***Lyrics to the song will be at the very end of the document so if you'd like to read through the words and see how it correlates to the story, then please scroll to the bottom and do so!***
Hey Guys! First off I would like to say it is great to be back! I didn't realize how much I love writing until I took so much time off. Next I want to acknowledge why I haven't updated "A Trial of Will" in over a month. Well first I would like to say that it is not, nor will it ever be abandoned. That story will be finished no matter what. The reason I have been gone for so long is because I am currently a senior in high school and all of my college (university) applications have to be in before Thanksgiving break (Nov. 25 for those not in the U.S.A). That has taken up almost all of my time, but after I finish with that, you can once again expect once a week updates. I just have to get into a good school first is all
Now for this story. This is a one-shot loosely based off of the song "We all What We Ain't Got" By: Jake Owen. Now I know that there are a lot of people who detest it, but I absolutely love country music; mostly for the lyrics they just have so more meaning to them than any other genre . I'm writing this now because the day I am starting this, November 21, is Advanceshipping day, AKA my all-time favorite pokemon ship. So I would recommend listening to the song, although it is not required for the story in the slightest. Well, that's all I have to say for now. Please enjoy "We All Want What We Ain't Got"
Olivine City, Johto Region
It was oddly quiet. The only sounds were those of various machines beeping periodically. It was hard to believe that this was Olivine City, which was by no means a small, quiet town, especially at night which currently, it was. It wasn't hard to see how someone could feel alone at a time such as this.
And one particular person was feeling just that
Alone.
A beautiful brown-haired coordinator sat on a bench in the desolate pokemon center, her chin resting on her hand as she stared into space.
"Ms. Maple! Everything is all set; your Pokemon have all been tended to and healed." Said the pink-haired nurse everyone had come to know and love as she prepared to hand over May's pokeballs.
May shot back a forced smile and approached the women behind the counter, "Thank you Nurse Joy, I really appreciate it. Would it also be possible for me to rent a room for the night?"
Nurse joy smiled happily and nodded before she reached for a key from under her desk, "Sure thing Ms. Maple, there are plenty of rooms open! Well…all of them actually. It's odd isn't it? I mean there has only been one other person to stop in here all day besides you. I thought that with everything still winding down from the festival this place would be full to capacity." As Joy finished, a thoughtful expression replaced her normal smile
"It is pretty strange. Although there is that big party tonight." May responded as she took the key from the nurse.
"Oh that's right! I totally forgot. Oh well, have a good night Ms. Maple! And congratulations once again on your great accomplishment. It's not often someone so young does something so great!" Nurse Joy stated as her bright smile returned to her face once again. She decided not to ask why she wasn't attending the party as it was really none of her business.
May felt a very small genuine smile purse her lips. She knew she should've been more excited though, thus making her force herself to smile the rest of the way.
"Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy! It feels really great to have accomplished this. Goodnight to you too." May finished in the most upbeat tone she could muster before she strutted toward the wing of the pokemon center that housed the overnight rooms.
She found the door that had the matching number to her key and wasted no time in opening it. Without bothering to turn on a light, May placed what she had been holding lazily onto a dresser and flopped down face first onto the bed.
She lay there for a few moments before letting out a frustrated sigh. She was finally reaching the goals that she'd set for herself at the beginning of her journey and yet, she still felt almost no satisfaction or happiness.
She opened her eyes and positioned herself so she was sitting with her feet dangling off the end of the bed. May let her eyes wander, looking for nothing in particular as they had finally grown accustomed to the darkness that surrounded her.
Eventually May let her eyes pause on the item that should have brought her so much happiness. The thing she had been yearning for since the start of her journey. The proof that she was in fact the winner of the Johto Grand Festival.
The Ribbon Cup
Even in the darkness, the beauty of the cup shone through. Even in the state she was currently in, May could still appreciate just how enchanting the trophy was.
As she tried to further admired the cup, May let her mind drift to her past, how she came to be at the point she was.
This wasn't May's first time through the Johto Contest Circuit. After losing badly in the appeal rounds of the Johto Grand Festival the first time around, any spark she'd once had for coordinating had vanished. Though, May knew that she'd started losing her passion long before this failure. She knew full well that the real beginning was when she made the decision to leave her friends after Kanto.
Coordinating just didn't give her the same joy that it once did. Though despite being less than enthusiastic about them, May still gave her all in every contest as that was just the kind of person that she was. However, it just seemed that at that point, her best just wasn't good enough anymore.
After Johto she continued to mindlessly follow her rivals to both Sinnoh and back through Hoenn. In Sinnoh, she was simply glad to have not been completely embarrassed by losing in the appeals round as she had the previous year in Johto.
However, that was short lived as she was blown out in the first battle round against an opponent whom she, and everyone else knew she could've beaten.
When she returned to Hoenn, May found herself with almost no motivation to continue doing contests. This was made evident by the fact that she'd failed to even earn enough ribbons to enter the Grand Festival that year, a fact reporters had a field day on.
The negative press came flying at her from all sides and the worst part was, she had no one to turn to when everything would get her down.
But so was the life of a person who traveled alone.
Although it was true that May was alone for the majority of her journeys after Kanto, she would sometimes travel with those she called her rivals, Harley, Solidad, and Drew.
And though she did sometimes appreciating the company, more often than not May would wish that she was alone. The only one of her rivals she would even call a friend was Solidad, and often times she would refuse to travel with May, Drew and Harley as she simply could not tolerate the two men.
Solidad had at first offered May to travel with her alone, but May refused during a short period of time when Drew and Harley's company wasn't so bad.
But after that period came to an abrupt end, finding Solidad anywhere except at contests was close to impossible. Even though she desperately wanted to, she had a hard time even talking to Solidad, let alone asking to travel with her. Her embarrassment for not leaving with her upon her first offer was obviously holding her back.
And so May opted to mostly travel alone. Although there were times when the loneliness would eat at her insides and she would have no choice but to travel with Drew and Harley, lest she go crazy from the solitariness.
May absolutely despised Harley, but she found some form of solace in the fact that she already knew how he would act toward her.
Drew however…Drew was a different story.
At the end of her first tour through Kanto, Drew had become very sweet and caring towards May, leading her to believe that he cared about her more than he actually did.
Once they reached Johto however, Drew almost immediately returned to the type of person he was when they'd first met. The person that would put May down after a hard loss. The person that had no semblance of understanding for people's feelings.
Once May began losing contests fairly frequently, Drew's harmful words became a normalcy. May had cried herself to sleep many times throughout her journey, just from Drew's words alone.
Losing was bad enough, but to constantly hear the she had no talent and didn't belong nearly pushed her over the edge. She had seriously considered quitting after her loss in Sinnoh but even in the state she was in, she was much too proud to just up and quit.
And so she persevered, trying her best to keep going, even though her heart was no longer in it, only to fail to even make the Grand Festival during her second tour through Hoenn, something no one thought would ever happen to the Princess of said region.
May continued to sit on her bed in the pokemon center, still staring at the cup, thinking mostly about the way Drew had treated her when she lost the last contest of the season back in Hoenn. The contest that was May's final chance to make it to the Grand Festival.
As soon as Drew discovered that May still needed one more ribbon to be eligible for the festival, he entered this last contest, stating that if May couldn't beat him, then she didn't belong in the Grand Festival anyway.
Although this act angered May to her core, it also seemed to bring back the fire she once felt for coordinating. In her mind, this was the most important contest of her career.
Despite having what was without a doubt the best contest performance of her entire season, she still came up short in the finals to none other than Drew.
His "criticism" that day was the worst that he'd ever dished out. May had long ago forgotten the prospect that Drew had any semblance of feelings for her. In her mind, there was just no way that could be the case with how he treated her. This didn't matter anyway however, as May never had romantic feelings for Drew, even when he was being nice to her.
May shuddered as she thought back to Drew's words that day, "That loss proves my point exactly. You were never cut out to be a coordinator, I was just too nice to say anything at the beginning. Honestly, it's a miracle you even made it this far! If you want my advice, just give up. It's not like you're going anywhere in coordinating anyway. But hey, there's always room in Drew's corner. So why don't you just give up and come along with me? You can follow me around, cheer for me, maybe do some other things..."
The slap that followed was one of the most satisfying moments of May's 17 years of life. However, this did little to qualm her sadness as she ran off to the pokemon center, tears cascading from her eyes.
At that point in her memory, May let herself smile softly as she remembered what happened next.
Flashback
As May sprinted through the pokemon center, she was stopped by Nurse Joy's voice, "Ms. Maple! You have a phone call!"
May was more than tempted to keep running, to ignore the phone call and everything else in the world, but something inside of her told her that this was a call she wouldn't want to miss.
Slowly, May approached the phone while also attempted to gain control of her quiet sobs, only to find herself failing miserably. To this day May still didn't understand how she ever let anyone see her like she was in that moment...
...but she was so glad that she did.
She reached the phones, her arm covering her eyes, hoping to delay the reaction that was sure to come from whomever was on the other end of the line. She stayed like this for a few moments until a familiar voice echoed in her ears.
"Um...May?"
Although it was now deeper and smoother than she remembered, there was no mistaking who was on the other end of the phone.
Ash Ketchum
"May? Can you look at me?" When May heard his voice, she froze. She hadn't spoken to Ash in years. Not because she didn't want to, but because it was so difficult to find where each other were at any given time.
Once she heard his voice, May honestly thought of just running away, never allowing Ash to see her how she was in that moment. But despite not seeing him in years, Ash was the one person that May felt she could trust more than anyone on the planet. He was the one person that could help her through this.
Hesitantly, May lowered her arm, allowing Ash to see her bloodshot eyes that were still slowly producing tears.
Just based on the position she was in when she arrived on the screen, Ash knew that something was wrong. Seeing her crying not only confirmed that fact, but also managed to break his heart.
Ash dropped his voice to near a whisper, making it as calming as possible, "May, what's wrong? What's going on?"
At Ash's words, May finally looked at the screen. What she saw instantly made her feel a little better. Although his face was now more mature, he still held on to that look that could comfort anyone, no matter what the situation.
"A-Ash, how did you know where I was? How did you know where to call?" May asked weakly, ignoring the man's question momentarily.
Over the years, May had tried to call Ash at every pokemon center she stopped at. The problem was despite knowing what region he was in, she had no idea what pokemon center he could be in. This was an ongoing problem for trainers; having a hard time keeping in touch with others that constantly traveled around.
Ash didn't hesitate with his response, "I didn't. I tried every pokemon center in Hoenn. I haven't seen you in so long, and something came up that reminded me of you. I just...I just wanted to talk to you." Ash paused. "And I'm glad that I did. Now I'm going to ask again. What's wrong?"
Just seeing Ash's face, looking into his comforting brown eyes made her tears stop flowing. However, when she was reminded of her predicament, she lost it once again.
May knew that she was garnering stares from the other people in the pokemon center but at that point, she couldn't bring herself to care.
Seeing May break down like this shocked Ash. May had never been the type of person that cried so openly; she would normally escape everyone's presence and proceed from there. This told Ash that whatever had happened, it had to be serious.
"Shh...It's okay, May. Everything is going to be fine. I'm here for you." Ash attempted to placate the girl, but cursed under his breath when he noticed it wasn't working.
Ash so desperately wished that he could be there with her in that moment to comfort her. To protect her. To save her from whatever evil was making this wonderful girl so upset.
As May continued to cry, Ash continued to offer words of comfort, even though they didn't seem to be helping much. After a minute or so, Ash realized that this was a time where she just needed to cry everything out.
After a number of minutes, May finally started to calm down. She was finally regaining her previously choppy breath and her eyes were beginning to dry up once again.
Seeing this, Ash decided it was now a good time to talk, "May, please tell me what's wrong. All I want to do is help you and I can't do that if you don't tell me what's happening."
Finally feeling okay enough to speak, May started, "Ash I-I didn't earn enough ribbons to enter the Grand Festival this year. I couldn't even manage to do that..."
May's uncharacteristically dejected voice sent a pain shooting throughout Ash's body. Despite not talking to her for quite a long while, Ash'd always kept tabs on how she was doing in her contests. He noticed her placements were dropping, but he truly believed that she would eventually turn herself around.
Obviously, she hadn't.
"May... don't feel bad about that. It happens to the best of us. Sometimes it just can't be helped. Please don't think of yourself as any less of a coordinator just because of one poor season." Ash pleaded.
"I don't." May responded simply. Truth was, she did think of herself as less of a coordinator.
How could she not after everything that had been said about her by Drew and the press? Especially now that she was talking to the person that taught her basically everything she knew, she felt like she had not only failed herself, but him as well.
"I know you're lying May, I can see it. I can also tell that you're ashamed to be telling me this. May, you know that's something you should never feel when telling me anything." Ash reminded the brunette.
May scoffed and half-smiled at that before she spoke with a shaky voice, "You could always read me like an open book. We know each other too well, even after all this time."
Ash smiled lightly and nodded before once again turning serious, "May, I'm begging you to not let this impact your life more than it already has. A series of losses doesn't define you. You are an incredible coordinator and an even better person."
For some reason, even with the compliments floating her way, May began to feel frustrated. It wasn't like Ash was there with her to help her get back on track. It wasn't as if he ever really tried to travel with her again. How dare he just tell her not to be down about this? He had no idea what she'd been through these last few years.
She knew that her reasoning was ridiculous, but May just couldn't hold back her emotions. Blaming Ash for her loneliness and the rest of her problems, despite them not being his fault in the slightest, just seemed to be the easiest route to take at the moment.
"That's easy for you to say, Ash! You have no idea what it feels like to be in this situation! To feel so utterly pathetic and useless!" May screamed at the man on the other end of the phone.
Despite her screaming, Ash remained calm and stoic. He paused for a few moments, making sure May had her attention solely on him before beginning, "Is that really what you think, May? Do you really think I don't know the pain of losing over and over again? If that's really what you think then you haven't been following my career as closely as I have yours."
Haring this peaked May's interest, but she didn't allow the anger on her face to fade just yet. "Let me share something with you. When I traveled through the Kalos region a few years back, it took me seven tries to beat the Anistar City Gym. SEVEN! Do you know how many times I doubted myself? How many times I almost gave up?! But I learned a lot from that experience. I learned that sometimes, shit happens. But it always happens for a reason."
"If I hadn't experienced those losses, I would have never changed myself to become better. I was angry at myself for being so weak, furious even. I was in a state not much different from yours. This was a time when I truly thought that my dream of becoming a Pokemon Master would always be just that, a dream." Ash paused to make sure May was following along. He saw the anger in her face had faded and she was now listening with rapt attention.
"After all of those losses, I realized I had a choice to make. Either reevaluate myself or give up. And I'm not proud to admit it May, but I almost went with option two. And had it not been for my friends, I probably would have. But because of them instead of quitting, I took a deep, hard look as to why I was losing so frequently, what I was doing so wrong that I couldn't even beat a gym leader." Ash scoffed and paused for just a moment.
"I don't like to toot my own horn, but I mean, I made it to the top 4 in Sinnoh. And when that thought crossed my mind, I finally realized it. I'd used pokemon from all of my past journeys in the Sinnoh league. That was why I had done so well. I realized then that if I actually wanted to be somebody in the Pokemon world, then I couldn't afford to start over again in every new region I visited. So I changed. Adapted. I actually started training my older pokemon again and using them in battles, and do you know what happened? I finally beat that damn gym, and with ease too! The satisfaction I felt for finally unlocking my full potential was unlike anything else in the world." Ash finished with a grin.
"Look, the point is that sometimes, bad things happen. But these things happen for a reason. Now this reason may not always be clear, but it is there, don't think it's not. I know that now, in the wake of what happened, you're blind to this reason. But in time, I promise you May, it will make itself clear."
Ash finished his long-winded speech as he watched May sit in silence, simply staring back at him through the screen. To Ash, it almost appeared that she'd spaced out, but he knew better than that. He new that she was just deep in thought, reflecting on what she was just told. Exactly what Ash wanted her to be doing.
May thought about everything Ash had just told her. Every failure she'd ever endured. Everything she had learned. It didn't take very long for her to come to one conclusion.
Ash was right.
May couldn't afford to look at this loss as the biggest failure of her life. She needed to see it as an opportunity for her to learn and, like Ash, unlock her true potential.
A smile began to make its was to her face. Although her eyes were still red and her cheeks wet with tears, she was still strikingly beautiful, especially with the golden smile she now held.
Before speaking again, May silently thanked the God's above for having Ash in her life. He'd taught her everything she knows about Pokemon and now, he was teaching her about life. Despite being only one year older than herself, May knew that the things Ash had experienced in his life have made him wise beyond his years.
May now housed a full smile on her face, much to Ash's delight, "Thank goodness you're smiling again, I've missed it after all these years. You're really beautiful when you smile."
The two blushed at the comment, Ash at his boldness and May at the compliment. Wanting to avoid an awkward silence after the nice compliment, May decided to poke a little fun.
"You're pretty smart there Ash. Nice to see that has changed about you at least." May said sarcastically, earning a mock offended huff from the other end of the line.
"I'll have you know I have always been smart! I just played dumb sometimes as I didn't want to make everyone else feel insignificant when compared to me." Ash said in a fake sophisticated voice, causing them both to laugh.
Although things had changed about the both of them, the things they loved the most about one another seemed to have stayed the same.
Although laughing with May again was a great feeling, Ash knew there was more they had to talk about.
Deciding to try and get the negative out of the way, Ash posed a question, "May...do you want to talk about what happened? I know it's probably hard, but talking about it with a friend really helped me a lot."
May looked slightly uncertain at first, but her unconditional trust for Ash won out in the end. If he said it was a good idea, then she would do it, no questions asked. She trusted him that much. Nodding her head in agreement, May started from the beginning.
She spoke of how sweet Drew was to her when herself and Ash had first parted was, which Ash recalled seeing a few times. She then spoke of how he'd changed almost immediately back into a complete asshole, for lack of a better term.
May talked with little interruption for over an hour about her journey through Johto, Sinnoh and her most recent trek through Hoenn while Ash listened intently, hanging on every word that left her lips.
She made sure to include the worst of the things that Drew had said to her, not forgetting to mention what was said to her just hours ago. By that point, Ash was steaming, almost ready to burst in fury.
"I swear to Arceus, I will come to Hoenn right now and kick that skinny, bush-haired kids ass for what he said to you!"
May couldn't help but bellow a full out laugh at Ash. Even though she knew he was serious, there was just something funny about Ash acting like this. Ash, however, didn't seem to get the joke.
Cocking his head in genuine curiosity, Ash spoke, "What's funny, May? I'm being 100 percent serious! Someone has to teach that kid some manners!"
May finally got control of her laughter and looked back at the screen, "Oh nothing, Ash. As much as I would appreciate it, and Arceus knows Drew needs a good beating, I don't think an assault charge would look too great on the record of a future pokemon master."
Ash just laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head as he thought about what she'd said, "Hehe. Yeah, you're you're right."
May, deciding to have some fun with Ash, spoke once again, "And you're one to call Drew skinny, Ash. You were a pretty skinny kid yourself."
Ash raised an eyebrow as he looked at the smirk upon May's face. He then crossed his arms, "Well, things change, May. And in my case, my body was one of them."
May scoffed, "Oh please Ketchum, there's no way that you could've changed that much."
"Oh really? Well check this out." Ash said, as he took off his jacket, revealing a tight white shirt that really showed off the "changes" he was talking about. He then began flexing his arms in a joking manner. "Oh yeah! Welcome to the gun show!"
Although she knew Ash was messing around, May couldn't help admire how Ash had developed since she'd last seen him. For the first time during the call, she finally took in all of Ash, well... all of Ash she could see, which was from about the waist up.
His face had matured, no longer having the round edges evident during childhood, his jawline now well defined. His warm chocolate eyes hadn't changed a bit however, something she was grateful for. Her eyes then shifted to his chest and arms. He was definitely strong and defined, that much was easy to tell, but he wasn't so muscular that it was over the top. It was just...perfect.
Ash had always been very attractive to May, and not just for his amazing personality, but now, he was downright hot!
While May was ogling him, Ash finished his little "performance." At first, he was confused as to why May was just staring at him the way she was, but that didn't last long. Smiling to himself as he realized the reason, he decided to take some time to gaze at May.
May had grown into a breathtakingly beautiful woman. He always thought that she was pretty before but now she was absolutely gorgeous. Her face, more beautiful. Her curves, more...curvy. She was absolutely stunning, even with the dried mascara that sat on her cheeks that was still present from when she'd been crying.
After a while, May broke out of her trance like state, a massive blush forming on her face, "Uh...um...what were we talking about again?"
Hearing May, Ash broke out of his gaze he hadn't even realize he was lost in. Both of their faces were flushed as they slowly began to regain their composure.
"We were talking about how I would totally destroy Drew in a fight." Ash said, smirking all the while.
May giggled, "Okay, so maybe you're not asskinny as you were before. I stand corrected. But in all seriousness, what did you do to get so strong, physically I mean. I never expected that you would have the willpower to develop and maintain that kind of... physique."
May couldn't think of a better way to put this, but she was very curious as to how Ash's manage to achieve such an amazing body. Though she was embarrassed by her question, as evident by the red blush on her face, she was still eagerly awaiting an answer.
Ash blushed at her forwardness, but kept his composure, "First off, wow...hurtful. And as to how I did it, well, training alongside your pokemon will do this to a person. It was incredibly hard at first, but now I can keep up with the best of them!"
"I'm really impressed, Ash. Glad to hear you're being productive without me." May chuckled.
Though just seconds later, both May and Ash's faces visibly saddened as they were reminded of just how far away they were from each other.
For almost a minute, the two friends sat in silence, shifting their gazes from each other to the ground multiple times before Ash finally broke the silence.
"I...I really miss you May." Ash said, his voice just above a whisper.
May stared back at the screen, looking into his deep brown eyes, "I miss you too. More than you could even imagine."
The two simply stared at each other for a few moments before Ash decided to break the somber mood. He dug around in his pocket for a moment and pulled out the item he was looking for.
The Terracotta Ribbon.
"You still have your half?" Ash asked as he presented his mot prized possession to the woman.
Now, May was the one rummaging through her pockets before finally revealing the ribbon, "Of course I do! I don't go anywhere without it."
Ash smiled, "Me neither. This may sound stupid, but... it makes it feel like a part of you is still with me."
May shook her head vigorously, "That's not stupid, Ash, that's exactly how I feel about it. I've been alone a lot on my journey since we parted ways and whenever I felt lonely, I would pull this out and think about our time together. I did that almost every night."
Ash's smile widened as he heard May's words. It was great to hear that his best friend thought the way she did.
It was at this time that another voice was heard on Ash's side of the phone.
"Ash! We really have to get going! You've been on the phone forever!" A feminine voice yelled, drawing Ash's attention away from the screen.
Suddenly, A beautiful honey blond haired woman appeared behind Ash, becoming visible to May.
"Is this that, May girl you talk about all the time?" Serena asked, a bit of anger evident in her voice, which didn't go unnoticed by May.
"That's me! What's your name?" May tried her best to sound friendly, not wanting to get into it with one of Ash's friends.
"I'm Serena" The blonde said in what May could tell was a forced happy voice before turning her attention back to Ash.
Although neither girl had met before this, May and Serena knew that they wouldn't get along. Despite them having a lot in common, there was one major problem.
It was blatantly obviously that Serena had feelings for Ash. May could tell just by the hidden hostility in the blonde's words. After all, some form of jealousy had caused the brunette to lace her own words with discreet hostility as well.
For some reason, Serena's obvious attraction to Ash made May upset and fearful that this girl was with Ash right now and she wasn't.
May'd had feelings for Ash when they traveled together, but she'd truly thought her feelings for the boy had sailed ship long ago, but the jealousy she was feeling at the moment told her otherwise.
Serena tugged on Ash's shirt as she spoke, "Come on Ash, we really have to go."
"Okay, just give me one second. I'll be right there." Ash responded, to which Serena hesitantly agreed, leaving Ash alone again.
"May, before I go there is one more thing I want to say." Ash stated as May listened on. "You are going to get through this and become a better you than you already are. I believe in you May, I truly do. You just have to believe in yourself."
All May could do was smile at the man on the screen. For some reason, his words seemed to ignite a flame within her. She truly did believe she could do it. However, May's smile disappeared when she remembered Ash was about to leave.
"Well... I guess this is goodbye then, huh?" May said, a sad smile gracing her lips as a single tear ran down her face from one of her ocean blue eyes.
"No... No it's not. I'm heading back to Pallet Town in three days since the league here in Sinnoh just ended. I'll be staying there for at least a week so I want you to call me. Wherever you are, no matter what, call my house in Pallet. I promise I will be there to answer it. And from there, we will figure out a way to never lose contact with each other again. I swear it May, this is not goodbye." Ash finished, his steely resolve never fading.
Hearing the determination in Ash's voice reassured May that he was telling the truth. They would not fall out of contact again, neither of them would allow it.
"I will. Oh and before you go, how did you do in the league? I haven't had a chance to check yet." May quizzed. Her emotions had been running so high for so long that she'd forgotten to check to see how Ash performed in the latest Sinnoh League Tournament.
Ash simply smirked in response, "I think I did pretty well. But I'll let you be the judge of that. Talk to you later May, and don't forget to do what I said."
Ignoring his cryptic answer, May waved her hand, "Bye, Ash! And don't worry, I won't forget!"
And with that, the screen that she had been talking to for over two hours went black, signaling the end of the call.
It was hard for May to believe that after just one conversation with Ash, she felt so good again after being a wreck not three hours before. Talking to him made her realize just how much she missed the raven-haired boy whom, she was reminded, never told her how he did in the Sinnoh League this time around.
Deciding to check for herself, May made her way to one of the few public computers stationed next to the phones in the pokemon center. She searched with the tag line "Ash Ketchum", only to be amazed at what she saw.
There were dozens upon dozens of news reports of events in which he was involved with in some way. Some of these reports also involved some description of Ash saving the world, and almost all of them mentioned Ash's heroics in one way or another; she'd even ran across a few that she herself was mentioned in. However, this wasn't the amazing part. After all, Ash always did have a knack for finding trouble and miraculously finding a way out of it.
But none of those were the most incredible thing. What was most amazing was the first search result, which read.
"Ash Ketchum Takes Home First League Trophy in Stunning Sinnoh League Victory!"
The smile couldn't be stopped from spreading across May's face as she read the line. She didn't even feel the need to read the full article, this was more than enough to bring her complete and utter joy. He'd finally done it!
She giggled to herself as she remembered Ash words from just minutes ago, "I think I did pretty well. But I'll let you be the judge of that."
"Yeah Ash, prettywell.'" May said to herself out loud.
It was so amazing for May to see that Ash had taken such a huge step toward his goal, which served to motivate May even more for the next contest season. For the first time in a long time, May felt the burning passion she once had for contests return even stronger than before.
Not only that, but it motivated her even more to make sure that she would never lose contact with Ash again.
Not ever.
End Flashback
May continued to sit on her bed, a massive smile adorning her face as she thought back to everything Ash had done for her that day. Without his encouragement, she doubted she would've even had the courage to attempt coordinating again. That would have been it, the Princess of Hoenn would've quit coordinating. And now here she was, winner of the Johto Grand Festival just one year later.
As she was on a string of positive memories, May then thought back to her confrontation with Drew that'd occurred after her conversation with Ash.
Flashback
The day after her conversation with Ash, a confident May strode to the lobby of the pokemon center. It was obvious that she was looking for someone, but only she knew exactly who she was trying to find.
A certain green haired coordinator.
She didn't have to look too hard as she quickly spotted him sitting in the cafeteria area of the center, sipping something out of a coffee mug and reading something placed on the table in front of him.
Without hesitation, May approached Drew. Seeing her, the green-haired coordinator put on an arrogant grin and set his drink down on the table in front of him.
"Hey there, May. So did you think about what I said yesterday? I hope you did, I could really use a true beauty like you on my sideline." Drew said smugly.
May let out a scoff before speaking, "Yes Drew, I did think about what you said. And do you know what conclusion I came to?" May paused momentarily for effect, before speaking more aggressively. "That you're a complete asshole who I would love nothing more than to never see again."
To May's confusion, Drew actually appeared shocked by her words.
"What's with that face, grass head? You ought to know how much of a jerk everyone thinks you are." May said, her voice still full of hatred.
"May I...I didn't know you thought that about me. Everything I was saying was just harmless flirting." At Drew's confession,
May's jaw dropped and her face contorted in both confusion and anger.
"Harmless flirting...? Harmless...?" May uttered out loud, anger, but mainly disbelief, evident in her small voice. What Drew had said and done to her over the years was anything but harmless.
Hearing May muttering, Drew continued in an uncharacteristically shaky voice, "You see, I-I really like you a lot. I have for a while now."
May's anger and disbelief only rose at the boy's words, "You're joking, right?"
"No, I'm being completely serious!" Drew seemed frustrated that May hadn't responded the way he'd hoped to his confession.
Drew's frustration had obviously overcame his momentary lack of confidence as he continued in a loud, aggressive voice, "Girls eat up my personality! They love to be put down!"
"Drew...you have to be the dumbest person on the planet! If that is really what you think, then you are going to end up completely alone. For the rest of your life." May paused momentarily, not fully being able to process how someone could be so stupid.
"May, it's obvious that you like me so why don't you just come over here and giv-" Drew was attempting to answer for the brunette, only to be cut off.
"Get this through your thick skull, Drew. I. Hate. You! And that will never change, not after everything you've done. And the next time we battle in a contest, I promise you that I will win!"
With nothing left to be said, May began walking away from the table.
Drew watched in a mixture of sadness and anger before launching to his feet and yelling, "Hey! Don't walk away from me! You love me, I know you do! All girls love me!"
Hearing him shout, May sighed and turned back. She then began to approach him.
Drew saw this as a good sign. He knew that May couldn't resist him, that she actually did like him back.
However, this thought was thwarted when with all her might, May kicked him between the legs, sending Drew straight to the ground, holding his crotch in pain.
Without another word, May left the pokemon center, looking to find the nearest ferry that would take her back home to Hoenn.
End Flashback
May laughed out loud at her own memory. She'd originally told herself that she was not going to be too aggressive with or physically harm Drew, but she just couldn't control herself. The kick just felt so sweet.
May then thought back to the promise she made to Drew and how she had fulfilled it. In this day's Grand Festival, May went up against Drew in the final four, their first meeting since the last contest in Hoenn. And May had beaten him by a good amount, proving just how dedicated she was to the new training she was doing with Ash's guidance.
Although Ash wasn't with her at all during Johto, he had kept the promise he made as well.
After calling his home in Pallet, Ash informed her of his plan as to how they would stay in touch while she was in Johto and he was in Sinnoh. His idea was to have a complete plan of what routes they would take, how long they would take to get to each city and how long they would stay there.
May, of course, thought that the idea was ludicrous. There were way too many variables that would lead to them missing each other. However, with the coercing of Ash's smile and assuring words, May agreed to try it.
And despite how it looked on paper, it worked...for the most part, at least. Both Ash and May would often times have to sprint from one city to the next just to stay on schedule. But to them both, it was completely worth it if it meant seeing each other, if only over the video phone.
Over the course of her through Johto, May had realized that her feelings for Ash had in fact come back, and stronger than ever. Actually, a better way to say it was that her feelings for him had never gone away, they were simply lying dormant. She'd had a pretty big crush on him when they'd traveled together but now, she was 100 percent certain that they ran much, muchdeeper than that.
It was love.
She loved everything about him. His personality, his body, his eyes, "Oh Arceus his eyes!"May internally squealed to herself.
But despite her feelings, she was constantly afraid that Ash didn't feel the same way. Serena had continued to travel with Ash while May travelled to Johto, meaning she was always by his side when she could not be.
Based on the stories Ash would tell, it was obvious that they were close. How close? May didn't desire to know. Perhaps that was the reason she'd never asked if the two were together. For fear of instant rejection without him even knowing of her feelings.
May shook these thoughts out of her head as she once again thought back to all of the great times they'd had together, whether it be in person or over the phone, it didn't matter. Just being with Ash made her heart soar.
It was at that moment when she realized why she wasn't as happy as she thought she'd be after winning her very first Grand Festival. It was because Ash wasn't there to share in her joy and excitement. Even after winning just a regular contest back when she was traveling with him, Ash would always make her feel like a superstar. And even better than that, he would always be there to pick her up after a hard loss.
May knew that she could tell Ash that she'd on the festival over the phone, but she knew deep down that something of this magnitude could only truly be appreciated in person.
She finally achieved what she thought she had wanted more than anything in the world but as it turned out, that wasn't the case. Becoming a Top Coordinator wasn't what she wanted more than anything in the world. There was something, someone, that meant more to her than some silly trophy ever could.
Ash Ketchum.
With these thoughts swirling in her mind, May decided right then and there that she would find out when Ash would be back in Pallet Town and meet him there. She would tell him her feelings and hopefully, he would return them. She wasn't going to let fear stop her this time. She was going to see Ash again, I person this time. It was just a matter of if she could wait however long she would have to.
As happy thoughts of her and Ash being together danced in her head, May's eyelids began to feel heavy. "Today was a long day...I'll get some sleep now and call my parents and Ash tomorrow."
May felt herself slowly drift into unconsciousness until eventually, she was completely asleep.
…
…
May didn't know for how long she was asleep, but that really didn't matter as a persistent knocking was coming from the door, waking her up. She grunted in agitation for being disturbed at, she glanced at the clock, 2:30 in the morning before sluggishly standing to her feet and marching to the door.
The person on the other side of the door continued to knock, pushing May over the edge. She was ready to give whoever this person was the scolding of a lifetime.
She eventually reached the door, and swung it open furiously, "Now listen you, I don't know who-"
May cut herself off as she opened her eyes and saw the person standing in front of her. She looked up, noticing he was quite a bit taller than herself and met the man's gaze.
Immediately, her eyes widened. It was unmistakable. His brown eyes, the goofy smile that adorned his features, his unruly hair, it all screamed him.
Ash was standing in her doorway.
"Hey there May, I hope you don't mind me-" Ash was stopped as May wrapped him in the tightest hug possible. He was struggling to breathe but instead of complaining, he hugged her back in a much softer manner.
Eventually however, Ash began to turn blue from lack of oxygen, "May...can't...breathe."
Pulling back at the man's words, May released the hug and backed away from the man slightly, still not leaving much space between the two.
May didn't even realize it until she felt her cheeks become wet, but she was crying in joy. She then captured the man in another, much softer hug, which he happily returned
"Ash...wha-what are you doing here?" May managed to choke out as she looked up into Ash's eyes, not releasing her grip on him in the slightest to do so.
Ash smiled brightly before he responded, "I came to watch you in the Grand Festival! And I'm sure glad I did. You were amazing out there!"
May felt her face heat up at the compliment as they continued to hold each other in their arms.
"So...can I come in? I know it's late but..." Ash trailed off when he felt May nod her head into his chest. Hesitantly, the two let go of each other and May allowed Ash into the room. Though as they walked, the two were literally shoulder to shoulder, not wanting any substantial amount of space between them.
During this time, May was finally starting to regain some semblance of composure. She turned on the bedside lamp and took a seat next to Ash on the bed. Unconsciously, May left no space between the two, something both parties enjoyed
"So that's the ribbon cup, eh?" Ash pointed to the large trophy sitting on the dresser.
May finally felt her voice return, the shock of seeing Ash finally wearing off, "Yeah...I still can't believe I won. It feels absolutely amazing."
May wasn't lying either. Although it was true that earlier, she hadn't felt much joy when she won, now that she had Ash to share it with, the excitement of her victory finally came rushing to her.
Ash giggled, "I know, it really does. But it's always better when you have someone to share it with."
It was as if Ash had read her mind. He'd said exactly what May had been feeling this whole day.
Putting that thought aside, she spoke, "Ash, why are you here so late? If you were here for the Grand Festival, then why did you wait until now to come see me?"
Ash's face turned red at the question, confusing May greatly, "Well...uh...I guess I was just nervous."
"Nervous about what? It's just you and me." May responded simply.
Ash scoffed, "I know...that's what made me nervous." May was now even more confused. Seeing this, Ash continued, "You see, I kind of told myself that I would tell you something when we met again in person and now that it's time, I'm panicking a bit."
"Ash, there is nothing that you can't tell me. It's fine, just say it." May stated, not quite sure where this was going.
Ash took a deep breath before starting, "Okay...May, I was so happy when we finally got a hold of each other again a year ago. Seeing your beautiful face again brought me more joy than you could possibly know."
May blushed and looked away, "I-I know, I felt the same way."
Ash smiled and nodded as the two locked eyes once again, "And we actually managed to stay in touch after that too, something I was incredibly grateful for. I guess the point is... I realized that I don't ever want to be without you."
May recoiled a bit in shock at Ash's words as her heart began to race as Ash continued, "Ever since we started traveling together all those years ago, I've had feelings for you. And after all the time we spent apart and then finally getting back into contact with you, those feelings returned and have morphed into something much deeper. May...what I'm trying to say is...I'm in love with you."
May continued to stare at Ash, a blank expression adorning her face, her mouth slightly agape. Seeing her not reacting made Ash worry greatly. After a few moments of silence, Ash began to recoil, extremely worried.
"I knew I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry May. I-"
Ash stopped when he thought he heard May mumble something.
"What did you say, May?" Ash inquired hopefully.
"I said shut up!" May exclaimed, tears streaming down her face.
Ash was shocked to say the least; this was not the reaction he was looking for or expecting. However, he wouldn't falter as he met May's gaze.
"Ash, please tell me you're not joking around. That you're not just messing with me." May choked out, her voice overtaken with emotion.
"May of course I'm serious! I love everything about you! Absolutely eve-MMPH"
Ash was cut off once again, this time by May's lips crashing against his. He was incredibly surprised at first, but quickly melted into the kiss and like May, felt as if he were in heaven.
Internally, May was jumping for joy. Not only did Ash return her feelings, but she was kissing him! Forget winning the ribbon cup, or anything else for that matter, this was by far the happiest she had ever been in her life.
After about a minute, the two broke apart, gasping for air with their foreheads leaning against one another, looking into each others eyes. Ash had his right hand behind May's head while she had one of her hands cupping his face.
May let a soft smile spread across her lips, "If you couldn't tell...that means I love you too. More than anything."
Ash felt tears of happiness threatening to fall from his eyes. They were both so incredibly happy in that moment.
"I was so afraid that you where in love with, Serena. I really thought she was the girl of your dreams." May revealed quietly.
Ash shook his head lightly, "No...that position belongs to you and no one else.
Without moving from the position they were in, Ash continued to speak softly, "Ever since you left, a part of me was missing. I wanted nothing more than to be with you, I just didn't know it at the time. But being here with you now, in this moment, I know that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. And that we're never supposed to be apart again."
With that said, The two leaned in for another passionate kiss, allowing their bodies to fall onto their bed, their hands roaming as they found ways to express their love for each other.
Whatever was going to happen next need not be worried about, for whatever it was, Ash and May would have each other, and that was all that mattered.
A/N: Well there you have it. I hope you all enjoyed "We All Want What We Ain't Got." Again, this was very loosely based on the song of the same name by Jake Owen, so I would advise checking it out if you have any interest in country music.
I can't believe that even my one-shots are this long. Sorry if you don't like it, but I don't like to leave anything out. And I will not apologize for this story being somewhat cheesy near the end. A little bit of cheese is good every now and again!
I hope that my first one-shot appealed to all of you and if you haven't already, be sure to check out my other story, "A Trial of Will" on my profile. It is very long (nearly at 100,000 words already and will probably end with about 300,000). It is also an action/romance story with Advanceshipping, Pearlshipping and Amourshipping. I'm really proud of how it is going so far and it has made my writing improve tenfold so if you're interested, check it out. Oh, and now that I know that this is done, I hope all of my American brethren had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Also, if you want to see another chapter of this, but from Ash's perspective (what he had been up to since him and May parted ways) then leave a review or PM telling me so!
See Ya!
"What We Ain't Got" By; Jake Owen Lyrics;
We all want what we ain't got,
Our favorite doors are always locked.
On a higher hill with a taller top,
We all want what we ain't got.
We ain't happy where we are,
There's greener grass in the neighbors yard.
A bigger house and a faster car,
We ain't happy where we are.
All I want is what I had,
I'd trade it all just to get her back.
She's moving on, but I guess I'm not../
Yeah we all want what we ain't got...
We all wish it didn't hurt,
When you try your best and it doesn't work.
And goodbye's such a painful word,
We all wish it didn't hurt.
All I want is what I had,
Yeah I'd trade it all just to get her back.
She's moving on, but I guess I'm not.
Yeah We all want what we ain't got.
Woah-oh-oh-oh
Woah-oh-oh-oh
All I want is what I had,
Yeah I'd trade it all just to get her back.
She's moving on, but I guess I'm not.
Yeah we all want what we ain't got.
I wanted the world until my whole world stopped,
You know a love like that ain't easily forgot.
I guess we all want what we ain't got.
Yeah we all want what we ain't got.