Bruh, just back from the doctor, bruh, i hate drawing blood
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A little while later, Ash, Brock, May, Max, Roxanne, and Phoebe were in an empty classroom, sitting on the desks.
Brock brought out some tea and served everyone, as Ash was holding something up to his eye toward the light in the ceiling, the Stone Badge glinting in his hand. Roxanne had given it to him on the walk over.
"Hmm, neat. First badge here in Hoenn," Ash mused.
"I still can't believe all that happened, that was so cool!" Max said, fanboying over Ash.
"I have to ask, do you really know about magnetism like you say you do?" Roxanne asked, sipping from her cup.
"I mean… yeah, it's not that hard of a concept, it's basic physics," Ash said, adding a bit of sugar into his cup. "I had to learn a lot about magnetism to help Pikachu learn how to fly."
"Wait, what!? Pikachu can fly now? Since when?!" May asked.
"Since sometime last year, I guess," Ash shrugged. "Electromagnetism go brrr."
Max froze with his mouth open. "WHAT KIND OF—HOW DOES—FLYING PIKACHU—HUH!?"
Roxanne blinked twice, pinched the bridge of her nose, and then looked at Brock. "Is this normal?"
Brock, already sipping his tea like this was all perfectly fine, nodded. "Yep. This is about par for the course with Ash, he's actually being quite tame."
May turned to Ash, baffled. "How do you expect any of us to react to 'Oh yeah, Pikachu flies now' like that's normal!?"
Ash raised a finger, pretending to lecture. "Correction. Pikachu levitates. Flying is just… the advanced form."
"That doesn't make it better!" May yelled.
Roxanne leaned forward, eyes sparkling with academic interest. "Okay, no, explain. Explain this right now. How does a small electric mouse generate enough electromagnetic force to counteract gravity?"
Ash held up his cup and took another sip. "Uh-huh, okay, so imagine gravity is like-"
Brock coughed loudly. "Ash. No. No physics lecture. You'll break their brains."
"Oh yeah," Ash said. Since most people forget (or choose to ignore), Ash has his doctorate. "I guess if I can't explain-" Ash snapped his fingers.
Pikachu, who was enjoying his own cup, looked over and sighed, stretching his back. He put electricity on his feet and started to levitate, using his tail to guide himself over to Ash.
"See?" Ash said, patting Pikachu's head. "Perfectly safe. Perfectly stable. Perfectly normal."
"THAT IS NOT NORMAL!" Max shrieked.
Roxanne leaned so far forward she was practically falling off her desk. "He's hovering. He's actually repelling against Earth's magnetic field. That shouldn't be possible with that body mass or- or- what is the wattage output of a Pikachu!?"
Ash shrugged. "Enough." Even though Ash could very well give Roxanne an in-depth explanation, he wasn't going to.
"Enough for WHAT!?" Roxanne sputtered.
"Enough to hover."
"THAT DOES NOT ANSWER ANYTHING!"
Brock, unfazed, took another sip of tea. "Roxanne, this is your first time seeing Ash-nonsense. You'll get used to it."
May shook her head. "No. No, no, no. I refuse to accept this as a normal Tuesday."
"It's Wednesday," Ash corrected her.
"Not the point!" May shouted, as Pikachu was flying in a circle, levitating like he was trying to find a comfy way to sleep.
Phoebe's eyes sparkled. "Oh my gosh, he's like a little lantern ghost!"
Pikachu puffed his cheeks, tapping his chest, as Vee on the ground rolled his eyes, but was totally not jealous that Pikachu could fly. At least, not yet. He had tried using [Mimic] on Pikachu before, but he didn't have control over himself, so more training for later.
May raised her hand. "Question."
"Mm?" Ash hummed.
"Why… why did you teach him this?"
Ash stared at her like the answer was obvious. "Because we were bored."
Roxanne slammed both hands on the desk. "You were BORED?! That's your reason? That's your ACTUAL reason?"
Ash nodded confidently. "Yep. Productive boredom is the foundation of all scientific advancement."
"No it is NOT!" Roxanne cried.
"It is for me," Ash said, shrugging.
Pikachu, still hovering lazily in slow circles, chimed in, "Pikaaaa~," like this was the most natural thing in the universe.
Ash chuckled and threw them a bone. "And also ground types, so yeah." That was a better answer than just he got bored, but not much better.
Roxanne's eye twitched. "Ash, do you have any idea how many research papers I've read on magnetism and biological conductivity? And none of them, NONE, say anything about spontaneous anti-gravity rodents!"
Ash leaned back on his palms. "Yeah, well, most researchers haven't tried just… doing it."
"That's not, THAT'S NOT SCIENCE DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT!"
Ash raised a finger. "I mean, it kinda does."
"No it doesn't!"
Brock patted Roxanne's shoulder sympathetically. "Just accept it. The sooner you stop resisting it, the sooner the headaches fade."
Roxanne dragged both hands down her face. "Ash… Ash, please. For my sanity. There had to be calculations. A formula. A model. SOMETHING."
Ash hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm… nope." he lied.
"You're lying," Roxanne said instantly.
Ash smirked, the corner of his lip twitching up. "Maybe."
Brock rolled his eyes. "He definitely calculated things. He just likes watching people suffer while guessing."
"Awww, come on, Brock, why do you have to ruin the fun? Can't I keep playing dumb? It's way more fun to be stupid than to be smart," Ash rolled his eyes.
Roxanne gave Ash a deadpan stare. "You are infuriating. You know that, right?"
Ash grinned. "I've been told. Frequently."
Pikachu floated down like a lazy balloon, landed on Ash's shoulder, and immediately curled up like a cat. Ash scratched behind his ears as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
Phoebe leaned forward with sparkling eyes. "Sooo… Ash. If Pikachu can do that… can I learn to do that?"
Ash smirked. "Sure. Step one: become a Pikachu."
Phoebe gasped. "Darn. I don't qualify," she said, laughing, making Brock sigh that yet again, there was another one.
Roxanne groaned, "I don't even know how to respond to this. I expected so many things based on what I've seen from your record. This is not one of them."
Ash shrugged, "Don't worry, I only bully people I like. Ask May," Ash said playfully.
Brock gave Roxanne a sympathetic look. "You're going through the five stages of Ash. You're in… anger, I think. Acceptance is next."
"I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS!" Roxanne shouted.
Ash raised his cup like he was toasting her. "Denial. Strong stage. Very respectable."
Roxanne slammed her hands on the desk. "Give me one, ONE, scientific justification for how this is possible."
Ash tilted his head thoughtfully. Then smirked.
"Okay. Fine. I'll give you one. Pikachu generates an oscillating electromagnetic-"
Brock immediately slapped a hand over Ash's mouth. "NOPE. We like Roxanne. We want her to stay sane."
Ash pulled Brock's hand away. "I was only gonna give her the basic explanation."
"There is no 'basic' with you," Brock said. "Remember when you tried explaining it to Yellow? She was scared of even looking at numbers for a week."
"Ha, oh yeah, that was a fun week," Ash said, reminiscing.
Roxanne rubbed her temples and sighed. "Okay, you are both the dumbest and smartest person I've met in a long time."
"Thank you, I try," Ash said, doing a bow.
"I don't think that's something you should be proud of," Brock said, sighing. "Though I have to ask, you seem more trolly than usual."
"Meh. You know, after… the incidents," Ash said. Brock shuddered, and everyone else was left in the dark. "I realized I don't have to be scared of anything anymore, so I can dedicate all my time to bullying and trolling. After all, everyone is so weak," Ash said, waving one hand with a cheeky smirk.
"Excuse me?" Roxanne asked. "Did you call me weak?"
Ash just gave an innocent smile, "I don't recall saying your name, unless, of course, you're putting yourself on that list."
"You know what you did,"
"Did I? I don't recall saying you guys were all weak," Ash kept smiling.
"Oh yeah? Name one."
Ash pointed behind him at Phoebe with his thumb. "She could beat me."
Phoebe just waved happily. "Hi~"
"That's on me. I set the bar too low," Roxanne sighed.
"Yeah, Sensei, you're losing your touch~" Ash stuck his tongue out.
Roxanne gasped and pointed at Ash. "Oh yeah? Well, let's see, let's go another round! And you know what? I think I'll actually use Runerigus. She's been wanting to fight, and it looks like I have a perfect practice dummy!"
"Oh really? Okay. I guess I'll put in a little more effort. Hey, Pikachu, want to show everyone why type immunities are suggestions?" Ash called out, and Pikachu jumped up, patting his cheeks with a smirk.
Pikachu wiggled his ears. "Pika-pi~ [They absolutely are. Fight me.]"
Brock sighed, resigned to his fate. "Okay, okay, before anyone blows up the school, can we at least move somewhere that isn't full of desks, chairs, and combustible history textbooks?"
Phoebe hopped to her feet. "Fight!! Fight!! Classroom brawl!! Actually wait- Brock said no classroom brawls, Outdoor brawl!!"
Max practically vibrated with excitement. "WE GET TO SEE ASH FIGHT AGAIN OH MY GOSH-"
May grabbed him by the collar before he hyperventilated. "You're going to pass out. Please breathe."
"It's fine, but wow, Roxanne pushing me to another battle. I can't believe it, I'm being bullied by my own Sensei," Ash said, covering his face with his hand.
Roxanne crossed her arms, chin raised. "Please. You already showed you can handle it. I may have to act professional, but even I have a limit. Besides, Runerigus has been itching for a challenge. And I'd like to wipe that little troll smile off your face."
"Awww, Sensei is mad," Ash grinned. "Cute."
Roxanne's eye twitched. "Outside. NOW."
Phoebe laughed as she was about to say something. A Dusknoir rose from her shadow holding a phone, because where else would she keep a phone, and handed it to her. Its sudden appearance startled Max and May.
Phoebe put the phone to her ear. "Hello?… aww, really? … fine, but you guys are so boring…" she sighed, tossing the phone behind her. Dusknoir caught it smoothly and sank back into her shadow.
"What was that about?" Brock asked.
"Oh, just the League forcing me to go back. Apparently somebody took a picture of me relaxing. I don't know how, my disguise was perfect," she said, taking off her sunglasses.
Immediately, some people from around the corner walked in and accidentally saw her take them off.
"Oh my Arceus, it's Phoebe!!!"
"Oh no," Phoebe said with a sweatdrop sliding down her head. She turned quickly. "Okay, looks like I really have to go. Bye guys! It was fun, we should hang out again some other time, bye!" She sprinted off as, seemingly out of nowhere, a herd of students began chasing after her, and as she reached the city, even more people joined in.
"…well that happened…" Ash said
Everyone just stood there for a moment, watching the dust cloud of rabid fans sprinting after Phoebe like she was a shiny legendary.
Roxanne blinked. "Should… should we help her?"
"Nah, she's an Elite Four member, she's probably used to this. She probably has it under control," Brock shrugged.
"…yeah, she's got it handled," Ash agreed, watching the stampede vanish over the hill. "Probably. Maybe. Fifty–fifty."
Max was still staring in the direction Phoebe disappeared, like she had just gotten Thanos-snapped.
"…That was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen," he whispered.
"Try being famous," Ash shrugged. "Why do you think I don't want all that fame? It's annoying. I said it before and I'll probably say it again."
Roxanne exhaled slowly through her nose, hands on her hips. "Okay. Distractions over. Let's settle this, outside. Before I change my mind."
Ash stretched, rolling his shoulder like he was warming up for a jog. "Oh yeah. The part where you try to beat me until your pride feels better?"
Roxanne's eyebrow twitched. "No. The part where I show you that your cockiness has limits."
Ash leaned in juuuust slightly with a grin that was way too confident. "Ah Sensei wants to discipline me? I didn't know school responsibilities went that far"
Roxanne stepped back, cheeks barely pink. "That's NOT what, you-! ENOUGH. Outside. Battleground. Now."
"Okay, okay. Hey Pikachu, come on, let's show her type charts are optional," Ash said as he ran off first, sticking his tongue out behind him.
"They are not!" Roxanne yelled as she ran after him.
May blinked a few times. She looked over at Max, hoping he would say something, but Max was still staring starry-eyed at the chance to see Ash battle again. She looked over at Brock, and Brock just looked like this was normal, casually following after them and leaving her behind.
May sighed. "Am I the only normal one here?" Then she begrudgingly followed.
-
Meanwhile, outside and high up on a nearby building, someone was watching with a frown. He observed Phoebe escaping the town, and then raised a finger to the communicator in his ear.
"Elite Four Phoebe has left town. Now will be our best chance to move."
"Understood. Move forward with the plan," the voice on the other end said, Archie, again, "Although it isn't the top priority anymore now that we obtained the device, their prototype creation fluid may still be useful."
The grunt nodded. "It shall be done," he said, ending the call. Now was the best opportunity he would get.
And of course, he wouldn't risk revealing his identity as a member of Team Aqua. Since Team Aqua and Team Magma were not considered 'evil' organizations yet, aside from the few people who were directly attacked, like May and Ash, most people still believed they were legitimate organizations, similar to how the Aether Foundation operated.
In fact, Team Aqua had earned good favor with some researchers here in Rustboro, since they had donated funding to several scientific projects. Because of that, some people in the city even thought they were the good guys, and he was not about to risk ruining that reputation.
And what would be even better than maintaining cover? Framing Team Magma so it appeared they were the ones raiding Devon Corp, cementing Team Aqua as the heroic group and Team Magma as the villains.
He smirked and headed into another room to prepare. He had heard that Mr. Stone was returning to Rustboro today. That was the main reason the admins wanted to capture him: if Mr. Stone arrived, he could easily confirm the grunt was not actually an employee. Since the capture mission had failed, he had to move now
He would have made his move yesterday, Roxanne alone was manageable, since she was still a relatively new Gym Leader. He couldn't defeat her, but he was confident he could escape her. But Phoebe being in town made any attempt impossible.
So he had to act right now, before Mr. Stone gets back
And honestly? Some extra tech wouldn't be a bad bonus to steal.