About an hour later, the gang was sitting outside in a diner. May, Max, and Roxanne were sitting at a table, and Roxanne's head was on the table, exhausted.
She lost, obviously, and Roxanne was just tired; turns out losing all that sleep last night was finally hitting her.
Ash and Brock came walking out of the diner holding some parfaits and went over to the three. As Ash gave one to May and put another in front of Roxanne's face, he sighed. "So, feeling better, or are you still cranky?"
Roxanne didn't answer. She just made a muffled groan into the table.
Ash slid the parfait a little closer, nudging it until the cold glass touched her forehead.
Roxanne flinched. "Gah-! Why is it cold?!"
"So you wake up," Ash said.
Roxanne groaned again and lifted her head just enough to glare at him through half-lidded, sleep-deprived eyes. "You're insufferable."
Ash smiled sweetly. "Good. That means you're conscious."
Brock slid into the seat next to her with the calm pity of a man who had watched this cycle play out a hundred times. "You should eat. Sugar helps your brain after getting stress-flattened by Ash."
"I was NOT stress-flattened," Roxanne snapped.
"You tried to use Runerigus to suplex Pikachu," Brock reminded her.
Roxanne slumped forward again. "AND IT SHOULD HAVE WORKED…"
"Right, right." Ash took a seat across from her, leaning forward with his chin in his palm. "You sure you don't want the parfait? It's salted caramel."
Roxanne didn't move.
Ash started slowly sliding it away. "Okay, guess I'll just give it to Max-"
Roxanne's hand shot out and seized the cup.
She still didn't look up. "Mine."
Ash smirked. "See? She's alive."
Roxanne took one spoonful, eyes half-lidded, and sighed. "Arceus… sweet mercy… okay. Fine. I feel better."
Brock smirked. "Amazing what sugar can do."
"Yeah, just be sure to wake up. If I had a nickel for every female Gym Leader who is also a friend, who is also a teacher, and I had a side adventure with in the middle of the night, and is always tired… I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird it happened twice."
Roxanne blinked slowly. "Who was the first?"
"Erika," Ash said casually.
"Don't bother asking. To this day Ash hasn't told me what happened. I can't prove it, but I know you didn't just go and hang out with her," Brock said.
"Awww, little old me? I'm innocent. What could I have possibly done? Just me and Erika all alone. We were innocent," Ash said, putting on his innocent smile.
"You know what, nope. I've gotten angry enough. Not gonna start this," Roxanne said as she kept eating her parfait.
"Well, it's at least good to see you're not angry anymore," Brock sighed.
May nodded. "We actually thought you were angry because you lost."
Roxanne shook her head. "No. Losing was… expected. I watched the League recordings, and I knew Ash would probably beat me. I was mostly angry because I was sleep-deprived from last night, surprised, confused, and then he started-" She motioned at Ash vaguely. "-being Ash."
Ash looked very proud of himself. "I have that effect on people."
Max leaned forward. "So you're not mad anymore?"
Roxanne took a slow bite of parfait, visibly relaxing as the sugar hit her system. "…I am still processing everything that happened today." Then she gave Ash a side-eye. "But I suppose… I may have overreacted."
Ash grinned. "Wow. A Gym Leader admitting she overreacted to me? That's going in my journal."
"You have a journal?" Max asked.
"Yeah, right here," Ash said, pulling out a notebook. "Right next to the calculations I used to get the numbers right for Pikachu's electromagnetism."
Roxanne stopped and turned to Ash. "I thought you said you didn't do calculations."
"I said I might have calculations and I might not. I never confirmed or denied anything."
"Why didn't you start with that? I got angry for nothing, then," Roxanne said, exasperated.
"Because if I did, you wouldn't have tired yourself out enough to admit you need rest," Ash said innocently, making everyone realize Ash's true reason for rage-baiting Roxanne so hard.
Roxanne froze mid-bite, "…Did you just manipulate me into resting?" she asked slowly.
Ash blinked with the world's most obnoxious 'Who, me?' face. "I would never. I simply encouraged a natural biological process."
May blinked a few times, "Ash... the definition of manipulation."
Brock snorted. "Honestly, Roxanne, you walked right into it. He did that to us all the time, you should have seen the time he tricked Misty to sleep after she wanted to stay up all night,"
Roxanne looked at Ash again, this time like he was some kind of feral creature someone had mistakenly handed a Gym License. "You are… a menace."
Ash gave a cheerful thumbs-up. "Certified."
Roxanne set down her parfait. "I have taught hundreds of students. I have dealt with children throwing tantrums, teenagers breaking school rules, and Geology Club members trying to sneak explosives into field trips-"
Max raised a hand. "Did that actually happen?"
"Yes," Roxanne answered instantly. "Twice."
She then pointed her spoon at Ash like it was a weapon. "But nothing has prepared me for you. Nothing."
Ash thought for a moment. "I feel like that means I'm special."
"It means you're exhausting," Roxanne corrected.
Brock clapped a hand on Roxanne's shoulder. "Trust me, the first step is acceptance. After a while, you just build immunity. Like a vaccine."
"Is he contagious?" Roxanne asked, genuinely worried.
"Yes, actually," Brock said, getting a small smile. "He rubs off on you. Careful, Max and May, since you guys are traveling with him, you might start acting a little like him."
"Oh dear lord," Roxanne sighed.
"Oh, come on," Ash grinned. "You're not really mad, right?"
Roxanne opened her mouth, then stopped.
She wasn't mad. She was… tired. And, in a very irritating, roundabout way… okay.
She let out a long breath, slumping back in her chair. "Fine. Fine. You win. I'm not mad. I'm just… defeated. Emotionally. Mentally. In every way."
"Great, then the plan worked."
"Stop saying there was a plan. I refuse to accept there was a plan in that," Roxanne muttered.
"I can buy you another parfait," Ash said casually.
"Okay… I might forgive you if you get me the chocolate one," Roxanne added.
"Done," Ash shrugged. "Just as long as you're not being cranky anymore."
"You're on a thin line, Ketchum," Roxanne pointed the spoon at him, and Ash just stuck his tongue out.
But as Roxanne was about to take the last bite of her parfait, suddenly there was a loud boom sound.
An explosion erupted from the top floor of the Devon Corporation's headquarters, flames bursting outward, and the group looked up, seeing the destruction.
Immediately, sirens started ringing out as the police and nearby Rangers in Rustboro began mobilizing to get to the Devon building.
Ash's parfait spoon froze halfway to his mouth.
Brock was the first to stand, his chair scraping loudly against the pavement. "That was not a normal building malfunction."
Roxanne, who had gone from half-asleep to fully alert in an instant, shot to her feet. "Devon headquarters shouldn't ever have explosions. Their entire top floor is restricted research, no flammable machinery is even allowed up there!"
Max clutched his parfait cup, eyes wide. "So… what does that mean?"
"It means," Roxanne said grimly, already pulling out her Poké Ball, "whatever just happened is bad."
May pushed her chair back, heart pounding. "W-We should get out of here, right?!"
But Roxanne was already on her feet, the exhaustion gone in an instant. "I can't. As Gym Leader it's my duty to deal with everything that happens in Rustboro."
"You and Max get out of here," Ash said, getting up and adjusting his bag as Pikachu and Bee jumped up to sit on his shoulders. "Me and Brock can go with Roxanne."
Max looked torn, gripping the edge of the table. "But…Ash, what if you guys get hurt? That explosion was huge!"
Ash gave him a reassuring grin, already cracking his knuckles. "Then it's a good thing we're used to huge explosions."
Brock sighed deeply. "This is not a comforting thing to say, Ash."
Roxanne was already jogging toward the street, Runerigus's Poké Ball in her hand as she called back, "We need to get to the building before anyone else gets hurt!"
May stood up, shaking, glancing between Ash and Max. "Max… they're right. We'll just slow them down. We should head toward the Pokémon Center, the Rangers might need help treating injured Pokémon."
Max swallowed hard but nodded. "Okay… okay. Just…Ash…don't do anything stupid!"
Ash gave him a thumbs-up. "Too late, that's my specialty."
"THAT IS NOT REASSURING!" Max yelled after him as Ash and Brock sprinted off.
Ash looked up as they were running. "Brock, you and Roxanne go ahead. I'll catch up," he said as he separated from them.
Brock, after years of dealing with Ash, had learned not to question it and just accept it. "Fine, but if you do something stupid I'm telling Molly."
"Traitor!" Ash called out as he disappeared around a building, leaving them to go on alone.
—
{Just 1 minute earlier}
Mr. Joseph Stone had finally gotten back to Rustboro City. When he was attacked, he was sent to the hospital in Petalburg, and was finally discharged. He was accompanied by Gabby and Ty, who actually drove him here because, believe it or not, Mr. Stone had walked all the way to Petalburg by himself, no driver.
So Gabby and Ty brought him back, since this was a good chance to maybe get an interview with Mr. Joseph Stone personally, not to mention maybe getting more information about the Team Aqua attack.
Mr. Stone stepped out of the news van with an exhausted huff, one hand on his lower back.
"I swear," he muttered, "the moment I get back I'm installing a treadmill in every building. If I can walk from Petalburg to here in one piece, no one else has excuses."
Ty raised an eyebrow from behind the camera. "Sir, does that include the interns?"
"Yes," Mr. Stone answered instantly. "Especially the interns."
Gabby laughed nervously and jogged up beside him, microphone in hand. "Mr. Stone, thank you again for the interview opportunity! Could you tell us-"
A thunderous boom shook the street.
All three froze.
Then flames burst out of the top floor of Devon Corp.
Mr. Stone stared at the building.
Gabby stared at the building.
Ty slowly lowered the camera and stared at the building.
Mr. Stone let out a very long, very tired sigh. "…I was gone for ONE WEEK."
Gabby nearly choked on air. "S-Sir, what do we DO?!"
Mr. Stone grabbed his briefcase, instantly shifting from exhausted-grandpa mode to CEO-who-used-to-survive-corporate-sabotage-weekly mode. He opened it and pulled out a Poké Ball. "Looks like I'm going in."
"Sir, you're still recovering, can't you let security handle it?" Gabby tried to reason with him.
Joseph looked at her, pointed up at the flaming hole in his building. "If my security let something like that happen, someone is getting fired. Besides, I may be old, but this isn't the first time someone tried to destroy my company." He turned and walked into the building, shouting at everyone to calm down and get ready.
Gabby and Ty looked at each other, wondering if they should do something, but they just sighed as Ty slowly raised the camera and hit record.
–
{Meanwhile}
The Aqua grunt was running through the labs, collecting what he could. Since most of the people up here were researchers, he could take them out or scare them away.
Since he was pretending to be a Magma grunt, he wasn't using any of his Water Pokémon, he left those at the base. Even if it would have been better to at least stall Roxanne, keeping his cover hidden was more important.
So he was running with some Duskull and some Baltoy, since he didn't actually have any Fire-types. But he did bring some red spray paint and made some fake Team Magma logos along the walls.
So far, so good. He could hear the sirens outside the building, so that was his cue. He had already stolen some technology that could be useful later. His last objective was to get the Creation Fluid, then get out of here. Based on what he'd gotten, he believed that once he got back, he would get promoted to Admin.
He had already changed into a fake Team Magma uniform and was using scare tactics, going completely over the top when he saw people, saying, "It is I, a member of TEAM MAGMA! Tell everyone that I, TEAM MAGMA, am here, and only TEAM MAGMA!"
Yeah, if people weren't scared out of their minds, they'd realize he was a horrible actor. But because everyone was trying to run from the explosion in the building, no one questioned it at all.
Based on the cameras he had hacked into, since, yeah, he had been preparing for this for a while, he saw that Mr. Stone was here and running up. That meant he was out of time and had to run for the Creation Fluid and get out now.
Finding it was easy enough; he had been working as a scientist here for a few days, so he knew where to go. He quickly reached the room, blasting the door off its hinges, rushing to the machine, opening it, and taking one of the vials.
"Perfect. Now to get out," he mumbled as he turned.
But just as he did, the doors of the lab flew open with a loud crash. Leading a squad of Trainers into the lab were Roxanne and Brock. Roxanne had her Probopass beside her, and Brock had his Aerodactyl at his side.
"Stop right there!" Roxanne called out to the Aqua grunt.
The Aqua grunt spun around, heart pounding as he reached for his Poké Balls. He had no idea how Roxanne and Brock had found him so quickly, but there was no time to second-guess. He had the vial of Creation Fluid in his hand, this was what he came for. His escape route was prepared, but now he had to get through these two first.
Roxanne narrowed her eyes, her voice firm and commanding. "You're not going anywhere. You're going to explain yourself and why you've just made an absolute mess of this building!"
The Aqua grunt smirked, trying to mask the nervousness creeping in. "I don't think I have to explain anything to you, Gym Leader."
The grunt took a step back, knowing he was cornered, but he wasn't done yet. "I don't think so! I'm getting out of here, and if you get in my way-" He held up his Poké Ball, ready to send out one of his Pokémon.
But Roxanne was faster.
"Probopass, block him!"
The giant Steel- and Rock-type Pokémon immediately extended its magnetic arms, creating a massive wall of metal that completely blocked the grunt's escape route. The grunt's hand trembled on the Poké Ball for a moment before he realized there was no way out.
Brock's Aerodactyl swooped down from the ceiling, its sharp eyes scanning the room for any signs of an escape. "We have you surrounded. There's nowhere to run."
The grunt's eyes darted around the room, searching desperately for an exit. Panic filled his veins as his heart pounded in his chest. Without warning, he tossed his Poké Ball into the air, sending out a Duskull and a Baltoy, hoping to at least cause some chaos.
"Duskull, attack the ground! Baltoy, [Self-Destruct]!" the grunt ordered.
The Duskull started firing Shadow Balls at the ground, while the Baltoy dashed forward toward the Trainers, lighting up as it prepared to use [Self-Destruct]
Roxanne and Brock immediately called for their Pokémon to protect everyone, because even if a Pokémon was weak, a [Self-Destruct] is always dangerous.
As they exploded, the lab was covered in thick black smoke, and the Duskulls shot enough [Shadow balls] into the ground to let the grunt jump down the hole to the floor below.
As the trainers coughed from the smoke, Brock raised his voice, "Aerodactyl, [Tailwind]! Get rid of the smoke!"
Aerodactyl huffed but obeyed, flapping his wings and causing strong winds to blow the smoke out of the hole in the building, also putting out some of the fires, but not all of them.
As the smoke cleared, everyone finally saw that the grunt was nowhere to be seen.
Roxanne's eyes flicked to the hole the grunt had made when he escaped. The explosion had given him the perfect chance to flee, and now the building was starting to feel less like a controlled environment and more like a disaster zone. She couldn't let him get away.
"Everyone, stay alert!" Roxanne barked, signaling for her trainers to stay close. "We can't let this man escape."
The trainers nodded and ran back toward the stairs. Meanwhile, Brock and Roxanne didn't even need to say what they were thinking, they both jumped into the hole the grunt used to escape, going after him directly.
As they landed, they saw the grunt running down the hall, not even bothering to collect his Baltoys, so they started running after him.
The grunt, meanwhile, was frantically looking for another escape route. He had one last Baltoy, so he could force another explosion, he just needed a good wall to blast through. As he turned a corner, he saw an elevator suddenly open, and from it, Mr. Stone and the Devon security team appeared.
"Stop right there!" Mr. Stone shouted.
The grunt immediately skidded to a stop, turned down another corridor, and kept running, causing the security team to chase after him. As he looked back, he saw Roxanne and Brock turn the corner. Clicking his tongue, he sent his remaining Duskulls to stall them as he carried his last Baltoy.
As the trainers dealt with the Duskulls, the grunt ran toward the stairs, only for them to be kicked open as the rangers from before rushed in. Seeing him, they ran after him as well, forcing him to turn yet again.
Now he was surrounded from three directions, and they were closing in. He was cornered and desperate.
The grunt smirked, hoping for just enough time to escape. "I can't be caught. Not after everything I've done!"
Roxanne narrowed her eyes, refusing to let him slip away. "You think you can just get away with this? You've already caused enough damage."
But the grunt wasn't finished. As Roxanne and Brock prepared to close the gap, he launched another desperate move, activating his Baltoy's [Self-Destruct] ability with a twisted laugh.
"[Self-Destruct]! Go now!" the grunt shouted, with no regard for the destruction it would cause. The Baltoy began to glow as it charged toward the oncoming trainers and their Pokémon.
As the trainers commanded their Pokémon to use [Protect], all of their Pokémon formed a wall of barriers. The Baltoy spun forward, then abruptly changed direction, veering toward the wall instead, and exploded, blasting open another hole in the wall.
As the smoke forced some people to cover their eyes, when they opened them they saw the grunt standing next to the hole as he smirked, "Well, things sure were fun, but too bad, I need to go."
He smiled, then leaned back and let himself fall out of the building. As everyone blinked, realizing what he had just done, they ran over to see, but immediately the grunt flew back up. He was holding onto some kind of small helicopter device and rising into the air.
"Haha! You shall remember this day as the day you almost caught-" he began gloating, but then from the side a web shot out and wrapped around him, instantly shocking him and making him let go of his helicopter and fall again.
Everyone blinked, trying to process what had just happened, until they heard that familiar laughter. From the hole, Ash flew up on Dragonite, holding the web the grunt was tangled in with one arm, and in the other was the bag with all the stolen goods.
"Yo, special delivery," Ash said, tossing the grunt back inside at their feet. Now he was tied up and unable to move. Ash threw the bag over to the security team and Mr. Stone.
The grunt crashed onto the tile in a tangled heap of webbing, groaning as he bounced once, twice, and then lay still. Roxanne, Brock, Mr. Stone, several Rangers, and half of Devon's security force stared in silent disbelief.
Ash grinned down at them from Dragonite's back as if he'd just delivered takeout, not a criminal, "Someone ordered a villain à la mode?" he asked.
Dragonite gave a proud "Draaa!" and flexed.
Brock just sighed. "You know, you could try to have less flashy entrances."
"But where's the fun in that?" Ash laughed as he jumped down and returned Dragonite to her Poké Ball.
Ash looked at their shocked faces, then turned to the security team and the other trainers and put his hands on his hips. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get him out of here."
They flinched and quickly stood up. "R-right!"
They moved to grab the grunt and guided him out, leaving Ash, Brock, Roxanne, and Mr. Stone, along with Gabby and Ty, who had just now gotten up the stairs, breathing heavily but still managing to get footage of the security pulling the grunt away.
Mr. Stone cleared his throat and looked at Ash. "Well, I didn't think we would be meeting again in such a… particular situation. I suppose I owe you my thanks again."
Ash waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, it's nothing really. It's my pleasure to beat up nerds like that."
Mr. Stone chuckled as Brock and Roxanne looked at each other, then at Ash, squinting their eyes at him. Ash simply looked away and whistled casually.
"Well, even still, I believe I owe you my thanks. But before that, may I ask you a favor?"
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. "If it's not too much trouble, could you go to Dewford Town and deliver this to my son, Steven?"
Ash took the letter and looked at it. None of them flinched at the mention of Steven, after all, you'd have to be stupid not to know Steven Stone is the heir to the Devon Corporation.
Mr. Stone continued, "After the incident that happened, and now this, it looks like we can't sit by and do nothing anymore. If you give that to Steven, it explains everything. And of course, I am not cheap or ungrateful, and neither is Steven."
Mr. Stone smirked. "I'm sure Steven has something you'll like, considering your… record. And if there's something you need my help with, don't hesitate to call."
Ash nodded, holding the letter up. Vee took it, jumping into Ash's backpack and filing it away. "Alright. It was actually my next destination anyway, so it's no problem at all."
Once Ash said that, Roxanne blinked. "Wait-you're going straight to Dewford Town? Rustboro City doesn't have a boat going to Dewford anymore."
"Yes, that's a problem… Well, I could have a boat called if you don't mind waiting," Mr. Stone offered.
"Nah, don't worry about it. I already have a captain in mind," Ash said as his eyes wandered over to Gabby and Ty. "Besides, after this, reporters are gonna get here, and I don't really want to be famous."
Ash turned to Roxanne and quickly stepped closer, leaning down slightly. "Hey Roxanne, mind taking all the credit for this?"
Roxanne blinked a few times, taken aback. "I-uh, well, I mean I guess, but-"
But Ash didn't let her finish. He took her hand and clapped it between his. "Thanks a bunch. See ya next time." He winked, then looked over at Brock. "Looks like we're taking the Abby Express~"
Brock sighed. "I always hate this part…"
Before Roxanne or Mr. Stone could think to ask, an Alakazam teleported in and teleported out in the span of a second, Brock and Ash were gone.
They blinked a few times, trying to process what just happened. As Roxanne opened her mouth to speak, she felt something in her hand. She looked down and unfolded her fingers. Inside were a few Pokédollars, enough to buy another parfait.
Roxanne sighed and looked up. "Well, looks like I have no choice." She smiled slightly. "Till next time."