Pokemon: Reborn As Ash; Hoenn

Ash, "Do not force your Aura. Feel it, immerse yourself in it."

Max and May were meditating feeling around for their Aura though unlike Ash's aura theirs were dormant. After talking to Norman they had come up with a training session together for them while they were on the road. Both siblings had started physical training with Molly joining in, the only thing she did not do was learn about Aura. She was a completely normal girl despite her run in with the Unown a few months ago it seems they did not bless her with Aura. She was conflicted about it but decided she did not fancy being in charge of missions by bossy Pokemon. That had made Ash and Lucario laugh at least so she took it as a win.

Ash, "Alright, that's enough for today. You guys did great. Do a cool down, lunch will be ready soon. I can smell it."

Max smiled, "Okay, we will."

May, "Trying to focus on aura is harder than I had thought."

Ash grinned, "Aura users have an old saying, be thankful your Aura is not active as it means you are not in danger."

Max, "No kidding. I lost count how many time you have been in danger. Actually I lost count how many times I faced danger so I am not sure if having dormant Aura helps."

May, "Me too. From time to time some crazy bastardized keeps trying to kidnap me. They think just because I am a kid I am an easy target. Humph!"

Ash winced, "Oof! Sorry about that."

Max, "It is not your fault Ash, I am happy you were there to help me during those times."

Ash smiled, "We will figure things out, somehow."

May, "Yeah, that's the spirit."

Gou, "Ash, I need a litt help."

Ash looked over, "Coming, I had forgotten how many plates we have."

Molly grinned, "We have an entire menagerie of Pokemon. That is to be expected."

Ash chuckled, "True, is Lucario back yet?"

Gou, "No, I believe he took Cinderace and Breloom to train privately. Something about creating a fighting squad."

Ash, "Ah! He was talking about doing that especially after we ran into Giratina."

Molly, "He is worried about what will happen because of the two groups. Plus, you are too kind Ash, we all know you would never hurt anyone."

Ash, "Hey, I am not that bad."

Gou, "Keep telling yourself that."

Ash, "Oi!"

May smiled, "Come on Max. Let's go clean up. I saw a stream near by."

Max nodded, "Sure sis. We should clean our training outfit too. It stinks after all the physical training."

May laughed, "That little brother is an understatement."

Max, "Hey May, what do you think about all this Aura business?"

May looked at Max as they reached the stream, "What do you mean?"

Max took off his training outfit to clean it, "I mean, to have Aura means we will always be in danger. So, what do you think?"

May hummed as she started to wash herself clean, "Personally I would prefer not to be in danger but if it means it will help someone out I will do it."

Max scrubbed his outfit harder, "Even if you get kidnapped, threatened to be brainwashed or killed?"

May sighed, "That would suck big time but if it can spare someone else then I will do it."

Max, "Yeah."

May bluntly asked, "You are talking about Ash, aren't you?"

Max shrugged, "I mean it happened to him, by his own relative."

May frowned, "Yes, I heard about it. Dad was talking with Steven and I overheard how it was Ash's own Uncle who wanted to do that to him. They could not believe anyone would try to hurt their own family."

Max nodded, "Hey sis?"

May, "Yeah?"

Max, "Are you ok? After what happened to you a few months ago. It was not just Ash who got kidnapped."

May, "Yeah, I am okay, do not worry. I will admit I was pretty pissed off they were planning on using me to threaten mom and dad though. I have never been more angry in my life."

Max, "They did that? Seriously?"

May, "Mm hmm. It was all I needed to find my way out of the situation. It was hilarious how they thought I was some innocent girl and not the trained daughter of a Gym Leader. Ha!"

Max giggled at that making May grin, she knew he had been worried and after watching Ash get kidnapped her baby brother was afraid she would disappear. So she decided to be honest about it and told him in detail about what happened and how she had outsmarted the idiots that had the audacity to kidnap her. Her Murkrow had not been amused by the whole thing and had even evolved into Honchkrow to protect her and deal with those fools. May had been touched when that happened but now she had to deal with a ridiculously overprotective dark type Pokemon. Yeah, she was never forgiving those idiotic kidnappers that caused this to happen.

Max sniffed the air as they headed back to the camp site, "That smells good."

May nodded, "I agree. What are you making?"

Ash, "Hey guys, your mom shared the recipe for Fukuoka with me. I figured I would try to make it. I am glad it smells great."

Molly, "Just smelling it is making me hungry."

Ash laughed, "Grab plates and sit down. The Pokemon are already eating we should too."

Max, "Right!"

May, "It smells just like mom's cooking. I am real thumbs in the kitchen though."

Ash started to serve the food, "Hmm, how about I show you the prep part. You can leave the cooking to someone else till you are confident about it."

May, "Sounds like a plan. I am in."

Max, "Umm... Ash, half of the Pokemon are wild aren't they?"

Ash, "They were attracted by the smell of cooking, yes."

Max, "I don't think the ones over there is wild Pokemon though."

Ash, "You are right. But I trust they will return to their trainers once they are done eating."

May, "So first stop is Rustboro City."

Ash nodded, "Yes, that's where the first Gym and shadow Gym is said to be located."

Max's eyes widened, "You are challenging the Shadow Gym? Aren't they powerful?"

Gou grinned, "He has two Shadow Gym cards after completing their training tasks in one week."

May gasped, "No way! That is so rare. Is that why you are not taking part in contest?"

Ash, "No, even with this I could take part but I want peace and quiet. Plus I have noticed the media whether it be Kanto or Hoenn tends to by crazy."

May winced, "Yeah, I know."

Max, "They still bother you over that incident?"

May sighed, "Yeah, I now have the reputation of a survivor. It is very annoying."

Ash, Molly and Gou shared understanding looks especially since Molly knew what it was like to be labelled as a helpless girl and Ash and Gou had been hounded for days after the Conference. It was an unavoidable part of being a winner and a very close and trusted friend of said winner. Gou basically lost count on how many times he had been approached for an interview, it only stopped because Professor Sakuragi put his foot down saying it was interfering in Gou's job as an OFRA. After that particular day, Gou made sure to always wear his OFRA ID on his person in visible sight to keep unwanted people away, though he attracted other kids who were OFRA too. They were gun to talk to however and had very interesting stories to tell him.

Ash got up after lunch was done, "Let's clean up. I want to find a Pokemon center to crash in. Heard there will be rain tonight."

May, "I will help. You already did a lot anyway."

Molly, "Me too."

Gou turned to Max, "Max, could you help me round up the wild Pokemon and return them to the forest."

Max, "No problem. Hey Breloom, come on we are in charge of crowd control."

Breloom nodded, "Loom bre breloom."

Cindera grinned, "Ace ace cin."

Lucario, -Meema, there is a call for you.-

Ash looked up, "Oh! It's Brock. Wonder what happened."

Lucario deadpanned, -He no doubt found out about Giratina.,-

Ash laughed, "Perhaps. Hello Brock."

Brock, :Do not 'Hello Brock' me, Ash Ketchum. What is this I hear about Giratina appearing in Hoenn of all places?:

Ash, "That was honestly not my fault."

Brock, :Misty says Lugia was screaming at her about child stealing dragons. You want to explain that?:

Ash, "Sorry what? Child stealing what?"

Brock, :That was my reaction too. But then imagine finding out Giratina, the Dragon Lord of the Underworld approached my young friend. I was half terrified thinking he was going to kidnap you like Entei had done.:

Ash coughed a bit, "Okay, first of all. That was the Unown being bored and being mischievous. Second, Giratina had a request for me."

Brock sighed over the phone, :That does not give me comfort Ash. I know Riley warned us that at some point the Legendary Pokemon will approach us directly to request help. But it also means there is big trouble afoot.:

Ash hummed, "I know Brock. That is why I have been training to fight by myself too, so that I can protect myself. It is not just my Pokemon who are getting trained, you know?"

Brock, :Misty was dragged from her bed in Cerulean by the way. Lugia was pissed and annoyed from what I heard.:

Ash winced, "Ah! I will have to meet with him later on then to calm him down. We are nowhere near an ocean body currently."

Brock, :Please do so. Poor Misty was not allowed any sleep as she had to calm angry Lugia down and do damage control. She put off her Jhoto journey for a week.:

Ash, "Also send Misty a gift package from Hoenn, got it."

Brock snorted, :This brings me to another thing. I will be writing my theory exams soon, which means I should be free for a bit to join you.:

Ash, "Already? You know what I don't mind."

Brock, :Figured you would say that. The theory part is three years so I am writing semester 1, 3 and 5 in one shot.:

Ash choked, "That's crazy... And people wonder why I call you a hair brained genius."

Brock laughed, :I figured if I did that some of the media attention would be taken off you for a bit. I will be joining Misty and the girls first of course. Make sure they are okay and doing well. After that I am joining you for the rest of the Hoenn journey.:

Ash's eyes softened, "Hey Brock."

Brock, :Yes?:

Ash, "You are the best big brother in the world and I love you."

Brock laughed, :Daww! Love you too little bro. See you in a few months, stay alive till then.:

Ash, "Of course we will. Who do you think we are?"

Brock, :My source of heart attacks.:

Ash laughed, "I will see you soon Brock."

Gou looked up from his packing to see Ash approach them, "So what did he say?"

Ash, "Apparently he will be writing three of his semesters in one go. That way he only has three other semesters to worry about."

Gou, "That's crazy. No wonder you always insisted Brock was the most book smart among all of us."

Ash, "Yep, and he will be the best Pokemon Doctor in the whole world. You can count on it."

Gou, "Looking forward to it."

Ash, "I see May got another challenger."

Molly, "She was challenged by that girl while you were talking on the phone."

Ash, "I see. Well, Honchkrow is having fun at least."

Max drawled, "Pretty sure he is making a statement here. He takes protecting May very seriously. Oh! I found out there is a Pokemon center close by though. We can stay there for the night."

Gou, "That's a relief. Those clouds have become darker."