"Mana?"
The tiny creature emerged from its egg, blinking its big, bright eyes.
The first thing it saw was May staring at it in shock.
And then—
"Waaahhh… Waaaahhh!"
The newborn Pokémon immediately burst into tears.
May had never dealt with something like this before. She panicked, rocking the little Manaphy in her arms.
"Oh, oh, there, there… Manaphy, don't cry…"
Perhaps her gentle voice had an effect.
Manaphy sniffled and, just like that, stopped crying.
It curiously looked at May before snuggling against her arm with a contented sigh.
Then, as quickly as it had woken up, Manaphy fell asleep.
It was peaceful once more.
"No… My prince of the sea… my precious egg… Urgh—"
Phantom struggled to speak, but Ash's foot pressing down on him made it nearly impossible.
"Sheesh. Ash, can you just tie him up already? And his crew too?"
Jack sighed, rubbing his temples. As a Pokémon Ranger, he couldn't do what Ash wanted to do.
If Ash had his way, Phantom wouldn't be waking up ever again.
But with Jack here—an official Pokémon Ranger under the League—things were complicated. The Pokémon Rangers will not tolerate trainers killing people. Nor would Jack turn a blind eye if Ash tried.
Still, Ash had no intention of letting Phanton and Galen off easy.
So—
With a sharp crack, Ash kicked both of Phantom's legs, snapping the bones like twigs.
"AAAHHHH—!"
Or at least, Phantom wanted to scream. But his pride as a pirate forced him to grit his teeth and endure it, though his face turned deathly pale.
Meanwhile, Ash let Charizard and Anabel's Metagross take care of Phantom's crew. Within minutes, every last one of them was rounded up, tied tightly, and left immobilized.
"Alright, let's go," Jack declared. "We'll leave them here for Officer Jenny to pick up."
Grandpa Shep nodded in approval and led everyone into the People of the Water ruin site.
As they entered, Ash activated his Aura Power to scan the area. Nothing seemed out of place, so he recalled Charizard.
"Come on, Anabel, return Metagross. May, hold onto Manaphy."
"Pika!"
Pikachu, perched on Ash's shoulder, suddenly glanced toward a distant mountain.
Something felt off…
"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
But Pikachu simply shook its head.
Meanwhile…
On that very mountain—
"Heh, heh, that brat is strong, but I bet he never expected us to be lurking around!"
"Phantom and Pirate Galen might still be useful to us… Maybe we should cut a deal with them!"
"Exactly, nya! We help him out, but he has to pay us! Then, while he fights that twerp, we can snatch the real treasure! Meowth, that's right!"
The Team Rocket trio shared a wicked grin.
"Heh heh heh…"
Why were they here?
Well—
After they tried to steal Manaphy's egg earlier, Ash's Pidgeot's Hurricane attack had sent them blasting off again!
And as luck would have it, they crash-landed on this very mountain—not far from the Sea Temple.
With a telescope, they had just witnessed Ash wrecking Phantom.
That was when an idea struck them.
Phantom hated Ash, and he still had resources.
If they helped him now, they could cash in big-time later!
What none of them realized was that Pikachu had sensed their presence.
Unfortunately, the mountain was just outside Ash's Aura range.
Had Latias been actively using its abilities, it might have detected them—but the young Legendary wasn't fully trained yet.
Soon enough, Team Rocket reached Phantom.
Desperate and furious, Phantom agreed to their offer.
With their help, he was untied and immediately tended to his broken legs with medication.
"Damn that brat! Next time I see him, I'll tear him apart limb by limb!"
He slammed a fist against the ground.
"We're moving out. Deploy all our flying ships. If they're heading to the Sea Temple of Manaphy(i.e, Samiya), they have to travel by sea. We have a few days before the lunar eclipse… That's more than enough time for my legs to heal."
His lips curled into a wicked grin.
"That Sea Crown will be mine. I will become the true King of the Sea!"
Team Rocket smirked, thinking only of their payday.
But deep down, they all had their own greedy ambitions.
Back with Ash and the others…
Shep led everyone to an ancient People of the Water ruin site and unlocked its entryway after solving a puzzle with his heritage blue stone bracelet.
The hidden passage is leading to the Sea Temple, Samiya.
From here, Manaphy would eventually find its way home.
After nearly half a day of traveling, they finally reached a port town.
"Haha! Alright, everyone, time to switch to my old sea cruiser! I call it the Blue Lagoon! My friend just brought it to the harbor—let's go!"
Grandpa Shep laughed heartily.
Just then—
"Waaaaahh!"
Manaphy woke up. And immediately started crying.
"Oh, oh, Manaphy, shhh, don't cry!"
May quickly cradled the tiny Pokémon, gently rocking it in her arms.
Manaphy blinked up at her, then stopped crying.
Instead, it turned its big, curious eyes toward Latias—who was currently disguised as Bianca.
To Manaphy, something felt odd.
It could sense that this "human" wasn't quite… human.
Latias, in turn, tilted her head, just as intrigued by Manaphy.
"May, it's possible that Manaphy sees you as its mother," Ash said with a small smile. "Some Pokémon imprint on the first person they see after hatching."
"That's true," Anabel added. "I've seen many Pokémon form bonds this way."
May looked down at the tiny Manaphy in her arms.
"Maybe… you're right."
And then—
"Mama… Maybe… Maybe…?"
!!!
Manaphy had actually spoken.
Not only had it called May Mama, but it had also repeated her words—Maybe!
May's eyes went wide.
She had just become the mama of a Legendary Pokémon?!
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Hello, Readers!
Due to certain reasons, I have changed the fanfic title from Pokémon: Ash's New Journey to Pokémon: Rewriting Ash's Legend. Please don't be confused by the name change—everything else, including the chapters and content, remains the same.
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T/N:
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