Now, today, five days after the attack ended, things were finally starting to get back to normal. Well, as normal as this group gets.
They filled Ash in on the things he missed while he was doing surgery on Malde. Basically, like Anabel said, she made some phone calls, and mysteriously, the International Police came by boat and took the advanced-level grunt. Really a mystery.
Oh yeah, and Anabel was doing better after their secret "talk." She tried to give Ash back the scarf, but he told her to keep it, and maybe if she ever catches "D," she can give it to him, he said with a wink.
And then, last thing with Malde. Considering most of the things he did were while he was kind of missing a few screws because of the Pokérus, he'd been put on a boat to go off to LaRousse City, where they'll decide what to do with him there. But that wasn't Ash's problem. He already did the surgery; they can deal with the rest of him.
And before you ask, yeah, they did a few tests, and Anabel even entered his mind with his consent. And yeah, he didn't remember anything that happened, so he couldn't actually be taken away by the International Police officers. Again, not to say he won't face consequences, just that those aren't their problem.
And finally, as for the Frontier Brains, at least five days were enough for the majority of the people who came to get their fill, and at least they weren't getting hunted for autographs every time they stepped outside.
Well, most of them anyway. Tucker was still hiding, and no one was entirely sure where he was.
And as for the gang, after the incidents they'd been stuck in, none of them were particularly keen on having a battle anytime soon. Big surprise, almost dying does that to you.
So right now, with things much calmer, everyone was just sitting around a table enjoying a well-deserved ice cream break, although Ash didn't really eat his. That was mainly stolen by Pikachu and Vee.
With him right now were Gary, Green, May, Max, Wally, Nora, Damian, Brendan, and Brock, obviously, but Anabel was with them too. Now, why Anabel and none of the other Frontier Brains? Well...
As mentioned before, Tucker had been MIA. Spenser had apparently returned to the Battle Palace and was meditating, and according to Brandon, he had been meditating for almost twelve hours straight, so nobody wanted to interrupt him.
Lucy was busy trying to reorganize the Battle Pike after several hundred tourists somehow got lost inside it.
Greta had been challenged to nearly two hundred battles over the last five days and was currently refusing to leave her room.
Noland was desperately trying to repair the Battle Factory's scheduling after half the visitors had decided they wanted to battle him personally.
Brandon was the only one handling things relatively well. Most of the people trying to challenge him just got kicked out of the Pyramid, but he was still trying to make sure none of the artifacts got moved.
Meanwhile, Scott was running around the island laughing like a madman every time another boat showed up.
So yeah, that's what's happening with everyone else, and that's why they were left here by themselves, not that they were complaining.
Well, except for one person. Brock was slumped over the table, drowning his sorrows in ice cream, muttering something about his broken heart and how maybe he and Lucy weren't meant to be together.
Now, it was important to mention that literally everyone at this table, and even the other Frontier Brains, knew that Lucy was head over heels for Brock. She was really bad at hiding it when she blushed like a schoolgirl every time she saw him, and Greta had openly exposed the fact that she had a Brock plushie.
Everyone except Brock, apparently, who for some reason couldn't tell that they were both desperately in love with each other. And the same went for Lucy; she, for some reason, couldn't tell either.
And since anything short of Brock throwing himself at Lucy's feet and proclaiming his love for her wouldn't get through her head, and Brock was trying to restrain himself thanks to the many, many, many times Misty and Ash had "taught" him self-control, he wasn't doing that.
And at this point, the scene was sad, so Ash sighed and put his face in his hand.
"Okay, let's get this over with."
He walked up to Brock and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Brock, look at me."
"What is it, Ash..." Brock said sluggishly, barely standing up on his own.
"Hey, look at me," Ash said, slapping Brock lightly on the cheek, "Okay, remember all the lessons me and Misty made you learn about self-control and dialing it back?"
"How could I forget? I still have some bruises from when Misty kicked me," Brock nodded.
"Okay, I'm only gonna say this once, so you better listen to me well. Throw away all of it, just for today," Ash said, pushing him forward toward where the Battle Pike was, "If you want Lucy to feel the same way about you, we need OG Brock back!"
Brock blinked, "What?"
Ash grabbed both of Brock's shoulders, "You heard me. For one day only, I am letting you be Original Romeo Brock."
Meanwhile, back at the table, they were watching this like it was good television. Gary had already ordered another sundae and watched, "This is going to be the funniest thing we've seen all week."
May slowly lowered her spoon, "Ash, are you sure?"
"No."
"Then why are you doing it?"
Ash pointed at Brock, "Because I'm tired."
No one could fault him for that. Having to hang out with a depressed Brock when he had no right to be depressed was tiring. It was one thing when he actually had a reason, but here...let's just say the guys had wanted to hit him over the head with a chair more than once.
Meanwhile, Brock's eyes were slowly regaining life, "You really think so?"
"Brock, I know so. So listen to me, and listen to me good. You are gonna go to the Battle Pike, you are gonna find Lucy and let nothing stop you, and you are gonna give her the Brock Special, the kind that would make Misty want to drop-kick you."
"Yeah, I get it..." Brock suddenly stood up, "Yeah!" he said more enthusiastically.
"Flowers! I need flowers! And gifts!" Brock yelled as he took off running directly toward the Battle Pike, and the table could swear they were seeing hearts fly out of his head.
Ash finally sat back down, and everyone looked at him.
"You really just sent him off to do that," Brendan said.
"Do you seriously think he's gonna fail?" Ash asked, and everyone sighed, knowing there was literally no way that would go wrong. It was painfully obvious they both liked each other. Honestly, if they aren't a couple by the end of the day, THAT would be more of a surprise.
"Anyway, moving on, does anyone have any plans now that everything is done?" Ash asked, changing the topic.
"Well, I'm pretty sure the Battle Frontier is a success," Anabel said as she took a breath through her teeth, "Technically, that means we're gonna be busy for at least six months," she said, which wasn't a lie.
But she was also basically telling Ash that she would be returning to her duties as part of the International Police in six months after she finished doing things here, since he was the only one who knew she was part of the International Police.
"I guess..." Damian finally spoke up, still patting Shaymin on his lap, "I'm gonna head home and stop adventuring for a while...and also release Shaymin. I think Shaymin deserves someone stronger than me."
Nora listened and looked down at one Poké Ball in particular, "I...think I'm gonna do the same. It's my fault Damian got like that. I'm going to maybe try to work on myself for a bit...and I'm also gonna let...them go," she said, referring to Celebi but not saying its name out loud, "I just hope they find someone more worthy than me."
Ash looked at them and sighed, "Look, I'm not gonna try to change your minds. It sounds to me like you guys want to do this, but I will say, I think you're both great just the way you are. And if you feel like you need to do that, then I'll support you. And if you ever need my help, you always have my number."
They both nodded and smiled, since that seemed to make them feel better about their decisions. After what happened here, they were both sure they weren't the so-called Chosen Ones, and that Shaymin and Celebi would be better off with someone else.
"Okay, well, this was sweet and all, but can we get to the Donphan in the room?" Gary clapped his hands and pointed at Ash, "You still need to explain where you got the second...Deoxys, was it? And Darkrai."
Everyone turned toward him, because, I mean, it was a fair question, and it was something they all wanted an answer to. Ash knew this was coming, so he rubbed the back of his head while everyone looked at him.
"Okay, well..." Ash scratched his cheek, "Would you believe me if I told you I just found them?"
"No," everyone at the table said in unison.
"Figured," Ash sighed, "But I'm not technically lying. I did just find them."
"I found my Deoxys somewhere in the woods, and when I found it, it was ripped apart and barely alive. I kind of took it in and healed it with Aura," Ash said, and technically it wasn't a lie; he was just leaving some stuff out.
"Okay, and the fricking Mythical?" Gary asked, referring to good old Darkrai, since unlike Deoxys, Darkrai was something they were actually told about in stories.
"I also found it, and it was really angry. I think it tried turning me to stone, but I beat it up thanks to Deoxys, and I caught it. It's as simple as that." Also technically not a lie.
"Okay..." Green added, "ignoring how creepy and dangerous that sounds for a second...when did that happen?"
"Remember when you guys kicked me out of my house for, like, the whole day?" Ash said.
Now this one was a lie, but they couldn't prove it since only Green and Gary knew about when they did that, and neither of them knew where he went.
Meanwhile, everyone slowly turned to Green and Gary, who both scratched the backs of their heads awkwardly.
"Okay, listen, it was for his birthday stuff, and we had to do what we could," Green tried to defend their choice of how they did it.
"I mean, it was nice, but yeah, you guys left me unsupervised for, like, the whole day. You should know better," Ash said.
"Even I know that now," May added, "Also, sorry, I can't get over this. You guys kicked Ash out of his house?"
"You try preparing a surprise birthday party for someone with superpowers," Gary said, and that made everyone nod slightly. That did make sense.
"Okay, not important. It happened while I was on a walk, and let's leave it at that," Ash said.
Gary sighed, "Fine, I guess that's something. It doesn't answer everything, but it's better than nothing."
He didn't even ask about how Ash apparently had two Master Balls. Knowing him, if he asked, Ash would just say he asked.
"Yeah, and I guess that explains why you knew its name," Green said, slightly rubbing her neck, "So what's its deal anyway?"
"I dunno," Ash shrugged, "I think it's from space, but I might be wrong." Ash lied.
"That answers nothing, but okay," Brendan said, crossing his arms, "But do you, like, know why it came here?"
"It probably sensed Malde's DNA. I mean, he did look like he was half Deoxys," Ash explained, and it made enough sense for them to accept it.
"So what are you gonna do with them now, though?" Max asked, since apparently, to his knowledge, Ash had two Deoxys and a Darkrai.
"I mean, what else? They're mine now. I'm keeping them," Ash said matter-of-factly.
"Wha—"
Everyone nearly choked on their ice cream from how casually Ash said that.
"You answered that way too fast, my guy," Brendan said.
"And?" Ash asked, "Your point is? Did you expect me to release them?"
"No, no. If you did, I think I'd actually think you got taken by aliens and had your mind wiped, but still," Gary said, rubbing his temple.
"Look, all I gotta say is, I dunno why they keep showing up, but based on our track record of having to deal with BS we don't want to, are you really gonna blame me?"
Gary, Green, and May collectively sighed and said, "No," at the same time, since they'd been around Ash long enough to know what he meant.
Meanwhile, someone like Anabel kind of knew, based on the whole D thing, so she didn't say anything. Brendan, however, did.
"Now, the way you guys said that...how often do things like that happen?"
"Do you want the real answer, or do you want to sleep tonight?" Green asked.
Brendan immediately lowered his hand, "Noted."
"Okay, fine, I'll give you that. Maybe it's smart to hold onto them," Gary sighed, seeing this was getting nowhere, "Let's just move on before you give me a bigger migraine."
"Right, right. I guess we really should talk about 'that,' huh?" Ash said, narrowing his eyes.
Green's silly expression slowly fell as both she and Gary knew what he was talking about, "Ah, I kind of forgot about that after everything..."
"Yeah...same," Gary sighed as he stood up and handed the rest of his ice cream over to Pikachu, "We need to talk about this privately, no offense, guys."
"None taken," Anabel said, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"Okay, let's go for a 'walk,'" Ash said, standing up.
To which May immediately clasped her hands together in concern, "Now, are we sure this is the best idea?"
"Relax, he's not going on that walk alone," Green said as she stood up too, but she wasn't smiling as much now.
"We'll be back in a few minutes. We just need to talk about stuff," Ash told the table as they walked off together.
Once they were far enough away, Gary turned to look at Ash, "So, tell me everything you saw about Courtney."
"First, tell me, did you tell Daisy yet?" Ash asked, "She deserves to know."
"I told you already, I can't reach her. Last time I talked to her, she told me she went to do a project with Bill in an underground facility," Gary said again, "But I left a message, so as soon as I can call her, I will."
"I guess that's good enough for now," Ash sighed, but then he looked up at them seriously, "Fine. How much do you guys know about Team Magma?"
–
{Two days later}
A full week after all the stuff with Guile and Malde finished, and after the first wave of customers left thoroughly satisfied with everything here, the Frontier Brains could finally relax.
As for the talk between Ash, Green, and Gary, Ash told them everything he knew about when he saw Courtney, which wasn't as much as they would have liked, but they made a plan.
Since Green didn't have anything she had to go back to, and Gary could use the excuse of researching here in Hoenn so he didn't get called back just yet, they could spread out.
Basically, Green and Gary would go one place to search, and Ash would go another, and they'd keep in touch while searching for Courtney, because they still had yet to find out why she even left, why she was part of some evil team, or really anything at all.
But other than that, the only other important thing that happened was, to the surprise of absolutely no one, Brock and Lucy were together now.
Yeah, it really wasn't a surprise. As soon as Brock went back to his usual self and basically threw himself at Lucy's feet with flowers, she folded like a piece of paper.
So now, for once, Brock finally got a win. Yes, I know, hard to believe, but it happened and the world wasn't ending.
Now, the bad thing was that they were way too affectionate with each other...right in front of everyone.
Like, not even a day after they got together, during dinner they were feeding each other, and considering everyone else here was single...yeah, you get the point.
So that brings them to where they are right now.
Back on the dock, Brock and Lucy were still being all clingy with each other and muttering something that everyone, for the sake of their ears, decided to ignore.
There were three ships that Scott had called in for them as thanks for everything they did. They would basically take them wherever they wanted to go.
Nora and Damian were going to take one to head home. Gary and Green would take another to head to West Hoenn, while the rest of the gang, Wally and Brendan included, were going off to East Hoenn.
And now it was time to say goodbye to each other, "...Well, this is it," Nora said.
Damian nodded beside her, "Yeah."
Neither seemed particularly excited to leave after everything that happened. It felt strange in a way, especially since they knew they were also going to release Shaymin and Celebi.
Max suddenly ran forward and hugged Nora around the waist, "Don't disappear again."
Nora blinked before laughing softly and ruffling his hair, "I'll try."
Damian chuckled, "You make it sound like we're dying."
"Hey, no one's good at saying goodbye, but remember, I'll still be in contact if you guys need my help," Ash said with a smile.
Nora and Damian smiled again, and they stepped forward and pulled Ash into a small group hug.
"Hey, Ash, thanks for everything you do," Nora said.
"Yeah...you're the best," Damian nodded.
Ash gave a lopsided smile, "I try my best. Take care of yourselves, okay?"
"I think they should be the ones telling that to you," Gary said while sitting on a crate.
"What, you trying to get a hug too?" Ash asked in his usual tone.
Gary rolled his eyes, "No, I'm trying to distract us from the...whatever that is behind us," Gary said, pointing behind them with his thumb.
Over where he was pointing were Brock and Lucy, still standing together. Lucy was resting her head on Brock's shoulder while Brock could not have looked happier.
Yeah, the group had collectively agreed not to look at them while saying their goodbyes.
Meanwhile, the awkward tension was cut when the horn of Nora and Damian's ship blasted out steam, signaling that they would be leaving soon, and the other ships followed shortly after.
"Guess that's our cue too," Green said as she grinned and "sneaked" behind Ash before throwing her arms around him in a hug, "Try not to miss us too much," she said with a wink.
"Hmm, I dunno. Some time for a break doesn't sound so—" Ash started, but he was cut off when Green jabbed her elbow into his side, "Ow! I'm joking. It was good to hang out again, Green."
Green huffed, "That's what I thought."
Then she went over to May and hugged her, "Mayyyyy!!! I'll miss you. We barely got enough time to use up Ash's money together."
May laughed nervously and hugged her back, "It's okay. Besides, you're staying in Hoenn, so maybe next time."
"Please don't encourage her," Gary cut in.
"Especially not when she's talking about using my money," Ash added.
Green giggled and stuck her tongue out while hiding behind May.
Gary sighed, but then he walked up to Ash and held his hand out, "Smell ya later, Ashy."
Ash took it and smiled back, "Later, Gare-Bear."
Then Gary pulled Ash closer and whispered in his ear, "Remember the plan." While disguising it as part of the handshake, Ash nodded and then finished it.
"Well, goodbye," Ash said one final time as Nora and Damian got on one boat and Gary and Green got on the other.
The ships started sailing off, and they all waved as they disappeared into the distance, leaving the main group behind.
Ash lowered his hand, then took a breath and looked at everyone, "Okay, who is on Brock duty?"
Everyone immediately looked away, suddenly finding the wood on the dock very interesting.
"Um, I dunno," May muttered, "I used to think this kind of thing would be romantic, but I don't really want to get involved with...that."
Ash sighed much more deeply, "Traitors..." he muttered.
He was about to go, but then he saw Brock and Lucy literally rubbing their cheeks against each other, and Ash couldn't bring himself to do it, "Hey, Brock, you wanna stay here a few more days? I can get Abby to pick you up when we get to the next island."
Brock lit up and looked at Ash, "You'd do that for me?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever. Just as long as we can get away from this," Ash muttered.
Brock somehow appeared in front of him and put his hands on Ash's shoulders, "Thank you. I knew you were my best friend," Brock said, his always-closed eyes somehow shining with tears.
"Personal space," Ash said, as Brock was way too close to him. He turned to get support from the group, but they had abandoned him and were already standing on the boat, watching from over the railings.
Brock ignored Ash, "Of course I'll wait for you to come pick me up, and I'll enjoy every day I'm here."
"Yeah, yeah. Now get back to her," Ash said, flipping Brock around and pushing him toward Lucy again.
As Brock stumbled forward and turned back, Ash was already standing on the boat and waving at him, "Have fun."
Then he immediately turned to the captain and quickly said, "Start this ship before they start calling each other pet names."
The captain of the ship didn't need to be told twice. The horn sounded again, and the ship began sailing out into the water.
As they sailed away and looked back, they saw Brock and Lucy waving goodbye to them while holding hands.
But Ash also noticed that, off in the distance, the other Frontier Brains were waving at them too, even Anabel up on her tower,
Ash smiled helplessly and waved back along with everyone else, "Guess in the end, things worked out, didn't they?"
"Yeah, in a weird way, they did," May said as she rested her arms on the railing. Then she looked down at Max and pulled him into a side hug.
"Yeah...it's nice," Wally added as he rubbed his throat one more time where the marks used to be. But they were gone now, and he could finally relax again.
"So, where to first?" Brendan asked, jumping up and sitting on the railing.
Ash gave his usual grin, "Where's the fun in spoiling the surprise? Besides, no matter where we go, we're probably gonna have too much fun, aren't we?"
Brendan snorted as May also let out a small giggle, "Yeah, that does sound like us."
"Man, I should've decided to hang out with you guys more earlier," Brendan laughed.
Ash winked and pointed out toward the water, "Then let the journey continue."