Hoenn - Rustboro City

The sign saying, 'Welcome to Rustboro City' was a very welcome sight for all of them, it meant a proper room, proper baths, fresh ingredients and Ruby. On the other hand, Ruby was very relieved to see them in one piece and ushered them to the Pokemon center where he was currently staying in cognito. After they cleaned up Ash introduced Diance who was eyeing Ruby which made Ash wonder if she could sense Rayquaza, Orion. Ash should introduce her to the dragon Pokemon soon, he has a feeling they would get along just fine.

Ruby, "A Legendary from Kalos huh? The one from Sinnoh is okay with this?"

Ash looked at Ruby stopping his hair dryer, "I guess so. Giratina has shown he can travel anywhere he wants."

Ruby hummed getting up, grabbing the toy from the table and shaking it, "She's very active that's for sure."

Ash smiled seeing Diance play with Ruby, "You have a fond look on your face but it is not Diance that you are seeing. Who are you thinking about?"

Ruby was quiet for a bit then he spoke, "A few years ago I was also given a Legendary Pokemon to raise."

Ash, "Oh! I am very curious now. Who gave you the poke egg? It was Mew that gave me Diance's poke egg."

Ruby smiled, "Manaphy gave me a Poke egg that hatched into Kubfu."

Ash's eyes widened, "The Legendary fighting type Pokemon."

Ruby smiled, "Yes, imagine Leon's surprise when he learned. He was pouting that I was chosen though he would tell you otherwise."

Ash, "Understandable in a way, Kubfu was from his region after all."

Ruby, "Yes, do you need help drying your hair?"

Ash, "Ummm... I do not want to trouble you and Chimchar is already on it."

Chimchar who was using his heat to dry the hair waved, "Char char chimchar."

Ruby, "Adorable little one, aren't you?"

Chimchar grinned, "Char chimchar."

Diance then climbed Ash's lap demanding his attention while Phanphy was snoring away in the sunny area. Phanphy had insisted on being outside and carrying Diance all the way to Rustboro City despite feeling tired. Absol and Eevee had returned to their pokeballs while Abra clutched to Ash's back and Lucario like always by Ash's side no matter what. By the time they reached the Pokemon Center they had been covered in road dust, leaves and in Diance's case rocks. She had picked up every rock she found to be very pretty, cleaning that had been an experience.

Chimchar jumped down after Ash's hair was dry, "Chimchar chim."

Ash, "Thank you buddy, I really appreciate this."

Ruby, "Have you thought about what disguise you want to use in Hoenn?"

Ash, "Not yet, no. Why?"

Ruby grinned, "Let me help you."

Ash, "If you are sure... "

Ruby, "Completely, plus it sounds like fun, to be completely honest."

Gou joined them at that moment, "What sounds like fun?"

Ruby, "Making new disguises for you, especially when it becomes obvious you will be involved with two organizations."

May piped up from behind Gou, "Ooh! That sounds fun."

Molly, "Well we are going shopping today."

Max nodded, "Getting new disguises will be fun. I was thinking about a blond persona this time."

Ash, "I already did a blond and a red head, what should I do next?"

Molly, "Brunette, do a brunette. I think it will look good."

Ruby, "Hmm, I agree. We can pretend to be brunette siblings. What do you think?"

Gou, "That will be perfect as disguises. This time I will be a red head. I was thinking a flamboyant red head that has a Charmendar starter? That is if you are okay with that Scorbunny?"

Scorbunny hummed then gave a thumbs up, "Scor, scor."

Aah perked up, "A Charmendar? Don't tell me, your poke egg hatched."

Gou, "Yup, just a while back. This is Charmendar."

Charmendar who was in the bunny Pokemon's arms yawned, "Char char."

Gou, "Of course my Cinderace here will be disguised as a human and my trustee."

Cinderace grinned, "Cin cindee cinderace."

Lucario, -And I am disguising myself as a cowboy this time.-

Ash laughed, "You really like the Cowboy Bebop story that much?"

Abra, -It is a beautiful story Meema. I love Spike a lot.-

Max, "A new story? About Cowboys? Ash, you have to tell us."

Ash raised his hands, "Okay, okay, but this is a story between us for now. I don't know if I really want to share it outside our group."

Gou, "Did you make a new genre?"

Ash, "No, not at all. More like Cowboys in space sort of thing."

May, "That's going to become a new genre isn't it? I mean The Hogwarts Chronicles gave birth to Wizard school genre. There are so many childish shows that copy that book without the seriousness."

Ruby, "True, speaking of the book. I hear the second one is in the process of becoming a movie. We will be able to watch it next year."

Max, "Ooh! I heard about that too. I am really curious how they will create the Basilisk."

Ash, "Hmm... I already gave them a description in the book. It can't get more detailed than that."

Lucario, -Plus a model.-

Ash nodded, "And a mini model on what it looks like. Though that was more Annihi doing the work. I just described what it looks like."

Lucario, -He takes a lot of pride in his little sculptures. I think the Basilisk is one of his favorites.-

Max, "Wait, wait, wait!"

Ruby, "Max?"

Max, "Are you telling me all the sculptures we saw in one of Professor Oak's rooms was done by Annihilape?"

Ash smiled, "Well, technically he started doing this as Primeape but yes, those are his works. He enjoys his art and looks happy so I let him do it."

Ruby, "He sounds just like my Hitmontop."

May sat at the table next to Ash, "Do they make sculptures too?"

Ruby grinned, "No, not sculptures. But she does love splash art. She will take the brushes and then twirl around making the paint splash in different waves."

Ash, "That sounds like a lot of fun."

Ruby laughed, "It certainly looks that way. I have a designated room just for her art back in my bungalow."

Max, "Nice, I wonder if any of my Pokemon likes art."

May, "You would have to ask them."

After they finished drying up from their showers and baths, the group first decided to get the shopping done. The Rustboro City mall was one of the largest in the Hoenn region covering a field as large as the Conference grounds. The ground floor was filled with food shops, from berries to fruits to vegetables and finally cereals, eggs, milk, meat and bread. Molly and May decided to shop together and went off to a different area to get the items required for making various cookies and biscuits. Max and Gou were talking about making different types of whole meals that could fill them up after a whole day of walking and training and left in a different direction.

Ruby and Ash decided to shop for items Ash required to prepare food as well, Lucario sniffing through the many vegetables and fruits picking the ones he approved. Ruby was being helped by his Sceptile who was having a very intense chatter about what, Ash was not sure. From the serious looks on their faces it must be a very interesting topic and they were getting along so Ash was not complaining about it. Ruby tapped his shoulder and nodded in one direction which had shelves filled with different berries that he normally used as toppings. Ash smiled and the shopping luckily went without any hitch.

May, "All done!"

Molly, "We brought a lot of stuff."

Gou, "Now we just have to prep them and store them in our capsules to use as required."

Max, "We have a lot of stuff to prep."

Ash, "I will prep the meat, fish and shellfish."

Ruby, "I will help you."

May, "Great! Molly and I will deal with measuring the cereals, eggs and bread before storing them ready to be taken out right before cooking."

Gou, "I will deal with the vegetables, berries and fruits."

Max, "Let's get started."

Molly, "Yes."

Ash and Ruby started with the fish, descaling and deboning it before cutting it into different sizes and shapes. Lucario and Sceptile took over most of the deboning after watching their trainers for a while and seeing them wince every time they touched a thin bone the wrong way. After the fish was done they started to prepare the shrimp, scallops and oysters placing them in different containers. Before moving to the meat which consisted of chicken, pork and beef mostly, those three were the most favoured meat among the carnivorous Pokemon. Lucario mostly preferred pork and shrimps to every other meat though he would eat others too but those were his favourites.

May and Molly were focused on measuring and prepping the flour, rice flour, wheat, semolina and other ingredients. May had grabbed multiple containers during their shopping just for this and placed the items carefully inside. She placed sugar, salt, baking powder, eggs, etc alongside the containers, depending on the recipe for the dessert. Gou and Max on the other hand prepared the berries, they washed, dried and stored them in dry containers then turned to the fruits. They kept the bananas, apples, etc in one piece while the larger fruits like pineapple, watermelon and jackfruits were cut into smaller pieces before being stored.

The vegetables were faster to prepare, they peeled the onions then placed them as whole bulbs, along side the peeled ginger and garlic. The tomatoes, eggplants, okras, cucumbers etc were washed and placed in separate containers while the root vegetables were placed in baskets before being stored. Their Pokemon were beside them helping preoare the ingredients but it still took the whole day and by the time they were done, it was dinner time. Ruby decided they should go out to one of the popular restaurants in the City. It was famous for its cheese pasta and gelato which had May and Max perking up in delight.

Molly, "Gelato?"

May, "You are going to love it, I promise."

Max, "Yes, during summer it is one of the best desserts to have."

Ash, "Well, with such high praise, we should definitely go and check it out."

Gou, "Ooh! I want to try the strawberry and vanilla one. It looks really good."

Ruby, "We can order mini cups for each flavor and try it out. One mini cup can be shared between six people easily."

Molly beamed, "Yes, we have a plan. What about the Pokemon?"

Gou, "Do not worry too much Molly."

Ash, "Yes, high end restaurants are considered high end because they are capable of feeding Champion level Pokemon."

Max, "They are highly respected and they can even keep our privacy."

May, "There it is. Let's go everyone."

As they were ordering food a waiter led them to a private compartment which had a balcony that opened to a forest area. It was a peaceful dinner for the most part and the Ledyba that flew around made the tranquil night more relaxing. On the way back however Breloom was distracted by a clutch of Shroomish that were eyeing their food in hunger. Breloom pulled Max's T - shirt and pointed at the group of mushroom Pokemon that were eyeing them but refrained from approaching them. Diance noticed them too and called for everyone's attention making them look in the direction of the alley way.

May, "So many Shroomish, in the middle of the City?"

Molly, "This is a bit strange. Hey, are you guys lost?"

The largest Shroomish who looked like the leader nodded, "Shroom."

Lucario, -They are hungry Meema.-

Ash, "Well, I think we can spare some food for you all."

Ruby, "After that however we have to return you to the forest. You will have more food there then in the middle of the City."