Misty took a blimp back to Kanto, but only after spending a "pleasant" night with Ash at the nearby Pokémon Center.
Brock didn't even stay at the Pokémon Center because of how lonely he felt.
Max decided to be the grown up here and went with him for some comfort.
May on the other hand did not care about how Brock felt, she chose to sleep alone in the room next door but she soon very much regretted this decision.
She had no idea how wild Ash and Misty were before but now, but she knew she had underestimated them.
That night she didn't get a sliver of sleep until it was already dawn.
Ash and his party then returned to their down-to-earth journey at the high noon because of how late May woke up at. And they also needed to re-plan their route, because of this sudden cache they had to cross a blazing hot desert before they could return to their usual forest routes.
Now, May really missed all the forest she complained about.
"Brock, is there any water I can drink?" May and Max had just barely gotten used to their journey, so they really couldn't bear the pain of not drinking water.
Brock looked at their water container and said, "There's unfortunately not a drop left here. We're still a long way from the next town…" He said in a depressed tone.
"Ash, please think of a way!" May quickly asked Ash for help. She must believe in her wild boyfriend. "I really can't go on without water anymore!"
Ash was really busy at this moment, with Pikachu standing on his shoulders, Ralts and Togetic floating around him so he didn't seem to be in a sad mood like the rest of the group.
When Togetic was still a Togepi, he liked to run everywhere, which made Misty anxious several times imagining that she'd get lost.
Now that she had her first evolution and has the new ability to fly, it still couldn't sit still and liked to fly around Ash an the group, but it just can't fly far from them. Ash's Aura power keeps watching over the two troublemakers. If she flew too far, he had to use his Psychic to pull them back.
It's was like flying a kite...
"Brock, bring your Lotad out." Ash took out one of his own balls, "Dratini, use a light Blizzard to cool us down!"
Brock's eyes also lit up after hearing Ash, and he threw out his Lotad's Poké Ball, "Lotad, use Water Gun on the air!"
After this period of training, Lotad, who was always a little slow compared to his peers, has made great progress on becoming normal, so the bond between him and Brock was getting higher and higher. Ash believed that Lotad will soon evolve.
Lotad used a Water Gun in the air, then the cold wind from Dratini's Blizzard easily froze everything, this then form small icicles around them.
Ash then used his Psychic to catch the icicles and then he turned them into four more purified pieces, and distributed them to the three other while keeping one for himself.
Lotad's Water Gun cannot be used to drink directly as it had a high concentration of pure Water-type energy like all Pokémon moves had. In the past, Ash and Misty only used Water Gun outside of battle to give everyone a fresh cool shower.
But if they freeze the waters it into ice and then melt it, they can get some temporary water source to save themselves.
"Wow!" May and Max cheered and took the ice directly. It was very comfortable in this scorching environment.
At this vet moment, a Camerupt appeared in front of them, and a middle-aged uncle stood beside it.
"You guys must have be really tired. You four can come with me to my house and take some rest there."
The uncle's family cultivated land here and engaged in agriculture. Because the area was very inaccessible, the family was very hospitable to guests. There are four people in the family: father Victor, mother Victoria, daughter Vivi, and the grandmother Vicky.
"My son Victor met you when he was out with his Camerupt. You must be very powerful Trainers since you came here, right?" The oldest of this family said kindly.
"No, me and Max aren't but Ash and Brock here are both very powerful and experienced Trainers, but only Ash focuses on Pokémon battles!" May quickly waved her hands, and after getting to know Misty and seeing the bond between Misty and Ash, she became more aware that she was still very inexperienced and should watch herself for her future "battle".
"Ash, I heard that you plan to participate in the Hoenn Ever Grande Conference, right?" The old lady looked at Ash with appreciation in her
eyes.
"Yes, that the plan!"
"To tell you the truth, my son Vito is also traveling outside to become the Champion of the Hoenn Pokémon League, just like you!" Victoria's eyes were filled with pride when she was talking about her son.
"I see, that's why you were so kind to us!" Ash noted said with a smile, this was indeed a very warm family, everyone was supporting the family's dream.
"By the way, Ash, do you want to fight with us?" After entertaining the group of people, Vicky's, the grandmother, actually invited them to have a battle.
"Everyone calls us the Winstrate family, so we can't allow be allowed lose now. Get ready for our battle!"
The family's sudden fighting spirit caught the group more than off guard.
But the invitation to battle was not something they can refuse.
"As I just said, my eldest son Vito wants to become the Champion of the Hoenn Pokémon League," Victor introduced again, leading the group to their personal battle field behind their house. "Since our whole family cheers for Vito, our family often does Pokémon battles amongst ourselves!"
"But since we only fight against each other, it gets very old and we got tired of it after battling so much! Hehe!" Vivi, the young daughter, is similar in age to Max, but it seems that she already has her own Pokémon.
"How about we have a 4 on 4? Every one of you will fight each one of us in a one on one Pokémon battle." Granny Vicky said with a smile.
"But Max doesn't have his own Pokémon yet!" May was very worried about her little brother, but Max thought it was okay and planned to ask Ash to borrow one of his Pokémon's.
"Well, that's settled!" Granny Vicky turned to look at her son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter, "In order to cheer for Vito, we must not lose this battle!"
Ash could see how high their fighting spirit was.
Ash couldn't help but be surprised when he came to the battlefield where their family battled. The layout here was very professional, almost as if this was one of the official ones he battled in before.
Not only were the lines on the venue neatly arranged, but there were also a whole spotlight and a place where many spectators can watch from.
"Wow! I never expected there to be such a professional battle field in the middle of nowhere." Max looked at the venue and was very surprised by it. He could finally stand on such a venue and have a real Pokémon battle.
"This is the result of our whole family's hard work!" Vivi was very proud of how much effort their family has put into it over their stay here.
"Then let's start the first Pokémon battle now. In the first battle, Victor will fight against Brock. Ther can only use one Pokémon each!" Grandma Vicky will go last, so she will be part-time referee for this minor competition.
They seem to have a very good tacit understanding of each others prowess.
The current head of their family, Victor, will fight against Brock, while the housewife, Victoria, will fight against May. The two children will obviously go against each other, and in the end it will the battle between Vicky, the strongest of their families, and Ash, who was also the strongest among their group.
When the two sides stood still, Ash suddenly frowned and said to May beside him, "You try to delay it for a while, I will go and take a look."
"Ash, what's the matter?" Seeing Ash being so mysterious out of the blue and trying to walk away from a battel, May suddenly panicked.
Did Ash discover something else?
However, Ash smiled and said, "No, don't think too much, I'll be fine. After all, I'm the strongest."
With that said, Ash quietly came to the back of bunch of rocks not far away, "If I guess correctly, you are their eldest son, Vito, correct?"
This young man hiding behind the pile of rocks has been following them since they left the house. His whereabouts can be hidden from everyone, but it was kind of impossible to hide himself from Ash's Aura Sense.
"Yeah, l'm sorry about that, my name is Vito, but you already know that." The boy smiled awkwardly, "Please don't tell my family, okay?"
"Why? Why don't you go home after finally coming back home?" Ash was a little puzzled. If he were to return to Pallet Town now, he would definitely go home to see his mother first, and then go to Professor Oak Laboratory to see all of his Pokémon's.
"It's kinda a little strange." Vito said while the two were watching the battle over there, "I embarked on a journey with the dream of becoming the Pokémon League Champion, carrying the expectations of my whole family."
"However, after traveling for some time, I found that I prefer taking care of my Pokémon's rather than taking Pokémon to battle it out."
"But when I left home, I promised that I would become the Champion. Now I'm like this, I really don't know how to go home and explain it to them." He said in a depressed voice.
It turned out that this was the reason why Vito did not dare to go home. Ash nodded as he understood where he was coming from, but did not say any words of persuasion. He smiled and said, "Pay close attention to the battles, okay?"