268. Mirage Kingdom

I know I have been home for a few days but I was really sick.

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Walking out of the mountain road, Ash and his party reached the shored of a river passing by.

Ash received a call from someone on the nearby Pokémon Center not long ago, he was obviously very excited about this call. After hearing about the call, the rest of the group was very interested in Ash's mysterious guest. He had quickly informed them of who they were and brought the group here to wait for that certain someone.

"Ash, I always hear you mention her, and today I finally get to see the real person!" May looked very excited, after all, she will see one of the other two girl that Ash told was "his".

"Pika pi!"

Pikachu was the first to notice something again, and he immediately cheered up. ASH and Brock also became excited after seeing them.

Next to this small river, running along the shore, was the beautiful young figure yaht the three hadn't seen in a while now.

"Ash!"

Togepi in his arms jumped onto Pikachu's arms, and Misty threw herself into Ash's arms and gave him a big kiss, "Long time no see, how are you?"

The two of them separated, looking at Misty's energetic look, Ash smiled and said, "Of course, thank you for helping me take care of my Pokémon's!"

Misty was very busy as the Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Gym, but in her spare time, she will ride her bike ti Pallet Town to visit his mom, and then go to the backyard of the Professor Oak Laboratory to take care of some of his Pokémon's.

After all, Ash had caught many very powerful Water-type for his team, and as his future wife, it was only natural that she hangs out with them.

He has many Pokémon's that she loves, and not to mention his Suicune.

Of course, Ash's own Water-type Pokémon's help her train her own.

"Haha, it's nothing, babe. I'm the ine that should thank you. Thanks to your Slowking and the others, I'm much more stronger now! It's not easy to get the Cascade Badge of my Gym anymore!"

Misty has completely taken over the Cerulean City Gym after all three of her sisters left to go in their world tour.

They thought just maybe that they can learn something better for their future performances.

With that said, Misty looked at the May and Max who were next to Ash and Brock, "Are you May and Max? It's nice to meet you. I'm Misty from Cerulean City."

May rushed directly to Misty, "Hello! I've wanted to meet you after hearing about you from Ash!"

Max focused more on the Togepi that Misty came with. After seeing Pikachu, she looked very happy, it was very cute.

"I can meet you so suddenly here today was only because of my little Togepi." Misty received an invitation letter to the Togepi Festival for all Togepi Trainers, and it just happened that Ash had told her where they were going.

So she agreed with him to meet up here.

The group found the location according to the instructions on the invitation letter, "This hotel should be here! It sis that I'm the only one allowed to go in here for the sign up. You guys can wait up here for my good news."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Misty walked through the door with Togepi in her arms, the door slammed shut and everything in front of her had suddenly become all dark.

Then two people came up from behind Misty and carried her up a ramp. "Welcome to the Togepi Festival. This is the VIP room. Please wait patiently!"

The ramp was lifted, and Misty was inexplicably trapped inside.

Misty noticed that the place was surrounded by high metal walls, and it was also very cold and with no warmth at all. She immediately knew from all of her lengthy experience that this was not a good for her.

"ASH!" Misty subconsciously shouted on the spot for her lover.

At the same time, the wall of the so-called hotel where the venue should have been collapsed, revealing the surrounded flying aircraft. At the moment, Misty was still in the aircraft!

Boom!

Misty suddenly heard a violent sound of something crashing, and saw that the metal wall next to her was suddenly penetrated, and Ash got in from there.

"Ash!"

Misty exclaimed, no matter what time it is, even now, as long as Ash was around her, she will not feel scared.

Ash nodded and gave her a gentle kiss, grabbed the rope at his feet, and threw it out of the hole, "This aircraft has already taken off, we don't have time to escape from the main entrance!"

May, Brock, and Max quickly grabbed the rope and were taken off by the speeding aircraft, but Ash's amazing strength and a little bit of Psychic quickly pulled them up to where he and Misty were.

"Everyone, we don't know where we will be taken now, but don't worry, we will be fine! Trust me!"

As the team leader, Ash was responsible for everyone else's safety. Now that he is on this mysterious aircraft, he doesn't even know where the destination is. The only people he can trust now are his friends and his Pokémon's.

Expectedly, May was excited about thsi sudden outcome, "May's expedition team turned into a rescue team today; this will be a fun one!"

This girl has always had a spirit that was always ready for an adventure; not to mention her physical fitness was constantly improving as she traveled more and more.

"She's special, you know that, right Ash?" Misty said softly to her lover.

"I know," Ash turned to her and gave a nod, "But this is also one of the main reasons I fell for her. She's just like you and Maya in so many ways."

Misty blushed a little but went along with Ash, "I could see that. Well, Ash, you now have my permission to make her yours. May and I both agreed on this, so don't worry too much." Misty gave him a lively little grin.

Ash was a little stunned but nodded, "Well, I'll take that offer."

"Oh," Misty said suddenly as if she remembered something crucial, "Did you do the deed with her yet?"

Ash gave her a cheeky smile but shook his head, "Not yet, but soon enough. Maybe even after we deal with this mess."

Misty nodded as if she understood him, "That's a-okay with me."

Max was a little puzzled in what Ash and Misty were talking about so quietly but he knew Ash enough to not interfere now of all time.

It was May who broke their little silence, "So… what are we ding?"

"I also want to know that. Like where are they are taking us and what are their purpose." Brock said with a smile.

What kind of storms and waves has he not experienced yet? And with Ash next to him, he trusted his best friend to keep him safe in such times.

The aircraft crossed a desert, anf even broke through a sandstorm and they finally landed without any major danger.

This was apparently a place in the middle of a vast desert oasis, known as the Mirage Kingdom.

A real life king and queen rule this kingdom, and the people here all worship Togepi. There is even a temple dedicated to Togepi here. It is said that the heir of the royal family needs a Togepi to obtain the royal power of this land.

Ash and his team still know nothing about this, they just stepped off the aircraft, ready to face all the challenges here.

"Welcome to the Mirage Kingdom!"

Seeing that two people and a walking cat coming out of the aircraft's cab, Ash couldn't help but laugh, "Team Rocket, what are you three doing here?"

The Rocket Trio wore their fake beards on their faces and burlap with some Togepi patterns on their bodies. They looked nondescript and particularly funny to most people.

When they saw Ash actually getting off the aircraft, they were even more surprised than the group seeing the. They took off their disguises and said, "Boss, why are you here? Didn't we leave you far behind?"

Just to avoid Ash and his group, they used their hands and feet to the limit, closing the door, kidnapping, and taking off, a series of actions were very smooth, but they still underestimated Ash's speed and their unfortunate luck.

"James, what's the purpose of this time?" Ash asked.

"The purpose this time is none other than Misty's Togepi!" James replied, pointing to the Togepi in Misty's arms.

While the three of them were following Ash on his journey, they happened to receive a mission yo catch a Togepi. Then Meowth remembered that twerp Misty also had a Togepi of her own, so they sent an invitation letter and lured Misty to the Hoenn Region for this fake festival.

So Misty received the invitation letter and met with Ash and his team was not a coincidence at all, all of this is the "contribution" of the Rocket Trio.

'I should give you a credit for making me being able to meet Misty again.' Ash thought about this clearly, smiled and waved his hands, "Okay, you can go on with your mission. And act like we don't know each other."

"Yes sir," The Trio knew that their boss was planning something so their they just went with the flow. This really didn't matter anymore since all they wanted was to get their money already.

The question now was what is the purpose of people here needing a Togepi.

Sure enough, before the Trio could retreat back, a richly dressed and mean-looking bearded man appeared behind them.

Seeing him, the Team Rocket Trio immediately put on a flattering tone, "Sir Colonel Hansen, please see through with this, we have brought the Togepi you requested!"

Hearing them claiming this, Colonel Hansen threw Meowth to James and said sternly, "Your mission failed! I only asked you to bring Togepi, not their Trainer!"

Hearing this, Ash showed a frown and said, "I was just going to find you. No matter what the reason is, I will not agree with the behavior of separating a Pokémon from their Trainer!"

"Where did you come from, kid?!" Colonel Hansen didn't take Ash seriously at all.

"I am the regent of Mirage Kingdom, Colonel Hansen! Togepi needs to be used for some reason, so we need Togepi. Leave this place as soon as possible!"