Ash's POV

It was a beautiful night in Sinnoh. The moon was out, lighting the clearing up like the sun it was so bright. The only person watching was me. Brock and Dawn were fast asleep. This time has let me think clearly. For the past few weeks, I had begun thinking more about "her." (I sighed) Tonight was no different. I couldn't stop thinking about May. It had almost been ¾ a year since we last talked. Oh if only she could be with me; I could tell her how I felt. She was in Hoenn; I was in Sinnoh. I was going back to Kanto to see some of my friends there, and maybe decide where to travel again. I could travel to Hoenn, to see May. Wait! I've already done the league there…dang it! Although, I could go just to see her. No! Arghhh! Why am I thinking about her like this? Am I sure I like her…like that? Besides, Drew probably got to her already. It was obvious she showed at least a little interest in him, but boy could they fight! I don't know what to think…

At this point, a small, yellow mouse walked over to me.

"Hey, Pikachu!"

"Pi?" (What?)

"What do you think? Since we're so close, you probably know that all I've been able to think about is May, right buddy?"

It nodded its head. "Pika…" (Isn't it obvious…)

"Do you think I should go to Hoenn to see May after I return home?"

"Pikapi?, Pika!" (Didn't you just say you like her? Duh!)

"You know what? I've made up my mind! I'm going to Hoenn!"

At this, I leaned back and went to sleep. I guess I comforted myself in that decision, because for once, I had a good dream.

It started with me walking over to May, deep in the woods. She was looking at the same brightness level of the moon that I had watched before I fell asleep. She was relaxed, laying on the ground staring up. I lied down next to her, we were about 1 and ½ feet apart. She said, "It sure is romantic, with that huge moon, huh?" "Yeah…" I replied, not knowing what she was trying to hint at. She inched a bit closer. "You know what? I'm coming to Kanto to greet you when you get back!" she said to me. "You wouldn't do that, you're in Hoenn!" (I suppose I don't make much sense in dreams) I replied. She scooted closer. "Why not? I miss you…" she asked. "I don't know, but I don't think you would. But I would love it if you did," I replied. She scooted closer, her arm was touching mine now. "Why wouldn't I? I need to tell you that I love you, Ash." She blushed bright red brighter than her cute bandana, saying that. "You do? That's a relief! I wanted to tell you I love you too!" I told her.

I woke up to Dawn pestering me. She asked me who I was thinking about, due to my sleep talking. I told her I was thinking about food, and she believed it, walking off. "I was sleep talking? That can't be good." I trailed off, recalling my dream. Weird dream it was. May wouldn't go anywhere. And I could only wish May would love me, like I did, her. "Where's Jirachi when you need him," I asked Pikachu jokingly. "Pikapi, pika pika chupi!" (He's sleeping 5000 miles into space, remember?) Pikachu joked back.

I walked into the clearing, hoping Brock was fixing some food up. I was really hungry, normally my dreams reflect that. But this time, my dream reflected me being hungry for May's love, in a way. I'm not too good with logic, like that.

"Brock! What's cooking?" I asked my long-time pal.

"The usual…" he said, glancing over at Dawn, who was playing with Piplup. "I heard you sleep-talking about May, what's up?" he said in a whisper.

"Did Dawn here any of that!?" I whispered, panicking.

"No, I woke up before her. What's on your mind, Ash?" He replied.

"I really miss her, Brock…" I said, and blushing, I said: "and I think I love her, I've been thinking about her differently than before."

"Ah…" he replied, with a thoughtful look on his face, "I think you need to go up to Hoenn and talk to her, about your feelings, even if it's hard. If you don't, she will never know." He said, trying to give advice.

"After we leave today, on the ship I'll be thinking of what to say, since we'll have 3 hours to kill." I said.

"Good thinking, you'll need to if you don't want to sound stupid, no offence to you of course!" he replied.

Later that day, nearly 12:00 noon, me, Pikachu, and Brock were riding on the boat to Kanto. I was thinking about some things, lounging on a chair on the deck, facing the sea next to my good ol' pal Pikachu. Dawn would go back to her hometown, to tell everybody how well she did in her contests. As annoying as she got, she was on my list of friends I made through my journeys. I turned my thoughts to May, thinking about everything I liked about her. I would definitely use all of that in my explanation of my feelings for her. I would tell her how great I did in the Sinnoh League. I would make sure to direct all my talking to her, alone. I needed to ask her about Johto, and her contests. But mostly, I had no idea how to bring up the fact of my love for her. If it was too direct, like Brock's approaches, I would get shunned, and probably a, "weirdo!" If I didn't say it just right, it wouldn't work out. I REALLY had to factor in my embarrassment. I'm positive I'll barely be able to talk to her, let alone…tell her about my feelings for her. Arghh! So frustrating!!! Maybe Brock can help, wherever he is.

"Come on, Pikachu!"

"Pipi Pika-chu?" (Why are you leaving? I was just starting to get a nice tan too.)

We found Brock inside, flirting with some random girl that had the misfortune of walking by. I would think that she was merely being polite, and needed to go somewhere. But I was wrong; she seemed to be interested in what he was saying!

"Pikachu? Do you see what I see?"

"Pikaaaaaa? Pikapikapipika!!!!" (Whaaaaat?! How in the world did a girl actually like him? Like that!?)

We walked closer, straining to hear what they were saying.

"Your eyes are like diamonds in a beautiful mine!!!" Brock said, with the usual "hearts for eyes" thing.

"Pika! Pi-ka!" (Oh brother! Give me a break!)

"Pikachu! Help her out! Use thundershock if you can remember how, it's been so long! Just enough to knock him out if it though."

"Pikakapipikakapi!" (This isn't the Pokemon videogame, Ash, I don't forget moves)

When Pikachu obeyed the girl looked shocked. She screamed:

"Why did you do that?! Why did you hurt my boyfriend?!"

"Boyfriend?!" I asked. "Normally he's just harassing girls when he does that!"

"Well…he wasn't harassing me at all." She replied, blushing. "I think he's sweet!"

"Pikapi-pi, kapi!" (Poor girl, she seems to have lost her mind!)

Brock sprang to his feet and said, "Really!? You mean it?! This is fantastic!!! Finally someone gets where I'm coming from!!!!!"

A bit disgusted, I asked, "So…what's your name? So we can get acquainted."

"My name's V-" "Vicky!!! Isn't it a wonderful name?" Brock interjected.

"If you weren't so cute, I'd have to hurt you, Brock," Vicky put in.

"Er…hi, Vicky! My name's Ash! Sorry about having Pikachu shock your…boyfriend. (she blushed deeply at that) I thought he was being his weird self…"

Still blushing, Vicky said, "That's ok, Ash! Nice to meet you! I guess I…like his "weird self" then." Her blushing stopped. "C'mon, Brock, let's do something together!" And they ran off.

Shrugging it off, I noticed there was a good hour before arrival. My mind drifted back to May, the girl I was now positive I loved. No doubts, no question. I loved her with a deep passion. I wanted to talk to Brock, but now he's gone. I closed my mind and played my dream, over and over until the boat's buzzer rang, indicating that we arrived.

From the docks, it was merely two miles to walk before Pallet Town. Brock and his new girlfriend found they both lived in Pewter City. They were going to keep going to Pewter, and Brock told me to watch what I say when I find May in Hoenn. "It's really important!" he told me. They were gone in a flash, because I was walking slow for once, kinda spacin' out. I couldn't think of anything I'd tell her, so I'd wing it; hoping I can explain all I wanted to. I decided that no matter what she thought of me: shunning me, crying, telling me she actually felt the same way (I hoped with all my heart), telling me she loved someone else (probably that Drew), or anything else, I would tell her my feelings anyway. If I didn't, she wouldn't be out there waiting forever; she would eventually go with someone else, no matter what she felt. I had so many emotions swelling inside of me: love, hatred, embarrassment, failure, all kinds near bursting. I was worried, and glad I had a few more days to think before Hoenn. I decided I needed to concentrate on something else.

"Hey Pikachu! Happy to be home?"

"Pikipi" (I sure am) he said, giving a smile.

Again my thoughts fluttered back to May, thinking about her. I smiled, thinking about the things about her that I came to love. We found that familiar hill leading to Pallet Town. As we walked up I yelled, "Yeah! We're here!!!!!"

It took a while getting to my house, because I tried taking a shortcut. I turns out somebody was training there, so I had to turn back. It was amost dark out. I reached the house and knocked twice. My mom answered, and said, "So good to see you again! All your guests are here!" "Guests? What Guests?" "Come on in and see!"

I walked into the living room, and most of my old pals were there: Gary, Prof. Oak, Misty, Tracey, Norman, May, Caroline, Max…almost everybody's here! Wait! Thoughts were racing through my head. What's May and her family doing here? They should be in Hoenn! This ruins my plans there! I still haven't thought of what to say! I began to panic. I smiled. "It's great to see all of you!…" I said. Misty and Tracey walked up to me. Misty had her arms wrapped around his left arm. I pretended not to take notice.

"Hey Ash! Nice to see you again!" Misty said.

"Yeah! You too, Misty! Tracey!" I replied back.

"How were your travels in Sinnoh?" Tracey asked me.

"Great! Great. I caught some awesome Pokemon!" I replied, trying to make small-talk.

Gary walked up after I said that. "So, you got some new Pokemon, eh? Want to have another battle, Ashy boy?"

"No, not now…" I answered.

"Why? You chicken you're gonna lose?" he asked, being a jerk.

"No, maybe tomorrow. I'm way to tired to battle." I replied, hoping to get around a battle.

"Eh, suit yourself." He replied back, and walked over to Prof. Oak.

"See ya, Gramps. I'm goin'. I got nothin' else to say." He told him, walking out of the house.

Norman and Caroline walked over, with smiles on their faces.

"Ash. I never got a chance to thank you for taking our daughter under your wing. You never came back to Hoenn. You really helped her become a great coordinator. She also learned a lot about battling. I'm sure that without you, she wouldn't have earned the ribbons needed to enter the Grand Festivals." Norman told me.

"You were a great teacher for her, thank-you!" Caroline added.

"No problem! I always try to help anyone I can, and she was a great learner. I was glad to kinda give back after so many people helped me." I told them. "Excuse me," I walked over to May.

There she was, the girl I traveled with across Hoenn, and Kanto with; only realizing my burning love for her mere weeks ago in Sinnoh. She was looking off to the side, and I could tell she was depressed.

"May! It's so good to see you!" I told her, I was trying to think of what to say fast!

"Hey ash…what's up?" She answered dryly.

"Nothing, I'm glad I'm home! Why are you so depressed? What's wrong?" I asked her, I was very worried; seeing her depressed made me feel miserable; I used to enjoy it when she was happy.

"I'm fine; I was just thinking…" she said, brightening up. "Thanks for worrying though."

"You're welcome. Hey listen! May! I want to talk to you outside…alone." I told her, wanting to see what was wrong and comfort her, while telling her about my feelings. No-one seemed to notice us walking out, as they were too busy talking amongst themselves. We sat on a bench leaning against the house. I set aside her depression for later; she seemed to be in a better mood now that I was talking to her. Where to start, where to start?

"How have you been doing in the contests?" I asked, trying to stall.

"I made it to the Grand Festival! And I got second place!! Isn't it great?! Although I lost to dumb ol' Drew…" she replied, seeming very happy to talk about her achievements. Inside, seeing her happy made me happy. Also, the way she talked about him, I knew she didn't like Drew. That was a huge relief! It would be a lot easier to tell her knowing this.

"That's great! Except for Drew, of course…" I replied back. "You know what? I got second place in the Sinnoh League!"

"Really? Great!! We both got second place, which is funny." She answered to me. "I guess we're kinda alike!"

I gulped. "I hope so, with what I'm about to say. akhem (I cleared my throat) This is going to be tough for me to say this, and I might take a while, so please don't speak until I'm done. May, I've traveled with you all the way from your home region, Hoenn, to my home region, Kanto. It wasn't until we departed ways and I headed to Sinnoh did I realize my feelings. (There was an awkward pause) Some say love hits you like a ton of bricks, right? Well, it just crept on me in the last few weeks. Every time I thought of you, I began to get tingly, and would feel weird inside of me. It's hard to explain, May, I'm sorry! I began to think about all the things you did: how fast you ate, like me, your smiles, which never ceased to cheer me up, the way you would get down on yourself, and most importantly; how pretty you are. I'm not too good at this, I'm sorry. It doesn't matter if you feel the same way, but all I'm trying to say is that I…i…" I trailed off… "Love you, May. And I've really missed you." I looked down.

She gave me a big hug, and said, "Ash! That was so sweet! I never expected you to say something like that! You know what? Sadly, this is the one thing we're totally different about… (I looked down again, sadness filling my heart) I l…love you too. Probably more than you love me! That's where we're different." She said, and I knew she was joking about that last part; it was obvious I loved her more. We just sat there, looking at the moon, which was still very bright; like the nights before.

"May? Should we tell everyone?" I asked her, kinda hoping she said no; I thought it would be far too awkward! Especially with Norman, and May's brother!

After a long pause, she said: "Yeah…we should, I mean, we couldn't keep it a secret for too long!"

"You're right! I…" I was cut off, I wanted to say: "You're right! It would be impossible to go without telling anybody, I mean, without losing each other…" but I couldn't, as she said:

"You wanna know the reason I was so depressed and miserable, Ash?" she asked me, seeming to be deep in thought.

"Yeah, I hate to see you miserable like that…" I confessed. At this time we were looking into each others eyes.

"The reason is…I thought you would never feel the same way about me. I began to have feelings for you about the time when I was so mad for you ruining my bike; I walked into the room you were staying at about to yell at you…" she had a big blush on her face now. "and you were talking to your Pikachu. You looked so peaceful, and you looked like you had a great bond with him. I couldn't stay mad at you for very long. And I guess I fell in love with you after I saw the way you treated everyone, especially your Pokemon. You always showed everyone kindness and compassion, unless they did something to harm you or others around you. You also…seemed to help me out so much. You always made sure I was happy, no matter how depressed I got, and it seems you're still that way…" she gave me a big beam, and she looked away. "I was so depressed because…after traveling with you through Hoenn, and Kanto; I thought there was no way that you shared the same feelings that I had. I was so depressed, that I became like that…thanks for cheering me up!" she finished with a smile looking up at me again.

"You're welcome May, it's what friends, er…boy-friends do, in this matter." My face was really hot after saying that.

"Yeah…" she said, seeming to be thinking about something.

"You know what's weird, May?" I asked her.

"What?" she asked, giving her attention to me again.

"Brock found himself a girlfriend on the ship here!" I just wanted to keep the conversation up; I wouldn't give this moment up for the world!

"Really?" she said; I could tell she wasn't buying it.

"Yeah! Her name was Vicky; I thought she was just being polite, but she actually thought Brock's flirting was cute! She ran off with him to Pewter City!" I explained.

"WHAT?!?!" she yelled, causing my mom to come out.

"What's wrong?!" she really seemed worried after May yelled like that.

"I'm sorry Ms. Ketchum! I was surprised after Ash told me Brock found a girl that liked him." May told her.

"Huh! Really? That is something to be surprised about…anyway, you two better wrap this chat up, dinner's nearly ready! And everybody's wondering where you were!" she said, retracting her head through the doorway, winking at us as she closed the door.

After a while, May asked:

"Isn't it romantic with this moon, and all the pretty stars?" inching a bit closer to me.

"Yeah…" I said, not taking my eyes off the big, bright moon.

"Ash! Look at me for a moment!" she begged me.

"Yes?" I asked, turning around. May was so close she was touching me! She was turned towards me, and she would've been looking me in the eye, but her eyes were shut, and she had her lips puckered.

After realizing what she wanted, I began to sweat. It wasn't that I didn't want to kiss her, but the backyard wasn't necessarily a private place. But if she was giving me the chance, I guess I should take it…

I did the same as her; closing my eyes. I leaned forward; still sweating. Because we were so close I didn't have to lean very far forward. Our lips met, and I could easily say, I wouldn't want to give that moment for the world.

After we were done we remembered that we had to get back inside, so we walked in. Dinner was ready, and everyone was in the process of sitting down. I took a seat next to Tracey, who was sitting next to Misty, and May sat next to me. My mom brought out something for everybody, all of my favorite foods, as usual! We began eating, although May and I out ate everybody else easily, as expected. After about 30 minutes of eating, when everybody was about done, Tracey and Misty stood up.

"Ackhem! Could we get everybody's attention please?" Tracey began. "After a talk a few days ago, Misty and I found out that we loved each other, and I couldn't be happier…I thought this would be a great time to tell everyone we knew."

Everybody applauded, and seemed to be happy for them. I realized that this was the time to tell everybody about our love, May and me. I stood up, realizing how embarrassing it was, with May getting up next to me. She held on to my hand as I said to everyone:

"Well…we have a confession too. Outside, during our chat, we discovered our feelings for each other also…"

"And I couldn't be happier!" May said with a smile, copying Tracey, probably.

It had the same effect on everyone, except for our parents…and Max. My mom, and May's parents were beaming, so I guess they were pleased to know that. But Max looked a little happy for us too, quite unlike most brothers, in my opinion. I talked to him after dinner.

"Hey Max! How are ya'? We still haven't talked!"

"I'm fine! You kinda surprised me at dinner, though!" he told me.

"About May and I?" I asked him, knowing the answer.

"Yeah…"

"Well, I'm surprised you're not mad, or not making fun of us or something!"

"Well, I know that you can't really help it! It's not like reading all those books didn't make me get smarter; even in that department!"

"Wow…that's pretty mature of you, Max. Thanks for understanding!" I told him, and he walked away. Now May's parents came up to me.

"Ash, I couldn't think of a finer young man for our daughter!" Norman told me.

"Thank-you, I suppose…"

"Especially after all you've done for her, I'm positive you're the right one!" Caroline added.