Pokemon: Radical Redux-Chapter 540: Plan for Cozmo

The next day, after Norman and Caroline insisted Ash and Brock stay the night before they left, so, after being kind of forced into it, the morning started already bustling with noise.

Caroline had been up early, of course she had, and now she was making sure everything was in order before they left, although Norman was nowhere to be seen at the moment.

"And don’t forget these," she said, handing May a neatly folded bundle of clothes.

May blinked, shifting the baby Eevee in her arms as it yawned sleepily, "Mom...we don’t need that much."

Caroline gave a small smile as she looked at her daughter, "It’s starting to get colder, and you and Max are still running around in shorts."

"...But they’re cuter..." May muttered.

Max looked down at himself, "...I like shorts."

Caroline looked at her two kids with something that was a mix between a blank stare and a smile.

"...Okay, okay!" Max said, quickly grabbing the extra clothes before she could lecture him further, while May begrudgingly did the same.

Ash and Brock sat over at the table watching, and Ash nudged Brock’s shoulder softly and smirked, "Careful, we might have two more Misty situations over here."

Brock snorted, "No, I don’t think it’s that bad. At least they’re willing to wear pants," he said, exaggerating the word pants, making both him and Ash almost burst out laughing.

"What’s so funny?" May asked.

"Oh, nothing, just remembering other times. You wouldn’t get the joke," Ash said, waving his hand as Brock nodded, looking away to hide his trembling lips.

Seeing as Ash wasn’t going to explain the joke, at least not right now, May sighed and started packing more clothes. Although Hoenn itself doesn’t particularly get much cold weather or snow due to the nearby volcanoes and the climate, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Ash, meanwhile, grabbed his phone and pulled up the map, "Alright, since we got this done, I’ve only got three more, so I’m thinking we head toward Fortree City next."

"Sounds fine to me," Brock nodded.

Then Ash scrolled and realized something, looking over at May, "Yo, May, you wanna make a stop over by Rubello Town on the way?"

May paused her packing and looked at him, "...Rubello Town?"

Ash looked at her and stared with a blank expression.

May blinked, "...What?"

Ash tilted his head slightly, "There’s a Contest going on there."

"...There is?"

Now it was Ash’s turn to blink.

"...How do I know that, and you don’t?" he asked flatly.

Brock snorted quietly, covering it with a cough.

May’s face flushed slightly, "Hey! I’ve been busy, okay?!"

Ash gestured vaguely toward the Eevee in her arms, "With what, being more motherly?"

"Lies and slander!" May pointed at him, cheeks puffed slightly as she hugged Eevee a little closer.

Eevee let out a tiny "vee..." like it was agreeing with her, though it looked half-asleep.

Ash just gave her that same flat look, "Uh huh. Sure. Meanwhile, I’m out here planning your Contest career for you."

"I have a Contest career!" May shot back.

Brock leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, grinning, "To be fair, May, you did miss a whole event."

"I didn’t miss it, I just, wasn’t aware of it yet!" she corrected quickly.

"Okay, top of your head, name three towns where a contest is gonna take place within a month. You can’t say Rubello," Ash said with a smirk, raising up three lazy fingers.

"Uhhh..." May muttered, "W-well, I think there is one in Lilycove..."

"Okay, that’s kinda cheap, but I’ll give it to you. Any others?" Ash asked.

"..." May stayed silent, "Well, I was busy training, you know how much time training takes."

"Oh, so training is hard? Well, I can always help if you want~" Ash said with a smile that, if May didn’t know better, she might’ve thought was kind, as memories of Ash’s training from hell flashed through her head.

"No, please!" May clasped her hands together, "I’m sorry, okay? I’ll be better!"

Ash, Brock, Max, and Caroline all snorted, and Caroline spoke up, "Well, I’m glad to see Ash is keeping you accountable, May. He really is reliable."

Then a voice came from the door, "Looks like you kids have your route figured out."

They all turned as Norman walked in, arms crossed, leaning casually against the doorway. He was holding a small bag with something inside.

"Dad?" May tilted her head, "You’ve been gone all morning."

"Had something to take care of," Norman said simply, then pushed himself off the wall and walked over.

Max looked down at Norman’s hand, noticing the bag, "What’s that?"

Norman looked down at him, then crouched slightly, holding it out. When Max peeked inside, he saw a Pokémon Egg in an incubator.

Max’s eyes widened instantly, "Wait—"

"This was supposed to be your birthday gift," Norman said, then shrugged, "But given everything, I figured there’s no point in waiting."

Max just stared at it for a second, like his brain hadn’t caught up yet, "R-Really?" he asked.

Norman nodded, "You’re traveling now. And I trust the people you’re with." His eyes flicked briefly toward Ash and Brock, "So it’s a better time than ever."

Max carefully reached out, almost like he was afraid it might disappear, and took the Egg into his arms, "...Whoa," he whispered, completely awestruck.

May leaned over immediately, "Max, be careful!"

"I am being careful!" he snapped, but there was no real bite to it, he couldn’t stop staring at it.

"What’s in it?" he asked, looking up at Norman.

Norman just smirked a little, "Where’s the fun in telling you that?"

"Aww, come on!"

"Nope."

Ash smirked and leaned in, resting his chin on his hand, "Hey Max, remember what I said the first day, no cheating. Your first Pokémon has to be a surprise~"

"Fine," Max huffed, but he wasn’t really mad, he just looked on the bright side, "Well, that means I can wait for the surprise like big bro Ash."

Ash snorted. Yeah, his Egg still hadn’t hatched, and not for lack of trying, it just hadn’t. But he’s got time, "I guess so."

"Oh yeah, I forgot he calls you big brother. I guess Max sees you as a big brother figure, huh?" Norman tapped his chin.

May, finally seeing her own chance to tease Max, smirked, "Or as he puts it, a bother figure~"

"Slander!" Max pointed at May frantically.

"Both of you are using those words wrong," Brock added calmly, sipping his drink like this was completely normal.

Ash just leaned back in his chair, completely unbothered, "Ahh, this family is great, better than a sitcom."

"But we really should get going. We don’t want to stay another night and take advantage of your hospitality," Brock said as he stood up, stretching his arms.

"...That doesn’t sound like a problem," Norman said.

"It is for our travel plans," Brock replied smoothly.

Ash pushed himself up from his chair, grabbing his bag, "Yeah, if we stay any longer, I might actually get adopted."

"You say that like it’s a bad thing," Caroline smiled.

"Nope," Ash said, standing up and picking up Pikachu and Vee by the tails, "Don’t mean to be rude, but I love my mom, so let’s go!"

"Yes, please," May added, standing up too. It was getting really awkward seeing her parents dote on Ash.

"Okay, fine," Norman said, walking them toward the door, hands in his pockets, "Take care of yourselves out there."

Caroline followed close behind, "And make sure you eat properly!"

"Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they do, even if..." Ash put a hand on his chest and looked away dramatically, "...even if she’s no longer satisfied with my cooking."

"Stop saying it like that!" May blurted out, glaring at him, "When are you gonna stop? I already said I like your cooking, okay?!"

"Meh, when it stops being funny," Ash shrugged, "That’s usually when I stop doing bits."

"Fine then, I just won’t give you the reaction you want," May said, looking away.

"Wow, so you admit you hate me," Ash teased, making May flinch, but she didn’t say anything, trying not to give him the satisfaction.

"I see...after all we’ve been through, I thought we were friends," Ash wiped at his eye, pretending to be hurt, "I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Maple. It looks like May hates me, but I’ll try my best anyway."

Norman and Caroline were trying not to laugh, but doing a very poor job of it.

Caroline finally gave up and laughed, covering her mouth lightly, "Oh dear, May, how could you?"

"I DIDN’T!" May snapped, immediately breaking her ’no reaction’ rule as she pointed at Ash again, "He’s twisting my words!"

Ash blinked, tilting his head innocently, "Am I? I thought I was just expressing my feelings."

"You don’t have feelings!" May shot back.

Brock coughed into his hand, "That’s...probably not the argument you want to make."

Norman rubbed his chin, nodding thoughtfully, "You know, Caroline...I’m starting to think we might need to have a talk with May. After all, it would be a problem if this is how she treats—"

May looked like she was about to combust from embarrassment, "CAN YOU ALL STOP—?!"

Norman finally cleared his throat and opened the door, stepping aside, "Alright, before this turns into a full family intervention, get moving."

Ash slung his bag over his shoulder and started toward the door, Pikachu hopping up onto his shoulder while Vee trotted along beside him.

Brock followed with an easy smile, "Thanks again for everything."

May hesitated for half a second, then quickly hugged her mom with one arm, careful not to drop Eevee, while Max awkwardly balanced the Egg and leaned into Norman.

"Take care," Caroline said softly, smoothing May’s hair for just a moment before letting go.

Norman gave Max a small nod, "You too. Don’t drop that."

"I won’t!" Max said immediately, clutching it tighter.

Then the group stepped outside, heading off down the path, while Norman and Caroline watched them walk away.

Caroline had her own thoughts, but Norman...well, he was thinking about a lot more.

After all, he now knew about Team Magma and Team Aqua.

Like any good father, he had talked to his kids the first night they got back, after Ash and Brock had left, and they told him about their run-ins with both teams.

And now he had made up his mind: neither of them was good news.

Which only reinforced that his decision to give no answer during the Gym Leader meeting had been the right one.

But that came with its own problems.

Now that he knew this, he absolutely wouldn’t participate in the Gym Leaders’ little "pick a side" debate.

And while he would like to tell them that...what proof did he have? His children’s word? Not a chance they would believe that.

Then there was the bigger issue, the fact that he was certain the Pokémon League knew more than they were letting on about the two teams. He just couldn’t prove it.

So until he figured out what to do, he had to refocus on his main priority: his family.

He and Caroline were fine, but as always, he worried about May and Max.

That’s why he gave Max the Egg.

Because after Ash and Brock had left, he had asked to see May’s Pokémon, and she had been more than happy to show them all off.

Now, he didn’t know exactly how strong each of them had become compared to when she first caught them but the one he could judge was her Combusken. He remembered that little chick when it was just a Torchic.

And based on that, and the fact that Combusken looked ready to evolve soon, Norman began to understand just how fast May had grown stronger.

When he asked, May said it was because of Ash’s training. She also shivered for some reason. He didn’t quite understand that, being trained by Ash sounded like a great thing to him.

After all, Norman had known ever since May was little that she had a lot of potential for battling. In his opinion...she might even have more than Ash. But potential without hard work or training is worthless, and May had never trained before. She hadn’t even seemed interested in battling.

Still, Norman would support May in whatever she chose to do. The same went for Max. It didn’t matter what path they took, they were his children, and everything he did was for their best interests.

But back to the training, It seemed like Ash had managed to get May to this level in just a few short months, which was incredibly impressive. Another reason was...well...During the Gym battle, he had kind of cheated.

In it, Norman used a different team than his usual 5-badge team, along with the Slaking he used for his 6-badge team. Norman was fully planning on making Ash lose and getting him to stay so that Norman could personally oversee Ash’s training.

But it looked like he didn’t get the chance. Ash got stronger than even he expected, which made him even more comfortable with letting May and Max stay around him. He could make them strong and protect them from what they couldn’t beat themselves, it was great.

Now he just hoped that everything would go well. I mean, with May, they did joke a little, but he genuinely hoped for the best. He hoped she wouldn’t get cocky or overconfident, that would be bad, but something told him that if she did, Ash would knock some sense into her.

So, with that covered, it was time for his next course of action. He needed to get some things ready and make his own investigation. He had a feeling the association was getting its hands dirty again, and just the thought of that made him remember that day, and that made his knuckles clench until they turned white.

He didn’t like thinking about it, and working helped keep his mind off it. But if he had it his way, he’d make sure that secret, his biggest regret, stayed buried.

—

{Meanwhile with Ashtwo}

D, or in this case just Ash, was now walking through a hall, but he was no longer wearing the Team Rocket uniform. He was just wearing casual clothes, though he had a face mask covering his lower mouth. At least he wasn’t wearing the eye patch.

After he got back from the mission, Matori basically forced him to take some time off. So he did, and he decided to take advantage of it and deal with the Professor Cozmo situation.

You might wonder where he sent Cozmo. Well, Ash sent him to the New Mauville Holdings building, to one of the labs he asked Wattson to install. Since technology wasn’t the only thing he planned to have New Mauville Holdings specialize in, why would he limit himself? If he could dip his fingers into other pies, why would he be satisfied with only one?

Anyway, Ash already explained this to Wattson, and although he was only an expert in engineering and things like that, Ash had plenty of data that he sto-*cough* I mean, borrowed, to give to the new research department, including some designs from his old world. I mean...why not?

But he needed someone to help direct and start this operation, that’s where Cozmo came in.

Ash walked into the research room, and there Cozmo was, working excitedly. Funny thing, Ash hadn’t even told him to do anything; he just started doing all of this on his own.

Ash cleared his throat, and that made Cozmo snap out of it and notice him. Of course, his face was covered, so he didn’t know it was Ash, and that’s what he wanted.

"Oh, it’s you!"

"Yes, and I see you’re doing well," Ash said, looking at his work and notes.

Cozmo scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Ah, sorry, it’s just I’ve been locked up so long, and I couldn’t help myself. Research is my passion and all."

"I can tell," he said simply.

Cozmo let out a small laugh, rubbing the back of his head, "Heh...yeah, I might’ve gone a little overboard..."

"A little?" Ash glanced at the sheer amount of work already done in such a short time.

Cozmo coughed lightly, "Okay, maybe more than a little."

Ash walked further into the lab, his eyes scanning everything. Equipment was already being organized, notes categorized, and there were even a few early prototypes sitting off to the side.

Really impressive for the fact that he’s only been here for a day.

Ash stopped near one of the desks, picking up a paper and glancing over it briefly before setting it back down, "You work fast," he said.

"Well, when you don’t know how long you’ll get to keep working, you learn to make the most of it," Cozmo replied, his tone lighter than the words themselves.

Ash’s eyes flicked toward him for just a moment before he hummed quietly, "...Fair enough."

There was a short pause before Ash spoke again, "I’m going to be direct," he said, "I didn’t bring you here just to let you do whatever you want."

Cozmo straightened slightly at that, his expression turning more serious, "I figured as much."

"Let’s start with what you want to know. The people that kidnapped you, Team Aqua, they lied to you and tried to get you to build a machine to cool down Mt. Chimney."

Cozmo flinched, but he didn’t deny it, "Yeah...although, how do you know that?"

"Not important. I just do. Which brings me to why I brought you here, you probably want to go out and tell everyone, am I right?"

"Of course! How is that even a question?!" Cozmo said, almost screaming. After all, he was lied to, used, then kidnapped for nearly a month, of course he wanted justice.

"Calm down. You can’t. And before you raise your voice at me, just look at this," Ash said, sliding a tablet to Cozmo, "It has all the reports on both Mt. Chimney and you."

Cozmo grabbed it, opened it, and looked through it.

There was nothing.

It was completely blank, nothing about his disappearance, nothing about Team Aqua at the volcano.

"...What?" he muttered.

Ash crossed his arms, leaning slightly against the desk, "Exactly."

"There’s...nothing here," Cozmo said slowly, "No reports, no incident logs, no missing persons, nothing."

"Right," Ash replied calmly, "As far as the public record is concerned, you were never taken."

Cozmo’s hands tightened slightly around the tablet, "That’s impossible. I have colleagues, assistants, people would notice I was gone!"

"They did," Ash said, "And then whatever reports they filed...disappeared."

That made Cozmo go quiet.

Ash watched him for a second before continuing, "I have my suspicions that Team Aqua might have some control over the media." Well, not even a suspicion, Ash knew for certain. Even if he hadn’t seen it directly, the fact that Team Aqua never made it onto the news meant that Archie was the director

Cozmo swallowed, "And the Pokémon Association? I did work for them in the past. Surely they would look for me."

But Ash didn’t say anything. He just crossed his arms, and Cozmo’s hands fell to his sides limply.

"...You think they’re involved too?" Cozmo asked, quieter now.

"I think," Ash said carefully, "that they know more than they’re saying. Some strange things have been happening, and it almost seems like the Pokémon Association is letting those things go on."

"So what, I just...do nothing?" he asked, frustration creeping into his voice, "I was kidnapped, lied to, and used, and now I’m just supposed to pretend none of it happened?"

"No," Ash said simply, "I never said that."

Cozmo looked up at him.

Ash pushed himself off the desk, "Okay, let’s put it like this. Let’s say I let you go, tell you to do what you want, and you go out right now and start telling everyone. What happens?"

"I—people will listen!"

"Will they?" Ash cut in, "With what proof? As far as anyone is concerned, you’re just off in some really remote area doing research. Best case? You get ignored." He paused, "Worst case...well, if the Association really does know more than they’re letting on, you can take a guess."

Cozmo looked down again, so Ash took this chance, "So, I have a different offer." Ash jumped up onto the desk and sat on it, "Work here for a bit, under the alias Professor Fraxinus."

Of course, Ash didn’t have to worry about this, he was Professor Fraxinus, but no one else knew, other than Oak, Juniper, and Rowan, none of whom would have any part in this project. Ash made sure of it. Besides, no one could connect Fraxinus with D, so his identity was safe.

Well...except for one now.

Cozmo looked at Ash, his face covered, with wide eyes, "Wait, you’re Professor Fraxinus? I read some of the papers you were credited in, but...I didn’t think you were—"

"Young? I guess you could say that," Ash said, nodding along, "But yes. If you stay here and work, you can use my alias. It gives both of us an alibi, don’t you think?"

Of course, Ash’s main goal was getting a genius researcher into his new research department, but he didn’t have to say that just yet.

Cozmo looked down and crossed his arms, thinking for a moment, "...And my colleagues?" he asked after a moment, "Roxanne, the others, can I at least contact them?"

Ash shook his head, "Not yet."

"That’s—" Cozmo stopped himself, exhaling slowly, "...Right. Safety."

"Exactly." Ash nodded, "So what do you say? I can promise you’ll get any and all resources you need to continue your research, and payment is negotiable, of course."

Cozmo thought about it for a moment, but when he really considered it, what was there to think about? He couldn’t do anything else. At least like this, he could stay safe.

"...Alright," he said.

Cozmo straightened up, his expression more focused now, "I’ll do it. I’ll stay. I’ll work under the alias, for now," he clarified, "But this isn’t permanent."

"Of course not," Ash said easily.

Cozmo pointed at him, "And when the time comes, when we can expose them, I’m not staying quiet."

"I wouldn’t expect you to."

Cozmo let out a breath, some of the tension leaving his shoulders as he looked around the lab again, this time with purpose instead of desperation.

"Professor Fraxinus, huh..." he muttered, "That’s going to take some getting used to."

Ash smirked slightly under the mask, "You’ll manage."

There was a brief pause before Cozmo snapped his fingers like he had just remembered something.

"Oh! If I’m going to be working here properly, I’m going to need a few things, specialized sensors, some meteorological equipment, maybe a better power distribution system for-"

"You’ll have it," Ash cut in.

Cozmo blinked, "...Just like that?"

"I said resources wouldn’t be a problem."

"...Right," Cozmo muttered, shaking his head slightly, "Uh...so when can I—"

"I’ll have Wattson bring it to you later. For now, I need you to see what you can get on this," Ash said, handing him a paper, "If you can’t get anything, don’t worry about it for now. You’ll get more colleagues soon enough. But I have to get going, see you around."

And just like that, Ash turned and walked out the door.

He wasn’t worried about Cozmo asking Wattson about him or referring to him as a masked man. He had already told Wattson that, since he didn’t want to be seen with any authority right now, he would be covering his face with a mask, and Wattson seemed to understand.

Ash could trust Wattson not to blurt out his secret, and as long as he didn’t come here as ’D’ then he had nothing to fear.

But now it was time for the next phase of the plan.

He needed more researchers for the team.

His next target was someone special. Remember Seymour? Yeah, bet you don’t. Remember back at Mt. Moon, him. He might be eccentric, but he was still smart, and more importantly, his specialty in space and aliens could be useful. If you know, you know.

And finally, the last person on his list for the immediate moment was someone he, or at least D, was good friends with, Dr. Akihabara. Enough said.

There were more people he would want to recruit, but these were the ones that took priority, considering what was coming.

Now, Aki was a bit of a tougher problem. Since he knew D, there was a real chance he could be the first person to figure out that D was Ash.

So Ash would have to be careful. But he always was. And he thought he already had a plan in mind.

--

Alright, question for ya’ll what do you think the Egg Max has is gonna be