{The next morning}
Sunlight filtered through the wide diner windows, warming the booths and glinting off coffee cups and silverware. The breakfast rush had already passed, leaving behind a comfortable hum of quiet conversations and the occasional clink of plates.
Ash sat sideways in his booth, one arm draped over the backrest as a folded map of Hoenn lay spread across the table. Vee lounged beside him, nibbling on a berry with half-lidded eyes, and Pikachu was lying on the table, drinking from the ketchup bottle like it was alcohol.
Across from him, Brock methodically worked through a stack of pancakes, while Max leaned over the map, tracing routes with his finger, but he was barely paying attention, lost in thought.
May sat back, stirring her drink lazily. No one was in a hurry.
"Well," Brock said between bites, "we're officially done here in Mauville."
"Hey, speak for yourself," Max said, tapping the map, "This place is like a major crossroads. We've got options."
"Too many options," May sighed, peering at the map upside down, "Everything looks far when you put it on paper."
Ash chuckled, "That's because it is far."
Max straightened up, "Okay! So if we take this path, I think it's the fastest way to get us to Ash's next Gym battle!" he said proudly, pointing at a route on the map.
Ash nodded, eyes flicking toward the spot, "Yeah. That's the plan… eventually."
May perked up slightly, "Eventually?"
Ash reached over and flipped the section of the map she was looking at, "Speaking of eventually, there's a Pokémon Contest coming up. Two of them, actually."
May blinked, "…Wait, what?"
"Fallarbor has one," Ash continued casually, "And Verdanturf too. Fallarbor's is first."
May sat up straighter, "You're kidding."
"Nope."
"How do you know about this? I don't even know about this," May said, blinking.
Ash shrugged, "Hey, you think I was just gonna drag you guys around watching me beat up Gyms? Nah. You'd be surprised how much work I put into my friends' dreams too. I mean, just ask this goof right here," Ash said, slapping Brock on the back.
"Er… let's not talk about that…" Brock laughed helplessly.
"Wait, what happened?" Max blinked.
"Oh, nothing. Juuuuust this guy here was obsessed with the breeding competition, so I did everything I could to schedule our path to get him where he wanted to go. And then, in the end, he thanks me by losing the final and deciding he's done with those altogether," Ash said, clutching his chest dramatically.
Brock coughed into his hand, "In my defense, I learned a lot about myself during that journey."
"You learned you're bad under pressure," Ash shot back without missing a beat.
"HEY!" Brock protested.
May laughed, shaking her head, "Okay, okay, but contests?" She leaned forward, eyes bright now, "You're serious?"
"Dead serious," Ash said, "Fallarbor City's contest is coming up soon. Verdanturf has one too, but that one's a little later."
May's excitement wavered as she processed that, "Wait… later how much later?"
Ash tilted his head, thinking, "Enough that you definitely can't make both."
"So it's one or the other." May leaned back in her seat again, staring at the ceiling, "Wow… I didn't even know there were two."
Ash shrugged, completely relaxed, "That's why I'm telling you now. Your call."
She looked at him, "My call?"
"Yeah," Ash said simply, "Whichever one you want."
Max looked between them, then down at the map. His finger hovered near a familiar volcano icon, "…Uh. You do realize that Verdanturf is basically the opposite direction from Lavaridge, right?"
Ash gave him a sideways glance, "Max."
"No, I'm just saying!" Max pushed his glasses up, slipping into full fanboy-analysis mode, "If we go to Verdanturf first, that means Ash's next Gym battle gets delayed by, like, weeks. Lavaridge Gym is already on the way,"
Brock nodded thoughtfully, "He's not wrong. That'd push your Gym challenge back a fair bit."
Ash waved it off, "So?"
"So?" Max echoed, "So that matters!"
Ash leaned back in the booth, completely unbothered, "Only if you're treating this like a checklist instead of a journey."
May stared at him, caught off guard by how easily he said it.
Ash met her eyes and smiled, "May, contests are your thing. Gyms'll still be there. Your contests won't. I'm not gonna rush you, or pressure you, just so I can get a badge faster."
"Besides, you guys follow me for my thing. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't support you guys? Just do me a favor and don't make my hard work helping you train go to waste like Brocko did~"
"Again, not my fault… technically…," Brock said, trying to defend himself a little.
Pikachu lifted his head from the ketchup bottle and nodded, "Pika."
Vee gave a lazy thumbs-up without looking.
May looked down at the map again, quieter now. Her finger traced from Mauville northward… then west.
"…Fallarbor," she murmured.
Max blinked, "Huh?"
May sat up, her decision settling in, "Fallarbor's closer to Lavaridge anyway. If we go there first, I get my contest, and Ash stays on track for his Gym."
Ash gave a casual thumbs-up, "Sounds like a plan to me."
Ash stretched his arms over his head, then added, "Oh, actually, before we head out, there's one more thing."
May looked up from the map, "Uh-oh. Whenever you say that, it's never 'one more thing.'"
Ash grinned, "Relax, it's nothing big. I kinda want to make a quick stop at Route 118."
Max perked up immediately, "Route 118? That's the coastal route, right? With the river crossing and—"
"—and a Pokémon I've been meaning to catch," Ash finished, "Been on my list for a while."
Brock raised an eyebrow, "How long of a detour are we talking?"
"A few hours, tops," Ash said easily, "Probably less if I just take Dragonite and go solo."
May blinked, "Solo?"
Ash shrugged, "Yeah. I can swing over, do my thing, and meet back up with you guys. Or—" he gestured vaguely between them "—you could come with me. Or just hang out here in Mauville and enjoy being in a town with hot showers and shops before we hit the road again. I know you said you wanted to do some shopping, and the Mauville Mall did open up recently."
Brock swallowed the last bite of his pancake and wiped his mouth with a napkin, "If you're going solo, it'd probably be faster. We could restock supplies, maybe check out that new part of the mall May mentioned."
May nodded slowly, "I did want to look for accessories before Fallarbor…" but she hesitated, since she also wanted to go shopping with Ash to hang out.
She paused, then looked at Ash again, "You sure you'll be fine by yourself?"
Ash met her gaze, expression easy but confident, "Always am."
There was a beat of silence, comfortable, familiar.
"…Okay," May said finally, "We'll split up for a bit. Just, don't do anything stupid."
Ash grinned, "Define 'stupid.'"
"ASH."
"Okay, okay," he laughed, holding up his hands, "I'll be back before you miss me."
Max, seeing his opportunity, put the training he got from Ash to use, "Wow, I didn't know you could stop time~"
May blushed and smacked Max over the head, "Shut up, you idiot!"
Ash snorted, barely holding it in. He leaned back in his seat and shot Max a slow thumbs-up, "You're learning. Proud of you."
May froze mid-swing, hand still raised from bonking Max, "…Hey."
Ash turned back to her, a grin already forming, "Hey what?"
"Do not encourage him," May said flatly, "He's already bad enough."
Max pushed his glasses up with a smug little huff, "Too late. Sensei has acknowledged my potential."
Ash nodded solemnly, "Once knowledge awakens, it cannot be contained."
May stared at them both, unimpressed, "Ash."
"Yes, May?"
"Stop corrupting my brother."
Ash put a hand over his heart, wounded, "Corrupt? I am mentoring."
"Ash!" May crossed her arms and squinted at him, but that only made Ash want to laugh more.
Ash raised both hands in surrender, laughter creeping into his voice, "Alright, alright, I'll dial it back. No more advanced teasing techniques."
Max gasped, "Wait, there were advanced ones?!"
"No," Ash and May said at the same time.
Pikachu finally set the ketchup bottle down and snickered, "Pika~."
Vee rolled onto his back, paws behind his head, clearly enjoying the chaos.
May sighed and leaned back in her seat, rubbing her temples, "I leave you two alone for five minutes and suddenly I'm outnumbered."
"Not my fault my number-one fan takes after me," Ash said, sticking his tongue out as he stood and pulled out Dragonite's Poké Ball, "Anyway, I'll be back soon, don't worry. I'll finish up before you guys are done shopping. Try not to miss me too much."
May sputtered, "ASH!"
The door chimed as he slipped outside, laughing like he usually does.
May covered her lower face, "He's gonna be the end of me…"
"Join the club," Brock said without looking up from the map, like this was completely normal… because it was.
—
{Meanwhile with Ash}
Like he said, flying with Dragonite was way faster. He landed on a small island in the center of the water along Route 118.
Vee and Pikachu jumped off Dragonite, and as soon as they landed, she pulled Ash into another crushing hug. He could have sworn he heard one of his ribs crack again.
"Okay, okay, love you too, Dragonite, but please, can we focus?" Ash said between short breaths, until Dragonite reluctantly let him go.
Ash took a deep breath and finally relaxed as he looked out over the water. He knew exactly what he was looking for, and thankfully, he had a pretty easy way to get it.
He pulled out a blue Pokéblock, imbued it with some soothing Aura, and tossed it into the water. Now all he had to do was wait. As he did, Dragonite curled up beside him and took a quick nap next to her 'Papa.'
Ash let her, especially since Vee and Pikachu curled up beside her and fell asleep too. He couldn't even blame them, it was still early in the morning.
Now that he was here, he could finally clear his head and think about what was coming next.
For one, he knew that Team Magma and Team Aqua were going to start fighting at Mt. Chimney, but that plan depended heavily on how well the sabotage he and D had been doing in the background would work out.
Best-case scenario, he could finish everything in five minutes. Worst-case scenario, Maxie and Archie themselves would show up.
Now, here was the thing: Ash was strong, but so were Maxie and Archie. They wouldn't be leaders if they weren't. Granted, they weren't Giovanni-level, where they were secretly Champion-ranked Trainers, but they were probably around mid–Elite Four level.
And Ash, if he used his strongest team, would be lower Elite Four at best, and that was assuming they didn't jump him. But of course, when had Ash ever fought fair?
Besides, he figured he'd be stronger than them in about three months, assuming he used the right team. Not his Hoenn Pokémon; they were still babies. But with Pikachu, Vee, Dragonite, and Charizard? Yeah, Charizard was coming back soon. Last time, during the Masked Man incident, Charizard had said he was close to surpassing the king, and once he did, he'd come back to Ash's side stronger than ever.
And that was all without even considering Dynamax, Terastallization, or Mega Evolution.
So no, Ash wasn't helpless. He was confident that if it was just one of them, he could win a one-on-one. He just wasn't going to risk it turning into a two-on-two. No unnecessary risks.
Anyway, that was all still a few days away. His plan was still cooking.
Looking ahead to the next few days… well, unfortunately, he probably wasn't going to get a visit from Misty, even if he really wanted to hang out with her again.
But the only reason she even showed up in the anime was because she had Togepi, and they were invited to the Mirage Kingdom. And one, she doesn't have Togepi; he did, and she evolved. And two, the trio isn't around to give out fake tickets. Man, just when it would've been nice to have them annoy him.
But no point dwelling on that. It just meant he might call her later, though she was probably extremely busy. Still, based on what he'd seen when he looked up league forms, the Gym's rating had gone up. And yes, Gyms get rated. So she must be doing something right.
But back to the Mirage Kingdom, he had plans for that. And he also had plans here in Mauville City. What, did you really think Ash was telling the whole truth when he said "a few hours"? Getting here on Dragonite took thirty minutes. Pokémon were already gathering, and he could just teleport back with Ralts or Abby.
He'd used a big-brain move called lying. Because after this, he was going to talk to Wattson about a certain "project" he wanted to fund.
Ahh. So many plans. If only there were two of him…
Oh wait. There are.
So that was the plan, but first, he had one more text to send, to get something.
—
Pokemonenjoyer: Hey @Leavesonthevine, you up, or are you still being lazy
Leavesonthevine: wyw? 😒
Pokemonenjoyer: Rude 😤 but fair. I need a favor.
Leavesonthevine: Oh, this is gonna be good 🍿 What did you break this time?
Pokemonenjoyer: Not that… this time.
Pokemonenjoyer: Quick question though, you still got that Ditto, right?
Leavesonthevine: That one? Yeah 😏
Pokemonenjoyer: Do you have… any others?
Leavesonthevine: 👀
Leavesonthevine: Ohhh what are you gonna do with it, Ash something naughty? 😈
Pokemonenjoyer: WOW, okay. First of all, it's for a plan.
Pokemonenjoyer: Second of all, you are projecting.
Leavesonthevine: Uh-huh. Sure. 'It's for a plan' is what every criminal says.
Pokemonenjoyer: You literally scam people for a living.
Leavesonthevine: Allegedly. Also, "for a living" implies I need it to survive, I prefer doing it for the love of the game.
Pokemonenjoyer: 🙄
Pokemonenjoyer: I hate how on-brand that is. So can you send me one?
Leavesonthevine: Wow, you don't even promise to give it back? Romantic.
Pokemonenjoyer: …Green.
Leavesonthevine: Fine, fine 😂 Yeah, I've got a few extras.
Pokemonenjoyer: …Why do you have 'a few extras'?
Leavesonthevine: ✨Reasons✨
Leavesonthevine: Let's just say people in the Sevii Islands are very easy to trick if you say the word 'shiny' enough.
Pokemonenjoyer: I both respect and fear you.
Leavesonthevine: As you should 😌
Pokemonenjoyer: So can you send me one?
Leavesonthevine: Hmmmm depends.
Pokemonenjoyer: On what?
Leavesonthevine: What do I get out of this 😏
Pokemonenjoyer: You get the joy of helping your best friend.
Leavesonthevine: Ew. Gross. Try again.
Pokemonenjoyer: …I'll owe you one.
Leavesonthevine: 👀👀
Leavesonthevine: Dangerous words to say to me, Ash.
Pokemonenjoyer: I regret everything.
Leavesonthevine: Too late. Deal accepted
Pokemonenjoyer: …Just send me the purple slime before I regret this.
Leavesonthevine: Yeah, yeah. I'll transfer one over in a few minutes. Try not to miss me too much while you wait 😏
Pokemonenjoyer: I won't.
Leavesonthevine: Liar 💚
Pokemonenjoyer: Fine, maybe a little, but that's all you're getting from me.
Leavesonthevine: I'll take it. You still owe me for when you sent me out on my own during the Masked Man incident.
Pokemonenjoyer: I said I was sorry.
Leavesonthevine: Not good enough. I expect you to be at my birthday party.
Pokemonenjoyer: ??? I was already gonna go.
Leavesonthevine: Then I expect a big gift.
Pokemonenjoyer: Sometimes I forget why we're friends.
Leavesonthevine: You love it.
Pokemonenjoyer: Maybe a little.
Pokemonenjoyer: Anyway, have you been able to talk to Gary recently? Or Daisy?
Leavesonthevine: ? No, why are you bringing them up?
Pokemonenjoyer: Because I found Courtney.
Leavesonthevine: …YOU WHAT!!!
Pokemonenjoyer: You heard what I said.
Leavesonthevine: Why didn't you start with that?! Tell me everything. Does Gary know? What about Daisy?!
Pokemonenjoyer: I'll do you one better. You near a Pokémon Center? We can video call there.
Leavesonthevine: I can get to one in ten minutes.
Pokemonenjoyer: Cool. I'll finish up what I'm doing and get to a computer too. Don't forget, I do kinda need that Ditto.
Leavesonthevine: You can't be serious. That's really your concern right now?
Pokemonenjoyer: And you're saying you're any better?
Leavesonthevine: …Shut up.
—
Green ended the chat, and Ash got a message on his phone: a Ditto had been deposited into his PC.
Ash smiled and shook his head. For all the trolling Green did, she was reliable when it mattered. He was going to tell her, maybe she'd have better luck getting through to Daisy. Unfortunately, Gary still hadn't been able to contact her.
Apparently, he was doing some research with Bill, and Daisy was somewhere without a signal. But Gary promised that the second he got in touch with her, he'd tell her to call Ash immediately so they could talk about this.
Ash sighed and rubbed his chin. Just as he was thinking, he heard a splash in the water. He looked down, and there they were: about fifteen Feebas, all staring up at him expectantly.
Ash smiled. Looks like his plan worked. Now he just had to pick his favorite… then teleport back to Mauville City.
—
{Meanwhile, with D}
D was sitting on a plane, on his way to none other than the Mirage Kingdom, resting. This was fresh off a call with Taka, where they'd talked about their plans, and he'd released the leaks using Porygon-Z.
Unfortunately, sitting next to him on the plane were Jay, Enid, Helena, and Domino. All of them kept shifting, pretending they weren't sneaking glances at D.
He remembered how he'd gotten this mission. He'd walked up to Matori and suggested that he be sent to the Mirage Kingdom. Since they were putting out requests for help, it would benefit Team Rocket to gain the support of an entire kingdom, a good way to start untangling the mess they were stuck in.
Granted, D didn't actually care. But if Team Rocket gained a stronger foothold in Hoenn, it would make things easier for him when dealing with Team Aqua and Team Magma. And honestly, getting rid of them was preferable, at least Team Rocket wasn't actively trying to destroy the world.
When D made the suggestion, Matori reluctantly agreed. Given his condition, she was worried about him. But after that, the group practically begged to go with D on the mission. And since Matori was already concerned about D's mental state (even though he was completely fine, they just didn't know that), she agreed and assigned them to D's team.
So that's how we got here.
D closed his visible eye and leaned his head back against the plane window, the low, steady hum of the engines almost soothing, almost.
Unfortunately, the atmosphere inside the cabin was anything but.
Jay was pretending to read a magazine upside down. Enid was pretending to stare out the window, even though they were still above the clouds. Helena was pretending to be asleep. Domino wasn't pretending at all, she was openly watching him.
D cracked his one good eye open and looked at them, "If you're all going to keep staring, at least make it subtle."
Jay flinched. Enid looked away too fast. Helena immediately sat up like she'd been caught by a teacher.
"I–um… sorry…" Domino said, quickly looking away, though it sounded like she was apologizing for more than just staring.
"It's fine. Just, if you're going to pretend, at least make it convincing," D said, putting his arms behind his head.
Jay scooted forward in his seat, "So, uh… Mirage Kingdom, huh? That's kind of a big deal. Royalty. Ancient legends. Magical Pokémon. Hidden treasures-"
"—propaganda," D cut in flatly, "And a lot of people who don't know they're about to get dragged into a geopolitical mess."
Helena frowned, "You really think it's that bad?"
"I know it's that bad. Let's just say greed has a way of bringing out the worst in people," D said simply.
While D was explaining, Enid was still staring down at her lap, gripping the edge of her uniform. She took a deep breath, like she was finally getting ready to say something, "D, I—"
She was cut off as the pilot's voice came over the intercom.
"We're approaching the kingdom, and it looks like we've got company. Guards, and a guy who looks so cartoonishly evil it makes us look like pushovers."
D stretched his arms, "Figures. Bring us down. Don't worry, we've got this." He glanced back at the group, "I hope you guys got stronger since last time."
Now, D had meant that genuinely, but the group flinched anyway, hearing something else entirely. What they heard was a reminder of how he'd beaten them all in a six-on-one… and then lost to a mind-controlled version of him
"I… um… we'll try not to slow you down," Helena said quietly.
D raised an eyebrow, but before he could respond, the helicopter shook as it touched down in the sand.
Looks like it was showtime.