Abnormal Ball

(Cubed Cinder)

It's been quite a while since Ash Ketchum had arrived in the Hoenn region after his top 8 finish in the Silver Tournament. Since that time, he has made new friends and met many new Pokemon, like Taillow, Treecko, Corphish, and many others. Brock is still with Ash on his journeys, which is great since he can always depend on him to prepare such a delicious meal for himself and Pikachu.

Along the way, he has met with the aspiring 10-year-old trainer and daughter of the Petalburg City gym, May. Well, to be politically correct, she's not really traveling with Ash to win badges like he is. Instead, she's striving to be a great Pokemon coordinator, and to do that, she'll have to win all sorts of Pokemon contests, such as the Beauty contest, the Cool contest, the Tough contest, and a couple others.

Traveling with May is her 8-year-old little brother, Max, who is so into Pokemon that he cannot possibly wait to become a trainer himself. Of course, he'll have to wait about two more years since all Pokemon Leagues around the world require new trainers to be at least 10 years old before they receive their license. But that doesn't mean he doesn't know a whole lot about the world of Pokemon. His vast knowledge has at times proven to be vital for Ash.

Anyway, now that you know our heroes a little more, it is time we joined them in their journey. They have made it all the way past Fortree City and are on their way to Lilycove City, with Ash hoping for his next gym challenge to be there and May hoping she will find another contest house there. Along the way, however, Ash stops to see a new, yet familiar place.

"Hmmm... what's this?" Ash asked.
"Oh! This is the Safari Zone, one of Hoenn's most popular attractions! There's lots of wild Pokemon for people to capture here!" Max said.
"Yeah, and there's a lot of them too. There are even some Pokemon you can find only here!" May said.
"Ahhhh... just like the one from Kanto, right, Brock?" Ash said.
"Yeah, before it was shut down. Hey, look at this!" Brock said. He noticed a note hanging down from the welcome sign.
"It says here that for today only, you can bring any one Pokemon into the zone with you!" Brock said.
"That sounds cool. Don't you think we should go in?" Ash said.
"Why not? It's not often they do something this nice. It should make catching Pokemon a breeze!" May said. With that, everyone entered the building and approached the desk.
"Hello! Welcome to the Safari Zone! Are you here to catch some of our most rare and valuable Pokemon?" the female repsentative said.
"Yes, along with Brock and May behind me. Is it true that we can use one Pokemon while in the zone today?" Ash asked. The lady nodded.
"Yes, that is correct. Of course, you'll still have to pay the ρ500 admission fee and you must use our own special safari ball to catch Pokemon." she said. Ash, Brock, and May went ahead and each paid ρ500 as they each received 30 safari balls. Max, of course, was not given any balls due to not having a trainer's license yet, but he was free to travel with the group and watch as they had their fun.

As you might expect, Ash, May, Brock, and Max all ran around the Safari Zone as quickly as they could. After all, they only had five minutes each to catch as many as they could. Through the special promotion, each trainer could have a Pokemon with him/her to combat against the wild Pokemon. For Ash, he had his trustworthy Pikachu at his side. May had chosen her Torchic, and Brock chose Forretress.
After some time walking, Ash finally found a Pokemon.
"Ah, cool! An Oddish! Let's go, Pikachu" Ash said. Pikachu nodded at its master and ran up to Oddish. Oddish looked confused as it stared at the battle-ready Pikachu.
"Pikachu, thundershock!" Ash commanded. Pikachu unleashed a powerful electric bolt at the Oddish. Ordinarily, grass types would be pretty good at resisting electricity, but this Oddish seemed to be in major pain after the attack. Ash figured it was at a low level. But it didn't matter. As long as he caught it, he would be happy.
"Go! Pokeball!" Ash said as he threw the safari ball. Okay, so he shouted Pokeball instead. So? He's done this before. Anyway, as the ball hit Oddish, it floated in the air and shot the traditional red beam that takes the creature inside. As Oddish vanished from view, the ball landed back on the ground and shook back and forth, usually a sign that the Pokemon was trying to fight its way back out. But Oddish was so weak, its attempts to escape were unsuccessful. Ash smiled as the red light from the front of the Pokeball went away, which always meant the creature had given up and was officially captured. Ash picked it up and raised it in the air!
"Cool! I got an Oddish!" Ash said. Pikachu gave the V sign to Ash to signify victory for the match.

Brock and May were so busy trying to catch Pokemon, they hadn't noticed Ash make his capture.
"Hey, Ash! Did you catch anything yet?" Brock asked.
"I sure did. Check out this Oddish!" Ash said. He pulled out the safari ball he had used to capture Oddish and threw it to the ground. As soon as it hit the ground, the ball opened and Oddish was free once again. This time, it appeared to be smiling as it was now with Ash.
"Whoa... lucky you, Ash. I haven't had much luck so far." May said as Torchic displayed its sad face.
"Yeah. Oddish, return!" Ash said. He pointed the ball towards Oddish so that the red beam may zap the Pokemon and allow it to re-enter its new home. But all of a sudden, Ash looked to see the front of the ball flashing red rapidly. Then he could feel the ball get very hot. He had to drop it to avoid burning his hands.
"Hey! That thing's hot!" Ash said. But nothing could prepare the trainer for what happened next. Suddenly the beam shot himself instead of Oddish! Even more surprising was the fact that Ash was now glowing red all over, like a Pokemon would.
"Ash! What's going on?" Brock said.
"I don't know! Someone help..." Before Ash could finish, his body suddenly faded into the red light as it was drawn into the safari ball! Everyone gasped at what they had just seen.

"No way!" May shouted.
"It just trapped him inside!" Brock said.
"That's impossible! Isn't the beam only supposed to affect Pokemon?" Max said. May decided to pick up the Pokeball, desperate to know if her friend was okay.
"Ash, are you all right?" May said.
"May, is that you? Hurry up and get me out of this thing!" Ash's voice said. They couldn't see him, but at least they knew he was okay.
"Quick, May, let's get him out of there." Max said.
"Oh, right..." May said. She then threw the safari ball towards the ground. As it hit, the safari ball opened. Everyone gasped once again.

Again they couldn't believe what they had just seen. Ash was there, all right... but he had shrunk! Almost like a few years ago when Sabrina nearly trapped Ash and his friends inside her dollhouse, except not as small this time around. He looked about six inches tall.
"Ash!?!?" The group shouted in unison. Ash immediately could tell why they were so shocked. They were so big compared to his size.
"Uh... yeah. I think I already get the hint, guys." Ash said.
"But how? How did this happen?" May asked.
"I really don't know. This is something I've never dealt with before. At least... not in this case." Brock said.
"Aren't you guys going to think of a way we can possibly reverse this effect? I can't stand being smaller than a Diglett! Or Pikachu for that matter." Ash said. Pikachu stood next to its shrunken trainer so that it could see that he was fine. Of course, seeing Pikachu's 8-inch height to compared to his own current 6-inch height didn't make Ash feel any better.
"Ash is right. We really should get him out of here so that no wild Pokemon eat him up or something." Max said.
"I agree. But where can we keep him?" May asked. Brock did some thinking before offering a suggestion.
"Hey! I got it! Maybe the Pokemon Center can fix up Ash. You know how they specialize in healing Pokemon inside their balls? Perhaps we can cure Ash of whatever it is that's making the safari ball think he's a Pokemon!" Brock said.
"Hey, that's a good idea, Brock! Let's give it a shot! The nearest Pokemon Center is the one in Lilycove City." Max said.
"If you guys don't mind, I'll safeguard Ash until we get there." May said. As Brock and Max gathered their materials to hit the road, May walked up to the shrunken Ash. For Ash, it was obviously an overwhelming feeling to be seeing someone as pretty as May tower over him. May had become a good friend of Ash in the short time they've been together in the Hoenn region. He watched as May kneeled down to pick up the safari ball off the ground. Then, May commanded the ball to shoot its return laser at Ash, thus placing him back inside.

As the group made their way to Lilycove City, they were unaware of the dasteredly Team Rocket spying on them.
"Well, just as my luck figured, the twerps are in the Safari Zone doing what we do best." Jessie said.
"Yes, except we do it much better!" James said.
"Even if our attempts are always in failure." Jessie said, "Say, isn't there something odd with this picture?"
"They don't have lunch with them?" James said. Jessie slapped James silly for that, well, silly remark.
"We just had lunch, you goofball! I'm talking about the twerps. I don't see them all together." Jessie said.
"Yeah... the one with the Pikachu must've split and decided to find the uselessness in him." Meowth said. James then looked right at Meowth in the eyes.
"Y'know, you do bring up a good point." James said.
"What? About the Pikachu?" Meowth asked.
"Don't you both see? With the twerp gone, we can easily take Pikachu away from them! It'll be an easy victory for Team Rocket! We can ease off at the speed of light!" Jessie said.
"Or we can always prepare to fight!" James said.
"That's ri... HEY!!! We agreed to save the motto for later, you dimwits! Come on, we gotta follow them into the Pokemon Center!" Meowth said. Wobbuffet appeared to give his useless words of wisdom before the group left.

Meanwhile, inside the Pokemon Center of Lilycove City, May, Max, and Brock all approached Nurse Joy at the desk. Strangely enough, there was little activity going on inside the center, but this was good since there wouldn't much of a chance that the tiny Ash would get looked at by the crowd.
"Um... Nurse Joy?" May said. She was doing her best not to divulge the secret of Ash stuck inside one of the safari balls.
"Hi! How can I help you today?" Joy asked. Before May could say anything, Brock jumped in her way.
"I'd like to be your boyfriend! We have been destined to meet each other!" Brock said. But May pushed him aside and was now standing in front of Joy once again. Brock held his head down in shame.
"I'd like for you to heal this safari ball. I'm getting a strange feeling it's treating my... um, Pokemon... a bit strange." May said.
"Well... anything you say. Though I'm sure your Pokemon are just fine." Joy said. May handed her the safari ball that Ash was in. She was hoping that the healing machine could possibly fix Ash's condition.
From that point, the group let Nurse Joy do her thing. She placed the ball into the healing machine and activated it shortly thereafter. After a few seconds, however, Joy started to notice the ball vibrate badly. It even started to glow red!
"Wha...? What's going on!?" Joy said to herself. The ball then opened itself, and out came the shrunken Ash. He went flying through the air before crashing right into Joy's chest area. He slowly tumbled down Joy's body as she stood startled at what she was seeing. Luckily, Ash grabbed onto the hem of Joy's outfit and hung on for dear life. Fortunately, Joy was right there for the rescue as she allowed the tiny trainer to drop down to the palm of her hand. Joy looked down on Ash as if he were a toy.

"Are you okay? Are you even a Pokemon?" Joy asked.
"No, Nurse Joy... I'm Ash Ketchum! The... 6-inch-tall Pokemon master from Pallet Town." Ash said with a long face. Joy then turned her attention back to Ash's friends.
"How did he get like this!?" Joy shouted, demanding an answer.
"We were catching Pokemon in the safari ball when suddenly one of Ash's safari balls went haywire on him!" Max said.
"The laser that traps the Pokemon inside ended up zapping himself and trapped him inside, and somehow it shrunk him down to that size." May said.
"But that can't be. All Pokeballs are designed only to trap Pokemon." Joy said.
"Not this one, apparently. This is very strange." Brock said. Silence ensued for a few seconds. Finally, Joy came up with an interesting idea.

"Wait a minute! I just remembered... I have a friend who lives in the Johto region named Kurt. He's actually the creator of the many different kinds of Pokeballs throughout the world. A true genius at his work." Joy said.
"Oh yeah! I remember Kurt. He's the one that made those special Pokeballs for us in Johto, right Brock?" Ash said from Joy's hands.
"Yeah. Sometimes I wonder what he ever found out from the GS Ball." Brock said.
"He may be our best bet as brilliant as he sounds." May said.
"Alright. I'll get him on the line to come over. It may take a little time considering he is coming from Johto." Joy said.
"While we're waiting for him, Brock and I should take the safari ball back to the Safari Zone. Perhaps the people there may know something." Max said. Joy nodded.
"That's a good idea. Perhaps they may know something since they are in charge of the balls, after all." Joy said. Brock nodded and offered to have the safari ball from Joy.
"All right, we'll go to the Safari Zone and have a little chat with the owners there. Hopefully they'll know at least something about the safari ball that shrunk Ash. May can stay here and protect Ash while she and Joy wait for Kurt to arrive from Johto." Brock said. Brock, May, and Max put one hand out towards each other.
"Ready for action?" Brock asked. Max and May both nodded and slightly lowered their hands down with confidence. With that, Brock and Max left the Pokemon Center with Ash's safari ball. May was left by herself with Ash now sitting on her shoulder. Joy offered her a room to stay.
"May, would you like to stay in one of our private rooms? It'd be great if people didn't find out about the small problem your fellow trainer is going through.
"Must everyone use the word small so often?" Ash said to himself.
"Sure." May said. She then followed Joy into a hallway at the back of the center.

Meanwhile, outside the Pokemon Center, Team Rocket watched as Brock and Max walked out and back towards the path that led to the Safari Zone.
"Well, there go two of the twerps." Jessie said.
"Yes... yet the girl is still inside." James said.
"James, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Jessie said.
"I'm thinking that as inexperienced as she is compared to the others, I think it would be wise if we sprung a suprise attack on her. At least... that's what I think." James said.
"And swipe that Pikachu to boot!" Meowth said.
"Wobbuffet!!!" And with that, Team Rocket made their way inside the center.

Inside one of the private rooms, May laid comfortably on the bottom half of the bunk bed. She had placed Ash on her chest area as she smiled down on the shrunken trainer. Since they were all alone (technically not since Pikachu was with them), May felt like getting to know Ash a little better by asking him a few things on her mind.
"So, Ash. How long have you been a Pokemon trainer?" May asked.
"Oh... over three years now. But it feels like forever since Pikachu and I left Pallet Town." Ash said.
"What was life like in Pallet Town?" May asked.
"It was a rather quiet place. There were only a handful of people besides my mother to wish me good luck on my journey. It's not like in your home where you and your parents are quite the stars." Ash said.
"Do you ever miss your home?" May asked.
"Always. It's tough leaving home to go on a long journey to become the greatest Pokemon master of them all. It's especially tough on my mom. She's always wishing I would stay home for a change, but she understands. She's always there for me." Ash said.
"And what about your father?" May asked. Ash didn't answer for a few seconds as he turned his head away from May's. She had a concerned look on her face.
"My parents divorced only months after I was born. I never got to know him much." Ash said, softly.
"Oh... I'm sorry." May said.
"It's okay. Though I do wonder why you're asking me so many questions about myself." Ash said.
"I was just curious. We have been together for quite some time, you know. I just wanted to know a little more about yourself." May said.
"I see." Ash said.
"I can't really explain it right now... it's just... this feeling that I have towards you. Not just over the way you are now... but you as a person, overall." May said. Ash didn't say anything as she looked upward now, as if she were remembering some event from a short while ago.

But all of a sudden, screams could be heard outside. May quickly turned her head towards the open hallway.
"Sounds like trouble!" May said. She quickly got up, forgetting to pick up Ash as he fell off her and onto the bedsheets. May ran outside as Ash jumped onto Pikachu's head and rode onto him as they approached the lobby. There they saw Team Rocket running around with a slew of Pokemon trapped in nets and the trainers tied up in a corner. Nurse Joy was already standing there.
"Let those people go! And their Pokemon!!!" Joy shouted.
"No can do, sweetums." Jessie said.
"We want to make a good impression for our boss!" James said.
"Yeah, just to show him that we don't always screw up!" Meowth said.
"Wobbuffet!!!"
"Stop right there!" May shouted as she ran up beside Joy, "Up to no good again, aren't you?"
"No good? What do you mean? We're making good for a change!" Meowth said.
"Yes. So prepare yourself for trouble up until the night!" Jessie said.
"Make it double once you get the words right!" James said.
"To protect the world from devastation." Jessie said.
"To unite our peoples within our nation." James said. (I would hope you know what's coming by now)
"To denounce the evils of truth and love." Jessie said.
"To extend our reach beyond the stars above." James said.
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket... blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie said.
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!" James said.
"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth said.
"Wobbuffet!!!"

"You won't get away from this, Team Rocket! I'll make sure of it!" Ash shouted from atop Pikachu's head.
"Huh? Did that little toy just talk?" James said.
"It even looks like that master twerp." Jessie said.
"Never mind about what's on Pikachu! Just get that rubber ball ready to take it from her hands!" Meowth said.
"I won't let you! Torchic, go!!!" May shouted as she threw her Pokeball. Once it hit the ground, out came Torchic in all its happy glory.
"Torchic! Peck attack!" May shouted. But Torchic stood still. May immediately realized why it wouldn't budge a step.
"Oh... I forgot. Team Rocket didn't call their Pokemon out yet." May said.
"You might as well save your strength, little one, because we've already got what we came here for." Jessie said.
"Plus a bonus in the form of that Pikachu!" James said. He then threw another net over at Pikachu, which this time was one made out of rubber. Pikachu knew this and tried to get away, but it was too late. Pikachu, along with the shrunken Ash, were both trapped underneath.
Pikachu tried shocking the net, but only succeeded in shocking Ash who was still laying on top of the creature's head.
"Great... it figures they would use a rubber net on Pikachu." Ash said to himself.
"Meowth! Grab Pikachu! We're blasting off again!" Jessie said.
"This time in a good situation!" Meowth said as he grabbed the net and dragged it along the ground. Ash turned back over to May, who watched hopelessly as Team Rocket made their escape.
"May! Get Brock and Max! You'll need all the help you can get to rescue me and the Pokemon!" Ash shouted. May just nodded before they were all completely out the door.

After Team Rocket ran as quickly as they could through the green fields that seperated Lilycove City from Fortree City. The team figured the vast forest that lay to the north of Fortree City would provide a good hiding place just in case the twerps were following them. Finally, after traveling several yards into the heart of the forest, they stopped running and began to admire their collection of stolen Pokemon.
"Look at all of them, James. We struck gold this time around!" Jessie said with an evil smile.
"What do you mean? None of them look gold-colored to me." James said. He then got slapped by Jessie.
"Aarrrgh... you know what I meant, dumbbell!!!" Jessie said.
"And the best part is we got Pikachu as a bonus!" Meowth said. Ash then jumped off from Pikachu's head and approached the edge of the net.
"Listen up, Team Rocket!!! When I get out of this net, Pikachu and I will teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" Ash shouted. The trio then turned their attention towards the shrunken Ash.
"Oh, look... the toy's insulting us." Jessie said.
"Hey, Jess. Maybe that is the real twerp and not some miniature voodoo doll that we could've sold ages ago." Meowth said.
"Meowth's right. A toy wouldn't go that far, would it?" James said.
"Well, he is toy-sized. So why not have some fun with it?" Jessie said.
"Sounds good to me!" Meowth said.
"Wobbuffet!!!"
"All right, I'll get it first!" James said. But just as he and Meowth started to run to the net, Jessie stopped both of them with a slap in their faces.
"Owww... what was that for, Jess?" James said.
"Yeah, why put a hold on such a cruel thing?" Meowth said.
"Haven't you two forgotten? This is a job for me and my womanly charm." Jessie said.
"Your womanly charm?" James echoed.
"Of course. The twerp is so fine-looking even if he doesn't take care of his Pikachu. Surely he can't resist someone like me... especially when I used to dream of doing something like this one day." Jessie said.
"You mean you were destined to fall in love with Ash one day?" Meowth said. Again he got slapped for uttering such a dumb thought.
"No, you dimwit! There isn't any way he can resist saying no to my foot." Jessie said before she walked towards the net.
"James... when was the last time Jessie thought of herself to be so gigantic?" Meowth said.
"Not since we joined Team Rocket..." James said.

Ash backed away towards his Pikachu as Jessie got closer to the net. She was intimidating before as a result of being with such an evil organization, but to see her towering over him almost like the Silph Company Building was an overwhelming feeling. Especially since there was no telling what cruel tactics she may use on him. Jessie slowly lifted the net and released the shrunken Ash from Pikachu's grip. Ash struggled in Jessie's hand as she held him tightly.
"Heh heh... just look at the little toy struggle." Jessie said.
"Aaargh... let me go!" Ash shouted. He tried biting Jessie's hand to loosen her grip, but it wasn't of any use considering her hands were gloved.
"You know I've always wanted to have a miniaturized Pokemon trainer with me. It's like all those little dolls that I used to collect." Jessie said.
"You had a doll collection?" James said. Once again, he got slapped for saying something dumb, though it was also to make sure James didn't get anywhere close to Ash. It must've been the GTS thing in her, after all.
"Gee, I wonder how good Pokemon trainers taste?" Jessie said. Ash could sense what was coming, and he feared for the worst as Jessie started to open her mouth.

But all of a sudden, a huge gust of wind could be felt from behind the two. It was enough for Jessie to drop Ash as she fought to get the hair out of her eyes. Ash landed back on the ground and scrambled to get back to his Pikachu before she would notice that he was gone. When the gust died down, Jessie looked everywhere before turning to see May standing there! Along with her Beautifly, Officer Jenny was standing there as well with a Vileplume at her side.
"Ack! What are you two doing here!?" Jessie said.
"Yes! We thought the forest was a great place to hide!" James said.
"Well, that would normally be true unless of course the Sweet Scent of my Vileplume was able to detect your presence. Not to mention your every step of the way." Jenny said.
"And my Beautifly was the one that created that gust of wind, which distracted you from hurting Ash and all those Pokemon!" May said.
"Unbelievable! Those little squirts screwed up our perfect plan!" James said.
"Well... as long as we possess all the Pokemon, you don't stand much of a chance." Jessie said.
"I wouldn't bet on that." May said with a smile. Jessie had a confused look on her face before she turned and looked over at the net full of captured Pokemon. There was a Forretress right there rapid spinning the net off the ground!
"Ahhh... what's that thing doing!?" Meowth said. Then they saw Brock step out from the pile of Pokemon.
"Now who would you say is outnumbered?" Brock asked.
"Arrrrgh! Enough of this! Seviper and Dustox! GO!!!" Jessie shouted, throwing two of her Pokeballs out towards the ground. Seviper and Dustox both came out.
"You go escort the Pokemon out of here while I take care of Team Rocket." Jenny said to May. She nodded as she went over to the pile of stolen Pokemon. Jenny pulled out another Pokeball and threw it to reveal Bellossom. As the two-on-two battle got under way, May approached Ash and Pikachu as they laid down on the ground. May kneeled down in front of Ash.

"Are you okay, Ash?" May said.
"Yeah. I was almost a part of Team Rocket's feast had you guys not shown up." Ash said. Max walked up and stood behind May to deliver some good news.
"We found a way to cure your condition, Ash. Kurt sent us an apricorn through e-mail that can allow you to return to normal size." Max said.
"Ah! That's great!" Ash said.
"Now, hurry! We need to get out of here. I'll protect you." May said. Ash, smiling over the fact that May was taking special care of him every step of the way. He watched with even more relief as May opened up the zipper on the top of her blouse, which revealed the middle of her vast chest. May allowed Ash to jump into the crevice and hide in between her boobs until they got back to the Pokemon Center.

Back at the battlefield, Brock had already left to guide the stolen Pokemon back to the nearby Pokemon Center where they could be returned to their proper trainers. As Max went with him, May stayed behind and watched as Jenny was having moderate success against Jessie's Seviper and Dustox. She felt it was time she finished the job.
"All right, Beautifly! Whirlwind those Pokemon poachers away!" May shouted. Beautifuly did just that, flapping its wings so much that it caused a powerful gust of wind to blow towards Team Rocket. They finally lost their footing from the ground as they went soaring through the skies as usual.
"Aaargh! Those little twerps beat us again!" Jessie said.
"And the worst part is that they even did it without the master twerp's help!" James said.
"I guess no job's too big for them." Meowth said.
"But Team Rocket's blasting off again!!!" They all shouted at once.
"Wobbuffet!!!"

May jumped for joy at her victory, almost forgetting that Ash was bouncing up and down in her chest. But he was able to take the pressure well. May finally took him out when the coast was clear. Ash rubbed his eyes as the sunlight beamed back in his eyes. He sat patiently on May's hand as he looked up at both her and Officer Jenny from across. Pikachu was smiling as well, knowing that its master was okay.
"You did great, May. Your Pokemon battling style is truly aspiring for young girls like you." Jenny said.
"Awww... thank you, Officer Jenny. But we should hurry back to the Pokemon Center so that we can cure Ash of this condition." May said. She had told Jenny the story after she had reported to the Pokemon Center from Nurse Joy's urgent call, so this wasn't something that she was unprepared for.
"Yes, of course. Just follow me." Jenny said, as they both walked back to the Pokemon Center in Lilycove City.

Back inside the Pokemon Center, Ash stood on the counter as Nurse Joy stood the closest to him. She was holding a piece of purple apricorn. Normally apricorns are molded and then technologically enhanced into Pokeballs, but in the case of the rare purple apricorn, it would be enough to help Ash out in this situation. Watching in the background was May, Pikachu, Brock, Max, and Officer Jenny.
"Ash, this purple apricorn is rarely found in the world these days, but Kurt was lucky enough to have one of these in his basement. All you have to do is sniff it and you will be back to your normal size." Joy said.
"Huh? You mean I have to just sniff that and I'll be back to normal size?" Ash asked. Joy nodded.
"The ingredients of this apricorn are very special, which is what makes it so rare today. Kurt says that this apricorn is the absolute best in case of emergency over malfunctioning Pokeballs." Joy said.
"Okay, if you insist." Ash said. Joy held the apricorn closer to Ash as he started to take a few small sniffs of its scent. He almost choked over its strong scent, but he eventually recovered and awaited the results.
"It should happen any second now." Joy said. And true to Joy's word, everyone watched as Ash was slowly regaining height. Bigger he grew as he was now about half the size of Nurse Joy. But before Ash could celebrate over returning to normal height, he could hear some ripping sounds in the background, not to mention his clothing feeling incredibly tight. Then he looked down to realize what was happening.

"Ack! My clothes are ripping off!" Ash shouted. He jumped behind the counter where Joy normally stood so that nobody could see any of his body. Joy took a peek to see Ash covering as best as he could with whatever shred of clothing he had left. But at least he was back to his normal size. Joy set the apricorn aside as she turned to deliver the good news.
"Well, everyone, it worked! Though not quite the way we expected." Joy said. May and the others did their best to avoid laughing, only to have small giggles come out from under their noses.
"Ha ha... very funny, guys. Can someone please call my mom and tell her to send me a new pair of clothes?" Ash said from behind.
"Sure, Ash. I can do that for you." May said.
"By the way, Ash. I want you to know that the Safari Zone confiscated the safari ball that was used to capture yourself, so I'm sorry that you can't keep your Oddish." Jenny said.
"It's okay, Jenny. What matters is I don't have anyone to step on me now." Ash said. Pikachu couldn't help but jump over the counter and give its trainer a hug knowing that he was back to his normal self.

Later in the day, Ash did finally get the new pair of clothes that he had asked from his mother. Once Ash, May, Brock, Max and their respective Pokemon were well rested, it was time to hit the road once again. For Ash... well, he once again had to watch out for any Digletts or Geodudes that are always likely to be stepped on by travelers, but given all that he had gone through today, he didn't seem to mind.

END