Friends to Lovers
Chapter 1: A Fated Meeting of Two
At the Hoenn Region, somewhere out in a clear path heading through a forest, the sound of a bike wheel could be heard streaking down the path. Suddenly, a red bike with someone riding on it lifted up into the air for a few moments before landing safely on the path and continuing its way. The person riding the bike was a thirteen year old girl with sapphireg blue eyes wearing a red collared sport shirt with the collar in question being dark blue and a white t-shirt underneath, a bright yellow bag strapped around her waist, dark blue cycling shorts, black socks with red shoes on top that had a yellow stripe streaking across the side, a white strap on the top with a dark blue oval shape underneath, white gloves with the finger areas coloured dark blue and had a dark blue band on the bottom and a red bandana with a white Pokeball symbol on the left side tied around her dark brown hair which hung down in two pigtail-like sections. Her name was May Maple and she was on her way to Littleroot Town to pick up her first Pokemon. With a bright smile on her face, May started to increase her cycling speed.
'Littleroot Town is just up ahead. I won't be too far now.' May thought, now knowing that she was getting closer to her destination. But then she felt like that there was something beside her and slowly turned her gaze to the left to see a grey-coloured ghost floating that had a skull for a face, two bone symbols in its back and a single red eye in the centre of its mask face: from what May remembered at Trainer School, that was a Duskull. May's eyes immediately bulged and she screamed in alarm, but then she lost control of her bike and skidded down the hill before slamming head-first into a tree she didn't see coming. "I guess I…should have worn a…helmet." May groaned before she dropped down onto the ground. Duskull looked down at her lying on the ground and chuckled at its prank before floating away.
May slowly sat up and rubbed her head before looking up at the Duskull leaving with a frown crossing her face. "That isn't funny! I could have gotten hurt!" May yelled not realizing that the Duskull couldn't hear her. She glared for a few moments before she sighed in dismay and got back up on her feet. "To be honest, I don't really like Pokemon." May commented, speaking more to herself as she bent down, lifted her bike up and hopped on to continue her way. "But the travelling, I really love it!" she added with a bright smile replacing her frown as she resumed pedalling up the hill.
May soon made it to the top of the hill and she stopped to have a look at the view. "Wow!" May whispered in awe; she could see the buildings of Littleroot Town from where she was, and she knew that she was getting close to her destination. She then looked down to see a ferry heading across the ocean towards the port. "I wonder who would be on their way here." May commented as she watched the ferry. She then shook her head deciding not to think about it and continued pedalling so she could get to Littleroot Town quickly.
As May was cycling down the path, she didn't notice that the back wheel of her bike had come loose. After about a few seconds, the wheel suddenly broke off and May was sent going harshly to the left down towards the forest. May looked down in surprise wondering why she was going in a different direction, and she turned her head to find that the back wheel of her bike wasn't there anymore. "Oh no!" May cried, realising she was in trouble. She held on tight to the front bars as she zoomed down the grassy hill and then she dropped off the edge and was sent flying off her bike and landed on the grass hard. She then sat up and rubbed her head just to make sure that she hadn't landed on that. After making sure that her head was still intact, May looked back to find that her bike lacked one wheel and it had rolled down and landed beside the bike. "What am I going to do now? I don't know how to fix a bike." May said, looking at the broken bike in dismay. Thanks to that, not only was her bike in a bit of a wreck, but she was now a bit further away from Littleroot Town.
The bushes behind her suddenly started to shake, and May turned her head to see this. So she got up on her feet and slowly walked over to the bushes. "H-hello? Is someone there?" May asked, pushing the bushes aside to see what was there. She looked both directions a few times and then she looked to find herself staring face-to-face with three grey wolf-like Pokemon with black fur and bright red eyes, which started to growl angrily at her. May screamed in panic and fell backwards, quickly backing away in fear as the three Pokemon slowly walked out from behind the bushes glaring at her; from their appearance, May could recognize them as Mightyena. May slowly stood up, her heart pounding in her chest from fear. "They're probably angry because I landed in their territory." May commented to herself as she looked at the three Mightyena. She was able to stand upright and she slowly backed away while the Mightyena continued to growl at her. "I didn't mean to step into your territory. I'll just be leaving if that's what you want." May said, trying her best to avoid showing any signs of fear.
Unfortunately, the Mightyena seemed too angry to listen to reason and they immediately started to charge towards May. May screamed in panic, and then she turned around and made a run for it grabbing her bike and the broken wheel on the way. As May ran through the forest, she could see that the Mightyena were in hot pursuit behind her. "How did I end up in a mess like this?!" May asked, clearly not able to understand how she went from simply being on her way to pick up her first Pokemon to ending up being chased by three irritated Mightyena. She soon found that she was backed up against a cliff face and she turned to see the three Mightyena had her cornered.
"HELP!" May screamed, her voice echoing through the trees and scaring some bird Pokemon away.
Meanwhile on the ferry, a fourteen year old boy wearing a blue sweatshirt with a light blue half Pokeball symbol on the bottom and short dark blue sleeves, light blue tracksuit pants, blue sneakers with a white stripe on the bottom and two dark blue half-ovals on the front, black fingerless gloves with a big light green stripe on the end and a red cap with a big black oval shape in the middle and green Pokeball symbol in front over his raven coloured hair with a green bag that had black stripes and a red circle in the centre on his back was standing out on the balcony overlooking Littleroot Town coming closer into view. His name was Ash Ketchum and he was on his way to compete in the Hoenn League. Ash aspired to become a Pokemon Master and so far he had travelled through two different regions: his home region, Kanto, and Johto while also going through the Orange Islands, and Hoenn would now be the third region he had travelled to. Ash hadn't been travelling alone, however: he was joined by Misty Waterflower, a fiery water-type Trainer who was also one of the Cerulean Gym Leaders alongside her sisters, Brock Harrison, the Pewter City Gym Leader who was also training to become a Pokemon Breeder, and Tracey Sketchit, a Pokemon Watcher. Ash had recently parted ways with Brock and Misty, since Misty had to take charge of the Cerulean Gym while her sisters were out on a world tour and Brock had to resume his duties as the Pewter Gym Leader. Ash, in all honesty, really was hoping that he, Brock and Misty would all be going to this region since it was a lot of fun while they were travelling together. Regardless, Ash was certain that this would be another exciting adventure for him with so many new Pokemon to discover.
"Look out, Hoenn League! I'm on my way!" Ash cheered, his fist up in the air. Ash's partner Pokemon, Pikachu, who was sitting on his shoulder sighed and slowly shook his head at his friend's excitement. Ash looked over at Pikachu with a bright smile. "Sorry about that, Pikachu. It's just that you have no idea how excited I am. This is the start of a new adventure for us, with so many new Pokemon waiting for us and new places to explore. Are you ready for all this?" Ash asked.
"(You know I am, Ash!)" Pikachu agreed, a bright smile crossing his face with his fist up in the air. Pikachu was Ash's first Pokemon when he started his adventure and while the two didn't have an easy start, they had been best friends ever since. Pikachu also didn't like being inside a Pokeball; he preferred to stay outside and sit on Ash's shoulder. That wasn't an issue for either of them, since that meant they now took on all this travelling together.
At a different area of the balcony, the Rocket Trio consisting of Jessie Musashi, James Kojiro and Meowth could see Littleroot Town coming clear into view the closer they got; Jessie and James were both at least in their early twenties. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Littleroot Town. Please ensure that you have gathered all your belongings as we prepare for arrival." An announcement over the speakers said.
"Littleroot Town?" James asked. "The city whose colours will never change." James and Meowth both looked at Jessie in surprise; she was the one who said that. She was looking out at the approaching city with a smile on her face. "That's right. Littleroot Town has remained true to its roots." Jessie commented. She then rested her chin on her arms and closed her eyes as if she was lost in reminiscence. "I guess my colours have slowly been changing over the years." Jessie added.
James came over and stood next to Jessie wrapping his left arm around her, though she didn't seem to notice, while Meowth climbed up onto the top of the balcony bars. "What do you mean?" Meowth asked, having no idea what Jessie was talking about. "Jessie, have you been here before?" James asked, tilting his head out of curiosity. Jessie nodded in agreement and she then looked up at the clear blue sky watching the few clouds there were drift by.
"Is this...all that there is?" Jessie asked. James and Meowth both stared at her, wondering what she was talking about. "Following the twerp and trying to catch that Pikachu. James, have we ever truly blasted off at the speed of light?" Jessie asked, turning her gaze to the other two members of their trio. James and Meowth were both silent before they turned to each other.
"Is she speaking hypothetically?" James asked. "If that means wacky, then yes." Meowth replied.
Wobbuffet then popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!" prompting James and Meowth to look over at him. Jessie then grabbed out Wobbuffet's Pokeball and returned him into it, and then she happily sighed while James and Meowth both sighed in dismay.
Soon the ship landed at port and Ash quickly got off now arriving at Littleroot Town. "So this is Littleroot Town. It's huge!" Ash commented as he and Pikachu looked around in amazement. "(It sure is.)" Pikachu agreed nodding slowly, looking at the city with the same awe as Ash. As Ash started to walk forward to start looking around, he noticed that there was a phone just nearby.
"We better let Professor Birch know that we're here." Ash suggested. "(Good idea.)" Pikachu agreed. With this, Ash went over to the phone and grabbed it dialling the number of Professor Birch's lab, after which he placed the phone to his ear. After about a few seconds of waiting, the screen turned on and a man wearing a white coat on top of yellow, short dark green hair and glasses was shown. "Hello?" he asked. Ash smiled; he figured that it was one of Professor Birch's assistant.
"Hi there. My name's Ash. I was wondering if Professor Birch was available. He said to call and let him know that I had arrived in Hoenn." Ash explained.
"Professor Birch is out on the field conducting an experiment right now. I'll get in touch with him and let him know." The assistant said. "That's great. Thanks." Ash replied. With this, the screen turned off and Ash placed the phone back. He then turned to Pikachu who had been wondering what happened during that conversation.
"I don't think Professor Birch will be there for a while. So until he arrives, how about we do a bit of sightseeing?" Ash asked. "(Okay!)" Pikachu happily agreed, nodding immediately at this idea. With this, Ash rushed out into the city to have a look around. He happily smiled as he and Pikachu could see the various buildings around the area.
"This town is even bigger than I thought it would be. I guess that can be considered a good thing." Ash commented. Pikachu turned his head to notice something behind them, and then he smiled and started to tap Ash's head to get his attention. "What is it, buddy?" Ash asked, looking up at his little partner. Pikachu then pointed forward and Ash turned to see that there was an extra tall building that looked like it was nearly touching the sky. "Wow, that looks amazing! I don't think I've seen a building so big." Ash said, a bright smile crossing his face. He suddenly heard his stomach growl and looked over at Pikachu. "Why not we look for somewhere to have some lunch?" he suggested.
"(Sounds like a great idea to me. I'm a bit hungry myself.)" Pikachu agreed nodding; they had been on a ship travelling for about a few hours, so it would seem reasonable for them to grab a bite now.
Meanwhile out in the forest, May poked her head out from behind a bush to see the Mightyena that had been following her. They were looking around but didn't seem to notice any sign for her, so that meant that they seemed to have lost interest in pursuing her. Knowing that she was in the clear for the moment, May poked her head down and sighed in relief. "Well, at least I won't have to worry about them following me now. I need to find a place to get to higher ground." May said. She then poked her head back up and looked around for somewhere before she saw that just ahead from where she hid was a tree right beside a cliff face leading upwards and her bike was there as well: she could climb up the tree and continue her way to Littleroot Town before the Mightyena knew where she was.
"That's perfect! I'll be able to get higher up from there. I just need to make sure that the Mightyena don't notice me." May commented as she immediately ducked her head back down before the Mightyena saw her. She then slowly crawled out from behind the bush, got back up on her feet and started to slowly walk towards the tree making sure that the Mightyena didn't hear her. However, she didn't notice that there was a small stick lying in her path and she accidently stepped on it snapping it in half. May flinched at this and she slowly turned her head to see that the Mightyena had heard her, and they had spotted her and started to charge towards her. May jumped in panic before she immediately turned and started to run towards the tree with the Mightyena right behind her. Making it to the tree, Mat grabbed on and rapidly climbed up before she made it to a tree branch and sat down on it to catch her breath. She then looked down to see the Mightyena glaring up at her and growling, and a smile of satisfaction crossed her face.
"Sorry, you guys. But you won't be able to get me from up here!" May called, taunting the Mightyena. Unfortunately, the branch that she had decided to sit on must have been a bit weak because it started to break off. May then turned to see this and before she had a chance to jump off to the cliff face, the branch snapped off and May was sent tumbling down to the ground where the Mightyena were waiting for. They stepped backwards and watched as May landed on the ground. May then slowly sat up and lifted her head up to see the Mightyena glaring down at her. She immediately jumped up on her feet and quickly rushed off while the Mightyena followed.
"Come on, can't you give me a break? How long are you going to keep coming after me?" May asked, clearly starting to get exhausted from running away from these guys. She looked back to see that the Mightyena didn't seem to be tired in the slightest; it seemed like they didn't want to stop until they cornered her. "Someone please help me!" May yelled out; she didn't want to be taken down by these Pokemon.
Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu were sitting at a diner enjoying some lunch: Ash was munching on a cheeseburger while Pikachu was enjoying a can of Pokemon food. "How are you enjoying your food, Pikachu? Is it good?" Ash asked, his mouth full of a chunk of cheeseburger. Pikachu turned to Ash, chewing on some Pokemon food before swallowing it and happily nodded.
"(It sure is, Ash. What about you?)" Pikachu replied. "Mine's great, thanks for asking. Glad you're enjoying your food as well." Ash responded, with the two friends happily smiling at each other. Ash had to admit that this had been a great start to arriving in Hoenn; he didn't need to worry about having to handle bigger worries before he could actually start travelling. But then, his eyes widened as he suddenly remembered something.
"Professor Birch will probably be waiting for us! We better hurry and run back to see him." Ash said. Pikachu nodded in agreement to that, so he jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and the two rushed out of the diner just as the waitress was coming to see them. She looked outside the door to see Ash already clear out heading back to the port. "He must be in a rush for something important." she commented.
Ash arrived back at the port and, upon hearing the sound of wheels scraping across the concrete, turned his head to see a large green vehicle pull up in front of him with someone behind the wheel: it was Professor Birch. "Are you Ash Ketchum?" he asked.
"Yeah, that's right. I called up earlier to let you that I arrived, but I was told that you were away. So I've been waiting here until you came." Ash agreed.
"Well, it's great to see you made it safely. Hop in with me and we'll go to the lab." Professor Birch said. Ash nodded in agreement, so he jumped in the seat beside Professor Birch and the two were off. As the car headed down the path, Ash could see that there was what looked like butterfly-like Pokemon flying through the air. "Ash, I was wondering if you had seen someone named May while you were waiting." Professor Birch said.
"No, I don't think so. Why's that?" Ash asked, shaking his head. "(I haven't seen anyone like that either.)" Pikachu added, shaking his head in agreement with Ash. Professor Birch didn't respond, so Ash looked down wondering who exactly that could be. Soon they arrived at Professor Birch's lab, which was a white building with a round yellow lab and several windows on the front and side. Inside, Ash was sitting on the couch still thinking about who Professor Birch asked him about a little earlier: he had to wonder who exactly May was, and why he was asked if he had seen her.
"So, who is May?" Ash asked, looking up at the assistant. "Oh, that's right. May's starting her adventure as a Pokemon Trainer. She called earlier to say that she was on her way, but she hasn't arrived yet. So we aren't sure of what's happened to cause May's delay." The assistant explained. Ash immediately couldn't help but smile hearing that May was starting her Pokemon journey, but then his smile faded upon remembering that she was being held up. If she was kept waiting much longer, she could miss out on getting her first Pokemon. Ash remembered the feeling of missing out on starting an adventure; that was nearly happened to him when he overslept the day he was getting his own Pokemon. Ash was lost in thought for a few moments, before he immediately smiled again getting an idea.
"I know! How about I help look for her?" Ash suggested. Professor Birch and the assistant both looked at each other in uncertainty; there was no telling where May could be or if she was even coming. "Don't worry, I've gotten lost myself and have always managed to find my way to wherever I was going. I'll make sure to find May and help her get to the lab in no time." Ash explained. Pikachu happily nodded in agreement, as if to say to leave it to Ash since he seemed to know what he was doing.
"All right then, we'll leave that to you, Ash. May should be easy to recognise; she's wearing a red bandana over her hair." Professor Birch said. Ash nodded in agreement, so he jumped up on his feet and headed outside to head to the forest. As he got close, he turned to Pikachu.
"Professor Birch said that May's wearing a red bandana, so if we see that we should be able to find her. So let's get going!" Ash explained. "(You got it, Ash!)" Pikachu agreed. With this, Ash rushed out into the forest unaware that the Rocket Trio were watching from a bush nearby.
"Wonder what's gotten into them?" Meowth commented. Jessie then sighed in dismay and crossed her arms. "Oh, goody... Where they run, we run too." Jessie said. James smiled nervously and said "It's what we do, Jess: chase." He then looked in the direction that Ash had gone and started to look in curiosity. "Who was this 'May' person he was talking about?" James asked, mostly to himself.
Meanwhile with May, she was continuing her running from the Pokemon chasing her down. She looked behind her back and noticed that the Mightyena were nowhere to be seen, and then she looked all around her to see that they weren't there. Realising that she was in the clear, May left out a long sigh of relief. "I guess they must have given up now. Now I can finally be on my way out of here." May said. However, hearing some growling from behind her immediately changed her mind and she slowly turned around to see the Mightyena: they had decided on a surprise attack. May screamed and stumbled back in panic to find that she had been cornered near a cliff edge and that just so happened to be where her bike was. Unfortunately, she didn't have any way to get up here leaving her trapped.
Meanwhile, Ash was running through the forest in search of May. "May! May, where are you?" Ash called. "(May? May!)" Pikachu added, helping in Ash calling out her name in the hopes that she would hear them. Just then, Ash suddenly heard a loud scream coming from nearby and turned his head to see that it was just up ahead before looking over at Pikachu.
"Did you hear that, Pikachu?" As Pikachu gave a nod in agreement, Ash gave a firm expression as he had a feeling of what it could be. "It sounds like someone's in danger. We better hurry and see if we can help them!" Without a moment to spare, he began to rush off to find the source of the scream, seemingly unaware that it was leading him towards the same person he was looking for.
Meanwhile, May slowly backed away the furthest she could go as the Mightyena slowly advanced towards her. "I guess my journey ends before it even begins." May said, now aware that she was trapped and she didn't have any way out. Up at the top of the cliff face, Ash arrived at the source of the scream, and he looked down and gasped in shock to see who looked like May backed into a corner by three Pokemon he had never seen before. The Mightyena then lunged forward, and May immediately closed her eyes and looked away awaiting the inevitable impact.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder into the air and released a strong bolt of electricity striking the ground between May and the Mightyena, frightening the Mightyena and sending them running away in fear. May slowly opened her eyes to find that she was still all here, and then she lowered her arms to see that the Mightyena were gone; they must have been chased away. May then sat down on the ground and sighed in immense relief; for a minute, she thought she was done for.
"Hey, need a hand?" May then stood up upon hearing that voice and looked around wondering who said that, and then she turned around to see that a hand was being lifted down towards her to help her get up the cliff face. Not looking up to see who was offering her help, May grabbed the hand and she was pulled up to the edge. Ash bent down to see May. "Are you all right?" he asked. May then looked up to see who had saved her and found herself face to face with Ash gently smiling at her with Pikachu looking at her from his shoulder. May found that she was at a loss of words: this was the most amazing boy that she had ever met, and that said a lot considering that she hadn't met many boys growing up. She then slowly smiled and nodded.
"I am now. Thank you so much." May replied, slowly standing up with Ash doing the same thing so they were in direct eye contact.
"You must be May, is that right?" Ash asked. May nodded in agreement, but then she nearly jumped in surprise upon hearing that this boy she had just met knew her. "Wait. You know me?" she asked.
"I was told who you were so I could find you. My name's Ash." Ash replied. "(And I'm Pikachu, Ash's partner Pokemon.)" Pikachu added. May then smiled and nodded in understanding.
"Well, if that's true. Thanks, Ash." May said. The two then brightly smiled at each other; it was almost as if they were the only ones here and no one was around to disturb them.
Meanwhile, Professor Birch was out in a different area of the forest; he had gone out as well to find May. "May? Where are you, May?" he asked. He then took a step forward unaware that he was standing on the edge of a slope, and then he slipped and slid down the small hill dropping his bag at the top in the process, and dropped off a small cliff and landed on the ground startling a small grey wolf-like Pokemon that had been sleeping beside him. Professor Birch slowly sat up and he looked down to see the little Pokemon growling at him, to which he smiled nervously. "Oh, hi there. Sorry for just dropping in on you like that, Poochyena." Professor Birch said. The Poochyena lifted its head up into the air and let out a howl, causing two more Poochyena to scatter over and all three started to growl at Professor Birch.
They then lunged forward and Professor Birch was left running away from them around a tree. "Please, stop it! Can't we discuss this?" Professor Birch asked. However, it seemed that the Poochyena weren't up for listening to reason at the moment.
Hearing yelling for help from where they were, Ash and May both turned their heads in surprise. "What was that?" May asked. "It sounded like Professor Birch, and he could use some help! Let's go!" Ash said. The two started to rush off, but Ash stopped when he saw a red bike lying on the ground with a broken wheel beside it: it seemed like that was May's bike.
"May, what happened to your bike?" Ash asked. "Oh, I wasn't paying attention and the back wheel broke. And I don't know how to fix it either." May explained, looking down in dismay. Ash bent down to grab the bike, while Pikachu spun the back wheel over to him. Ash grabbed the wheel from Pikachu and put it back into place, and he lifted the bike up now that it was standing upright and stepped out of the way for May to see. May happily smiled seeing that her bike now looked right again.
"Wow, you fixed my bike? Oh, thanks Ash." May said. "No problem, May. Now we better hurry: Professor Birch will need our help." Ash replied, a determined expression replacing his smile at May's gratitude. May nodded in agreement, so she jumped up onto her bike and pedalled off to find Professor Birch while Ash ran alongside her. The two didn't take long to arrive and they saw Professor Birch had climbed up onto a tree branch to avoid the Poochyena, and he smiled to see Ash and May.
"May, there you are! Great timing. Quick, open the bag in front of you and grab one of the Pokeballs inside it." Professor Birch called. May looked down to see the bag in front of her, so she bent down and unzipped it to see that there were three Pokeballs inside. She then reached inside it, grabbed one of the Pokeballs and threw it up into the air, causing it to open and release a small blue Pokemon with orange cheeks that had fins on them, a light blue square tail and a long fin on its head. "All right, a Mudkip!" Professor Birch smiled.
"That's good. What do I do now?" May asked. "You need to tell it to use one of its signature moves, like Water Gun." Professor Birch explained.
"Okay. Mudkip, use Water Gun!" May replied, looking down at Mudkip. Mudkip looked up at May and shot a blast of water from its mouth at her face drenching her in water. Once Mudkip was done, May was soaked. "Is that supposed to happen?" May asked. Ash and Pikachu started trying to stifle their giggles after seeing that.
Professor Birch sighed upon realising that they weren't getting anywhere. But then the branch he was holding onto snapped and broke off sending him down to the ground and causing him to get chased by the Poochyena all over again. "Mudkip, this way! Over here!" Professor Birch called. Mudkip jumped off the edge while Ash and May watched and landed safely on the ground.
"Use Water Gun on the Poochyena!" Professor Birch said. Mudkip shot out a strong blast of water from its mouth at the Poochyena drenching them and sending them running away. Once they were gone, Professor Birch returned Mudkip to its Pokeball and looked up at Ash and May. "Thanks for your help, you two." he said.
"Oh, it was nothing." May replied, rubbing the back of her head while smiling nervously. "We didn't even do anything." Ash whispered turning to Pikachu. Pikachu then shrugged deciding it would be better not to correct that.
"It's good to see you're all right, May. I was worried that something might have happened to you." Professor Birch said. "Well, you should thank Ash for that. I wouldn't still be here if it wasn't for his help." May responded, looking over at Ash with a bright smile. A blush appeared on Ash's face, and he smiled nervously while slowly scratching his left cheek with one finger.
"So, May, are you ready to head over to the Lab and get your first Pokemon?" Professor Birch asked. Ash then brightly smiled hearing this. "Oh, that's right! You're going to get your first Pokemon. That's great!" he said. May nodded in agreement with a smile, but then she looked down with an expression of dishearten; she was wondering if she should say that she didn't like Pokemon or not.
A little later, Ash, May and Professor Birch were on their way to the Lab with May bringing her bike beside her. Ash turned his head to May and figured to start some conversation with her. "So, May, looking forward to getting your first Pokemon?" he asked. May looked up at Ash for a few moments and then she looked back down. Noticing that there wasn't a response, Ash's smile was replaced with an expression of concern. "Feeling a bit nervous about it?" he asked. Deciding not to mention her dislike of Pokemon, May looked back up at Ash and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know how that feels. I remember when I was going to get my first Pokemon too. I was excited about it, but I felt a bit worried since I couldn't decide who I wanted to get. But don't worry, May. Whoever you decide to choose, I'm sure you'll get along with them very well. Look at me and Pikachu." Ash explained, turning his head to Pikachu at the end of that. Pikachu happily smiled: he remembered that day as clearly as Ash did. May couldn't help herself smiling and she nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, the sound of a loud stomp on the ground could be heard and the three turned around in surprise. "What's that?" May asked. Standing there before them was a large robot in the shape of a battery, and its arms and legs were in the shape of batteries and standing at the top of the machine where the plugs would be were the Rocket Trio, with Jessie and James having their hands together. Wobbuffet then popped out of his Pokeball like he usually did and blurted "Wobbuffet!"
"It's Team Rocket!" Ash gasped. "You know those guys?" May asked. I've never heard of them." Professor Birch commented.
"Believe me, they're always up to no good and they keep trying to catch Pikachu." Ash said. "(That's right. We always run into them.)" Pikachu agreed.
The Rocket Trio then jumped into their seats inside the machine. "I've been doing my homework and dig this. I've come up with a machine that will beat that pesky Pikachu at its own nasty game. No matter how high those volts go, this machine will absorb them!" Meowth explained.
"(Oh, I'll show you, Team Rocket!)" Pikachu called. He was about to jump off Ash's shoulder to take them down, but Ash quickly held him back. "Don't move, Pikachu! That machine will absorb your electricity." Ash warned. Pikachu quickly realised where Ash was getting at with this and nodded in understanding, figuring it would be better to stay put.
"That's how you want to play? Fine with us!" Meowth yelled from inside the machine. Just then, a mechanical claw shot out from inside the machine and grabbed Pikachu off Ash's shoulder, pulling him towards them and two metal plungers were attached to Pikachu's red cheeks. From inside the machine, James pulled a lever to start absorbing Pikachu's electricity and then suddenly, sparks of electricity started to fly everywhere while the battery gauge on the middle of the machine started to increase.
"What an electrifying moment for Team Rocket!" Meowth announced. "Shocking!" James commented.
Down on the ground, Ash, May and Professor Birch watched this on. Seeing his friend in danger, Ash started to run towards the machine but felt someone holding him back. He turned to see that it was May holding him by the shoulder. "Ash, don't! That machine is dangerous. You could get electrocuted badly!" May warned.
"I have to save Pikachu!" Ash retorted. He then pushed May's hand off his shoulder and ran towards the machine while May and Professor Birch watched on in disbelief. Ash grabbed hold of one of the machine's legs and started to climb up the body until he got to the arms holding Pikachu. "Don't worry, Pikachu! I'll get you off this thing!" Ash called, moving out of the way as electric bolts flew past him. He then grabbed hold of the claw and started pulling on it to try and get it to let go of Pikachu.
"Looks like we've got someone trying to step in and stop our absorption." Meowth commented. "Well, we'll give him a taste of his own electric medicine!" James replied. With this, the claw opened up dropping Pikachu onto the ground and grabbed hold of Ash instead.
"You won't get away with this, Team Rocket!" Ash called, struggling to get free of the claw's grasp. "Well, we'll just see about that!" Meowth replied. With this, he pulled one of the levers and the electricity that they had absorbed from Pikachu suddenly came back out of the machine and hit Ash instead. Ash then suddenly screamed as the electricity was shot into him: if he thought that getting shocked by Pikachu was painful enough, then this was giving Pikachu's shocks a run for their money.
"Ash!" May yelled. "Ash!" Professor Birch called. Pikachu slowly got up on his feet and shook his head, and then he looked around wondering what was going on before he looked up to see Ash getting electrocuted by Team Rocket's machine. "(ASH!)" Pikachu screamed, seeing his best friend being put through this amount of pain.
"What's the matter? Can't take the juice?" Meowth asked. "I'm sure he's seeing this as quite a shocking experience." James commented. Jessie glared at the two jokesters; she had enough of the bad electricity puns. "Will you two just be quiet?!" Jessie snapped, causing James and Meowth to nearly jump out of their seats in fear.
After about a few more seconds, the electricity stopped and the claw let go of Ash sending him down onto the ground. May and Pikachu both ran over to him to see him lying on the ground motionless. "Ash? Ash, are you okay? Ash?" May asked, shaking Ash rapidly. Pikachu looked down at his best friend sadly before he looked up at the machine the Rocket Trio were in with one nasty glare on his face.
"(You might try to capture me, but you do not, I repeat, do not do that sort of thing to my best friend and get away with it. I'll make you pay for that, Team Rocket!)" Pikachu yelled, seething with fury and anger. Without any hesitance, he charged towards the machine at full speed and slammed into it, sending it tumbling backwards and landing on its back with a loud thud while the Rocket Trio were sent flying out of their seats and they slammed into the back and slid onto the floor.
"One lesson we should have learned..." James said. "...is not to mess with an angry Pikachu." Meowth finished.
"(You got that right! And this is for putting my friend through all that pain!)" Pikachu snapped, before releasing the strongest bolt of electricity he had ever released at the machine completely electrocuting it while small bolts were sent flying all over the place. As Professor Birch and May watched on with Ash still motionless in her arms, she turned to see her bike suddenly electrocuted into a crisp. "My bike's been barbequed!" she gasped in horror.
Inside the machine, the Rocket Trio were all getting pretty bad electric treatment, but Jessie wasn't fazed at all: as a matter of fact, she had a bright smile on her face. "We haven't been wasting our time after all. It's amazing that Pikachu is the only thing the Boss would want!" Jessie smiled.
"But have we captured..." James started. "...too much of a good thing?" Meowth finished. Wobbuffet suddenly popped out of his Pokeball and blurted "Wobbuffet!"
After about a few moments of electrocution, the machine exploded and the Rocket Trio were sent flying into the air. "Quite a Thunderbolt!" Meowth commented. "It has renewed my energy and passion!" Jessie smiled. The Rocket Trio were then sent flying into the sky and disappeared in a flash.
After the smoke cleared, Pikachu was standing there staring up at the sky where the Rocket Trio went. "(And good riddance! That should teach you a lesson about what happens when you mess with me and Ash!)" Pikachu yelled. Now that his anger had been taken out on the Rocket Trio, Pikachu then turned and ran over to May who was still bent down beside Ash. Pikachu walked over to Ash and nuzzled up against him; he didn't want to think that the worst had happened to him. "(Ash...)" Pikachu whispered, clearly in reasonable worry over his friend.
"It's okay, Pikachu. Ash is just unconscious. Hopefully he'll come to soon." May said, softly smiling at Pikachu. Hearing this, Pikachu sighed from immense relief: he was afraid that he was going to lose his best friend.
That evening back at Professor Birch's Lab, May and Pikachu were keeping a look out on Ash who was lying on a couch in the spare room. "Don't worry, Pikachu. Ash will be all right." May said, rubbing Pikachu's head reassuringly. Sure enough, the two looked down to see Ash slowly open his eyes and sit up, starting to rub his head.
"W-what happened?" Ash asked. He then turned to see Pikachu happily smiling at him, and then the little electric mouse Pokemon jumped into Ash's arms. "Pikachu! I'm so glad you're okay, little buddy." Ash smiled. Pikachu happily nuzzled up against Ash; he was so thrilled to see that his friend was all right. Ash then looked up to see May smiling, and then she came over to sit down beside him. "May? Where are we?" Ash asked, looking around unable to recognize his surroundings due to the electrocution he received earlier.
"We're in Professor Birch's lab. The assistant arrived and helped Professor Birch bring you back here. You've been out for a few hours now." May explained. Ash then suddenly remembered: he climbed up the machine to save Pikachu, and received one really bad shock because of that.
"I'm sorry I put myself in danger like that. It's just that I wasn't going to stand by and let Team Rocket do something like that to Pikachu. I must have really worried you, Pikachu and Professor Birch." Ash said looking down sadly. May simply shook her head, retaining the bright smile she had.
"We're not concerned about that, Ash. The only thing that matters is that you're all right, and that was all we were concerned about." May replied. Ash happily smiled at this: he was glad to hear that no one was upset at him for his risky actions. Just then, the group could hear the sound of footsteps and turned to see Professor Birch come inside.
"So, May, are you ready to choose your first Pokemon?" Professor Birch asked. Ash, May and Pikachu came inside the room where three Pokeballs sat on the desk: those were the three that Professor Birch had earlier. "These Pokeballs contain three beginner Pokemon. First up is Treecko." Professor Birch explained, picking up a Pokeball from the desk and opening it. Out came a light green gecko-like Pokemon with yellow eyes, a red colour on its belly and a dark green tail that curled on the end. "Treecko is a grass type." Professor Birch added. As soon as Treecko looked up at May, she scattered back in fright.
"It's creepy!" May gasped. "No, it's not, May. I think it looks cool." Ash replied.
"This is Mudkip." Professor Birch said, opening another Pokeball on the desk. Out came Mudkip, who tilted its head with a bright smile on its face. "Now that's a water type." Ash commented.
"That Mudkip wouldn't do a thing that I asked it to." May said. "Really? How can that little guy cause trouble?" Ash asked.
"You're really fond of Pokemon, aren't you, Ash?" Professor Birch asked. "Oh, you have no idea, Professor." Ash replied.
"Now I'd like you to meet Torchic. Torchic's a fire type." Professor Birch said, opening the last Pokeball on the desk. Out came a little orange chick Pokemon with yellow feathers and a spiked yellow feather on the top of its head with a smaller orange feather below it. Torchic then hopped towards May and started nuzzling against her legs.
"Look at that, May. Torchic likes you and it's just met you." Ash commented. May nodded in agreement; she noticed as well. She then bent down and picked Torchic up. "Then it's settled. I'm choosing Torchic!" May said.
Professor Birch then showed May six Pokeballs and a Pokedex. "Be sure to take these with you. If you work hard, you could become a better Pokemon trainer than your father." Professor Birch said. "That sounds like a great goal, doesn't it, May?" Ash asked, happily smiling.
"Yeah..." May nervously agreed. She then looked away and commented "I'd give up Pokemon any day of the week just for a free trip around the world." Unfortunately, Professor Birch must have heard her.
"What was that, May?" he asked. May nearly jumped and smiled nervously before saying "I wouldn't trade it for the world!" and laughing nervously.
The next morning, May was glaring at the burnt remains of her bike before she sadly sighed. "This is all Pikachu's fault. I think I'll have a word with Ash." May said, heading off to find where he was. She opened the door to the room where he was sleeping, but then her frown faded when she saw him sleeping peacefully with Pikachu curled up at the end with him. "Maybe I'm being a bit too hard on Ash. He was only trying to save Pikachu." May commented. She then closed the door a little bit as Ash then sat up in his bed letting out a loud yawn. He then looked to see Pikachu at the end waking up as well.
"Good morning, Pikachu. How did you sleep?" Ash asked, not noticing that May was at the door. Pikachu sat up and walked over to Ash. "(Oh, morning, Ash. I slept great.)" Pikachu replied. May then happily smiled as she watched this: she decided that it would be better to cut Ash a break. So she closed the door so she wouldn't interrupt them.
Outside, May released Torchic from her Pokeball and bent down to rub her chin. "Good morning, Torchic." May said with a bright smile. She then looked up to see Ash stepping outside with Pikachu on his shoulder and walked over to him. "Good morning, Ash. How are you feeling?" she asked. Ash turned his gaze to see May and smiled.
"Oh, I feel a lot better. Thanks." Ash said. "That's great news." May replied. Pikachu then jumped off Ash's shoulder and ran over to meet Torchic.
"(Hi there. My name's Pikachu.)" Pikachu said. "(Nice to meet you, Pikachu. I'm Torchic.)" Torchic responded. She then started to run off while Pikachu rushed after her in a game of tag while Ash and May watched on.
"Looks like they're getting along well already. You've made your first friend in Hoenn, Pikachu." Ash commented. May then turned to see the wreck of her bike lying against the wall nearby.
"My poor bike..." May sighed. She then turned away with a smile. "Oh, who cares?" A little later, Ash and May were ready to leave Littleroot Town and Professor Birch and his assistant had come out to see them off.
"You two will have to register for the Hoenn League at the nearest Pokemon Centre you can find." Professor Birch explained. "The closest one that I can think of is in Oldale Town." The assistant added.
May then placed her hands behind her back and looked up like she was thinking about something, while Ash turned his gaze to her. "Walking all that way alone makes me nervous, and not to mention my bike's destroyed, no thanks to Pikachu, Ash." May said. Ash nearly jumped in surprise at this. "There must be a solution: a way to get to Oldale Town safely on foot." May continued. Ash stared at May, wondering where she was getting at with this. "Hey, I know! Why don't we travel together? I happen to know the way to Oldale Town." May suggested with a bright smile on her face. Ash stared with uncertainty wondering if this was a good idea. "Hey, I don't mind at all. It's really no problem. Shall we?" May asked.
"(Sure thing!)" Pikachu immediately agreed. Ash looked at Pikachu before he smiled; if Pikachu was okay with it, he decided that he was okay with it too.
"All right then, May. We'll go together." Ash replied. May then turned away and happily cheered "Yes!" Ash looked at May, wondering why she was so happy about, but he decided to ask her about it later.
"That's a great idea. You can look after one another." Professor Birch said. "And be careful." The assistant added.
"Don't worry, we will." Ash replied. "We'll see you soon!" May said.
With this, Ash and May were on their way out of Littleroot Town and on the route towards Oldale Town. This was the start of a new adventure in Hoenn for both of them, little did they realise in more ways than one.