Spokes In The Wheel
"Man, is it good to be home!" Ash Ketchum remarked as he stepped into the house. When you were traveling to different places every day of the week, it was good to return home every so often. Before rest and relaxation could take place, however, Delia had enveloped her son in a bone-crushing hug.
"Well, look who it is! I wasn't expecting my little boy to show up today!" she said when Ash was able to pull away. "What brings you to Kanto?"
"We just wanted to relax before Ash got his badge in Fortree City, but we'll be back on the road tomorrow," Brock supplied. Though the group liked to use Max's PokeNav, Brock preferred to use a traditional map; it kept them from going in circles so much.
"Oh, you're only staying the night? Why are you leaving so soon?" Delia asked with slight surprise.
"Come on, Mom, we have places to go and people to see!" Ash said brightly, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "I want to go visit Bulbasaur and show Professor Oak my badges!"
"Yeah, you're right Ash," May chimed in thoughtfully. "Maybe our Bulbasaurs can play again; they seemed to get along well last time."
"Do you think Professor Oak would take me on a tour of his lab?" Max asked with shining eyes, standing by his sister's side.
"Sure, just don't break anything," May giggled.
"I assume this means we're leaving?" Brock asked with an arched eyebrow. "I was looking forward to helping Mrs. Ketchum with the dishes."
"Oh, don't you worry about the dishes, Brock," Mrs. Ketchum interrupted. "Go on and visit the professor; I'll be doing the dishes today."
"Then it's settled!" Ash exclaimed. "Let's go!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed as the four kids raced out of the house.
It was a bright summer's day, with few clouds in the sky, as Ash rang Professor Oak's doorbell. Max could barely contain his excitement, bouncing up and down on the soles of his feet. "I can't wait to see the lab up close!" he whispered under his breath. A scuffling was heard from behind the door and Tracey Sketchit, the professor's assistant, appeared. He was breathing heavily as if he had just run a mile and looked exhausted.
"What's wrong, Tracey?" Ash asked with slight concern. "Is the professor around?"
"Ash, your Muk just about mauled Professor Oak and it took me forever to get it off him. I'm never doing that again," he finished with a sigh. "Who are these guys?"
"I'm May, and this is Max, my brother," May said by way of introduction. "We came to see Professor Oak."
"I'm right here, kids," Professor Oak cut in, walking toward the door. "How is your journey coming along, Ash?"
"Great, I have five badges now," Ash answered with pride as he opened his badge case. "We decided to stop by the lab and visit for a day before going back to Hoenn. Besides, I wanted to see Bulbasaur."
"What am I doing, making you stand out here like this?" Professor Oak muttered with a wave of his hand. "Come on back to the paddock." The professor, followed by Tracey and the rest, made his way out to the back door. Max lingered at the foreboding door that led to the inner part of the lab like a child at the toy store.
"Can we just take a peek, Professor? Please?" he asked.
"Don't worry, Max, there will be plenty of time for that later," the professor replied laughingly as they stepped outside. Bulbasaur came to Ash with open arms and May released her Bulbasaur for some quality relaxation time. Thoughts of the lab had all but left Max's mind as he ran from Pokemon to Pokemon, playing with each group. Brock struck up a conversation with the professor about breeding, Tracey settled himself underneath a tree, and May went to join him.
"Those are some nice drawings," May commented, leaning over his shoulder. "Did you always like to draw?"
"Well, thank you, May. I'm Tracey Sketchit, if I haven't introduced myself before," Tracey replied, extending his hand. May shook his hand with a grin. "I always did like to draw. I grew up in the Orange Islands and didn't have very many friends, so…my sketchbook and I became friends. Professor Oak's my idol, so I'm honored to work with him."
"What are you drawing now?" May asked, watching his pencil dance fluidly across the paper. It faintly reminded her of her routines in Pokemon contests: thought out and well practiced.
"Ash and Bulbasaur over there. They look so happy, don't they?"
May forced a grin as a serious thought entered her mind. "Tracey?"
"Hmm?" His eyes never left the drawing.
"Do you know what it's like…to be the third wheel?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Ash and Brock have been traveling together for a long time and sometimes…sometimes…"
"Finish your thought," Tracey urged.
"Sometimes I feel like I just butted in between them. We met Misty awhile back, and I never felt that feeling as strong as I did then."
"Ah, I know what you mean." Tracey had now finished the drawing and laid his sketchbook aside. "Brock went to go help this professor named Ivy for awhile, so I went to go travel with them. Reality is a lot bigger than what we live in, May, and that's why I wanted to leave my island."
"Heh, I just wanted to travel and see the world," the brown-haired girl answered ruefully, taking a breath of spring air. "I've grown up a lot since I first started my journey. Believe it or not, I used to hate Pokemon."
"That just goes to show how much we change," Tracey grinned. "Good luck in the future."
"Thanks. I think I'll go play with Bulbasaur now." May hurried off into the sunlight to join her brother. "Hey, Max, can I join you?"
Tracey smiled at her eagerness before returning to his sketchbook. It wasn't until he was nearly done that he realized he had been drawing May the whole time.