chapter 41 part 2

the next day, Ash woke up about ten in the morning. He was still exhausted from worrying about what had happened the day before. The rest of our heroes were already awake. They were sitting at a picnic table enjoying breakfast. May noticed that her boyfriend had awakened and walked over to him and kissed him good morning.

" Good morning my love, Brock made breakfast. Are you hungry?" May asked her boyfriend. Ash hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the morning before. He looked down at his stomach and noticed it was growling.

" Yeah, I guess," said Ash in a low voice. Ash got up from the ground and sat next to May at the table. The heroes began eating their breakfast when Steven came out of the woods and approached the table. The heroes looked up and saw the white-haired man standing over them. Ash though he recognized him.

" Have we met before?" asked Ash.

" Of course you remember me Ash. I'm Steven, Steven Stone," said Steven.

" Oh right your Mr. Stone's son correct?" asked Ash.

" That is correct. I was watching your gym battle yesterday and..." Steven began to say, but stopped when he saw Ash put his head down.

" I'm sorry Steven but Ash feels guilty about what happened to Hariyama yesterday," said May.

" Guilty? It's a battle, Pokémon will get hurt but it'll make them stronger. Just ask my Metagross how many dents he got put into him during battles, and now he can take on the entire Elite Four by himself," said Steven trying to cheer Ash up. Ash lifted his head a little to look at Steven.

" Your right, Pokémon do get injured in battle, but not killed," said Ash about to cry.

" Hariyama's not dead Ash. I stopped by the Pokémon Center earlier and saw Brawly standing over Hariyama in the Recovery Room," said Steven.

" So Hariyama's... just fine," said Ash starting to cheer up.

" Of course, he just needed some stitches," said Steven.

" See Ash, I told you there was nothing to worry about," said May as she kissed his cheek.

" Thanks Steven, I still feel guilty but it's nice to know that I didn't kill a Pokémon," said Ash. Brock then started to clean up from breakfast, May and Roxanne helped him, and Max walked around with his Grovyle. Ash walked with Steven and talked about Pokémon battles, however Steven always seemed to change the subject to rocks and fossils.

" Hey Ash, I found something you might be interesting in, deep inside Granite Cave," said Steven whispering.

" What is it?" asked Ash curiously.

" We'll head over there in a few minutes, go get May and bring her with you, you might get some good news from this thing," said Steven smiling.

" Good news? What is he talking about?" asked Ash to himself. Ash then walked over to his girlfriend and hugged her from behind.

" Hey Beautiful, do you want to take a walk with me and Steven to Granite Cave in a few minutes?" Ash asked his girlfriend.

" Sure Ash, you did what I wanted to do the other day, so I'll go with you," said May smiling. Steven then let Metagross out of its Pokéball and signalled for the couple to follow him. They walked north out of Dewford Town and towards the cave. High above them, was a familiar Meowth hot-air balloon.

" Hey look! There's the Albino asshole with the twerps," said James angrily.

" Let's attack them right now," suggested Meowth.

" Are you crazy? You saw what that Metagross can do. Let's wait until they enter the cave and ambush them there," said Jessie. The Rocket trio watched the heroes enter the cave, then the balloon descended.

Steven, Ash, and May were walking through the darkest parts of the cave. They walked for what seemed like an eternity, since they kept having to fight Zubats and Sableyes every five seconds. Finally they reached a door made out of diamond. On the door was some Braille writing.

" What's it say?" asked Ash.

" It says: Ye who enter here, exit the timeline," responded Steven.

" What's that mean?" asked May.

" You'll see," responded Steven in a serious tone. Steven put a Dragon Scale in front of the diamond door and it open, revealing a large chamber with a blue stone in the center. The trio approached the stone and Steven placed the Adamant Orb on top of it. The stone began to glow and a shiny Dialga appeared in the back of the chamber.

" Whoa, a shiny Dialga!" asked Ash surprised.

" That's not why I brought you here Ash, the Dialga isn't really there," said Steven.

" Then why are we here?" asked Ash. Just as he said this, Dialga used Roar of Time and Ash disappeared in along with Dialga.

" Where did they go?" asked May, who didn't believe what she just saw happen.

" Ash, with the help of Dialga, exited the time line. He'll be able to see his past and his future," said Steven.

Meanwhile in an alternate dimension, Ash was floating alongside Dialga, and he was able to see his entire life. First Ash looked at his past. He saw himself being born, when he got Pikachu as he started from Professor Oak, and finally he saw when he met May.

" I'll never forget the first time I met her. I didn't believe in love at first sight until I laid my eyes on that angel," said Ash to Dialga.

" I was so naive back then, I should've known she had a crush on me since that first day," said Ash chuckling. Dialga nodded his head in agreement.

Then Ash started to see his future. He saw Pikachu being hit multiple times by a Metagross but eventually making it faint with multiple Thunder attacks. He then saw himself as a gym leader in a gym that looked more like an aquarium. Then Dialga roared again and the dimension twisted and before he knew it, he was standing in front of May and Steven, Dialga was behind him. Then Dialga used Roar of Time again and this time May disappeared.

" That was insane," said Ash to Steven. Ash was dizzy from the experience and could hardly walk straight.

In the alternate dimension, May floated alongside Dialga and started to look at her past. She focused on one part of her past, when she first laid eyes on Ash. Then she saw herself talking to her mom after Caroline guessed that she liked Ash. Caroline told May to wait for Ash to make the first move, something he didn't do until three years later. Then May started to look at her future. She was Hoenn's best Pokémon Coordinator and she had a nice house in what looked Sootopolis City. Before she could see any more, Dialga roared, twisting the dimension and sent May and itself back to Granite Cave.

" What just happened," said May not believing what just happened. Steven smirked.

" I couldn't believe it myself when I found this stone. My dad always told me this stone only existed in mythology," said Steven.

Outside the chamber, Team Rocket watched the trio.

" Imagine how that stone would look on the boss's desk," said Jessie.

" Yeah, we'll all be promoted and I'll replace that stupid Persian of his," said Meowth excitedly. Then Team Rocket sent out all of their Pokémon and ran into the chamber reciting their usual motto.

" Meowth, go steal that stone and Wobbuffet, help him!" ordered Jessie. Before Steven, Ash, or May could react, Meowth ran past them and grabbed the stone. However, when he grabbed the stone, the shiny Dialga appeared again to defend the stone. Meowth was scared and couldn't move. Jessie saw the Dialga and got an idea. She took out a Master Ball and threw it at Dialga.

" A Master Ball? Oh no!" yelled May.

" It's not going to work," explained Steven.

" What?" asked Ash curiously. The Master Ball went right through Dialga as if it wasn't even there and instead caught a passing Zubat.

" NO!" screamed Jessie. She couldn't believe she wasted her only Master Ball on a semi-useless Pokémon.

" You know what to do Dialga," said Steven nonchalantly. Dialga then used Roar of Time, sending Team Rocket flying out of the cave and into the sky.

" Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" yelled Team Rocket.

"Wobbbuuffffettt!" yelled Jessie's Wobbuffet.

" Good job Dialga!" yelled Ash.

" Ok Dialga, you can go back into resting now," said Steven. Dialga roared again before using telepathy.

" Ash and May, your futures are bright, and I can guarantee, you'll be together until the end of time," said Dialga. Then Dialga spoke to Ash so that May and Steven didn't hear what it had to say.

" Ash, in your pocket I left a piece of diamond from my chest. Do with it what you want," said Dialga. Then Dialga roared again and disappeared. Ash and May looked at each other happily and kissed passionately, glad that they would be together for eternity. Steven watched them smiling. The trio then walked back to town.

" Let's not tell the others about today," suggested May. Ash agreed. On the way back to town, Ash saw Brawly and Hariyama training on the side of the road. Ash ran up to them.

" Hey Brawly!" greeted Ash.

" Oh hey little dude, how are you?" asked Brawly.

" I'm fine but how's Hariyama?" asked Ash.

" Don't worry little dude, it looked worse than what it was, you're forgiven," said Brawly patting Ash on the back.

" Thanks," said Ash now cheered up.

" That was a good battle, that Pikachu of yours is strong," complimented Brawly.

" You really think so?" asked Ash excitedly.

" I know so! It's getting late, you should get back to town," suggested Brawly. Ash agreed and the trio walked back to their campsite near Dewford Town's gym. Brock saw the trio approaching.

" Hey guys, we didn't see you all day, what were you doing?" asked Brock.

" Yeah we were worried," said Roxanne.

" Calm down, we were just checking out all the awesome fossils in Granite Cave," said May. The heroes then sat down for dinner and Steven prepared to leave.

" Are you sure you don't want to travel with us Steven?" asked Ash.

" I'm sure. I need to continue my studies, but we'll meet again one day," said Steven shaking Ash's hand. He then walked towards Granite Cave. Our heroes waved goodbye to him. Max took out a map and looked at it.

" Where are the next guys?" he asked.

" I guess back to Slateport Town," said Brock and the others agreed. Then they all went to sleep. Ash kissed May good night then laid down and thought about what had happened that day. Ash and May were lying next to each other holding hands. Ash took the piece of diamond out of his pocket and looked at it for a while. Then Ash figured out exactly what he would use it for. Tomorrow, our heroes would be on the boat for Slateport City

It was noon the next day and our heroes were en route to Slateport City on board the S.S. Anne. It was about a five hour boat ride to Slateport so our heroes enjoyed the sun. Brock and Roxanne were hanging out near the on-board restaurant, talking with a large group of Rock-Type trainers and Pokémon breeders. Pikachu was in the restaurant, eating all of the ketchup. Max was in the pool, and Ash and May were sitting out on their room's balcony, just enjoying the beautiful day.

" Wow, I love this new S.S. Anne compared to the old one," said Ash.

" Yeah, but it's a shame what happened to the old one," responded May. The old S.S. Anne, while sailing to Hoenn from Kanto, hit an underwater rock and sank, killing three people. Ash got up from his chair and looked out at the horizon. He saw the outline of Slateport City already starting to form.

" We're almost there already?" said Ash, upset about the short time they got to spend on the S.S. Anne. May got up from her chair and hugged her boyfriend from behind and kissed his neck.

" Hey don't worry Ash, guess where we're going when we get to Slateport?" asked May.

" Uh... shopping?" asked Ash, knowing how May loved to shop. May giggled.

" Nope, the Route of Romance," responded May blushing. Ash turned around and kissed his girlfriend.

" I can hardly wait," whispered Ash into May's ear. He picked May up and brought her over to the bed where they started to make out. Within a few seconds however, a relaxed Max walked through the door and screamed when he saw his sister and Ash in bed. The couple jumped and quickly started to come up with an explanation.

" Uh Max, sorry I tripped and landed on May," lied Ash.

" Sure you did," said Max with a sly grin.

" Okay Max, you obviously know we were making out, but can you do us both a favor and knock before you enter," said May angrily.

" Sure thing, but do I have to knock if I'm delivering the condoms?" said Max laughing.

" I'm going to kill you brat!" yelled May as she chased her little brother out of the room.

" I'm sorry that he ruins romantic moments," apologized May.

" No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I forgot to lock the door when I came in," explained Ash as he kissed May's hand.

" It doesn't matter, hopefully we'll have more privacy later," said May. Ash smiled and nodded in agreement and the couple went back out to the balcony, to watch the ship approaching Slateport.

An hour later, our heroes gathered their supplies and disembarked the ship. They walked through the city, past the city's museum. As they were walking by, Brock noticed that there was a man near the museum who was waving for help.

" I wonder what the problem is," said Brock.

" Let's go find out, May, Max, Roxanne, stay here just in case," said Ash. He gave his girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek and walked with Brock and Pikachu towards the museum.

" What's the problem Mister?" asked Ash.

" Team Aqua is holding the museum up. They are looking for a powerful blue orb," said the scared man.

" Pika pi," said Piikachu.

" Kyogre," said Ash, thinking out loud.

" Ky...what?" asked the man.

" Kyorge, a blue aquatic Pokémon who has an ability to make it rain endlessly and expand the sea. Team Aqua's goal is to expand the sea, so that there's little or no more land left. Kyorge always sleeps in a cave but the power of the blue orb would awaken him," responded Brock. The man looked even more nervous.

" We need to stop them, especially if the orb is in there," said Ash.

" Let's go!" said Brock and the duo ran into the museum. As they walked in, they saw two grunts holding up an old man with a Mightyena.

" Hey you two, hold it right there!" yelled Ash.

" What do you want asshole?" yelled the male grunt.

" I wanted you to stop harassing the people of this region!" responded Ash as Pikachu's cheeks started to spark.

" Well that isn't going to happen kiddo until you need to use a boat to get everywhere," said the female grunt.

" That's it! Pikachu use Volt Tackle!" ordered Ash.

" Mightyena use Shadow Ball!" ordered the female grunt. Pikachu charged right through Mightyena's Shadow Ball, cutting it in half and sent it flying towards the male grunt. The off- course Shadow Ball hit the grunt, sending him flying out the front door. Simultaneously, Pikachu struck Mightyena with the Volt Tackle, sending it into the wall. Mightyena laid on the floor, bloody and unable to continue battling.

" No! Mightyena return!" said the female grunt.

" Now get out of here or Pikachu will do much worse to you and your Mightyena," said Ash angrily.

" Fine fine, but you haven't seen the last of us or Team Aqua," said the female grunt as she walked out the door.

" Thank you so much young man," said the old man.

" No problem Sir, may I ask why they were holding you up?" asked Ash.

" Well about a year ago, I was hiking at Mount Pyre when I stumbled upon this orb. Not knowing where it came from and since it looked so rare, I picked it up and carry it as a good luck charm," explained the old man.

" I see I see. Sir I don't want to sound like I'm trying to control your life, but I suggest you hide that orb and hide it good because Team Aqua will attempt to steal it and Team Magma will attempt to destroy it," explained Ash.

" Yeah, I suggest handing it over to Officer Jenny," suggested Brock.

" This orb means a lot to me but you lads are right, I'll take this to the police station now," said the old man. He shook Ash's and Brock's hand and walked out of the museum. The duo then walked out of the museum and towards the rest of the heroes.

" Hey Ash what happened?" asked Roxanne.

" Eh nothing much, just Team Aqua attempting to be badasses again," said Ash chuckling. The heroes then walked north on Route 110 towards Mauville City. Our heroes decided to stop for dinner about halfway to Mauville. Our heroes ate and Brock, Roxanne, and Max cleaned up. Ash was about to help them when May took his hand and took him over to the tall grass by the water.

" Now it's just you and me," said May in a seductive voice. Ash was surprised since he never heard May speak in such a seductive tone. She began to kiss him under a beautiful Hoenn sunset.

" This truly is the Route of Romance," thought Ash to himself. As the couple continued to make out, they didn't even hear the others calling their name, nor did they see Brock or Roxanne looking over them when they found the couple.

" We should leave them alone," whispered Brock to Roxanne. However, when Max walked up behind Brock and saw the couple he didn't react as quietly.

" Can't you two get a room!" yelled Max as the couple jumped up.

" Well Max, if you remember, when we did have a room, that didn't stop you from bursting in and yelling at us," said Ash. The heroes then continued their journey towards Mauville City and Ash's next electrifying gym battle versus Wattson.

Meanwhile just outside of Sootopolis City, two Team Aqua grunts returned to their headquarters empty-handed. They walked into a huge room with a large pool in the middle.

" Did you get what I asked for?" asked Team Aqua's leader Archie.

" Sorry sir, but just as we had it, some kid came in and started attacking us," said the male grunt.

" That's no excuse! Since you two are so dumb, Team Magma has managed to acquire the red orb. Due to your stupidity, I would not be surprised if I woke up tomorrow and the world is ninety-five percent land," said Archie about to break the grunt's neck.

" I'm sorry boss, we didn't expe-," the female grunt began to say before being cut off by Archie.

" I'm finished with you two, I had to resort to paying outside organizations to help me. May I introduce you to Jessie, James, and Meowth," said Archie as the Rocket trio walked in.

" We're ready for anything sir," said James.

" You see, they're loyal. I'll have to thank Giovanni later. Let this trio be an example to you idiots," said Archie as he pushed the two grunts into the pool, turning the water red as they were eaten alive by a school of Carvanhas and Sharpedos. The Rockettrio looked nervous because Archie was much more brutal than Giovanni.

" Now don't make the same mistake as them. I heard the blue orb was left with an Officer Jenny, figure out which one and retrieve it!" ordered Archie.

" Yes sir," said Jessie nervously and the trio exited the room.

" That's one crazy son of a bitch," whispered Meowth to the other two as they boarded their hot air balloon

It was late when our heroes arrived in Mauville City. Since nothing was open, they decided to get two guest rooms at the Pokémon Center. Per Brock's request, Max stayed with Ash and May in one room, and Brock and Roxanne got the other room. Ash walked into Brock and Roxanne's room, a little angry,

" Hey Brock, why do we have to deal with Max?" asked Ash not wanting to deal with Max's expected sexual jokes that he most likely learnt from Brock.

" You always leave him with us, and besides maybe you forgot that I too have a girlfriend that I want some alone time with," said Brock.

" Fine fine, you're right," said Ash acknowledging all the times he and May sent Max to the couple. Then Ash went back into his room. There were two beds, a double bed for him and Max, and a single bed for Max. They wanted to head straight to bed because Ash had his gym battle the next day. Ash turned off the lamp by the bed so that the room was pitch black.

" Hey guys, keep your clothes," said Max giggling. May threw a pillow at him, hitting him in the face and knocking his glasses off.

" Ow! I'm telling Mom!" yelled Max.

" Good night brat," said May before falling asleep.

The heroes woke up the next morning feeling reenergized. They left the Pokémon Center, went to eat breakfast, and then started to head towards the gym. When they got there, the inside of the building looked dark.

" That's strange, the gym isn't open yet?" questioned May.

" I guess not, but it's noon," said Ash.

" Let's go inside and see if anyone's there," said Brock, but as he went to open the door, it was locked.

" Locked? That's strange," said Ash. Just as he said this, a smiling old man walked up behind them.

" Hello can I help you?" said the old man.

" Um yes, we need to get..." Ash began to say then he recognized the old man was the gym leader, Wattson.

" Oh hey Wattson, you're still the gym leader," said Ash.

" Of course young man, I wish I could battle you right now but I'm in a bit of a pickle," said Wattson chuckling.

" What's wrong?" asked May.

" Well, a couple of thugs from Team Rocket showed up and said we didn't pay our dues to their leader. So they smashed up the gym's interior and shut off the power to this part of the city," said Wattson.

" They can't do that! We'll take care of them, where's the power generator?" asked Ash.

" It's underground in a power plant called New Mauville. You can get to it by looking for a cave southeast of the city," said Wattson.

" Don't worry Wattson, you'll have your power back soon enough. I hope those Team Rocket thugs are still there so I can teach them a lesson! It might be dangerous, so May, watch Max and Roxanne and Brock and I will go," said Ash.

" But...?" May began to say. Ash put his arms around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her passionately.

" Don't worry May, I'll watch myself," whispered Ash before kissing her again and running to New Mauville's entrance with Brock. They walked into the cave and they noticed that the door to New Mauville was forcibly opened.

" Stick close," said Ash as he entered the power plant with Brock following close behind. New Mauville was a creepy place. It was dark and quiet except for the occasional sound of an electrical spark. The walls were made of metal and it was designed to look like a labyrinth. Ash and Brock easily became lost since they didn't know what room the generator was in. They searched room after room without success. They entered the last room where a bright light illuminated the room. They saw the power generator on the other side of the room and they heard two voices.

" Prepare for trouble," said one of the voices.

" Make it double," said the other voice.

" To infect the world with devastation,"

" To blight all people in every nation,"

" To denounce the goodness of truth and love,"

" To extend our wrath to the stars above,"

" Cassidy,"

" and Butch,"

" We're Team Rocket, circling the Earth all day and night,"

" Surrender now or you'll surely lose the fight,"

" It's Cassidy!" yelled Ash.

" and Bitch!" added Brock.

" Fu-, it's Butch not Bitch, are you freaking deaf?" asked Butch with steam coming out of his ears.

" Whatever, why do you guys shut off the power?" asked Ash.

" The old man wasn't showing us respect by letting us build a hideout under his gym, so a little extortion never hurts," said Cassidy.

" Well looks like you need to find another place for a hideout because I'm restoring the power!" yelled Ash.

" Oh yeah? Over my dead Butch!" yelled Cassidy.

" Yeah! Wait...what?" asked Butch confused.

" Go Raticate!" ordered Cassidy.

" Pikachu quick, use Iron Tail!" ordered Ash. Pikachu's tail started to glow white and hit the Raticate just as it exited its Poké Ball, and sent it flying into some frayed cords, shocking it. The Raticate fainted from the amount of damage.

" Cheap shot kid! Raticate, return!" ordered Cassidy, as the injured Pokémon returned to its ball.

" Go Hitmontop!" ordered Butch. It exited its ball and awaited more orders.

" Hitmontop, use Rolling Kick!" ordered Butch.

" Pikachu, use Thunder!" ordered Ash. One thing the young trainer forgot though, is that everything was made of metal.

" Ash no!" yelled Brock, but it was too late, Pikachu had already discharged a large amount of electricity. It bounced off all the walls, shocking everyone in the room but sending the Rocket Duo through the ceiling and into the sky.

" Damn it Botch, we're blasting off again!" yelled Cassidy.

" My name's not Botch, it's Butch, Butch, Butch!" yelled Butch as the duo disappeared in the sky.

" Ash are you crazy!" yelled Brock.

" Sorry Brock, I forgot," said Ash trying to calm him down. Ash walked over to the generator and turned on all of the switches and levers.

" The power should be back on, let's get back to Mauville," said Ash as the two exited the underground power plant and returned to Mauville City.

" Well, well, well Ash, it seems that you succeeded," said Wattson laughing.

" Yeah, it was a piece of cake," said Ash arrogantly. Roxanne looked and Brock and noticed a burn mark on his neck.

" My God, what happened to you hun?" asked Roxanne.

" Oh nothing, it was just a shocking experience," responded Brock. Ash had to bite his tongue so he didn't giggle at his stupid pun. Ash then walked over to his girlfriend.

" You see my love? I am alive and in once piece," said Ash smiling. She smiled in return and put her head on Ash's chest as they embraced. Wattson then exited his gym, carrying four Poké balls.

" Hey Wattson, where are you going?" asked Ash.

" Well those thugs destroyed my Pokémon before they trashed my gym so I have to make a quick run to the Pokémon Center," said Wattson chuckling.

" Why is he always laughing and chuckling? Oh well, if Cassidy and Butch can beat him with their pathetic excuse for Pokémon, then I should have no problem," though Ash to himself. He waved to Wattson and he kissed his girlfriend on her forehead. Then they went into the gym's lobby to wait for Wattson to return