Hey guys! I'm back. This is going to be my second long-fic, which feels weird because I like writing drabbles and one-shots more. However, I'm trying something new this time around, so I hope you guys enjoy!

I hate being on hiatus for so long, but after two years, I think that I'll be back for a while. I think it's been two years since I last wrote anything about Pokemon. It might seem weird since the first half of this chapter was written about three years ago, whereas the latter half was written this week...

This is a Oldrivalshipping, Contestshipping and Pokeshipping Fanfic. There is not much emphasis on Pokeshipping though, because I want to do the couples justice throughout this story by trying not to have too many things going on at once.

~ After All of This Time ~

theperksofbeinganauthor

Chapter 1: Chance Meeting Part 1

Goldenrod City is huge.

There was no doubt about that. It was among one of the biggest cities in the entire world, and it was famous for its confusing roads and luxurious shops. It was known all over the world for its wondrous landmarks and sites. Leaf decided, however, that Goldenrod City was the absolute worst. Out of all the cities she has been to throughout her journey, she had never entered a city as bad as this one. Every crook and corner of this city was either a dead end or another gateway to nowhere. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she sat on one of the benches in the beautiful city.

The last time she came into Goldenrod City wasn't that bad—she wasn't as lost back then as she was now. It probably grew and changed, Leaf figured. She had spent the last hour trying to find her way around the city and to make her way to the Pokémon Center, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

She definitely did not want to admit it, but she had no idea where to go. Asking around didn't seem to help, as nobody actually knew where they were going either. One of the girls that she asked led her into a dead end, so she knew there was no point risking her pride for something like that. Her long hair flowed in the wind, flapping annoyingly against the side of her face. Irritated, she pushed her hair over her shoulder and stood up from the bench.

As if the wind had brought her a rush of inspiration and motivation, she smiled and rushed toward the park, throwing a Poke Ball into the air. If she couldn't get to the Pokemon Center, she might as well be doing something more productive— like training her Pokemon. "Let's go, Sylveon!"

"I will never ever listen to you ever again. Remind me why I bothered to follow you again." Drew grumbled to the girl, snatching the map away from his companion's grasp.

In response, the girl, May, scowled and frowned. "You were following me because you had no luck in navigating in this city. Apparently, neither can I, so we're in quite a situation," she declared.

"I don't understand how you can be so optimistic during a situation like this. I've been annoyed with this map since we got it, and you're still so carefree, spouting out nonsense about being lost."

From his point of view, he couldn't tell the difference between the buildings anymore. They all look like stupid buildings to him at this point. Besides, that one building looked awfully familiar, which could only one thing...

"May, I think we already took this route," Drew explained in an exasperated tone. He flipped his hair in annoyance. He examined the map carefully, trying to make use of it. It was basically useless since they were going in circles for a whole hour. And to top it off, he had to spend the whole hour... with her.

She was the most annoying person he had ever had the misfortune to meet. She would not stop talking when it got quiet, which is understandable, but that meant that he had to respond to her ridiculous means of conversation. She may be annoying, but he didn't want to come off as rude—not to her anyways.

May, who was busy admiring the landscape and tall buildings, frowned. "Yeah, the buildings are starting to look awfully familiar. Where is the Pokemon Center anyways? I'm so tired and hungry that I can eat a whole city."

And there it was. She was hungry... again. "We just ate before we came here… and it got us lost."

However, her stomach didn't seem to agree, as it was growling. "I don't think I can go on anymore. I'm sooo hungry," she whined.

He sighed, glaring at her intensely. "Fine, we'll stop by the park and find a bench to sit on. If we head back along this street, we should hit the park in about five minutes."

May nodded happily, as if she wanted to hug him silly. "Yay! Let's go then!"

"... what happened to being tired and hungry?"

Sylveon cried out her name and opened her mouth to release the attack. However, a pink ball flew sideways uncontrollably and flew toward the sky.

In response, Leaf just looked disappointed. She was used to seeing this result, but she was hoping for a different outcome. She knelt down onto the floor next to Sylveon and placed a hand on her head, patting it affectionately. "It's alright, Sylveon. You'll get it eventually," Leaf consoled. For some reason, her Sylveon seemed unable to control the move and would always send it flying in different directions rather than the intended target.

"Do you want to take a break now?" she asked kindly. It wasn't fair of her to push her Sylveon this hard when it is doing its best to perform properly.

Sylveon shook her head stubbornly and stood up straighter, determined to attempt it once more. "Alright Sylveon," she shouted happily. "Moonblast! And aim for that tree!" She pointed at a nearby tree, hoping that it would hit it this time rather than skyrocketing somewhere else.

After many tries, they progressively got better... but only by a bit. By the end, the pink ball managed to make its way out of her mouth and narrowly missed the trunk of the tree.

Despite being so sure of himself earlier, Drew had a bit of trouble figuring out the location of the park… especially with May constantly distracting him. "Stop complaining; it's getting annoying," Drew grumbled. He was glad, though, that the park was really starting to become visible as they headed down the road. He did not know how much longer he could handle wandering around aimlessly anymore.

"Well, what else am I supposed to do?" May mumbled under her breath. "It's your fault we got into this mess in the first place."

"My fault? How is this my fault?" Drew argued back, sounding a bit more irritated than before. Being lost around Goldenrod City was not helping their mood much.

"Why you—"

However, before May could finish retorting, Drew tackled her onto the floor without a warning. "Oww, what the hell, Drew—"

The loud crash could be heard to her left; she groaned in response. She might have injured something in the process, but it was difficult to tell with everything happening so quickly. As she looked over, she saw the remains of a tree with most of its leaves and branches knocked down by some unknown force. She scanned the area, but she could not seem to find the cause of the collision. When she looked up, she blushed furiously—completely forgetting that the extra weight on top of her was Drew. She wanted to yell at him for shoving her so suddenly and thank him for saving her from further injuries at the same time, but no words came out of her mouth. Shock and embarrassment seemed to take over all of her senses—making her unable to move or think.

Drew, who finally seemed to have regained himself, finally propped himself up with his palms and looked down. He, too, flushed noticeably, but he appeared to preoccupied with other matters... such as berating the girl who was so oblivious to her surroundings. "Geez, you're so inattentive. Are you alright, though?"

All May could manage at this point was a slight nod, trying not to die from embarrassment.

"Oh my gosh... I am so sorry!" a feminine voice called out from a distance. Even without looking, both May and Drew that she sounded a bit frantic and the light panting in between her phrases suggest that she was running toward them in a hurry. Finally realizing their predicament, they both hopped to their feet abruptly. Hoping that the girl did not see what happened to them would be wishing for too much—apparently. The evident smirk on her face was enough for them to realize that she had seen it all. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah," May managed, trying to brush dirt and grass off of herself. Once she was done, she finally looked at the girl who approached them. She seemed to be around her age, yet a little bit more mature. May noticed that she was dressed in a rather cute tank and skirt, with a hat on that covered the top of her long brown hair. "What was that anyway?"

The girl suddenly grew sheepish, laughing awkwardly. "Well, you see... I was practicing with my partner to control her accuracy, but as you can tell, that did not turn out so well." She gestured toward her pink partner, who was hiding behind her legs—ashamed. "Sylveon, apologize to them." In response, Sylveon just bowed its head slightly.

May squealed lightly, bending down to inspect the Pokémon further. "Aww, she's so cute!"

While May befriended the Pokémon, Drew seemed to scowl at the girl who had tried to attack them due to her inability to control her Pokémon. "Tch, that seems like such an amateur mistake—being able to control your Pokémon should be easy." Drew's condescending manner was quickly met with an elbow jab from May. She glared at him, silently scolding him—Be nice.

"Yeah, I am really sorry about that! My name's Leaf, by the way. I am a Pokémon trainer. And this is my partner, Sylveon. Nice to meet you!"

"Don't mind anything this guy says. I'm May, and this is Drew. We're both Pokémon Coordinators," May explained.

Leaf returned Sylveon to its Poké ball and smiled lightly at her new companions. "I think we should head back to the Pokémon Center in case we need to heal your injuries."

"I'm fine though," May tried to protest, but Drew caught her wrist.

"You're bleeding," he stated simply. And sure enough, as she looked down, she noticed a long scratch across her forearm—probably caused by the fall. It was not bleeding extensively, but there were light signs of blood showing up. She had not paid it any attention until Drew pointed it out, as she was too preoccupied with other matters before.

"I'll come to the Pokémon Center with you guys," Leaf offered, walking ahead of them. "I am done training my Pokémon for the day."

"Okay!" May chirped, following suit. Drew had no choice but to follow, but he sincerely hoped that the strange girl that they had just met knew where she was going. If her sense of direction was as good as her skills as a trainer, then they were in trouble...

"So what brings you to Goldenrod City? Something tells me that you two are not from here," Leaf observed.

Drew appeared to have ignored her completely, thinking about something else entirely. May, however, responded to her inquiry. "Drew and I are both from the Hoenn region; we are only traveling back here to participate in the Golden Battling Competition next week."

Leaf exclaimed excitedly, "Oh! Me too! I also wanted to challenge the Gym Leader, but when I heard about the competition, I signed up immediately. I have been staying here for a couple of days to train, but it didn't turn out well, as you can tell..." Leaf sweat-dropped slightly. She then added as an afterthought, "I'm from the Kanto region, but I have been traveling around to almost every region throughout my journey."

"Oh really? I have a friend from the Kanto region too," May replied. I doubt that you know him though, she added in her head. "Oh by the way," she decided to change the topic, "are you sure this is the right way to the Pokémon Center?"

In response, the girl let out an awkward laugh. "To be honest, I have been lost all day, so I'm not so sure. Ahaha... I was sort of following you guys."

"Wait, we were following you because we were lost all day..." May stated slowly, finally putting two and two together. Wait, that means that...

In the background, Drew facepalmed and murmured something unintelligible.

… they were hopelessly lost.

Next chapter will feature the other three characters! :)

Please let me know what you think! I have trouble updating long-fics due to lack of motivation, so I'll update faster if I get more reviews and know that people are interested.

I hope to be updating regularly or at least once a month. However, school life and term papers make things difficult to manage. :(

Oh yeah, I am also accepting requests for fanfics if you are interested. Just fill out the form on my profile!

Hope to be back soon,

Lily.