A female voice called, "Admin, there is a new recruit here looking for a job."
Meowth looked up in his dwarf disguise, "I will be there Terra. Make sure he does not try to steal anything."
Terra a blond teen who Meowth had helped before nodded in agreement. She truly respected her group leader and sometimes thought of him as her own father or at least what she thought a father would be like. Since she was an orphan, she sadly had no adult figures in her life before Admin M saved her from being trafficked. She would have become one of the poor casualties lost in the sands of time with no one to truly mourn her or grieve her. Terra took a deep breath trying to steady her emotions just like Admin M had taught her and entered the office. She faced the blue haired man who was looking around the place in a non chalant manner. There was something about him that rubbed her the wrong way but she knew better then to jump into situations without gathering full information first. Admin M entered the office after a while and stared at the man who grinned back at him.
Admin M, "Thank you for keeping him company, Terra. Tell your brother to head up with some tea for our guest."
Terra stiffened, "Yes boss, understood!"
Terra frowned as she headed down to the mess hall, 'A guest? He said he wanted a job. Why is boss so nice to him?'
A male voice called, "Yo! Terra, why the frown?"
Terra looked at the dark haired boy, "Tim, boss has an important guest."
Tim's blue eyes narrowed, "I thought the guy came here looking for a job."
Terra muttered, "I thought so too."
Tim, "You don.t think the other sections sent him here, do you?"
Terra, "I would not put it above them. Not only do we have to worry about Team Magma but also about disruption from fellow Aqua members who are envious of boss."
A third male voice chimed in, "We have to protect our Dad, no matter what Tim, Terra. He is too kind for his own good."
Tim looked at the red head and nodded, "I agree Wilkin. Do not fret I shall look into this guy with Rotom. We will figure out what he wants from Dad... I mean boss."
Terra smirked, "Try not to call him that in front of other people you two. They will try to use it to blackmail dad and you know it."
Terra got serious nods from the two teen boys and left grabbing a tray of tea and food for the guest. That was another thing that happened after her boss found her, not only did she get a father figure but also two siblings. There was a lot of tension in the beginning, a lot of suspicion and jealousy filled fights but as the months went by they started to see each other as family and got close to each other. They were annoying at first and hated each other but somehow through shared missions and training the started to accept and understand one another. Terra still thought they were annoying but heaven help anyone who hurts her family, she would set her Gyaradoses on them if they do. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door, entering after she got the permission to walk in.
Terra, "I got the food boss..... Is something wrong?"
Admin M, "Everything is fine, Terra. This is an old friend J and he is here to help us."
Terra became a little defensive, "Why now?"
J smiled, "Suspicious little one, aren't you? Smart, you will survive this business that way."
Terra eyed him suspiciously, 'Is he threatening me?'
Admin M, "Terra."
Terra, "Yes boss."
Admin M, "I have a job for you."
Terra, "Of course boss."
Admin M handed a disc, "The details are here. Memorize, destroy, break down and initiate. Do not be caught."
Terra, "Understood! Tim will be on stand by if you need anything boss."
James watched amused as the suspicious teen left, "She adores you old friend."
Meowth, "I know J. She reminds me of us when the boss found us and gave us our jobs the first time."
James stretched out running his hand through Meowth's fur, "And you have been running yourself ragged. When was the last time you took care of your yourself. It is rough my dear friend."
Meowth, "Bah! I am too old to have smooth unblemished surface. Plus it adds to the disguise of a rough and tough dwarf who should not be messed with."
James chuckled, "Of course, but Jess would have my head if I let it continue as long as I am here."
Meowth, "Is she okay?"
James, "You know her. Nothing in this world can keep her down."
Tim who got a heads up from Terra who was heading out for mission frowned from what he had just heard. This J sounded so intimate with their boss, to be able to comment on their health and looks. He was not sure how to feel about this at the moment and decided to keep observing. No Wilkins, he was not jealous, he is just protective of the one person he considers his father, okay? Besides, having someone who could make sure his father ate and slept well was a good thing. Tim would wipe that smirk off his brother's face if he did not stop soon, he was not jealous. Wilkins shook his head at the older teen as he returned to his work station with a very amused Chansey. He was the only one who was even remotely interested in learning medical techniques and got a Pokemon specialized on the subject. Chansey like him was a rejected Pokemon who had been thrown out by poachers after they realized her healing abilities were nothing special.
Wilkins, "Our siblings are being foolish again Chansey. They could just ask dad directly."
Chansey chuckled, "Chan, chansey."
Wilkins, "Well whatever happens, we will be here to patch them up."
May in the mean time was having fun with the poke block contest, "Come on Torchic, Staryu, we are so close."
Ash cheered, "Go May go!"
Ralts, "Raaaa! Ralts, ral."
Lucario chuckled, -Yes, it does look fun, does it not?-
Diance, -A lot of fun.-
Max, "Yeah sis! You are almost at the end."
Kirlia, -Go May go! Almost there.-
Ruby, "I can see Alanna is getting close to the final door too."
Gou taking pictures agreed, "Glad we took a break from training today."
Ash's Wigglytuff had joined them this time while Pikachu returned back to the ranch to update others on how Ash and the babies were doing. It was also to give another of Ash's Pokemon time with Ash. Venasaur, Blastoise and Charizard were currently unable to as they had responsibilities and regions to cover. Wigglytuff had taken to training Treeko and Taillow who were more into battling then any contests or show case. The pink coloured Pokemon was very happy to see Ash again and spent most of the training by his side even getting some one on one training. Ash was very proud of her progress and made her promise to take care of herself aside from training too. That made Wigglytuff huff in amusement as it was Ash who needed care most of the time instead of her but she kept that to herself.
May, "Almost there you guys!"
Staryu, "Hah!"
Torchic, "Tor tor."
Allana, "You will have to beat us first. Come on Whismur, Growlithe."
Whismur, "Whis whismur."
Growlithe barked, "Grow!"
Allana, "Come on Growlithe, climb on. I will carry us above using the rope."
May, "Come on Staryu, Torchic. We are not loosing easily."
The competition was pretty fun and ended with a lot of laughter and with May being the second runner up with Allana coming as the third. After the competition ended they decided to continue training for a few more days before travelling to Mauville City that was right next door to the town they were currently in. Ruby however had been quiet for a while now and Ash wondered what was going on his mind. Gou slightly nudged Ash to talk to Ruby as the older teen had already turned him down after reassuring him everything was fine. Even if he could not tell Gou who was an OFRA, he could still tell Ash who just like Ruby is raising a Legendary. Ash gave a skeptical look but agreed to talk to Ruby about whatever is troubling him. He does not expect answers though he could offer a ear to listen to his problems.
Ruby sighed noticing Ash, "Gou sent you, didn't he?"
Ash, "He is worried and so are May and the kids. Yes, they noticed."
Ruby, "I apologize."
Ash, "No, no, we are not scolding you. So do not apologize. We are jus worried about you. Is everything alright?"
Ruby gave a wry smile, "You are not going to like it."
Ash, "Shoot! I will listen and decide."
Ruby eyed him then snorted, "My parents are demanding I propose to Cheryl immediately and to bring her to the estate where she will be trained as the Head Wife."
Ash gaped, "Whaaaa.... Okay, I can't say I was not expecting something crazy to happen, but not this."
Ruby smirked, "Well it is happening now, so you better believe it. On the bright side, your plan worked smashingly. They think you are a real girl, Cheryl who has Diance. No one suspects Ash Ketchum to have a Diance."
Ash laughed, "And now they want the two trainers who have Legendary Pokemon to get together. I do not think Kalos will be happy to learn that."
Ruby, "No, they are not. It is the main reason why I must ask you avoid being Cheryl for now. Things are a mess politically."
Ash took out his phone as it beeped with a message received and saw it was a link sent by Ruby. Ash clicked on the link and almost regretted it on reading the article, if it could be called that. The pictures were beautiful at least, from the party they attended and Emerald looked absolutely stunning in her forest green outfit. Cheryl and Ruby dancing together was the first pic with a caption saying, [Does the Champion of Hoenn have a mysterious fiance?] followed by may other speculative questions. Ash felt his eyebrow twitch as Ruby's snickers grew louder till finally he huffed and closed the link ignoring the so called interview with Ruby's parents. They showed interest in having a future daughter in law but did not say anything beyond that. Ruby laughed at his flabbergasted face then Ash started to laugh too at the absurd situation.
Ash calmed down after a while, "Do not worry Ruby. I promise to help you get Emerald or at least to propose to her."
Ruby calmed as well, "Thank you but I think I will do that on my own time though maybe some planned dates would be good. She will be in Mauville City in a few days."
Ash nodded humming now, "We can stay for two weeks. I want to train before challenging Wattson. It should be interesting battling him."
Ruby, "I believe he built a very interesting Gym and you have to challenge a building with different puzzles and quizzes."
Ash, "We should join the others."
Ruby nodded, "Sure."
Gou looked at them, "Is everything okay?"
Ash, "Yes, it is just news, tabloids and well... "
Ruby, "My parents being ridiculous about everything including who my future fiance would be."
Molly, "Wait... "
Max, "Your fiance? You are getting engaged?"
Molly, "Are you talking about this news? The one from the party?"
Ruby nodded, "Yup! I have been talking to them and they are adamant I propose to Cheryl and bring her home."
May wheezed, "Sorry, I need a moment."
Gou, "Aren't you still too young for that?"
Ruby, "I am but you know how certain people can be. They want to ensure everything is ready and secure."
Ash, "Well, I am going to train for the Gym. Want to join?"
Ruby, "Sure!"