"Alright! Professor Oak, I've successfully received Quilava and Taillow!" Ash confirmed as he ended the Pokémon transfer call.
"I've also received Pidgeot and Treecko here. Keep up the good work, Ash!" Professor Oak smiled through the screen.
"Will do!"
Ash's updated team: Pikachu, Eevee, Primeape, Bayleef, Quilava, Taillow.
After wrapping things up, Ash regrouped with Brock and the others.
"Ash, I checked the map," Max reported. "The next Gym is the Fighting Dojo on Dewford Island!"
"Alright! We'll head there next! What do you think, Brock?" Ash asked."Pika~!" Pikachu chimed in agreement.
Meanwhile, Brock and May were engrossed in a Rustboro City tourism brochure—one eyeing souvenirs, the other dreaming about local desserts.
"Brock!" Ash called flatly. (ㅍ_ㅍ)
Finally snapping out of it, Brock responded, "There are three ferries to Dewford—morning, noon, and evening. We missed the noon ferry, so we can board the evening one. That gives us a few hours to do what we want."
"I'm in!" May cheered, fists in the air. ＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／／
"Then it's settled!" Ash agreed.
While sipping a cold drink, Max accidentally spilled it all over his PokéNav.
"Ah! No no no!" Max panicked, quickly wiping it with his handkerchief. But no matter how much he tapped, the screen stayed dark. It was completely dead.
"Oh no…" Max's heart sank.
May looked over, suspicious. "What's wrong, Max?"
"N-Nothing! We're free now, right? See ya!" Max stammered before bolting off. There was no way he could let May find out—she'd never let him live it down.
The group split up for some free time. Ash headed out for training.
He focused on prepping Primeape and Taillow for the upcoming Dewford battle. He had a couple of secret techniques in mind, while his other Pokémon trained on their own.
Meanwhile, Max stumbled across a quirky old man showing off strange gadgets to a group of kids.
"Wow, cool inventions!"
The eccentric man turned out to be none other than President Stone, head of the Devon Corporation—and father of former Hoenn Champion Steven Stone.
President Stone took a liking to Max immediately. He not only helped Max repair the water-damaged PokéNav, but also gave him a full tour of the Devon building.
Eventually, he asked his secretary to contact Ash, May, and Brock and invite them to Devon as well.
After checking out the fossil revival lab, President Stone and Max spotted a suspicious man sneaking around the facility. They gave chase!
At the Pokémon Center, Ash and the others met back up. Brock had finished shopping, and May was so stuffed with food she could barely move.
That's when they were informed that Max was with President Stone at Devon Corporation—and the president had invited them to come.
A luxurious limousine pulled up to escort them to Devon HQ.
"Whoa, now this is how the rich live…" Brock said, impressed.
"Are you Pokémon Trainers?" the secretary asked. "Our young master is quite the Trainer too."
"Of course! Steven is incredibly strong," Ash confirmed.
"Huh? Ash, you know Steven?" May blinked in surprise.
"Seriously, May? You're from Hoenn! Steven was the Champion of the region!" Ash sighed.
"Wait, what?! The Champion?!" ♦(•'╻'• )꒳ᵒ꒳ᵎᵎᵎ
Back on the chase, Max made a mistake that allowed the suspicious man to slip away.
"I'm so sorry…" Max hung his head in guilt.
"No need to feel bad," President Stone smiled. "You helped more than you realize."
"Huh?" Max looked up, confused.
"The guy panicked and ran, which means he was up to something. That proves his guilt. Now let's go catch him!"
President Stone really knew how to lift someone's spirits. Max quickly bounced back.
Chaos erupted in the lab.
President Stone's secretary—Mr. Kuroda—received an urgent call.
"This is Kuroda… What? Two sealed bottles of culture solution have been stolen? Understood. I'm on my way."
He turned to Ash and the others. "The president and Max are chasing the suspect. Let's go join them!"
"We're coming too!" May shouted.
"Don't worry, Max is with President Stone. But let's hurry—he may need backup!" Ash said.
"I know a shortcut," Kuroda offered. "We can cut him off."
They quickly reached a balcony, blocking the man's escape route. President Stone and Max caught up from behind.
"You're surrounded," Ash declared. "Give it up and hand over what you stole!"
"Max! You okay?" May asked, rushing over.
"I'm fine! May, this is Ash," Max said, proudly introducing his friends to President Stone.
"Ah, so you're Ash and friends. Nice to meet you!" President Stone smiled.
"Return the culture solution," he demanded of the thief.
"Hmph, not so fast! Go, Crawdaunt!"
[Crawdaunt — Strength: Peak Gym Level]
"A Crawdaunt… Looks like this guy is from Team Aqua, one of Hoenn's criminal organizations!" Ash narrowed his eyes.
"Pikachu~" Pikachu stood ready, sparks flying.
"Let's go, Pikachu—Volt Tackle!"
Lightning surged as Pikachu slammed Crawdaunt with full force!
"Get up! Use Crabhammer!"
Crawdaunt's claws glowed white and came crashing down.
"Double Team!" Ash commanded. Multiple Pikachu copies spread across the field.
"Pikachu, use—!"
"WOBBUFFET!""Prepare for trouble—again!""Team Rocket?!" May shouted. "Seriously? We're in the middle of something!"
Just then, Officer Jenny arrived in hot pursuit.
"There they are!" Team Rocket yelped, turning tail and running.
"What is going on here?" Officer Jenny asked, confused by the scene.
"Crawdaunt, use Bubble Beam!"
"Pikachu, Electro Ball!"
Bubbles rushed toward Pikachu, but he retaliated with a powerful Electro Ball, blasting through the smoke and hitting Crawdaunt head-on.
"Now, finish it with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika—CHU!!!"
A surge of electricity overwhelmed Crawdaunt, knocking it out cold.
"Crawdaunt is down!" Ash declared.
"Ugh, return!" the Team Aqua agent growled and ran toward a nearby box.
But Ash had been watching with his Aura.
"Don't even think about it—Pikachu, Thunder Shock!"
"Pika~!""Aaaagh!" The agent dropped instantly, twitching on the ground.
Officer Jenny cuffed him. "You're under arrest!"
The stolen culture solution was recovered and returned to President Stone.
Inside the box the thief had been reaching for, they found a small rocket booster—likely meant to be the thief's escape route.
"Thank you, Ash," President Stone said sincerely. "Without you, we might not have recovered the solution."
"No need to thank me. I'm just doing what's right," Ash replied, smiling.
Suddenly, Ash's Aura flared.
"Hmm? Pikachu—Thunderbolt!"
"Pika-chuuu~!"
BOOM!"WOBBUFFET!""Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"
[Ding~ Achievement Unlocked: First Victory Against Team Aqua! Reward: Primary Rare Candy ×5]
Rare Candy?! The real deal?!
[Primary Rare Candy: Instantly increases a Pokémon's level (up to Elite, excluding bottlenecks). Each Pokémon can use one of each candy tier—Primary, Intermediate, and High-Grade—only once.]
"Ah man, so there's a limit. Makes sense though… If there weren't, even low-level Pokémon could rival Arceus in no time," Ash laughed to himself.
To celebrate, President Stone invited Ash and the group to a luxurious dinner.
As a parting gift, he presented Ash with a Pokémon Egg.
"Ash, this is a thank-you gift for everything you've done."
"Huh? You really don't have to—" Ash said, visibly moved but hesitant.
"Haha, it's alright. My son Steven found this egg while exploring the wild and gave it to me. I'm just passing the kindness along."
"Then… alright. I'll take good care of it." Ash gently accepted the egg.
"Oh! Speaking of Steven—he's on Dewford Island right now. You might run into him!"
May suddenly had the idea to check out info on Dewford. Meanwhile, President Stone discreetly returned Max's now-working PokéNav, saving him from May's scolding.
After saying their goodbyes, the group headed out—one step closer to the next adventure.
To be continued…