and Green looked like she regretted nothing.
"Huh, really?" Ash said, "I mean, I guess I'm down, but for what?"
"Um, okay. Remember when I said I had to go to Orre to do some stuff? Well, I kinda never finished," Gary admitted.
"So he wants to see if we can all go together and hang out again," Green finished.
Ash sighed, "Of course it's Orre." He really didn't want to think about it more than he had to. Since he saw some Cipher grunts before, he knew Cipher might be a problem, but he also knew life had a way of kicking him in the balls.
Besides, he had nothing to do, so might as well. It shouldn't take too long since it was the three of them, and Ash knew they hadn't just been sitting down and doing nothing for months.
So he sighed. Might as well finish this before it becomes a problem later, "Alright, an adventure with just us, I can get behind that. When do we go?" Ash said as he placed a plate of eggs on the counter
----
You thought we where going to SInnoh right away? you probably though i forgot the build up for Orre, I never forget anything, so its time for a subplot
Volume 4.5 Orre