Team Advance: Explorers of Heart
Chapter 1: And So It Begins
One afternoon in Treasure Town, a lone Eevee was making her way down the path to find the Kecleon Shop. The little Eevee had light brown fur, a long bushy tail which was cream coloured at the tip, a cream coloured fur collar, big dark brown eyes, long pointy ears and a small black nose: her name was May. As May looked around, she could see that Treasure Town was as busy as ever with various Pokemon engaged in conversation with each other as well as others having a look around the shops to find items they were searching for. May then showed a bright smile as she turned her head to spot the shop she was looking for, and then she ran over to see two Kecleon behind the counters, one green and one light purple. "Hi, Kecleon Brothers!" May cheerfully called, lifting one paw up to wave to them. The Kecleon Brothers turned their heads and showed matching big smiles as May walked over.
"Oh, if isn't May! How are you today?" The green Kecleon asked as May arrived at the counter to talk to them; the two always looked forward to when May came to see them.
"I'm doing great! Tomorrow's going to be a big day for me: it'll be the day I go to join Wigglytuff's Guild and be part of an exploration team!" May happily replied. The Kecleon Brothers stared in silence for a few moments before they both showed big smiles and jumped in excitement.
"That's wonderful news! Please be sure to tell us about it after you register." The purple Kecleon commented. May simply nodded; she was looking forward to that just as much as the Kecleon Brothers were and she knew they were both supporting her.
That night, May had arrived back at her home which was a open area at Sharpedo Bluff; she was looking out at the night sky from the mouth with her bag placed beside the bed, and she could see that there were large dark clouds blowing towards the area Treasure Town was in. "Oh, it looks like it's going to be a pretty big storm tonight. I better get to bed early if I'm going to be ready to go for tomorrow." May commented, showing an expression of concern seeing how the dark the clouds looked; if that was much to go by, she had a feeling that the storm coming would be pretty vicious. So with this, she turned and walked over to her small straw bed before laying down on it and closing her eyes, ready to get some sleep.
Later into the night, the storm came bringing a heavy downpour, strong winds and flashes of lightning lighting up the stormy sky. As May was asleep, a flash of lightning went off causing her to jump and look around in fright. "Woah, that storm is rough!" May gasped, turning to look outside and notice the storm blowing violently outside. She then showed an expression of worry as she noticed the lightning strikes from out in the distance; as long as she could remember, she had always been scared of lightning. She wasn't sure why, but there was just something about the fact that lightning could strike anywhere that made her worry that she could be a possible target. "I should probably try not to think about the storm; after all, I need to get enough sleep for tomorrow. Because…that will be the day I finally make my dream of becoming an explorer a reality!" May commented to herself, a smile slowly showing on her face during this self-reassurance. She then nodded once in confirmation before lying back down on the bed to get back to sleep.
The next morning, May slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to see that the storm clouds had passed and the sun was shining brightly in their place. "It looks like the storm blew over during the night." May commented to herself. She then showed a bright smile as she remembered what day it was today. "Well…today's the day: the day I start training to be an explorer! I better get a move on to find the guild." May said to herself. She then turned and made her way up the stairs before she arrived at the top of the Cliffside and made her way down the path; she had a big day ahead of her.
It didn't take too long for May to arrive where the guild was, and now she found herself standing in front of the gateway and she was staring in uncertainty, wondering what she should do. Now that she was here, she was starting to feel her nerves get the better of her. May started to pace back and forth for a bit as she was trying to decide what she should do, before she turned her attention back to the gate with an expression of determination crossing her face. "No. I'm not going to be paralysed by this. I've been preparing for this for a long time, so I'm not backing down now." May stated. With this, she started to walk towards the doorway, but she didn't notice the grate on the ground so she stepped on it without realising, and before she had a chance to react, she was startled by a voice coming from the hole below.
"Footprint detected! Footprint detected!" A small voice called from the hole, prompting May to jump from alarm. About a second later, a second voice rang out, though this one was louder and sounded different from the first one.
"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" The second voice asked. "The footprint is Eevee's! The footprint is Eevee's!" The first voice replied. May let out a scream of alarm and frantically took a couple of steps back until she was standing at least a mile away from the grate.
"That was terrifying!" May cried. After taking a few seconds to calm herself down, May let out a sigh of relief. But that relief quickly gave way to self-shame as May showed an expression of disappointment. "I… I can't bring myself to go in there. I promised myself that I would do it today…" May sadly said to herself. She then lifted the front part of her bag open with her mouth and looked in it to see a small stone sitting safely in the middle of her bag. "I thought that bringing my personal treasure would inspire me…" She then grabbed the front flap of the bag with her mouth and lifted it over the rest, closing the bag. After a few seconds, she then slowly shook her head in dismay. "I just can't do it… This is so discouraging…" May sadly sighed. With this, she turned around and slowly walked away down the path, but instead of turning right, she kept walking straight to get to the beach.
As May approached the beach, the sun was slowly setting in the evening sky, causing the colour of the sky to change from bright blue to orange and purple, and the reflection of the sun could be seen glittering in the ocean waves splashing on the coast. While this was happening, various Krabby stood on the coast as well as the rocks nearby and started to blow bubbles from their mouths which drifted into the sky. As May arrived at the coast, she turned her head and her eyes went big in awe at the display around her. "Wow… what a beautiful sight." May whispered, showing a smile of awe. She looked up to see the bubbles slowly drifting through the sky and she could see that they seemed to shine under the sun's glow, and she could also see that the vast ocean in front of her seemed to sparkle under the sun. May sat down on the sand and let out a soft sigh of content.
"This sight never ceases to be special; it's where I always come when I'm feeling down on myself. I always feel better when I come here." May silently commented; this was a sight she enjoyed seeing. She then looked down to think, showing a small expression of concern. "It would be nice if I had someone to share special sights like this with…" May added to herself, looking up to see the setting sun.
May never mentioned this out loud to anyone, but there was something else she dreamed of besides becoming an explorer: she dreamed of having someone special in her life, someone she could share her secrets, her dreams and her feelings with. While she knew that her chances of anyone wanting to be with her were unlikely no thanks for her cowardly nature, she wasn't going to let that stop her; she knew that out there in the world, there was someone who would always support her, who would like her for who she was and would promise her the world. May let out a cheerful sigh as a smile crossed her face thinking about that; she was looking to when that day came.
Just then, May's ears perked up as she seemed to spot something and she turned her head to the left showing an expression of surprise. "Hm? What's that over there?" May asked. She stood up properly and started to walk over to find out what it could be and when she got close, she let out a gasp when she saw that just up ahead…there was someone lying unconscious on the sand! "Oh no! There's someone just up ahead!" May gasped. She then ran over to have a closer look and saw that the person, or Pokemon, rather, in question was a Pikachu. "Are you alright? Can you hear me?" May asked, gently nudging the Pikachu with an expression of worry. She then waited for a few seconds as she seemed to get no response from the Pikachu. "This isn't good…I don't think he's moving. He couldn't be…" May worriedly said to herself, looking down in fear that the worst had happened. But then, her worries quickly disappeared as she looked up to see the Pikachu slowly started to move and after a few seconds, started to open his eyes.
"What…what's going on? How…did I get here?" The Pikachu quietly asked, slowly looking around in surprised silence. He then lifted his glance to see May looking down at him with an expression of concern. "Is that…an Eevee?" he then asked.
"Hey, are you alright?" May gently asked. The Pikachu's eyes then quickly popped open as he showed an expression of surprise upon hearing May ask him that. 'Is that Eevee…talking to me? How is it even able to speak? I wonder…if I'll be able to answer back.' The Pikachu thought to himself. With this, he slowly sat up while May took a few steps back before shaking his head rapidly, and then turned his head to May before slowly nodding. "I think so… Where am I?" The Pikachu asked.
May showed a smile of relief hearing this. "You're on the beach. You were unconscious, so I ran over to see if you were okay. You weren't moving and I got scared that something might have happened to you. But it's good to know that you're okay! I don't know what I would have done if that wasn't the case." May explained. The Pikachu simply tilted his head, showing an expression of puzzlement as he started to wonder how he got here in the first place. "My name's May. Who are you?" May asked.
The Pikachu then showed a smile, deciding that maybe he should go along with this for the time being. "Nice to meet you, May. I'm Ash." he simply replied. May showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding.
"Ash? That's a nice name; I like it! It's great to meet you, Ash. Do you remember how you ended up unconscious here?" May asked, showing an expression of concern as she was wondering how Ash got here as well. Ash looked down to think as he was wondering the same thing as May; how did he end up here? But after a few seconds, nothing seemed to come clear in Ash's mind so he looked up at May and shook his head. "Oh, that's a shame…" May sighed, showing an expression of disappointment. But that disappointment was quickly replaced as May showed a bright smile and shook her head.
"But that's not a problem! I guess it would be hard to remember much after being in a storm like that." May commented. Ash showed an expression of surprise; there was a storm? Maybe that was the reason he couldn't figure out how he ended up here; he was caught in the vicious storm last night. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone like you before, Ash. I mean, it's not really every day you see a Pokemon wash up on a beach the way you did." May commented, showing a bright smile.
"Well, it's funny you should mention that, because it gets a lot stranger than you realise." Ash replied. May showed an expression of surprise wondering what Ash meant, and turned her attention to him so she could hear what he had to say. "You see, May…I'm actually a human." Ash explained. May was silent for a few seconds before she jumped with an expression of alarm on her face.
"Really? But… you look like a normal Pikachu to me." May said. Ash showed an expression of surprise at this and looked down at his hands to be met with small chubby hands connected to matching arms. Ash stared in alarm, wondering what was going on, and turned his head to look at his reflection in the ocean and found himself face-to-face with long pointy ears that were black at the tips, bright red cheeks and small black eyes. After taking a few seconds to let the sight in front of him sink in, Ash jumped back in immense alarm.
"Waaahhh! What?! I'm a Pikachu?!" Ash gasped. He then started to run back and forth across the coast while May watched in surprise. "Wha… How did this happen? How did this happen!?" Ash worriedly asked as he was running; he couldn't tell whether he was dreaming this or not, and if so, he wanted this to be over soon.
As May watched Ash run past her, she promptly grabbed Ash's tail in her mouth to stop him. Unfortunately, that proved to be a big mistake as it caused Ash to let out a scream before releasing a strong bolt of electricity which she had the misfortune of getting hit by. After a few seconds, the electricity died down and May was left twitching with her whole fur standing up on end. "Wow, Ash… that's really strong…" May muttered as she was twitching, before she dropped on the sand on her side.
Ash then stood up to take a few moments to calm himself down. Once that was done, he turned around to face May again and noticed her lying on the sand having been electrocuted. "May! Are you okay?" Ash gasped, running over to her with an expression of concern. His question was quickly answered as May slowly stood up and shook herself rapidly to fix up her fur. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to do that to you. I guess I might have panicked…" Ash explained, scratching the side of his head nervously.
Once May made sure that all of her fur was standing properly again, she turned her glance back to Ash. "That's okay. But the next time you do something like that, try to make sure that no one's in the way!" May replied, showing an expression of annoyance at being shocked at that. Ash nearly jumped hearing May's reply to this, but he simply nodded in agreement deciding not to argue with that. Now that that was dealt with, May then showed an expression of puzzlement. "So… you're really a human? That's a bit hard to believe. Are you sure you aren't playing a trick on me, Ash?" she asked.
Ash showed an expression of alarm hearing this and quickly shook his head. "No, of course not! I wouldn't ever lie about something like that." Ash quickly replied.
"So that means you're telling me the truth?" May asked. Ash gave a simply nod in reply; he wasn't sure how much he would able to stress that fact. May looked down to think for a few seconds, before she showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding. "Well…okay. It might be a bit tough to fully understand, but I believe you. You definitely don't seem to be a bad Pokemon…" May replied. Ash showed an expression of surprise, wondering what May meant by that, and then May nearly jumped upon realising what she just said and looked down showing an expression of shame as she started to worry that Ash might have taken that the wrong way. "I'm sorry I doubted you, Ash. It's just that… a lot of Pokemon around here have become more aggressive recently. It hasn't really been that safe anymore…" May quietly explained, keeping her glance down as she was worried about what Ash would say to her.
Ash was silent as he listened to May, and then he showed a smile of understanding before placing a hand underneath May's chin, prompting her to look up at him in surprise to see the smile he simply showed her. "That's all right, May. I'll bet it's not a lot of fun being stuck in a situation like that, never knowing who you can trust. But I can safely say that if there's anyone you can trust right now, it's me." Ash explained. May stared in surprise before she slowly showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement; she knew that Ash was right. As the two brightly smiled at each other, Ash turned his head to see someone coming up from behind May. "May, look out behind you!" Ash warned, quickly pointing behind May.
May turned around to see who Ash was pointing at and before she had a chance to react, she was suddenly shoved forward into Ash, causing the two to fall over and May to drop her bag, which fell open and the small stone fragment dropped out of the bag onto the sand. As May got up off of Ash, she turned her head to see the ones responsible for that shove: there were an Ekans, a Koffing and a Meowth standing there, all three of them showing smug smiles. "Whoops! Sorry, didn't see you there!" The Ekans cheekily commented. "Hope you don't mind us shoving into your business." The Koffing added, while the Meowth showed a sneaky smile. The three then started to cheerfully laugh while May showed a glare and Ash was still standing up from having been pushed backwards.
"What did you do that for?!" May snapped. Ash shook his head rapidly and then showed an expression of surprise seeing the three Pokemon standing in front of him and May. "Who are those guys?" he asked, tilted his head as he was wondering what was going on.
As if on cue at that question, the Ekans and Koffing stood back to back with the two of them having their glances on Ash and May. "We catch unsuspecting explorers by surprise!" Ekans replied. "And then we steal their items when the opportunities arise." Koffing added. The two then turned to stand side by side as they took turns at getting a chance to speak.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all Pokemon in our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To ascend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"
Meowth then jumped out in front of them and posed with one hand on his hip and the other pointing up to the sky as he finished "Meowth, that's right!"
Ash and May both looked at each other with matching expressions of surprise and blinked a few times before turning their heads back to the three. "Team Rocket? I… don't think I've ever heard of you guys before." May commented, slowly shaking her head. Ash simply nodded in agreement with May. Silence filled the air for a few seconds before the Rocket Trio flopped on their backs, with James dropping from the air to land alongside the others. This didn't last long, though, as the three quickly recovered to face Ash and May.
"Well, I guess you can't say that's a surprise. We just started operating as a team overnight!" Jessie commented. "But in the short time we've been around, we've been taking the scene by storm! You wouldn't believe how much fun it is being us." James agreed with a big smile. The two then turned their glances down to see the stone fragment that had fallen out of May's bag lying right in front of us.
"Ooh, and what do we have here? Would this happen to belong to you?" Jessie asked. May turned her head wondering what Jessie was talking about and let out a gasp of horror upon seeing the stone fragment on the sand.
"That's my personal treasure!" May gasped. The Rocket Trio all looked at each other with big smiles upon hearing this. "Treasure? I'll bet that thing's worth a beauty! We'd probably rack a lot of Poke in if we sold it." Meowth commented. The Rocket Trio all showed smiles of excitement before turning their attention back to Ash and May. "Sorry to leave so soon, but we'll be taking that with us!" Meowth said, pointing to the fragment. May showed an expression of worry, but Ash quickly showed an expression of determination and stepped forward as he felt his cheeks start to crackle with electricity.
"Let's see you try it!" Ash warned, before releasing a strong bolt of electricity aiming towards the three Pokemon. The Rocket Trio all jumped in alarm and barely had enough time to run out of the way as the electricity struck the sand where they were standing. As that was happening, Meowth then turned and ran over before grabbing the stone fragment in his arms and running back to Jessie and James.
"Hey, fellas! I got the treasure!" Meowth cheered, lifting up the fragment for his partners to see. Jessie and James both showed matching smiles, thrilled by the successful theft. "Nice steal, Meowth!" James happily commented. The three then turned and started to run off to find the sign leading to Treasure Town; they were going to head over there and sell the fragment for a lot of Poke for themselves.
"Oh no, what do we do? They're getting away with my personal treasure!" May worriedly gasped, turning to Ash with an expression of worry; she wasn't sure what they were going to do if the Rocket Trio got away. Ash then let a growl under his breath before getting on all four paws. "Well, we'll have to stop them before they have the chance!" Ash replied. With this, he promptly dashed after the Rocket Trio before stopping as he stood in front of them, leaving them screeching to a halt in their tracks as he glared at them with his cheeks starting to crackle with electricity again; he felt ready to give them one nasty shock. "You're not going anywhere, Team Rocket! Now hand over the fragment before one of you gets hurt!" Ash ordered. The Rocket Trio nearly jumped before turning to each other with matching expressions of worry.
"What do we do, Jessie? He's got us cornered and we're surrounded on both sides!" James worriedly said, turning to see May standing behind them. Jessie looked in both directions, wondering what they could do, before she noticed that there was an entrance to a small cave just near where May was standing.
"I have a plan. Come on, you two. Follow me!" Jessie said, before turning to head towards the cave. James and Meowth both looked at each other for only a second before they turned to follow Jessie. Ash looked up as his cheeks stopped crackling with electricity and then turned his attention to May who was watching all the while.
"May! Don't let them get into that cave!" Ash called. May turned to see the cave entrance beside her, and then an expression of uncertainty crossed her face as she wondered what she could do. But without a moment to lose, May quickly ran and stood in front of the cave entrance leaving the Rocket Trio to stop and stare at her.
"Out of the way, you little brat! We have business to take care of!" Jessie snapped. May simply shook her head in defiance as she stared at the three with an expression of determination. "No way! You guys have my personal treasure, and I won't let you take it away from me!" May retorted. She simply stood there as the Rocket Trio glared at her, and then the three turned to see Ash running over to them, before they looked back at May; if she wasn't going to move, they would have to deal with this by force.
"Well, fine. If we can't get you to comply reasonably, then we'll deal with you ourselves! Meowth, can you do the honours?" Jessie asked, turning her head to Meowth. Meowth nodded in agreement and, with his claws extended out and glowing bright white, lunged forward towards May.
"I hate having to do this, but you've left us with little choice!" Meowth said. May quickly showed an expression of terror and, before she had a chance to react, Meowth struck her with his claws sending her flying backwards and scraping across the sand before stopping in front of Ash, who had stopped running as she lay in front on him.
"May!" Ash gasped. He then looked up to see the Rocket Trio having made their way into the cave and showed a glare having seen what they did, and then he showed an expression of worry as May lay on the sand in front of him. "May? Are you okay?" Ash asked, as he looked down at May lying unconscious. He gently nudged her for a few seconds, and then a smile of relief crossed his face as May slowly opened her eyes and stood up. "May! You're alright!" Ash happily said with a bright smile crossing his face. May shook her head rapidly before turning her glance to Ash.
"Yeah…but that was a pretty strong Slash attack. I'm just lucky I wasn't cut anywhere." May commented, looking over her body to see that she didn't have any cuts anywhere. She then looked back at Ash realising something. "Wait. Where did Team Rocket go?" she asked.
"They escaped into that cave after they attacked you." Ash replied, pointing to the cave which prompted May to turn her glance to see that sure enough, the Rocket Trio were nowhere in sight. May then let out a silent gasp and looked down as she could feel tears slowly building in her eyes.
"They're getting with my personal treasure. That means everything to me… What am I going to do now?" May sadly asked, collapsing on the sand in despair. Ash showed an expression of concern seeing how upset May was, and then he walked over to her and placed a paw on her, prompting her to look up at him in surprise.
"Don't worry, May. We'll stop them from getting away with your treasure." Ash gently said. He then looked up to see the entrance of the cave just in front of them. "It looks like we'll have to follow after them into the cave. They probably couldn't have gone too far by now. Come on, May." Ash said, turning his glance back down to May. May then stood up, brushing her tears away, and the two made their way into the cave to pursue the Rocket Trio and retrieve the fragment.
As the two entered the cave, they looked around to see that there were small pools of water scattered around the cave as well as various paths that led in different directions. "I'll bet that Team Rocket is heading down to the pit of this cave by now. We better hurry and pick up the pace if we want to catch up with them." Ash said, looking over at May walking behind him. May nodded in agreement and with this, the two started to make their way forward to find the staircases that would lead them down to the pit.
As the two were walking, May showed a bright smile as she spotted something. "Ash, look at that!" May said, pointing just beside them. Ash turned his head and looked with May to see a pile of gold coins with a 'P' symbol on them lying just nearby. May immediately ran over and gathered the coins in her paws before putting them in her paws. "What are those, exactly?" Ash asked, staring in puzzlement. May turned to him with a smile, more than happy to fill him in.
"These are Poke. They're kind of like our currency. If we save up enough, we'll be able to buy items that we need while exploring." May explained, showing the coins to Ash. Ash showed a big smile and nodded in understanding; that seemed to make sense to him. With this, May placed the coins back in her bag and the two started to set off again. As they were walking, Ash looked down to think. 'Team Rocket did mention that they were going to sell May's personal treasure for a lot of Poke. So if what May said is much to go by, then that means they were going to sell it for money! What kind of Pokemon would do something like that, especially to someone as friendly as May? And why would they attack her just to get what they want?' Ash thought to himself, with an expression of anger slowly crossing his face as he remembered what Meowth did to May, striking her like that just for their own personal gain. The thought of someone being treated that way was making Ash's blood start to boil and he started to growl under his breath from anger.
"Oh, that Team Rocket... I'll teach them a lesson for doing that!" Ash suddenly yelled out, which prompted May to jump and look at him with an expression of surprise. Before May could have a chance to ask him what was wrong, Ash then dashed off ahead and made his way down the staircase to the next floor, while May followed after him.
Down at the pit, the Rocket Trio were all looking at the fragment they had successfully snatched, all with matching big smiles. "Can you believe it how easy that was? True, it was a bit tough just getting away from those two, but in the end we were able to pull this heist off!" Jessie cheerfully commented. "I know! I didn't think we'd be to do it, but I'm glad I was wrong." James agreed, nodding with a big smile. As Meowth was looking at the fragment, an expression of surprise crossed his face as he noticed something he didn't initially see.
"Hey, check this out, fellas!" Meowth said. Jessie and James both turned their heads, wondering what it was that Meowth noticed. "This fragment here looks like it's got some sort of carving on it." Meowth commented, pointing to the front of the fragment. Jessie and James both looked with him to see that sure enough, there was a carving on the front of the fragment; it looked like some kind of heart figure along with spiked shapes on each side of the heart. "What do you suppose that could mean?" Meowth asked, scratching his head in puzzlement.
"I guess it's not really that important. What is important is finding a store that will have it and selling it there to get ourselves a large sum of Poke!" Jessie replied, with the trio all looking at each other with matching smiles. James and Meowth both nodded in agreement; they just needed to find a way out of this pit and then they'd be set.
Back with Ash and May, May was struggling to catch up with Ash as he had already rushed off ahead to find where Team Rocket went. "Ash? Ash, where did you go?" May asked, with an expression of concern written all over her face; she had lost track of him as he seemed to have gone off in a fit of rage. "What could have happened to get Ash worked up like this?" May asked herself, looking down in worry. After a few seconds to think, May then looked up as she realised what the problem was. "Of course! Ash must have been thinking about what Team Rocket did. I guess he must have gotten upset about it and really wants to teach them a lesson for it. But if I don't find him soon..." May slowly trailed off, as she didn't want to imagine what would happen if she didn't find Ash soon. "I better hurry and catch up with him!" May then said before she started to rush off to find where Ash went.
Meanwhile with Ash, he was still ahead of May, but he was more or less feeling less enraged than how he started. As he was silent to think about how he was acting, he then heard someone calling from behind him. "Ash, wait up!" Ash then turned his head to see that it was May; she was running over to catch up with him. "There you are! I've been looking all over this floor for you. What's the matter?" May asked, showing an expression of concern as she was wondering why Ash was acting like this. Ash let out a sigh and sat down, leaning against a wall while May looked at her in concern.
"I'm sorry about this, May. It's just... I can't stand what Team Rocket is doing, stealing something that's really important to you and actually attacking you just to get away with it. That kind of thing is something I can never stand seeing and it's something I don't take lightly. I hope you understand why I got so upset by it." Ash explained. May was silent as she listened to this; once Ash put it in those terms, it really made a lot of sense to her as to why Ash would take this that personally. With this, May showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding.
"That's okay, Ash. I know that feeling myself; I can never manage seeing things like that either. But it's nothing to worry about, okay?" May softly replied. Ash looked up at May to see her bright smile and then he couldn't help himself smiling back before standing back up.
"Thanks, May. You ready to get going?" Ash asked. May nodded in agreement, so the two turned and started to walk off together towards the staircase that led to the pit.
As the two arrived at the pit of the cave, they could see the Rocket Trio nearby with the fragment. Without much hesitance, May stepped forward while Ash followed behind her. "Uh... hey, you guys!" May called. Hearing something from behind them, the Rocket Trio all turned around to see Ash and May walking over.
"Well, well, if it isn't those two again. Come back for more, have you?" Jessie asked, while Meowth stepped in front of her and James with his claws glowing white. May took a step back, feeling her nerves getting the better of her, but then she turned her head to see Ash staring at the Rocket Trio with an expression of determination. 'Ash isn't fazed by them at all. If he can stand up to them without any problem, then I think I might be able to too!' May said to herself. With this, she nodded and then walked back up so she was standing right beside Ash.
"You...you give back what you stole from me! That's my personal treasure!" May snapped. The Rocket Trio all looked at each other before Jessie showed the fragment balancing on the tip of her tail. "Oh, you mean this? Well, try to come and get it!" Jessie replied. With this, Meowth leapt up into the air and aimed his claws down, aiming for May again. But this time, May quickly dashed out of the way as Meowth struck the sand where she was once standing instead.
"You ready, May?" Ash asked. May turned to Ash and simply nodded and with this, the two looked at the Rocket Trio ready for battle. Ash made the first move with him immediately charging forward and slamming into Meowth head-first, sending him flying backwards as Jessie and James watched in alarm.
"So you want to play it rough, do you? Well, let's go then!" Jessie said as she and James looked back at Ash and May with matching glares on their faces. With that, the two both charged forward towards the two, to which Ash and May jumped out of the way, leaving them dealing with one target each: Ash with Jessie and May with James.
Ash jumped out of the way as Jessie attempted to lash towards him and let out a strong bolt of electricity which hit Jessie directly and sent her flying back and slamming into a stone wall nearby. Ash showed a big smile seeing this. 'Woah...being turned into a Pokemon is more fun than I thought!' Ash cheerfully commented to himself. He then turned his head to see May dealing with James, and immediately to run over to help her out. However, as he was doing that, he didn't notice Jessie slithering up from behind him and before he had a chance to realise what was happening, he was met with a shock as Jessie wrapped her body around him to let him still. "Hey, let me go!" Ash snapped as he started kicking his feet, struggling to get free, but with little success.
Meanwhile with May, she was busy dealing with James as she went to charge into head-first, but he simply floated out of the way as May glared at him. "Let's see how you like this!" James said, before opening his mouth to release a large cloud of green smoke. May stared in alarm before quickly closing her eyes so she wouldn't get any smoke in her eyes.
"Aaah! I can't see a thing!" May gasped. As she was trying to figure out where she was, Meowth then jumped forward through the smoke with his claws glowing white and struck May directly, sending her flying much to Ash's horror as he turned his head to see this.
"May!" Ash gasped. He then showed an expression of anger and turned a glare to Jessie, who turned her head to see the fury burning in his eyes. "All right, now you've really gone and done it, Team Rocket! Let's see how you like this shock treatment!" Ash yelled. With this, he sent out a strong bolt of electricity from his cheeks which hit not just Jessie, but also James and Meowth, who barely had enough time to turn around to see what was going on before getting shocked as well. As May slowly got up shaking her head, she turned to see what was going on and her eyes went large in awe. After a few seconds, there was an explosion and the Rocket Trio were sent flying high into the sky, disappearing in a twinkle in the sky.
As the smoke cleared from the explosion, Ash was still glaring as he looked up in the direction the Rocket Trio were sent flying. "Maybe that will teach you a lesson about attacking someone like that!" Ash snapped. His expression of anger then faded as he ran over to May who was still getting up from being struck. "Are you alright, May?" Ash asked, showing an expression of concern. May shook her head rapidly before turning to Ash and nodded.
"Yeah, I think so." May simply replied. She and Ash then turned their heads to see the fragment lying on the sand in front of them. "Oh, my Relic Fragment!" May happily gasped. Without much hesitance, she ran over and grabbed it, placing it back in her bag. "I don't believe it... I managed to get it back." As Ash walked over to her seeing how happy she was to have her personal item back, May turned her glance to him showing a bright smile. "And it was because you were with me. Thank you, Ash!" May happily cheered.
Sometime later, the two had made their way out of the cave and were back on the beach, with May showing a big smile all the while. "Ash, thank you so much!" May gratefully said; she was genuinely thrilled that she had Ash's help against the Rocket Trio. Ash simply showed a matching smile; while he only seemed to help because he was there, he couldn't help feeling glad to see May so thrilled. "This is what they stole: it's my Relic Fragment. Or at least, that's what I've called it." May said, as she opened her bag and placed the fragment down on the sand for Ash to see.
Ash looked down at the Relic Fragment in silence before looking back up at May. "So this is your personal treasure, huh?" he asked. May simply nodded with a big smile.
"That's right! You see, I always like hearing legends and stories from the past; I can't properly describe it, but it's such a thrill to hear about lore like that!" May explained. She then turned her glance to the ocean underneath the sunset as her eyes went wide in awe while Ash simply looked on with her. "Don't you feel the same way, Ash? Wouldn't it be exciting to discover hidden lands that no one else knows exist, and making exciting discoveries along the way?" May asked, showing a big smile of awe. Ash couldn't help himself giggling in amusement before standing beside May with a matching smile.
"Yeah, I know that feeling. This might come as a surprise, but I enjoy travelling as well. It's always exciting for me to find out what new places I could see and what I would find there!" Ash explained. May turned to Ash staring in surprise, before her smile of awe quickly returned.
"Wow...really?" she asked. Ash simply nodded in agreement. "Ash, that's amazing!" May happily exclaimed. The two then turned their attention back to the Relic Fragment as May continued. "Anyway, I enjoy learning about things like that. So it just happened that one day, I came across this Relic Fragment. I know it doesn't seem like anything special, but have a closer look. You see that carving on the top? It almost looks like a pattern, doesn't it?" May asked, pointing to the inscription on the top of the fragment. Ash had a look down at it to see that sure enough, May was right; the pattern looked like it was in the shape of a heart along with various outlines covering around it.
"I feel like that pattern has something significant, which is why I want to become part of an exploration team. I think this fragment might fit somewhere I don't know about; I would like to find out what it means and what it's for!" May explained. Ash simply listened with a big smile; this whole exploration thing sounded like it was really exciting. "So earlier, I tried joining an exploration team as an apprentice, but..." May then looked down showing an expression of dismay as she remembered her failed attempt. "It didn't go very well... I left almost immediately..." She then let out a sigh of dismay before turning her head to Ash. "What about you, Ash? Do you have any idea of what you want to do after everything that's happened to you?" May asked.
Ash looked down in silence to think before simply shaking his head. "No, not really... I didn't really think about any of that during what was going on." Ash replied.
"If that's the case, is it all right if I ask you something?" May asked. Ash simply nodded, wanting to know what request May had for him. May then let out a silent sigh before she spoke up. "Ash... would you... like to be part of an exploration team with me?" she asked. Ash nearly jumped in surprise hearing this question; he felt like he was being recruited right out of the blue. "I know it's a bit sudden of me to ask, but I feel like we'd make a great team. I mean, did you see the way you handled Team Rocket like it wasn't a problem? I really feel like we'd be able to make this duo work. So, would you be willing to do that, please?" May continued, showing an expression of uncertainty as she was wondering what Ash would say to this.
Ash stared in stunned silence hearing all of this before he looked down to think. 'I don't really know what I want to do, plus I don't really remember much about how I got here. And...being part of an exploration team does sound like a lot of fun. I guess it wouldn't hurt that much to help May out. After all, I might have a great time being with her!' Ash thought to himself, showing a bright smile as his decision seemed to become easier to make. Now with his choice made, Ash turned to May with a big smile and nodded. "Sure thing, May! I would like to be part of a team with you!" Ash replied.
May stared in silence hearing this before a bright smile slowly crossed her face. "Really? You'll really be on a team with me?" she asked. Ash simply nodded, wondering how he could make his answer any clearer to her. May's smile immediately grew before she jumped up in the air in excitement. "Yay, that's great! Thank you so much!" May cheered. Ash simply looked at May with a smile, seeing how thrilled she was that he accepted; that was a sure sign he made the right choice to say yes.
"First, we need to get to Wigglytuff's Guild and sign up as apprentices. And then we'll get the proper training we need to become a full-fledged exploration team. I have a feeling that the training might be tough, but let's do our best, Ash!" May explained, showing a big smile as she was still excited that Ash accepted her offer. Hearing that, Ash promptly nodded in agreement.
"You got it, May! So long as we work together, I think there's nothing we won't be able to accomplish!" Ash replied. With this, the two then turned to face the sky and pumped a fist in the air, letting out a cheer of excitement; this was going to the start of a great team for them and, though they weren't aware of it, the start of many adventures awaiting them.