Hi all,
This is a fic that is based on the ORAS games, so it will take the dialogue and storyline from said games. However, I have added twists, information and just fluff as well to make it relate. This is the prequel to my other story, May's Belated Journey.
I don't own Pokemon.
Petalburg City, a homely and bustling city in Hoenn, is where many a challenger come to fight against what was once said to be one of the toughest Gyms around the region. Now, the current Gym Leader of this City was said to be a glistening light to those in the city, even if her strengths did not lie with battling exclusively. However, she was still a formidable opponent who had been crowned Princess of Hoenn, a title created exclusively for her, though no one really knew where the media had come up with the idea.
The Gym Leader, known as May, currently lived alone in the house she had once shared with her parents and brother, which was attached to the Gym itself. Her room was upstairs in the two storey house, which was more spacious inside than it appeared from an external viewpoint. The citizens of Petalburg knew better than to mention May's parents or brother to her, choosing instead to respect the family's privacy. It was a well-known fact the man's health was in rapid decline.
Inside the home, with the sound of the alarm blaring, May groaned as she tried to snuggle deeper into her thick blankets. Realising that the monstrosity would not be silenced by itself, the young brunette clambered hazily out of bed, yawning profusely.
Tiredly, she glanced around her messy room and sighed at the chaos. Her desk, with her haphazard training schedule, was cluttered with clothing she had chosen not to wear, whilst her red and yellow blanket was scrunched in a heap on the end of the bed, where she'd just left it. Her wooden floor was covered in dust and her red carpet was littered with toys and stones her Skitty had brought her. The flat screen TV and gaming console in the corner were, thankfully, switched off, though she hadn't touched either of them since her brother had left for the Almia region to become a Pokémon Ranger. Her close friend, Brendan, on the other hand, seized every opportunity to not only annoy her, but to play the games she had.
After silencing her alarm, she turned to survey her surroundings once again. At her door stood a bipedal pokémon covered in red, white and cream coloured feathers, his blue eyes focused on his confused Trainer. May, upon noticing the disapproving glower of her starter pokémon, Blaziken, couldn't help but chuckle sheepishly.
'Come on, Blaziken, don't be like that. You know Brendan and I have been friends since we were in diapers and he was only trying to cheer me up,' May giggled at her starter pokémon, who huffed his name in clear disapproval. Brendan, one of May's closest friends, had visited the previous night and been the cause of half of the mess, much to her pokémon's resentment.
In response, her dual fire and fighting type crossed his arms and let out a whiff of smoky breath from its beak.
'Look, dad's been in hospital for officially two years now and mum's been by his side the whole time. Do you think it's not affecting me too? I organised some training so you all could cope, and I'm sorry I wasn't awake early this morning to train by your side this one time. Blaziken, I need the support of my friends as much as you do, and you know I can't run to Ash and Brock with this. What would they say if they heard? Brock's studying medicine and I'd hate to postpone his dream, and Ash has just finished travelling through Kalos. You know how Solidad and the girls have been worried, I can't do that to anyone else,' May whispered as she looked up in the eyes of her most trusted partner.
With a sigh, her pokémon rolled its blue eyes before crushing her into a hug.
'Thanks Blaziken, you're the best,' May giggled before returning her attention to the matter, or rather, room at hand.
'Do you mind getting the gang together? We need to discuss the cleanliness of this house,' May frowned, noticing her Skitty returning with yet another bell in her mouth.
Her starter pokémon rushed out of the room, leaving May to pick up the small pink and cream coloured kitten pokémon.
'Now, you stay here young lady and pop that bell out of your mouth!' May scolded her playful feline pokémon, who reluctantly released the shiny, silver bell.
'Honestly, I should never have let mum buy trinkets for you. All you do now is collect other knick-knacks that don't belong to you,' the brunette muttered to herself, her sapphire eyes scanning the room.
'Right, I'll start cleaning up and you, young lady, had better help me,' May muttered before turning a reproachful gaze on her small, pink friend.
In response, Skitty let out a playful sound before trying, and failing, to fix the blanket.
Upon noticing the plight of her friend, the brunette smiled, 'maybe you're better suited to dusting the ground.'
'Blaziken!' Her starter pokémon's voice called her attention, having gathered her other partners.
'Excellent, thank you so much, Blaziken!' May grinned at the pokémon before turning her attention to the others.
In a loud voice, she called, 'all right, guys, this house looks a mess, and we all contributed to it. Normally I'd clean it up myself, but today I want you all to help me clean it up. Beautifly, you'll be in charge of the dust with Skitty, Munchlax, you and Venusaur will have to put items back where they belong after having Skitty dust them. Glaceon, I'll have you help me with the larger items, like bed sheets and the like. Wartortle, please mop the floors after Beautifly and Skitty are finished, and also would you mind cleaning the windows?'
Hearing the affirmative noises of her pokémon, May couldn't help but beam at them.
'Excellent, and when we're finished, I promise to help you all bake something delicious, just like Dawn and mum taught us! And the ones who finish first get something extra special,' May grinned, enjoying the cheerful cries of her pokémon.
'Now, ready, set, go!' May called, watching her pokémon rush all over the house.
'Come on, Glaceon, we can't be the last ones!' May called, turning her attention to her blankets.
After a couple of hours, May was in the kitchen, singing away, 'a kid from Pallet Town with a brand new world to see, don't know what's ahead, but it won't get the best of me. There's so much to learn, and battles to be won, I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come. Take a step and I'm on my way, gonna start all over again. I wanna be a hero, pokémon advance! I'm on my way! I wanna be a hero, give me just one chance, and the future will decide, there's a hero buried deep inside!'
As her pokémon called their names to her, May handed each of them a variety of pokéblock and poffins, having them all topped with their specific favourite berries. Once she was certain they were all content, May rushed to quickly shower, changing into black biker shorts with white short shorts over it, she wore a red camisole with black lace on it and finished her appearance by tying her red bandana around her head like a headband. Once her stomach was growling, she rushed back downstairs and sat down to hurriedly eat her own breakfast, a healthy assortment of berries and egg.
'Hello, is anyone there?' A voice called from her front door, pulling her attention away from her meal.
'Yeah, I'm here,' May called, reluctantly dropping her knife and fork to rush to her front door. She ignored the painful pangs in her stomach, knowing that her duties as Gym Leader came first.
Before her were two men, one with light blue hair, dressed in a black suit; the other had wavy turquoise hair, and was wearing an extravagant white suit with cut outs on the side that even Harley wouldn't dare wearing.
What surprised May was that, not only did she know these two men, but that they had deigned to visit her in her home. She suddenly felt very grateful that she'd rushed her pokémon earlier that morning to clean the house. If her mother had heard of how messy the place had been, she'd have rushed out of Mauville City to give May a piece of her mind. That alone was an additional strain May could do without.
Opening and closing her mouth slightly as her brain questioned the best possible response to the famous men at her doorstep, May noticed that both of the men were watching her with some amusement.
'Oh, Steven and Wallace, come in. To what do I owe the pleasure?' May beamed, hoping she didn't seem too nervous as she let both of the elite Trainers into her home. What she wouldn't give for her father, mother or brother to be there. Kyogre, even Brendan or Orlando or their uncle, Professor Birch, would have been welcome at this moment, though the former had rushed out of her house with Blaziken in tow after he'd made a comment about her starter pokémon's inferiority to his own Blaziken late the previous night, or was it perhaps very early that morning? Either way, she couldn't count on him returning of his own free will any time soon after her Blaziken had almost burnt the man to a crisp.
'You know Steven?' Wallace frowned, glancing at the timid Trainer by his side as they entered her spotless foyer.
'We met once in the Granite Cave when I was much younger and still on my journey with some good friends of mine,' May smiled nervously. Her encounter with the strong Trainer had, undoubtedly, not been one of her finer moments. She'd been stuck with Jessie, who'd set an unwelcome trap in the Granite Cave with James and Meowth, which resulted in upsetting the local Aron and, of course, chaos ensued. When travelling with Team Rocket and Ash Ketchum, was anything less than chaotic possible?
'We did? Why yes, we did, I didn't recognise you, May. I see you've matured,' Steven smiled, his light blue eyes focused on her sapphire ones. The young woman would have blushed at the intensity of his steel blue gaze if she wasn't so mortified at the prospect of being remembered.
'To be honest, I'd rather hoped you'd forgotten me. I can honestly say that that wasn't one of my best days,' the brunette responded sheepishly, unable to meet the gaze of either of the men.
With a chuckle, Steven replied, 'don't worry, you left a good impression.'
Hearing this, May couldn't help but smile gratefully up at him. The man may have become shyer with age, but he certainly hadn't lost any of his polite nature.
Clearing his throat, Wallace returned the conversation to the matter at hand, 'May, I thought you wanted to be a Top Coordinator?'
With a grimace, May muttered, 'Wallace, I still do, but that's a bit of a sore topic. I'm sure you've heard from Wattson that my father is ill. My mum has no living pokémon, her Beautifly died before I was born, so that left the Gym to me.'
'Wait, don't you have a brother?' Steven muttered, his eyes penetrating May's, who sheepishly stared down at her feet.
'He stayed here with me for a while to try and help me out, but dad wasn't improving and it was only adding to my distress seeing my brother so affected by it all. So I bit the bullet seed and told him to live his dreams while he could. I insisted, so he went to Almia to become a Ranger,' May replied, hoping to keep her anguish out of her voice. She missed him so much, and was wondering how his final exams were going. After all, he was meant to call her the previous night, but hadn't. It was on if the reasons for Brendan's visit.
'Did he? That's a strange calling for a Hoenn native,' Wallace frowned, his turquoise eyes fixed on May's sapphire.
When neither of the men continued the conversation, May felt her face flush in slight anxiety. She struggled to fight back the urge to poke her fingers together in her nervous tic.
'Well, I'm not really a native, though I suppose my brother was practically born here. Besides, we met a Top Ranger by the name of Jack Walker who really helped us out on our journey. I guess he inspired more in Max than anyone else did,' May shrugged with a smile, hoping to appear blasé, if nothing else.
'You're not from Hoenn?' Steven blinked as May sheepishly shrugged, having discovered from a young age that others weren't as accepting of her when they discovered this. She'd always wondered why people picked on each other's differences so often.
'Didn't your brother want to be a Trainer, though?' Wallace frowned down at May, the unspoken part of the sentence filling May's mind. This was precisely why she didn't like to tell people they weren't from Hoenn, it just complicated things so unnecessarily.
'You mean like every other Hoenn kid? I'm sure you know that travelling with Ash leads to a lot of rather unusual scenarios. Max must've heard from his friends just how little spice their adventures had, so he took the Tauros by its horns and went to Almia,' May grinned, knowing that her family had never been anything even remotely resembling normal. She wouldn't have it any other way, though.
'How did your mum feel about that?' Wallace frowned, appearing bewildered.
'What is this, ten questions? She just wants us to be happy, it helps her deal with our current situation,' May pouted, glowering up at the men in anger. The men were treating her like a child, and her life had forced her to grow up much faster than Ash ever had. She wasn't going to stand by and let them make assumptions about her life, her family—not if she could help it.
'My apologies, I didn't mean to pry,' Wallace muttered in a surprisingly sheepish tone as he rubbed the back of his neck slightly, his face flushed ever so subtly with embarrassment.
'Don't worry, I'm sure he's just worried about either his niece and nephew—they're both off on their own journeys now. His sister often calls him to worry about them,' Steven chuckled as Wallace frowned at the man for disclosing such personal information.
Nodding her head at this response, May's sapphire eyes flickered between the two. Knowing her mother would scold her for leaving the two influential figures out in the foyer, May searched for a way to bring them into the homelier part of the house.
'Would you like something to drink? I was just going to have some homemade oran berry juice,' May offered awkwardly, ushering the men further into the house before showing them into the pristine kitchen.
Hearing her pokémon call out in surprise, May smiled reassuringly at them, hoping her companions didn't notice how her pokémon were staring up at them. After all, challengers weren't meant to come into the house, but that was still no way to treat guests, especially ones as influential as these two.
'Only if you're having some,' Wallace responded politely as Venusaur called the others to attention. Seeing this, May felt another wave of gratitude from the grass type whilst noticing that, at the sudden noise, Wallace gazed at her pokémon, apparently judging their very natures. Steven, meanwhile, had his attention focused on a vase with various stones and a single red rose, though May was painfully hoping he wouldn't wonder why it was a single rose. It was another remnant of her past she couldn't quite come to terms with, not that that surprised her.
'Do you collect stones, May?' Steven frowned, his eyes focused on one in particular, apparently dismissing the rose completely, much to her relief.
'Ummm, not really, my Skitty usually brings things inside that she finds in the garden or park. I usually don't have the heart to scold her,' May muttered as she took three glasses out of a cupboard above the benchtop.
Taking a jug of the blue juice from her fridge, May filled each glass before returning the canister into the fridge. Passing a glass to both of her guests, May took a sip of her own, letting the mild blue berry soothe her fears, as well as fill her stomach somewhat.
'Did we catch you whilst you were eating breakfast?' Steven frowned, his eyes intent on May's still full plate.
Scratching the back of her still wet hair, May muttered, 'well, yes. I've had a bit of a busy morning, I'm afraid.'
'Then please, continue, we didn't mean to impose,' Wallace beamed at her, appearing preoccupied by studying her pokémon.
Hesitantly, May continued her meal, aware of Skitty chasing her tail, Munchlax poking Blaziken's side out of boredom and Glaceon napping on the tiled floor, creating small patterns with her icy breath. Beautifly, thankfully, was perched on the windowsill near the rose, undoubtedly considering a certain Masquerain whilst Venusaur and Wartortle snoozed in the sun nearby.
'Beautifly,' May called once she was finished with her breakfast, aware of Steven's gaze still intent on the vase which held the rose whilst Wallace simply enjoyed the décor of her home.
The pokémon turned her light grey face to her trainer, her black, yellow, red and blue patterned wings flapping slightly.
'Don't worry, you'll encounter him again soon,' May smiled, knowing that she was offering her partner false pretences. They both knew that there was no guarantee that they'd encounter them again, but May was clinging onto a hope that seemed almost delusional. She had nothing else going for her, not her career, nor her friends—they were all too far away to offer her any real support, bar Brendan and his brother, though even Orlando hadn't been by as often as he could.
'Is your Beautifly smitten with another?' Wallace frowned, turning his attention on May and pulling her back to reality.
Caught off guard at having the older man hear her assurance, May responded uncertainly, 'yes, a Masquerain, but we haven't seen him in a while.'
'Why is that?' Steven frowned, never taking his eyes off the vase to watch her in her movements.
'I no longer talk to his Trainer,' May grimaced as Beautifly called her name sadly, her black antennae drooping.
'Then you must find this Trainer and rekindle your friendship, so the two pokémon's relations may bloom and blossom like the spring. As a Trainer, is not the happiness of your pokémon equally important to your own?' Wallace retorted, dancing in the kitchen slightly.
'Well, that's easier said than done,' May muttered as Beautifly perched herself on the brunette's head. She had no idea where Drew was, or what he was doing. She herself had left the contesting world behind just before the Johto Grand Festival to tend to things at home, only informing Solidad of her whereabouts and pleading the woman for silence. Whilst she'd tried her best to keep up to date with her rivals, Drew had slipped from her grasp. He was as unattainable as ever, having left the contesting world in a whirl, stating the challenge was gone. Whilst some part of her had hoped he was referring to her, she knew he was referring to Solidad instead, who'd found a new calling in the study of history.
'May, have you noticed this multi-coloured stone here?' Steven frowned, taking a deeper look at the see through vase.
'The one that's blue and yellow?' May frowned, exiting her kitchen to have a better look at it. It had a pattern in the centre of the stone which seemed to her to resemble the pattern of DNA, a double helix. She momentarily tried to recall the names of the nitrogenous bases, but dismissed it as trivial information she'd have to discuss with Brendan later. The man had been aiding her with her education a bit as a means of keeping her otherwise mundane life somewhat stimulated.
'Yes, I have a feeling that that may be a key stone,' Steven nodded at the younger woman, completely oblivious of her side tracked mind. Behind the man, Wallace let out a gasp of surprise.
'You can't be serious,' Wallace frowned, stopping his dancing to take a better look at the stone whilst May frowned in confusion.
'A key what? What's a key stone?' May frowned as she sent Skitty a nervous glance. If she'd found her pokémon had stolen it from someone she'd feel terrible. As soon as Skitty started bringing things home, she'd told Officer Jenny in case anyone tried to report anything missing, but so far the police officer had not come to search through any of the items Skitty had brought home.
'Does it look like it or not?' Steven questioned his companion, his tone smug before glancing at the flustered brunette. In a reassuring tone, he explained, 'key stones are extremely rare stones which have an undetermined potential in aiding what we've come to call Mega Evolution. They are a medium through which a Trainer's bond is expressed, enabling certain pokémon to evolve further provided they hold the required stone to capture the extended evolution attempt.'
Blinking as she digested the news, May watched as Wallace continued to examine the stone her Skitty had found.
'It does look like one, by Rayquaza!' Wallace gasped, turning his shocked turquoise gaze onto the uncertain brunette.
'What? What did I do?' May questioned, her eyebrows rising uncertainly.
'There could be two here, but I'm not sure,' Steven muttered, scratching the side of his head uncertainly.
'May, do you mind if Steven takes that stone for further study?' Wallace frowned, placing a hand on the man in the dark suit's shoulder.
'No, if he wants it, he can have it,' May responded, blinking up at them in surprise.
'Thank you, I'm sure Steven will return it as soon as possible,' Wallace beamed at her as Beautifly pulled the multi-coloured stone out of the vase with a sticky string shot before handing it to a shiny eyed Steven.
'Now, I hope you don't mind me asking, but this wasn't a social visit, was it?' May muttered, poking her fingers together nervously.
'You're as sharp as ever,' Wallace grinned as he not so subtly elbowed Steven.
'What? Oh yes, my apologies, I was somewhat distracted by this stone. I hope you don't mind, but as Champion, and Wallace as the previous Champion, we were hoping to assess your duties as Gym Leader,' Steven muttered, his attention distracted by the stone in his hand.
'Ummm, I can't say I object to this, but I don't remember my dad doing this. Now, by duties do you mean a battle? I think you both might be a bit too much for me to handle, but do you have a particular challenger in mind?' May smiled, hoping to appear positive. Inside, her nerves were getting to her, Butterfree and Beautifly doing somersaults in her stomach.
'Yes, a distant relation of mine, he should be arriving shortly,' Wallace beamed a little too enthusiastically as he pulled out the latest Xtransceiver and began to tap on it.
'Hey, Wally, come to the Petalburg Gym, it'll be your first challenge,' Wallace spoke into the device, sending a wink at May, who flushed. Wallace may no longer be the Champion of Hoenn, but he was still a renowned Contest Star who was responsible for the Wallace Cup. Having his presence in her home flattered May, though she knew he was just being his flamboyant self.
'I suggest you choose which pokémon to fight with, though Wally only has one,' Steven spoke, his bright eyes focused on hers.
'I suppose,' May muttered, turning her attention to her pokémon.
'Right guys, we've got a challenger. Who wants to battle?' May smiled eagerly at her pokémon, who looked up at her in shock, followed by eager delight.
Steven watched as May leaned over her pokémon, muttering, 'Blaziken, you fought last time, and Glaceon, you were the time before last so you're both out.'
The two pokémon muttered their names in a dejected matter, shuffling to the far corner, Glaceon's long, pointed ears drooping as she walked on her four feet.
'Venusaur, I'm not too sure you'll do well for this particular challenger, he's only got one pokémon so he must be a budding Trainer,' May muttered before turning to the remaining pokémon.
'Wartortle!' An indigo blue pokémon cried, his ears covered by bluish white fur which could remind one of wings.
'You want a go?' May questioned the water type, who nodded his head eagerly.
'All right, you're up,' the Gym Leader winked before taking a pokéball from her yellow belt-pouch which hung near the kitchen's door.
'He should be here any moment,' Wallace beamed, his right hand leaning casually on his right hip.
'Excellent, time to take to the stage. Come on, guys,' May called, winking at her pokémon before leading the two men to the Gym's battle area.
Her pokémon lined the stands beside her two guests, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new challenger.
'Now remember, guys, my dad didn't let me watch any matches for fear of distracting any new Trainers. If I hear so much as a squeak out of you, you're in time out,' May said to them, knowing that her pokémon knew the rule as well as she did. However, she had to ensure her guests knew that she took her father's responsibilities seriously.
'Hi, sorry if I'm late!' A small voice wheezed, catching May by surprise.
Turning, May's eyes widened as she saw a tuft of chartreuse coloured hair. Feeling her hopes rise, May quickly suppressed them, knowing it wouldn't be the one she longed for. Hearing her Beautifly cry out in eagerness, May desperately called out to her pokémon, 'Beautifly, stay!'
Her butterfly pokémon trilled once before flapping on the spot, large blue eyes focused upon May as she struggled with her memories of another man with that same shade of hair.
Upon noticing their Trainer's pain, all of May's pokémon stared at her as she took in a deep breath. She knew they were worried about her, but were torn between to how to act with Steven and Wallace present. Dawn had warned her this would happen, Max had told her she could do this when it did happen, and Misty had confided in her that she had done this herself. She couldn't avoid that colour forever, even if she kept her love alive like the lonely rose in her kitchen. If Misty could overcome her own battle against loneliness, so could May.
Letting out a shaky breath, May smiled at the young man, taking in his messy hair, ice blue coloured eyes, grey coat and white pants. Yes, this was definitely not Drew, even if they had quite a few similar features.
Ignoring the painful pounding of her heart, May took a step forward, 'I'm sorry if my pokémon startled you, they just thought you were an old friend of theirs.'
She ignored Wallace's knowing gaze, as well as Steven's confused one as she held out a hand to the younger boy, trying to appear as mature and professional as possible. She couldn't forget that this Gym was still her father's Gym, and that she was simply looking after it in his absence.
'I'm sorry, I get that a lot,' the younger boy muttered, his voice strained as he turned his light blue eyes to his white shoes.
'There's no need to apologise. Honestly, it only reminds me that my pokémon still have training to do. Are you ok?' May frowned, her sapphire eyes meeting his as she took a step before him, noticing the man's shallow breathing as well as his unusually wide eyes.
'Wally here has asthma, and has been putting his journey off for quite some years. He should be roughly your age, May,' Wallace smiled, placing an encouraging hand around the paler man, surprising May, who hadn't noticed his movements.
'Oh, I'm sure that a journey will do you wonders,' May offered a cautious smile of her own at her opponent, hoping that she sounded optimistic.
'Y-you think so?' Wally frowned, his hands shaking slightly.
'I know so, from personal experience. It's been years since I was on my own journey, and I had some great friends with me. They helped me overcome my fears and more challenges than I thought I'd ever see. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today, there's no doubt about that,' May grinned at the younger boy, unaware of Wallace's approving smile.
'Do you think anyone would like to travel with me on my journey?' Wally frowned, glancing up at her with hopeful eyes.
'A close friend of mine told me last night that his younger brother is finally biting the bullet seed to set out on his journey. From what he said, I think he'll also be challenging Gyms, and company probably wouldn't go amiss. If you want, I could contact him for you after our battle?' May responded, knowing that Brendan would help her talk to Orlando in this instance. She knew that if Orlando travelled with another then the young man's mother, Mrs Birch, would not worry nearly as much as she had about Brendan.
'You'd do that for me?' Wally gasped, barely biting back an eager grin.
'Sure I would. Now, how about we begin our battle, hey?' May winked at the younger man, who nodded eagerly.
'Venusaur, please go get Kenny so he can referee the match,' May grinned at her grass type pokémon who nodded once before walking to the greenhouse where May's father's normal type pokémon were.
In her father's absence, Kenny had emphasised to May that he was not just a referee, but helped look after the gym and greenhouse. He had honestly helped May more than she could express, keeping her sane when none of her friends could physically be there to help her.
The man was, in all honesty, practically family, and she was certain he shared the sentiment. Without a doubt, May knew she would have crumbled without his support, as well as Brendan's.
That was probably one of the longest chapters I've ever written. Let me know what you think.