Training Interruptions

A few days after leaving Dewford Island, the gang arrived at Slateport City where the next Pokémon contest was. Ashlyn had sent Keiko, Keesha, and Miku back to the lab for some rest. She brought back Finn, Kazuki, and Lancelot.

Ashlyn had already decided who would be in the next Pokémon Contest which was Serenity (Latias) who was very interested in participating in one when she saw a Pokémon Contest on the TV at Oak's lab. Ashlyn wanted to let her give it a shot.

May was also excited for her first Pokémon contest. Max and Ashlyn advised her that she should start training her Pokémon for the contest.

At the moment, the gang was at an isolated part of a beach where they could practice for the upcoming contest.

"Okay Serenity, you ready to start training for the contest?" Ashlyn asked.

Serenity nodded happily.

"Okay, let's practice." Ashlyn declared.

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An hour went by, and Elena believed that Serenity's performance was perfect. So Ashlyn returned Serenity to her Pokéball and headed back to the others.

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When she met up with the others, she saw May yelling at a green haired boy. She recognized the boy as Drew, May's rival. The boy was extremely arrogant to her point of view.

"Do you have to be so arrogant towards everyone you meet?" Ashlyn spoke up.

Everyone turned to Ashlyn.

"Who are you?" Drew asked.

"Ashlyn Ketchum." Ashlyn replied.

"Ashlyn Ketchum? Wait a minute, are you Ashlyn Ketchum, the Rustboro Contest Winner?" Drew questioned, shocked.

Ashlyn nodded, "That's right. I am." She confirmed.

Drew's shock expression soon turned into a smug one.

"Ashlyn here is the only one here who can rival me since she has grace, precision, style, and beauty. Technically speaking; she has everything you don't have." Drew retorted to May.

May became enraged and lunges at him, but he just held his hand up to her face and casually pushes her back. Ashlyn sighed at this. Perhaps she should have warned May that there are people like Drew at Pokémon Contests. Not to mention Harley who's one of the worst.

"May, don't listen to him. We should be focusing more on the contest. Not an arrogant coordinator." Ashlyn stated.

May turned to Ashlyn, "You're right! Let's get practicing!" She shouted with determination.

"Alright then, let's go." Ashlyn decided and turned away. Then she looked over her shoulder, "And Drew, whatever you have to say, say it on the stage."

Then she and her friends left the beach, away from Drew before he could say another word.

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So the gang went to another area where they couldn't be disturb, again. However that plan failed when a man walked up to them and introduced himself as Mr. Big who was a Coordinator in the past. Right now he creates fireworks by using crushed berries for colors.

He explained to the gang about Pokéblocks. Pokéblocks were candy blocks for Pokémon, and they raised a Pokémon's condition. Mr. Big pulled out two Pokéblock cases from his pockets and gave one each to Ashlyn and May. A Pokéblock case was an item where you stored Pokéblocks in. Ashlyn and May became interested about Pokéblocks and decided to learn about them right now.

For the rest of the day, Ashlyn and May learnt about Pokéblocks and making them with a berry blender and practiced some more for the Pokémon Contest. That night Mr. Big presented a firework display for a carnival, and when the fireworks went off there were pictures of Pokémon; a Torchic, a Mudkip and a Treecko. Apart from enjoying the fireworks, May couldn't wait to enter her first Pokémon contest.

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Eight days until the Slateport Contest begins. Everyone was working hard to perfect their performance for the contest.

But May didn't feel ready yet so she decided to practice with Beautifly some more. Torchic wanted to practice too, but May told it to wait with the others and she went off with Beautifly.

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The rest of the gang was eating their lunch at the Pokémon Center. As they were eating, Ashlyn and Alain noticed that Max hadn't touched his food.

"Max, is something wrong?" Ashlyn asked.

"You haven't touched your food." Alain said.

"It's not fair what May did to Torchic!" Max announced.

"Hm?" The others asked.

"I mean May spends all of her time with Beautifly now and then she goes off and leaves Torchic alone just to practice with Beautifly. So I'm wonder whether or not May even likes Torchic anymore." Max admitted.

"It's true that May is paying a lot of attention to Beautifly right now because of the contest, but that doesn't mean she'll stop caring for Torchic." Ashlyn stated.

"Ashlyn is right," Alain agreed, "May loves Torchic and since Torchic was May's starter and very first Pokémon, Torchic is more special to her than you think."

"It's true Max," Brock confirmed, "I mean no matter how many Pokémon a Pokémon trainer captures; their starter Pokémon will always be special to them."

"That's correct," Ashlyn added and turned to her Hoenn Pokémon, "I've captured a lot of different Pokémon during my journeys in the Kanto region, Orange Islands, Johto region and here in the Hoenn region, but they are all very special to me especially Tesla because Tesla was my starter Pokémon."

"Raichu!" Tesla smiled as she jumped onto her shoulder.

"Same with me and Charizard." Alain added, "Charizard was my first Pokémon when he was a Charmander. We've been together ever since I rescued him."

"A starter Pokémon will always be special to a Pokémon trainer no matter what." Brock declared.

"So Brock, what was it like when you got your first Pokémon?" Max asked.

"Ah, that day was the best day of my life." Brock smiled as he began, "It was the morning of my tenth birthday..."

Brock explained that he was starting to wake up and then an Onix peeked through his bedroom window. Then Flint entered the room; Flint had captured the Onix and it was Brock's tenth birthday gift as well as his starter Pokémon. They rode on Onix's head and watched the sunrise together.

"It was the best birthday that I ever had, and even though my Onix is now a Steelix and back at Pewter Gym, he will always be special to me." Brock finished.

"Just like how Eevee is to you, Max." Ashlyn added.

Then Eevee jumped onto Max's lap which surprised Max. Eevee smiled at Max who soon smiled back and petted Eevee who was enjoying the attention.

Ashlyn could tell that Max was beginning to understand.

At that moment, Nurse Joy walked up them.

"Excuse me." Nurse Joy said.

Brock was instantly by her side, "Nurse Joy, do you need some help on your rounds today?"

"No, not really. But I would like some help with the Treecko, Mudkip, and Torchic that I will be handing out to a Pokémon trainer today." Nurse Joy replied.

"Oh! Can we help?" Max asked, beaming.

"Sure I would like that very much." Nurse Joy replied.

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So Nurse Joy brought them to a scanning machine which scans the Pokémon in their Pokéballs for any injuries or sicknesses. Nurse Joy explained that as there was no Pokémon lab here in Slateport City so starter trainers would get their starter Pokémon in the Pokémon center. The Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip were in perfect health and were ready for the starter trainer. Nurse Joy let Max have a chance to let out the Pokémon which he happy to do. The Torchic was in a fighting mood; the Mudkip bursts into tears and was comforted by Brock's Mudkip, while the Treecko clasps its hands together and simpers (which means that Treecko is a female) at Kazuki.

At that moment, the phone was ringing which caught everyone's attention.

"Who could that be?" Nurse Joy asked.

She answered the phone and a worried May appeared on the screen.

"[Nurse Joy, something terrible has happened!]" May panicked.

"Tell me what happened." Nurse Joy instructed calmly.

"[There's a Wailord washed up on the beach. I think it might be sick.]" May responded, worried.

Everyone gasped.

"Wailord?" Ashlyn took out her Rotom phone:

[Wailord, the Float Whale Pokémon. Wailord is the largest Pokémon yet discovered. When diving out of the water in pursuit of its prey, it makes quite an impressive sight.]

"[Nurse Joy, please come quickly.]" May pleaded.

"Okay, I'm on my way." Nurse Joy assured her. Then the screen went black, "Guys, take care of these Pokémon while I'm gone. But don't let them leave this building please. They're not used to be outdoors yet."

Then she started to leave.

"I think I should come with you, Nurse Joy. We really belong together!" Brock took off after Nurse Joy.

"Good grief." Ashlyn and Alain muttered.

"He's never going to learn." Max added.

"Rai." Tesla agreed.

At that moment, Torchic took off. The others had to run after it.

"Hey! Come back here Torchic!" Max called out.

Ashlyn's eyes glowed blue and Torchic was outlined in blue. Then lifted into the air and placed in Alain's arms.

"Sorry Torchic," Ashlyn apologized, "but you have to stay here until the new trainer gets here."

Torchic started to peck at Alain's hands to try to escape, but Alain didn't let go no matter how painful it was.

"You okay Alain?" Ashlyn asked, worriedly.

"Don't worry, Ashlyn. I have dealt with stubborn Pokémon before." Alain assured her.

"I think we should return Torchic, Treecko and Mudkip to their Pokéballs before anything else happens." Ashlyn suggested.

Alain and Max agreed to that, and Max returned them to the Pokéballs at once.

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Soon enough, Nurse Joy, Brock, May and Beautifly arrived back at the Pokémon Center. Ashlyn was taking care of the peck marks from Torchic on Alain's hands. What Ashlyn didn't notice that Alain's cheek were turning pink as she treated his hands.

"Thanks for taking care of the Pokémon for me." Nurse Joy thanked Ashlyn, Alain, and Max.

"No problem." Mairin said as Elena finished bandaging Alain's hands.

"Is the Wailord okay?" Max asked.

"Oh yes," Nurse Joy replied, "I've given it some medicine and all it needs now is to rest and then it will be as good as new." Just then she noticed Alain's bandaged hands, "Torchic gave you some trouble, didn't it?"

"Yeah," Alain confirmed, looking at his bandaged hands.

"But Torchic and the others are back in their Pokéballs, all safe and sound." Ashlyn added.

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The new trainer arrived who was a young girl, who's name is Stephanie, and her dad. Max sent out Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip from the Pokéballs for Stephanie to see. Stephanie looked at both of them and started to think on which Pokémon to pick.

"Alright, all you need to do now is pick the one you want." Nurse Joy instructed.

"Okay. But it's so hard to choose." Stephanie said.

"No need to rush. Take your time, sweetie." Her dad chuckled as he assured her.

Suddenly they heard a sound coming from outside which sounded like a Pokémon. Everyone turned to the window and saw a Wailord being lifted in the air. They saw the red 'R' on it and knew that it was Team Rocket.

"It's Wailord! But why is someone moving it?" Nurse Joy questioned.

"That's because someone is stealing it." Ashlyn answered.

"What?!" Nurse Joy exclaimed.

Everyone quickly ran outside and saw Team Rocket in their balloon with Wailord attached at the bottom.

"Team Rocket!" The gang called out.

"Twerps!" The trio gasped.

"Release Wailord this instant!" Nurse Joy demanded.

"Prepare for trouble because we're holding a ton!" Jessie started.

"Make it double with our carrion one!" James added.

"Serenity, Percy, use Steel Wing to cut the ropes!" Ashlyn interrupted as she released her Eon Pokémon.

Serenity and Percy headed straight towards Team Rocket's balloon as their wings glowed a metallic color and they slashed the ropes off, freeing Wailord. The Team Rocket trio screamed in panic.

"Quick, Serentity, use Psychic to gently put Wailord back in the water!" Serenity's eyes glowed blue and Wailord was outline blue. Just before it could hit the water, it was floated just a few inches and Serenity gently placed the Pokémon back in the water.

Nurse Joy let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness."

"Hey! Why did you do that?!" Meowth yelled angrily.

"We caught that Wailord fair and square!" James added.

"I think it's time to send you three off. Everyone attack!" Ashlyn ordered.

Finn, Mudkip and Sebastian used Water Gun, Hestia and the two Torchic's used Flamethrower, Kazuki and three Treecko's used Hyper Beam, Lancelot, Eevee, Zigzagoon and Ziggy used Swift, Lela and two Poochyena's used Dark Pulse, and Tesla uses Thunderbolt. The attacks hit the balloon, causing it to explode and sent the trio higher into the sky.

"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" The trio screamed.

"WOBBAFETT!" Wobbuffet added.

Everyone let out sighs of relief.

"Great job, everyone." Ashlyn complimented the Pokémon.

The Pokémon smiled at that. Suddenly, Finn, Hestia, Kazuki, Percy, Lela, Lancelot, Poochyena, Treecko glowed which shocked everyone. Their forms began to change. Once they stopped glowing, everyone was surprised at their new forms.

In Finn's place stood an amphibious, bipedal Pokémon. Its body is primarily light-blue with a lighter shade of blue for its underside and an orange belly. It's head has an angular black fin, orange eyes, and orange gills on the ends of both cheeks. It has long arms with three-fingered hands. Its feet have three small toes, and it has two black fins for tails.

In Hestia's place stood a bipedal, chicken-like Pokémon. Most of its upper body is pale yellow, while most of the lower body is a deep, heavy red. An red, pointed design adorns the center of its waist at the dividing line of the two colors. It has red eyes and a short, wide beak. There is a feather crest on top of its head with three red points. Its tail is short and pointed. It has three, sharp claws at the ends of its long arms, and scaly, dark gray legs with well-developed thighs covered in shaggy feathers.

In Kazuki and Alain's Treecko's place stood a bipedal Pokémon similar in appearance to a theropod dinosaur. It is primarily green with a red underside. There is a belt-like green stripe across its belly. It has hands with two clawed fingers and powerful legs with birdlike feet along with three long leaves on its wrists, a large leaf on top of its head, and two tails.

In Percy and Alain's Taillow's place stood a large, dark-blue bird Pokémon with a red breast and face. A crest of feathers sweeps back from the top of its head. A blue stripe separates the red markings on its head and chest, and it has a white underside. It has small, narrow eyes, a pointed, yellow beak, and red feet with black talons. Each foot has three forward-facing toes and one pointed backward. Two long, pointed feathers with red tips form its tail and are an indication of good health when standing up straight.

In Lela and Alain's Poochyena's place stood a quadrupedal Pokémon that is based on a hyena. Its fur is mostly short and gray, but there is shaggy black fur on its lower legs, tail, and in two thick strips starting behind its eyes and running the length of its body. It has dark, triangular streak patterns below its eyes, which are red with yellow sclerae. Its ears are rhombus-shaped with dark insides, its nose is red, and it has gray paw pads.

In Ziggy and Alain' Zigzagoon's place stood a slender-bodied, quadrupedal Pokémon. Most of its fur is colored white, but it has several brown stripes. One long stripe stretches the length of its body before ending in an arrowhead shape on its forehead. There are additional stripes on each side of its bushy tail and on its cheeks. It has sharp, elongated claws and small pointed teeth. It has small, tuft-like ears, long cheek fur, and blue eyes.

Lancelot had also evolved into a Kirlia.

[Marshtomp, the Mud Fish Pokémon. Marshtomp is the evolved form of Mudkip. It is able to move and swim more quickly through mud than through water.]

[Combusken, the Young Fowl Pokémon. Combusken is the evolved form of Torchic. Its quick, powerful kicking legs can deliver as many as ten kicks per second. Note: This different coloration indicates that this Pokémon is a shiny Pokémon.]

[Grovyle, the Wood Gecko Pokémon. Grovyle is the evolved form of Treecko and live deep within forests. Known as tree climbers, they jump easily from one tree to the next.]

[Swellow, the Swallow Pokémon. Swellow uses its impressive dive-bomber speed and its large talons to capture its prey.]

[Mightyena, the Bite Pokémon. Mightyena is the evolved form of Poochyena. They move primarily in packs, working together to capture their prey.]

[Linoone, the Rushing Pokémon. Linoone is the evolved form of Zigzagoon. It can run at speeds over 60 miles per hour but does not handle curves well.]

Ashlyn smiled at her and Alain's Pokémon, "Congrads, everyone, you finally evolved."

All of the Pokémon cheered.

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Now with the Team Rocket situation over with, Stephanie was now able to choose which starter she wanted. But then Torchic jumped off the table that it, Treecko and Mudkip were on and ran over to Alain.

"What's the matter Torchic?" Alain asked, "Don't you want to be chosen?"

"Torchic torch! (I want to go with you!)" Torchic spoke.

"Torchic said that he wants to go with you, Alain." Ashlyn translated.

"Sorry Nurse Joy, Stephanie, but do you mind if I take Torchic?" Alain asked.

"I don't mind at all Alain," Stephanie assured him, "the truth is I decided to have Mudkip as my starter Pokémon. And I think Torchic suites you more than it would me."

"I don't mind either. I think that Torchic will be happy with you and no other trainer." Nurse Joy smiled.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy, Stephanie." Alain thanked them as he picked up Torchic into his arms.

Mudkip jumped into Stephanie's arms, making her smile. Treecko whined, saddened that she wasn't chosen.

"Nurse Joy, would it be alright if I take Treecko as well?" Stephanie's dad asked.

"Huh?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Well it's really cute. Not to mention it might get very lonely now that its friends have new trainers." He explained.

"I don't mind at all." Nurse Joy replied.

Stephanie's dad smiled as he picked up Treecko into his arms who smiled happily.

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And so, the three Hoenn Starters have found new trainers to take care of them. Alain got Torchic, Stephanie got Mudkip, and Stephanie's dad got Treecko. Now, Ashlyn and May prepare for the Slateport Contest where they're both battling for the Slateport Ribbon.

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Pokémon Caught: Mightyena (Lela)(F), Marshtomp (Finn)(M), Shiny Combusken (Hestia)(F), Kirlia (Miku)(F), Kirlia (Lancelot)(M), Swellow (Percy)(M), Linoone (Ziggy)(M), Grovyle (Kazuki)(M), Beautifly (Willow)(F), Shiny Feebas (Ula)(F), Corphish (Sebastian)(M), Aron (Hagane)(M), Sableye (Jacinth)(M)