It had been a few days since Dawn decided to travel by herself. She said that she needed some alone time to train and would meet Ash and Brock in the next few weeks. Ash was beginning to think it was strange not having someone nagging you around like Misty, May, and now Dawn have done. Even Pikachu was beginning to seem strange without a female companion around, like there usually was.
Ash awoke with a jump when the videophone rang for him. "Who could that possibly be at this time of night," Ash wondered aloud. He got up and put his clothes back on. On the way to the phone, he tried to think of who it could be. "Oak, no, Gary, no, Mom, no, May, no, Misty no, It's probably Dawn trying to explain how she got lost or something." Ash muttered when he reached the phone. He answered it and a bright, pretty face came on the screen along with a cheery, "Hello, Ash!" It was May! Ash could not fathom why she was calling, especially so early. "Quit your staring Ash, say something! Aren't you excited to hear from me!?" she blurted out jokingly. "Oh hey May! So good to see you! How are you? Where have you been?" Ash exclaimed questioningly. "Oh, I'm fine mostly. I called to tell you that I've arrived in Sinnoh to meet with you and Brock for a few weeks before I head back. I'm kind of considering this as my vacation, as I've gotten three more ribbons. Oh yeah! I'm bringing Max. He has nothing better to do. Where are you guys?" "Oh my gosh May, that's great! We're currently at the Pokemon Center in Sandgem town training. I hope you can make it!" "Me too Ash, I should get there in a day or so, so be ready!" May said jokingly, like she always did. Ash hung up the phone and walked back to Pikachu and Brock to find they were up already. "Who was that?" Brock asked. "Oh! You won't believe it! It was May! She's in Sinnoh and said that she would get here in a day or so! Isn't it great!?" Ash said excitingly. "Oh yeah, yeah, that's fantastic!" Brock exclaimed. "We had better get ready!"
"Hey Pikachu! Are you ready to see May, buddy?" "pikaachuu!" "I am too" "Me three!" Brock exclaimed. "I'm startin' to get impatient here, and hungry…" (Ash's belly rumbles almost on cue) "Yeah! I guess so. I'll start dinner once May gets here." Brock explained. Almost immediately after, May dived onto Ash, sending him straight to the ground, then quickly got up. "May!? What'd you do that for?" "No reason, I just wanted to surprise you! And I definitely did!" "May! How are you? How was your trip? You look great." said Ash. (May did her signature pose) " I'm great, and I'm looking fine. Thanks for the compliment!" "I'm gonna start some grub cookin' why don't you go find a shop to get some extra supplies and get reacquainted with each other." Brock suggested. "Hey! That's a great idea!" both Ash and May said at the same time.
Ash and May started walking through the forest. Pikachu and Max stayed behind to help Brock however they could. As they were walking, there was many pairs of pokemon spread throughout the area. "Aaaaaw! How cute! Look at all of the happy couples!" May exclaimed. "Yeah. They're sure lucky, huh?" Ash asked. "Yeah, it's tough finding your true love." May said. As they were walking, they saw this huge carnival. 'Wow! That place is huge! We should go for a while, we've got plenty of time!" May exclaimed. "Yeah, we should, that looks like fun!" When they got close, a couple clothed in the same colors as each other walked up to them and said in unison, "Oh! What a cuuute couple!!!" "Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. We are definitely not a couple!!" Ash and May said at exactly the same time. When they realized that they did that, they both blushed. "If you aren't a couple, then why are you here? Besides, this IS the Couple's Carnival. Anyway, whether you're a couple or not, you should be! You would be the cutest couple around!" "Well then, we were just leaving." "Oh heavens no! Stay a while! Follow us!" And the couple dragged Ash and May to a heart-shaped tent labeled, love-tester. Inside there was an old lady with a bright pink table in the middle. "Welcome! Ready to be studied?" the old lady asked. "Sure, just to prove these people wrong." It's strange how many times Ash and May spoke in unison in one night, huh? The old lady looked at them strangely, and then pulled out a chart. She studied the chart silently, glancing at Ash and May every once in a while. They were beginning to feel uncomfortable every time the old lady looked at them. She finally seemed to come to a conclusion. "You are a couple of the highest love. Your love is so high that you should be able to hold your love until you are old enough to marry. You may be young, but your love for each other is the strongest it can possibly be. You are very lucky!" the old lady explained. "Uh, lady, we are definitely not in love. We argue for hours and hours over the smallest things" May explained. "Ah! You argue to hide your true feelings for each other! It happens all of the time." said the old lady. "Yes, it is true! We both argued day and night over everything before we admitted our love for each other! In fact we traveled with each other for over a year before we admitted that we loved each other," said the couple. "Ok…but no matter what you say we are not and will never be a couple, got it?" said Ash. As Ash and May walked out May said, "Boy were they weird, why would think we loved each other, right?" They both laughed awkwardly as they glanced at each other nervously. "Yeah, that was weird," Ash blurted. As they proceeded to leave, a large crowd pushed them into a line for one of the rides. "Oh great, now we're stuck in a line for some ride. I wonder which one this is." Ash said. "Huh. I don't know. It looks like some boat ride!" May guessed. As they got closer, they noticed that the boat was two Luvdisc close to each other with a seat in the middle. It was just large enough for two people. Ash and May got on the boat because there were too many people to turn back. As they started moving, they realized what the ride was. "Oh no! This ride is the Tunnel of Love!" they both exclaimed.
As they went through the entrance to the tunnel, May had an expression on her face that just screamed, "What a nightmare!" "I could not possibly agree more," Ash said as he realized what she was thinking. As the boat floated along, Ash and May looked around. On the wall, there were tons of Luvdiscs painted around. Hanging from the ceiling were many Milotic figurines. There was a long, awkward silence as they floated along. Ash began to notice that there were actual Luvdiscs streaming behind them. May broke the uncomfortable silence. She said, "Well…since we're here, and there are lots of Luvdiscs, which usually follow a couple deeply in love…and the couple and old lady thought we would be a great couple…" she paused, and started again, as her heart started to race, "Why don't we try it?" "Try it? What do you mean by that?!" "I mean…" she paused, "Oh, Ash sometimes you're so unaware!" "Unaware? Of what?" "You mean you can't figure it out? Maybe this will help you understand…" she trailed off, slowly moving closer to Ash. "Oh!" it finally clicked, and he moved closer as well, as his heart quickened. They both got closer slowly until their lips made contact gently. Ash slowly wrapped his arms around her affectionately. They sat there in that same position for a full minute, although it seemed like an hour. Then they slowly backed away from each other, blushing slightly. They sat there, savoring their kiss. Suddenly, May dived at Ash, kissing him, causing the boat to nearly flip. When they got back up, near the end of the ride, the Luvdiscs were wildly jumping out of the water in delight at what Ash and May had just done. May put her head on Ash's shoulder, and Ash put his arm around her. They both smiled until the ride was over. When they got out, all they could think about was their newfound love in each other that was locked up until what had happened not too long ago.