The group finally arrived at Floaroma Town, and as the name suggested, it was completely covered in all sorts of beautiful and colorful flowers.
"Whoa! We made it to Floaroma Town!" Dawn said first as they walked into town, where it looked like a festival was going on.
"Amazing! It lives up to its name all right," Verity added as they walked past a flower shop.
Dawn pulled out her little book and flipped through it before finding the chapter on the town, "The city boasts many impressive flower stores, such as Pick a Peck of Colors Flower Shop. Ohhh, we should visit that one!"
"Sure, I don't mind, but shouldn't we get you to the contest hall so you can sign up?" Ash reminded her. After all, that's why they came here.
Dawn blinked, then quickly looked down at her book, "Oh! Right! The contest!"
She immediately started walking faster, practically dragging the other two along with her, "Come on, we have to find the Contest Hall!"
Ash chuckled as he followed, "Someone's suddenly motivated."
"I've been motivated this entire time!"
"Uh-huh."
"I have!"
Verity smiled as she walked beside them, "You were literally talking about honey five minutes ago."
"That was important too!"
Ash grinned, "Of course it was."
Dawn puffed her cheeks, but she quickly returned her attention to her book, "Okay, according to this, the Contest Hall should be somewhere near the center of town."
She looked up, then looked around, then looked back down at the book, "...Which way is the center?"
Ash and Verity gave her a blank look as Dawn slowly hid her face in her booklet. Ash took the map from her and checked. Verity looked over his shoulder too, and then, in unison, they both pointed to the same spot, "There."
"Alright, let's go!" Dawn said immediately, trying to walk forward again, pretending like she didn't embarrass herself.
Dawn immediately started walking in the direction they had pointed, holding her booklet up in front of her face as if that would somehow erase what had just happened.
Ash walked beside her with a grin, "You know, you can admit you had no idea where you were going."
"I knew where I was going."
"You literally asked which way the center of town was."
"I was confirming it."
Verity snorted, "That's one way to describe it."
Dawn lowered the booklet and glared at both of them, "Are you two planning on being annoying the entire day?"
Ash smiled innocently, "Probably."
"Definitely," Verity added.
Dawn groaned, "Great. I'm traveling with idiots."
Ash put a hand over his chest, "Wow. After everything I've done for you?"
"You're the worst one!"
"See? Sass queen is back."
Dawn's cheeks puffed up, "Stop calling me that!"
Verity laughed, "Nah, it fits you."
"You're supposed to be on my side!"
"I am on your side."
"Then why are you agreeing with him?!"
"Because I'm on the side that gets me tortured less," Verity said honestly.
"See, she's smart. This is why she won't get training later tonight," Ash said.
Verity pumped her fist, "Worth it."
Dawn blinked, "Wait, doesn't that sound—" she was gonna say, but Ash put a finger up and shushed her.
"Give her a sec," Ash said.
And after about a good five seconds, Verity's eyes widened and she turned red, "Wait—"
"There it is," Ash nodded as he started walking, pulling Dawn with him.
Verity yelled from behind, "Don't say it like that!"
Ash laughed as they continued through town, occasionally glancing around at the colorful flowers covering nearly every available patch of ground. There were flower stalls lining the streets, little baskets hanging from windows, and even several Pokémon wearing flower crowns while their Trainers walked around with them.
Dawn's eyes practically sparkled as she looked around, "Oh my gosh, look at that!"
She suddenly darted toward a nearby stall.
Ash blinked, "Dawn?"
Verity followed her with her eyes, "And she's gone."
Ash sighed dramatically, "We lost her."
"No, we didn't," Verity said, pulling him along to go after her.
Dawn was already halfway to the stall, "Look at all these!"
Ash and Verity caught up with her and found Dawn staring at a collection of colorful flower accessories.
There were hair clips, ribbons, bracelets, little flower crowns, and even some decorative pins shaped like Pokémon.
Dawn picked up a small pink flower clip and held it against her hair, "What do you think?"
Verity tilted her head, "Looks nice."
Dawn smiled, "Really?"
"Yeah."
Dawn then turned toward Ash, "What about you?"
Ash looked over from where he was looking. He looked at her, then moved past her back to the stall and picked up a royal-blue flower pin, then put it against Dawn's hair, "This one matches better."
Ash held the royal-blue flower pin against Dawn's hair for a moment, tilting his head as he examined it, "Yeah, definitely this one. It brings out your eyes."
Dawn blinked, her cheeks turning slightly pink, "My...eyes?"
"Yeah." Ash nodded casually.
Dawn quickly cleared her throat and looked away, suddenly very interested in the other flowers on the stall, "W-Well...I guess it does look nice."
Ash smiled, "Knew you'd like it."
Verity looked at Dawn, rubbing her chin, "Yeah, I think it looks cute. Didn't think Ash had good taste like that."
"Hey, I take offense to that. Just so you know, I could pull off anything if I really wanted to," Ash said, putting a hand on his chest.
"Sure you could," Verity said sarcastically. She did not believe that at all.
Ash got a smile, "Can I get that in writing? I just want this moment to be remembered when I prove you wrong."
"You know what? Sure, because there is no way you can do it," Verity said smugly, but for some reason, she felt like something somewhere in the universe was trying to kick her. Meh, probably nothing.
Meanwhile, Dawn huffed and turned back toward the stall, still holding the flower clip, "How much is this one?"
Dawn pulled out her card before the shopkeeper even finished telling her the price, pulling out her card and just buying it immediately.
Verity raised an eyebrow, "You're actually buying it?"
"Of course I am."
"You've already got like twelve accessories."
"Thirteen."
"...You counted?"
"Obviously."
Ash snorted, "She's serious about her accessories."
Dawn proudly held up the flower clip, "A Coordinator has to look good." Dawn then glanced at the royal-blue pin still resting against her hair, "What about this one?"
The shopkeeper gave her another price. Dawn simply nodded and bought that one too.
Verity raised an eyebrow, "You're buying both?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Because I like them."
Verity stared at her for a second, "You know, normal people usually have to think about whether they can afford something."
Dawn blinked, "...Do they?"
Verity felt like deflating again, "Why do I even try with you both? Just standing here makes me feel more broke."
"We're not that bad," Dawn said.
"Dawn, that scarf you're wearing probably cost more than my outfit," Verity said, pointing accusingly.
Dawn was about to tell her how much it actually cost, but Ash stopped her and shook his head, making Dawn look like she bit into a lemon.
Verity sighed, "Just demoralizing sometimes, but whatever. Who am I to tell you guys what to do with your money?" she said, looking away from the stall.
Dawn looked at her, then at the second bow, and got an idea and a smirk. She quickly got behind Verity and quickly took out her hairband, "Ash, help me out here!" she called out.
"Wait, what?!" Verity said, but it was too late. Ash got the idea and he joined in, helping Dawn, and despite Verity's struggling, it was no use.
Then, by the time they stepped back, Verity blinked and looked up, only to see her ponytail style was moved, letting her hair down and tying it together with the flower pin.
"There, it looks better on you anyway," Dawn said with a thumbs up.
Ash leaned against her and copied her gesture, "And you look better with your hair down anyway, so it's a net positive."
Verity stared at them both for a few seconds, completely frozen as she slowly reached up and touched her hair, "...My hair."
Dawn smiled proudly, "Yep!"
"You two just changed my hair without asking!"
Ash shrugged, "You were complaining about being broke, so we decided to give you something for free."
"That doesn't make any sense!"
"It makes perfect sense."
"No, it doesn't!"
Dawn giggled, "Come on, Verity, it looks cute!"
Verity turned toward one of the nearby shop windows, using the glass to look at her reflection. She stared at herself for a moment, slowly turning her head from side to side, "...Huh."
Ash grinned, "See?"
Verity continued staring at her reflection, clearly trying not to admit it, "...It does look kind of nice."
Dawn immediately pointed at her, "Aha!"
Verity quickly turned around, "But I'm still mad!"
Ash laughed, "Sure you are."
"I am!"
"You're smiling."
Verity immediately covered her mouth, "I'm not smiling."
"You were."
"No, I wasn't."
Dawn giggled, "You totally were."
Verity groaned and covered her face, "Why did I agree to travel with you two?"
"Cuz you refused to go on your own unless I came so we could hang out," Ash said, and Verity could quite literally not jab back, since it was true.
Verity sighed, but she couldn't help looking at her hair again.
"...I guess I'll keep it like this for today."
Dawn smiled, "See? I knew you'd like it!"
Verity pointed at her, "Don't get too proud. I'm only keeping it because it actually looks good."
Ash nodded seriously, "That's all we needed to hear."
Verity narrowed her eyes, "What?"
Ash grinned, "Nothing."
Dawn looked between them suspiciously, "What are you planning?"
"Nothing."
"That's what you always say before something happens."
Ash shrugged, "That's because something always happens."
Verity sighed, "Great."
Dawn suddenly looked back toward the street, "Oh! Wait, the Contest Hall!"
Ash blinked, "Oh yeah."
Dawn's eyes widened, "We were supposed to be going there!"
Verity looked at the flower stall, "We've been here for, like, twenty minutes."
Dawn looked horrified, "Twenty minutes?!"
Ash nodded, "Yep."
"We have to go!" Dawn said, but she stopped when her stomach grumbled, "Oh, but I really wanted to go try that honey…"
Ash sighed, "Okay, how about you go take Verity with you and I'll go get some, and a few sweets?"
"Really!" Dawn lit up, "Alright, meet us at the Contest Hall," Dawn said, not even letting Verity cut in.
She just grabbed Verity's hand and ran off quickly, leaving Ash behind. From his bag, Pikachu and Vee popped their heads out and looked at him, like they were asking if he wanted them to go with her.
Ash shrugged, "If you want, but if you do, you won't get first dibs on the honey I buy," Ash said as he started walking, and immediately Pikachu and Vee looked at each other and ran after Ash.
Then again, it is about time for that, huh? Hmm, he wondered how he should deal with that...nuisance.
—
A bit later, Dawn and Verity walked out of the Contest Hall, with Dawn having a pep in her step. Now that she was officially signed up, tomorrow was the contest, so she was looking forward to it and already thinking about who she should use.
"You look excited," Verity pointed out.
"Well, duh. I'm gonna get my second ribbon. I want to go and practice right away," Dawn pumped her fist, but then her stomach grumbled and she looked embarrassed, "But maybe that can wait until Ash comes back and we taste the honey," she said sheepishly.
When she said that, the ball on her waist opened, and out came Pachirisu, who jumped out, then jumped on Dawn's shoulder like she was looking for something.
"Oh, hey, Pachirisu. Did you wake up? Are you looking for Pikachu? He and Ash left, so they're not here, but now that you're here, we can train. Are you ready?!" Dawn said happily.
But Pachirisu pouted, and as she puffed up her cheeks, she started glowing blue, making Dawn's face fall, "Oh no." She looked over, but Verity already dived out of the way.
Dawn was lit up and made a little extra crispy, with her hair going up like a hedgehog again, while Pachirisu laughed, falling on her back.
"Pachirisu…" Dawn said helplessly. She looked over, seeing Verity as she was trying desperately not to laugh.
Dawn reached down to her bag to get a comb to fix her hair, but then she heard a familiar voice that made her spine tingle.
"Yo, I thought I recognised that voice. What's up, Dee Dee?"
She slowly turned around, and walking up was exactly who she thought it was. Walking up was Kenny, her old childhood friend, and technically Verity too, since they all grew up in Twinleaf Town.
"I told you not to call me that!" Dawn immediately said, brushing her hair down. Then she huffed and crossed her arms.
"Not my fault you embarrassed yourself back then," Kenny shrugged with a smirk. Then he looked over, saw Verity, gave her an acknowledging nod, then went back to Dawn.
"So, long time no see, Dee Dee."
Dawn's eye twitched, "Kenny..."
"What? I gotta make up for lost time." Kenny laughed, "Besides, you still get that same look on your face whenever someone calls you that."
"Why do you have to call me that when I tell you not to?!" Dawn said, waving her hands.
"Because," Kenny said, leaving it at that. Then he looked over to Verity, "Remember when we were kids and Dawn got lost trying to find her way home from the lake?" he said, like he was trying to get her on his side.
Dawn's face immediately went red, "I-I wasn't lost!"
"You walked in a circle for almost an hour."
"I was exploring!"
Verity covered her mouth, trying not to laugh, "Oh my gosh, I remember that!"
Dawn turned toward her, "Verity, don't encourage him!"
Kenny laughed, "And remember when she tried to catch that Starly with a butterfly net?"
Dawn's face went even redder, "That was a perfectly reasonable idea!"
"It flew away with the net."
"I know!"
"And then you chased it across the entire field."
"It had my net!"
Verity couldn't help herself anymore and giggled, "You really did that."
Dawn groaned and covered her face, "Why do you both remember everything?!"
Kenny shrugged, "Because it was funny."
"It's not funny!"
"Oh, come on, Dee Dee."
Dawn flinched again, and Verity's smile slowly fell when she noticed that reaction.
Kenny didn't seem to notice. He just continued, "You always got embarrassed so easily. Even back then."
Dawn lowered her hands slightly, her face still bright red, "Kenny..."
"And you still do that thing where you puff your cheeks when you're annoyed."
Dawn's cheeks puffed up involuntarily.
Kenny immediately pointed at her, "See?! That!"
Verity let out a little laugh, but this time it wasn't because it was funny. It was more helpless, like she laughed cuz she had to because this was a little excessive. Sure, she teased Dawn too with the Dee Dee thing, but when she told her to stop, she stopped. This was a little excessive.
"Uhh, Kenny," Verity tried saying, but Kenny ignored her.
He continued, even as Verity was trying to get him to stop now too, "Oh, another thing, remember—"
—
{With Ashtwo}
D walked back into base, well, the makeshift base that they were working with since the Sinnoh branch wasn't that well off. Granted, they were in a better financial situation due to someone like Carr not blowing the budget on random things, so a base was being constructed and would probably be done in a week or so.
Anyway, when he walked in, the few people around nodded at him. There were a few people since, remember, it was just the people part of the Matori Matrix that came first. The actual first wave would arrive probably later today or tomorrow.
Anyway, he walked to Matori's office without knocking, and she didn't even look up. She knew only one person here would enter her office without knocking. She put some paperwork aside and looked up at D.
"Well?" she asked.
D went into his jacket pocket and pulled out some pictures, "Here is all the people of note I could find at the Valley, just as the Boss asked, and don't worry, no one there knows it was me." Technically, not a lie. How would they know him? He took them all down in the dark.
Matori nodded. She believed D and took the pictures. Where, on the stack, the two on the top were Mars and Hunter J. Her eyes stopped for just a moment over the picture, but then she put it to the side and looked at D.
"Good work. The Boss will be pleased. I will send them to him immediately. You can go and get some rest," Matori said.
D nodded and turned and walked out of the door. Matori didn't say anything more this time. She let out the breath she was holding, then looked back at the picture.
It couldn't be...right?
She immediately opened her computer and used the teleport to send all the pictures to Giovanni's desk.
On the other side, all the way in Kanto, Giovanni was sitting in his chair with Ariana nearby. They were talking about Silver just now, but when the stack appeared, they stopped.
Giovanni looked at it, and he didn't even need to pick up the stack, because the one on the very top confirmed what he was looking for. Nearby, Ariana had a cup of champagne, but when she looked over, her hand slipped and the glass shattered on the floor. Slowly, she covered her mouth.
Giovanni slowly picked up the picture, and there was exactly what he feared: that same girl he remembered when she was little, those same eyes, and that same Pokémon she had. It was her, Scarlet, his daughter.
---
{Omake story - Giovanni's Broken Family}
Giovanni's family consisted of his wife, Ariana, and his son, Silver, at least, that is what he told Professor Oak.
But actually, there was another member of this family before Silver. They had a daughter. Her name was Scarlet. She was perfect, and she had her mother's bright red hair, and Giovanni's eyes
They didn't tell Oak about her as they did with Silver because, at the time, Scarlet was too old. With Silver, he could blend in with the new class, but Scarlet couldn't just be placed into any class without raising suspicion.
So, while Silver went to Pallet Town, Scarlet stayed with them. But that didn't mean they didn't love her. They did their best to balance raising Scarlet with their work in Team Rocket, which was easier since Team Rocket was in hiding at the time.
Unfortunately, because of their circumstances, Scarlet never got to meet Silver when he was a baby, so Silver has no idea she even exists. They had planned to tell him once his Pokémon journey started, but… something happened.
Scarlet wanted to be a Pokémon trainer, and Giovanni and Ariana supported her unconditionally. Giovanni even trained her personally so she would be as prepared as possible, and Ariana got her the perfect Pokémon, a Glameow, cute and strong just like her.
When the time finally came for Scarlet to leave on her journey, she didn't want to start in Kanto, so she waited a few more years and chose to go to Sinnoh instead.
They personally took a plane to drop her off in Sinnoh, and when they arrived, she gave them one last hug before taking off, not without promising to call whenever she had the chance.
For the first few weeks, everything was perfect. Scarlet called often, telling them all about her adventures. They were happy.
But then, something happened.
One day, the calls just stopped. They waited day after day, but there was nothing. A year passed, and still, no word. That's when they realized what they feared most, something had happened to Scarlet.
They moved quickly. They sent agents, and Ariana took a leave of absence to search for her herself. When they checked the League website, they discovered something chilling, her account had been completely deleted. But accounts couldn't be removed. Even if a trainer died, their account would remain active, with a notification stating their passing.
Scarlet's account, however, was simply gone, as if it had never existed. And that could only mean one thing, someone had hacked into the system and erased it. Which meant Scarlet likely wasn't dead. She had been taken.
That realization was both relieving and terrifying. If she had been kidnapped, it meant she was still alive, but it also meant someone had her. No ransom had ever been sent. Money wasn't an issue. Giovanni would have paid any price to get his daughter back.
When Ariana learned the truth, her stomach churned. She wanted to rush to Silver and beg him to choose any path other than becoming a Pokémon Trainer. But Giovanni stopped her. In the end, they couldn't dictate Silver's life.
"I promise, we'll find her."
Those were the words Giovanni told Ariana. He meant them. But he had no idea how to make it happen.
At the height of their search, just as they had confirmed Scarlet had been kidnapped, another incident occurred, the Masked Man attempted to abduct children from Pallet Town, including Silver.
At any other time, Giovanni might have let him go with a warning since he didn't know. But he was still reeling from his daughter's disappearance. He snapped.
He stripped the Masked Man of much of his authority. Though he remained the leader of the Johto branch when Giovanni wasn't there, he was now ranked below even the Executives.
Giovanni couldn't take it anymore. He was stressed. He was worried. All he wanted was for his family to be safe. Was that so much to ask?
Giovanni wouldn't stop looking, and maybe, when Silver gets strong enough he'll tell him, maybe he can help, he is her brother after all, but right now, the only thing he can do is put on his stern face and keep on acting like everything is ok, when in reality nothing is ok.
—-
{Meanwhile}
Cyrus walked through the halls. With his stern face, he glared around at his base. It was small, they were barely getting off the ground, but Cyrus wasn't worried. He was almost calm, but no one knew why.
He looked around and took note of his grunts. They were pawns, promised exactly what they wanted. It was as if Cyrus knew them better than they knew themselves.
As Cyrus walked through the halls, he observed his base, old, decrepit. No one knew how he had found this place or what it had been used for. But whenever Cyrus looked at it, he would constantly mumble something:
"I forgot how trashed this place was…"
Of course, no one knew what he was talking about. After all, there was no way Cyrus could have seen this place before. He might look like he was in his 50s, but he was only 20—unless he had been here as a baby. But no one had the courage to ask.
As he walked, he reached the end of a hall. Entering a room, he saw several people tied up, some struggling to get free, others having lost the will to fight. He walked up to his scientist, Charon.
Charon felt a great debt to Cyrus. Before, he had been responsible for some illegal experiments, convinced that other scientists simply didn't understand his work.
Then, Cyrus approached him with an offer to join. Naturally, Charon refused, and Cyrus left. But a day later, the International Police found him, and he was nearly captured—until Cyrus returned and saved him. Charon never knew how Cyrus had known he was in danger, but he didn't care.
From that day on, Charon was loyal to Cyrus. And now, he was at work—brainwashing, capturing trainers, and turning the strong ones into assets.
But right now, there were two he had personally picked for brainwashing.
The first was a young girl named Lily. She wasn't a strong trainer, but she possessed a supernatural power—she could use Aura. Again, Charon had no idea how Cyrus knew about her or her secret, but he didn't care. The brainwashing process was taking longer due to her so-called Aura, but it would work nonetheless.
The second was someone Cyrus had chosen, a no-name trainer. She wasn't particularly strong, just a young girl going through the Gym Challenge. As far as Charon could tell, she had no special powers. She was just... a regular girl. But nonetheless, he did as he was told.
Cyrus looked at him. "Is it done?"
Charon nodded. "The brainwashing is complete."
Cyrus nodded and stepped into the room where a girl with red hair sat, staring downward with an empty look in her eyes.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I am… part of Team Galactic. I have no other loyalty," the girl said, looking up. Now, it was clear, this was Scarlet.
Cyrus nodded. "Scarlet was weak. She held you back. Your old life was useless, and those you knew were even more so. From now on, your name shall be Mars."
Scarlet looked up. "Yes, my name is Mars. There is no Scarlet. My life is to fulfill Team Galactic's goal."
"Good. Now get up, we have work to do," Cyrus said as he turned and walked out.