Wow...you clean up well.....

"Why do we have to wait for those girls to get dress again, hey Brock, what time will the festival begin." Max grumbled as he laid his body on the sofa lazily.

"The festival will start at 7:30 Max." Brock said to his bored friend.

"Could we just go to the town before the girls, knowing those four this may take a while AND I MEAN A LONG TIME?" Max exclaimed, greatly empathizing the time.

"Sorry Max, no can do. We not just have to wait for those four girls but also for Mrs. Ketchum, Mrs. Hikari, Noelle, Professor Oak, and surprisingly Ash. The last one, even I couldn't believe." Brock explained with a small smile.

"I never took Ash for someone who would care for his looks, he changed somehow." Max said with disbelief.

When they had arrived at the house they were shocked that Ash hurriedly hit the shower and had not gotten out for an hour now, much to the groups dismay and annoyance. It was lucky that there were two showers in the house or else it may cause an all out brawl outside the shower room.

"How long as Ash been there, two hours." Max asked, finding anyway to at least have something to do.

"Two hours and counting, strange Ash never took this long when his taking baths during out journey." Brock inquired remembering how fast the boy takes his shower and baths.

"Yeah, Ash isn't the person to think about his hygiene." Max snickered. "What do you think Gary?" Max asked as he glanced at the silent Pokémon researcher.

"Yeah, what you say." Gary said nonchalantly and without any hint of interest or arrogance in his voice. Brock and Max glanced at the Gary, whom was leaning on a wall with a solemn expression. Since he returned from following Ash, he seems to be mere solemn and was thinking a lot harder and sincere. He was also uncharacteristically quiet, disturbingly quiet. The group also noticed that Gary was looking at Ash with mixture of shock, disbelief and hurt in his eyes, like he saw something that changed his very perspective of Ash, heck it was like he saw something that changed his perspective of life itself.

"Hey Gary you okay, you seemed to be awfully quiet at the mall and also when we left." Brock asked with worry.

"It's nothing, believe me it's nothing." Gary said as he looked at his two friends.

Max took notice in Gary's tone and smirked, he may have just figured out why Gary was like that. "Is it something to do with Ash and what he did in the mall?" Max asked which caused Gary to almost stumble down the ground after hearing that statement. Max seemed to hit the nail.

"So you was doing, finally we get to know what Ash is doing every time he disappears. The mystery is finally solved, finally." Max exasperated in glee.

Before any of them could say a word, Brock beat them to it. "Before any of you say something, let me get out of hearing range first. I don't want Ash's fist landing on my face ever." Brock said in fear as he hastily leaved the room.

"What's wrong with him?" Gary asked, bilwierded by the breeder's action.

"Don't mind him, his just still traumatized when Ash beat the living day lights out of him when we stalk Ash do find out what his doing when he disappears but who could blame, I even felt sorry when Ash began punching his face, I even felt hurt after seeing those blows." Max shuddered after remembering that beating. "So could you tell me what you saw that made Ash disappear?" Max asked in anticipation.

"Sorry Max, I didn't see anything, I didn't even see Ash in the mall. I doubt if he even is doing something worthwhile." Gary said with his best acting voice, which was pretty damn believable. 'I never thought I'll find a used in those acting lessons that me and Ash used to take when we were kids.' Gary thought with a smile.

"Are you sure, are you really sure that you didn't even saw anything that involved Ash?" Max asked in hoped in his voice.

"Sorry Max, Ashy-boy seemed have learned how to be evasive, I didn't even see his shadow." Gary said with a voice that could fool a lie-detector.

"I see." Max sighed in disappointment. "I never would have thought that Ash would be this hard to figure out, cause come on this is Ash were talking about, his as readable as a book." Max said with a mocking laugh.

"That's Ash for you, his more readable than an opened book." Gary said with a fake snicker.

The two of them laughed for a while, that until they heard a sickening thud. The two of them knowing what that thud is and who caused that sighed, this was going to be a long night, especially for Gary.

"You want to check how beat up Brock is." Gary asked as he walked towards the cause of the commotion.

"If it burns up some time, sure why not." Max replied with boredom.

(Scene Change)

"(We've been here for two hours, can we get out now)?" Pikachu asked in desperation.

"Few more minutes, just give me a few more minutes. I'm almost done here." Ash said as he carefully and gently polished something in hands. Ash was already wearing the clothes that Elena unfortunately bought for him, but he changed some design of the clothing in order to fit his style and his personality, and more specifically, so that the clothes are more qualify and more efficient in a fight.

"(You've been polishing that thing for more than an hour, what is that thing anyway)?" Pikachu asked as he peered at Ash's direction.

"It's not a thing but it's the most important thing that my father left me." Ash said with a slight growled. "Plus, I'm polishing this because I'm finally ready to give it to Elena." Ash said with a blissful smile.

Pikachu sighed and patiently watched his brother to polish the little jewel in his hand. He knew that once he gave that to Elena that would signify there….. He didn't even want to think about it and just shrugged the idea. He knew that this will happen from the time Ash met Elena and he will follow Ash's decision till the end.

"It's done." Ash said as he looked at the beautiful jewel in front of him, more specifically the written language behind the precious jewel. "I finally have the courage to give this to here." Ash then put the jewel in his pocket.

"Come on Pika, let's go." Ash called as he opened the window, Pikachu then jumped on his shoulder. "Looks like there already waiting for me outside and who am I to keep them waiting." Ash then jumped of the second floor towards the ground.

(Scene Change)

The group of ten was patiently waiting for their last member to come down. All the females was dressed by traditional kimono's that watched the color of their hair while the boys on the other hand was dressed by their usual unimpressive attire.

"This the first time that Ash took his sweet time in the showers." Dawn said with an impatient tone.

"Of all the times that that guy will thing about hygiene why now." Misty exclaimed with an exasperated sighed.

"Yeah, how inconsiderate of Ash." May said in annoyance as she waited impatiently for the raven haired boy.

"Inconsiderate, this is the first time that Ash actually made us wait for something." Max grumbled under his breath.

"Your point being, Max." May snapped at her brother.

"My point being May." Max then send a sneer at his sister. "Is that you guys are more inconsiderate for forcing us to carry all those bags from the mall than Ash. This is his first time he made us wait for something and you call him inconsiderate, what are you a hypocrite?" Max exclaimed with a cheeky sneer.

"Why you little…" May said threateningly as she approach her brother. May would have most likely trampled him if it was not for something or more specifically someone landing in between them. The said person was Ash.

"Hey their guys." Ash said with a low tone and with a sly smile. Pikachu just gave them a smile and a thumps up.

"ASH." The entire group exclaimed in shocked at Ash, the reason why is because of his new attire. Ash was wearing a black on white trench coat that has a strange insignia of a blue orb with wings on its side and a lotus in the middle of the orb on the back of the trench coat, a fitted black shirt with a white lightning in printed in front of it, a black on red with silver flames dancing all around it, strangely he wasn't wearing his signature hat, letting his hair sway by the wind and even his hair was different, the usual messy hair of his was tame in a wave and spiky like fashion. The boys were shocked to see Ash have a major make over, while the girls were drinking Ash's new look with their eyes with lustful expression in them, if he looked handsome before with his old attire, he looked damn right hot and dashing with this style of clothing and hair. The adult and Gary on the other hand had a different expression on their faces. Johanna had a bilwierded look on her face like she saw that man before during her journeys, Gary and his grandfather had a look of utter disbelief on their faces, that look was similar with his father. Ash's mother on the other hand had to check her heart if she wasn't experiencing a heart attack because right now, her son looked like the mirror image of his father only better looking.

Ash didn't pay his friends any mind as he kneeled down to Max's level, dropping the suitcase that Ash was carrying. "Hey their Max thanks for not saying I'm inconsiderate." Ash said as he patted Max's head.

"No problem Ash." That was the only words that came out of Max's mouth, still shocked at Ash's arrival. Ash then stood up and looked at May right on the eye.

"Oh yeah, May." Ash said in a low tone.

"Yes Ash." May replied with a slight blush on her shock face.

"A era should non factum severiter versus suus frater." Ash stated in a scolding manner in an unknown language. The group, especially May, flinch at Ash's tone but Delia, Professor Oak, and Gary were slacked jaw.

"Ash, did you just spoke Latin." Gary said in shocked.

Ash merely gave Gary a smile before walking away from the group but he stopped right in front of his mother. Delia at her son right in the eye which Ash answered by merely smiling.

"EGO sum meus abbas filius." Ash said in a whispered so that his mother was the only who could hear it. Ash then walked of, not seeing the tearful expression on her mother's face.

Delia quickly shrugged of that expression and followed her son, her changed son.

The group didn't notice that little exchange because of one reason.

"What language did Ash speak?" Zoey asked in curiosity.

"It's Latin, Ash just spoke Latin." Gary explained to them with a smirked in his face. "I can't believe it, Ash still speaks Latin."

"You mean Ash can speak that complicated language." The group said in unison.

"Yeah, Ash was very proficient in Latin. We were thought by his father when we were young. Ash can speak and translate Latin very well while I can only translate" Gary said with a laugh.

"So what did Ash told me." May asked with a smiled and hoping in her tone. 'Maybe he complimented me.' May thought hopefully.

"Do you really want to know what Ash said to you?" Gary asked backing away from May. May nodded eagerly which cause Gary to sigh. "Ash said 'A lady should not act harshly towards his brother'." It only took a second to May to comprehend the message, May sulk at the corner while Max was snickering behind her.