Chapter 1: Arrival (Ash)
Excitement was in the air as a teenaged Ash Ketchum spotted the coastline of the vast Hoen region. Ash had been stuck on a boat with his friend Brock and longtime partner Pikachu for almost a week, in which time he quickly grew restless.
"Look, Pikachu! I see Hoen!" Ash shouted, pumping his fist in the air.
"Pika pikaa!" The small yellow mouse pokemon replied with equal enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Brock was confusedly staring at a map, trying to figure out where the duo should go after arriving in the cozy town of Littleroot.
"I can't wait to get off of this boat and onto land, especially land with all new pokemon!" Ash continued on.
"Woah, woah. Hold on buddy," Brock replied, looking up from the map and smiling at his friend. "First we have to stop at Professor Birch's lab."
"Oh yeah," Ash recalled the short conversation with professor Oak on the video phone before their trip.
"Hello Ash. And to you too, Brock."
"Hey professor!" Ash had replied, "Good to see you", Brock greeted
"Sorry to bother you boys, but I need your help with something important."
"What is it, professor?" Both asked in unison.
"We'll, you see, I've been wanting to gather information on some pokemon indigenous only to the Hoen region,"
"Oh, wow the Hoen region!" Ash said enthusiastically."I heard they have some really rare pokemon."
"Exactly, Ash." the pokemon professor continued with a smile. "But I'm not as young as I used to be and traveling long distances doesn't really suit me anymore. So when I decided to organize a trip to Hoen, I said to myself 'Ash and Brock are the perfect trainers for the job!'"
"Wow, it's an honor professor," Brock started, "But how are we supposed to get there from Kanto?"
"I'm glad you asked, Brock. I recently got into touch with a good friend of mine, who also happens to be a well-known pokemon Professor. He said that he would be happy to provide transportation to the region, as well as to get you in touch with some connections. Hoen is a very large place, you know."
"Wow, professor, that would be fantastic!" Ash replied happily. "What do you think, Pikachu?"
"Pikaaa!" Pikachu shouted in agreement.
They all shared a laugh and Oak filled them in with the details of their departure. "And remember boys," Oak finished, "I'm counting on you to get data, but above all have fun and explore the place."
Now here they were, about to take their first steps onto Hoen on a beautiful sunny day. As soon as the boat docked, ash darted off of the vessel with Pikachu at his heels, while Brock held up the back, still studying the map.
"Look!" Ash pointed at a large building that stood out in the small village. "I bet that's Professor Birch's lab!"
"Hm?" Brock looked up at the massive building. "Yep, looks about right."
As they entered the building, they were greeted immediately by all sorts of machines and monitors, although the building was strangely quiet.
"Woah," Ash said, in awe of all of the technology in the room.
"Hello?" Brock called through the building
"Yes? Who's there?" A large, muscular man with short brunette hair and a lab coat stepped into the room.
"Ah, you must be Ash from Pallet town, correct?" The man inquired.
"That's me!" Ash replied, shaking the man's hand.
"And you," the man continued, "Brock from Pewter City?"
Brock nodded. "How do you do?"
"Well, boys, my name is Professor Birch." The man said, now shaking hands with Brock. "This is my lab."
"Cool!" Ash replied, as Pikachu jumped into his arms.
"It's much larger than any of the pokemon labs I have seen." Brock said, looking around.
"Yes, our research has grown in support largely these last few years," the professor started. "Thanks to the hard work of my Aides."
"Yeah- where are they?" Ash asked, looking around. "Usually these labs are full of them."
"They've stepped out for a bit, to gather information on a rare pokemon that was spotted near here yesterday. I wanted to accompany them, but your arrival along with some errands kept me behind."
"Oh sorry professor, we didn't mean to delay your research." Brock said, exchanging a glance with Ash.
"Yeah, sorry." Ash agreed.
"Don't you boys worry about it," Birch said, his smile returned. "Like I said, I have some other errands keeping me around the lab today too. Which reminds me..." The professor was now scratching his chin, thinking about something.
"What is it, professor?" Ash asked.
"Norman, a friend of mine and gym leader of the Petalburg Gym, wanted me to call him on the video phone when you had arrived."
"Wow, a Gym leader?" Ash scratched his head. "Why would he want us?"
"We'll I guess we won't know until we call him, Ash." Brock replied.
"Exactly. Would you come with me please?" Norman led them out of the room and down a long hallway, with many more doors connected to it.
"It's even bigger than it looks on the outside!" Brock said.
"Like I mentioned before, this building used to be much smaller. In fact, this hallway didn't even exist up until a few years ago... Ah, here it is." The professor opened a door leading into a large room with several video phones.
"Oh dear, it appears I'm late," the professor said, looking down at his watch. "Let's not keep Norman waiting any longer." Ash, Brock and Pikachu followed the professor over to a monitor and waited as he punched some numbers into the machine. Suddenly, the screen lit up and a man with short bluish hair appeared.
"Ah, Norman!" The professor greeted.
"Professor, it's good to see you." Norman smiled. "And this must be the Ash and Brock you were telling me about."
"Nice to meet you, sir," Ash said into the monitor.
"A pleasure." Brock nodded.
"Well, I must say it's good to finally meet you two." Norman continued. "I watched Ash battle in the Silver Conference last year. I must say, despite your age you battled extremely well."
"T-thank you sir!" Ash said. "It's an honor"
"And Brock, I've been a long time fan of Pewter City's Gym operations."
"Well, thanks!" Brock replied with a smile.
"And of course, Pikachu. I saw on the conference, you pack quite a punch on the battlefield."
"Pika, Pikachu!" The small yellow pokemon happily replied, sitting now on Ash's shoulder.
"Not to interrupt, sir, but why did you want us again?" Brock asked politely.
"Well, to be honest, I heard from Professor Birch that you were going to travel across the Hoen region, and it just so happens that my kid is also old enough to travel now,"
"Oh cool!" Ash said. "I remember when I first set out on my journey, It was so exciting."
"Exactly." Norman said. "But it has come to my attention that she doesn't really want to travel alone, with just her pokemon. So that's why I would like to ask you two to travel with her. And maybe help to teach her about Pokemon as well."
"Of course!" Ash answered.
"The more the merrier!" Brock agreed.
"Fantastic!" Norman smiled. "I know that she'll have more fun and learn much more in your company."
"It's no problem, sir." Brock said.
"She should be there anytime now," Norman finished, "I sent her on her way this morning."
"Alright then," the professor spoke, "We will wait for her here."
"Good idea." Norman said, "And thank you again for looking over my daughter for me."
With that, the two trainers, professor, and Pikachu said their goodbyes to Norman and began to head back down the hallway to the first room.
"Hey, Professor," Ash spoke up.
"Yes, Ash?"
"Do you know Norman's daughter?" Although Ash was happy to have another traveling companion, he was unusually nervous. Probably because he didn't know her at all.
"Of course." The professor smiled at him. "She is about your age, you know."
"Really?" Ash asked.
"Mm hmm." The professor continued, "And really a nice girl. She just might take some getting-used to."
"What do you mean?" Brock asked before Ash could.
"She's a tad headstrong." Birch said, "but she is great to have around."
"So what pokemon does she have?" Ash asked.
"A Torchic that I gave her just last week."
"Oh, a Torchic!" Brock said, somewhat surprised. "I heard those are really rare."
"Indeed." The professor led them through some doors that took them back into the part of the building that they had fist come into. There, the group waited for about a half an hour for the girl. But for a restless boy such as Ash, this felt like hours. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, waiting inside when a whole new world awaited him just outside.
"Hey, professor," Ash spoke up, "could we wait outside for a bit?"
"Of course, Ash," Birch said with a smile. "I can see your not one for standing around."
So the trio (and Pikachu) went down to the ocean and walked on the sidewalk along the ocean for a while. It was a picture-perfect day. The sun had begun to set, sending its golden rays cascading over everything while the waves gently beat on the shore. While Brock and the professor discussed pokemon types, Ash was excited about meeting his new traveling companion. His confidence had returned, and he was ready to face anything that Hoen had to offer. At one point on the walk, Ash noticed how nice it was out and turned to Brock and the professor.
"I have to say professor, I love Hoen so far. It's really beaut-"
Ash was cut off by the sight of a girl walking toward them on the shore. The golden rays from the sun backlit her long brunette hair perfectly, although a decent amount of it was concealed behind the red bandana she wore above her bangs. She had beautiful blue eyes that fit in perfectly with the rest of her angelic face. She was slightly on the skinnier side, and at Ash's height, she stood out to him more than any other girl that Ash had ever encountered. Time seemed to slow down as she walked their way, her beautiful hair bouncing on her shoulders with each step, and a warm smile on her face.
"-iful" he finished, stopped in his tracks, his attention now fully on her.
"Ah, May!" The professor walked over to her, while Brock and Pikachu stayed behind with Ash. He literally couldn't take his eyes off of her. At one point she looked past the professor, directly at Ash, and blushed, looking back at the ground with a shy smile.
"Ash! Ash, buddy!"
"Huh? What?" Ash had snapped out of his trance to see Brock and Pikachu looking at him concerned.
"Are you ok?" Brock asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah, fine." Ash shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"Then let's go!"
"Where?" Ash asked, still trying to focus.
"Over to the professor, of course. I think that girl is Norman's daughter."
"Oh yeah. Sure."
Ash wasn't the type to become nervous, especially around girls. but he found that on the way over there his legs were shaking as bad as jello. Hopefully I can get over this soon, Ash thought. She is going to be traveling with us, after all. When Brock, Ash, and Pikachu had made their way over to the Professor, he introduced them.
"May, this is Brock..."
"Hello," May said, smiling at Brock.
She has such a pretty voice, Ash thought to himself. He could also smell her perfume. It smelled like wild flowers, and he loved it.
"Nice to meet you," Brock said, returning the smile.
"And this," the professor continued, "Is Ash Ketchum."
They caught each other's eyes and both blushed, her looking at the ground again, and him scratching his head and averting his eyes.
"I'm May," she said shyly. "Nice to meet you."
"Y-you too." He cursed himself in his head for nervously stuttering. "I'm Ash."
"We'll, now that we're all acquainted, why don't we go and get something to eat?" The professor offered. At the mention of food, Ash and May perked up, both happening to love a good meal. The professor took the group down to a restaurant by the docks. As soon as they walked through the wooden double doors, an intoxicatingly good smell met the trainers.
"My treat tonight," the Professor said "But starting tomorrow you should start your adventure."
"Why not now?" Ash asked.
"Well, seeing as it is getting dark I thought you could stay over at my house for the night."
"That would be great, thank you!" Brock said happily
Ash, though disappointed that his adventure was delayed, was happy to know that they would have a nice place to rest before setting out. During the dinner, Brock and the professor discussed Pokemon breeding, while Ash and May were chowing down. And although the food was a good distraction, in his mind Ash was desperately trying to think of something to say to May. Just talk to her! He thought bitterly, mouth full of mashed potatoes. Say something! He would occasionally look up at her for a second, still amazed at her beauty, and sometimes their eyes would even meet, her doing the same quick glance strategy.
"Jeez! You guys could teach a thing or two to Snorlax about eating!" Said Brock, smiling at the two. both had full mouths and were nearly out of food. The group shared a laugh, Ash noticing for the first time in his life that someone was eating as fast as him.
"So professor," Ash started
"Yes, Ash?"
"You mentioned earlier that your Aides were out studying a rare Pokemon."
"That's right." The professor replied, with interest in his voice.
"What Pokemon is it?"
"I'm glad you asked." The professor set down his fork and put his attention on the group of trainers- they all wanted to hear what he was about to say. "There are a pair of mythical Pokemon in the Hoen region called Latias and Latios,"
"Oh, I know about them!" May said excitedly. "My Dad used to tell me stories."
"What kind of stories?" Brock asked her.
"That somewhere in the world there are a pair of Pokemon with unique abilities, like being able to turn invisible, or change form, or even talk to people."
"Telepathy, yes." The professor said. "Very good, may."
"Woah," Ash said, imagining a pokemon capable of such things. "That sounds incredible."
"Mm hmm." May said. "I used to love listening to Dad talk about them."
"Understandably so." Replied Brock, deep in thought.
"So wait," Ash turned again to the professor. "Latias and Latios were in the area recently?"
"We believe so," the professor answered. "There were multiple sightings in a nearby town of what sounded like Latias."
"But I thought you said that they were a pair?" Brock asked. "So where was Latios?"
"Well, hardly anyone has ever seen Latios because of its ability to turn invisible, and because it is said to be extremely fast."
"How fast?" May asked.
"Many believe that it can fly faster than a jet plane."
"Wow," the group said altogether.
"Also, there are many more sightings of Latias than of Latios because of their natures. Latias is, from all reports, very kind and playfull. On the other hand, Latios is thought to be very serious and secretive. This leads me to think that Latios is always with Latias, watching over her and making sure that she doesn't get too close to humans."
"They sound like amazing Pokemon," Ash said, his sense of adventure now overcoming his appetite. "I would love to meet one someday."
"You jut might, Ash." The professor replied.
"Huh?" The group asked.
"It is said that Latias and Latios are very good at reading people's hearts. Legend says that Latias appears in an area where a person with a heart of gold is, and therefore, Latios will be there as well"
"Wow." Ash said again, softly. "Hey Pikachu, would you like to meet Latias and Latios too?"
Pikachu looked up from its bowl of poke food, (courtesy of Brock), with its cheeks completely stuffed.
"Pkkka, pikacchu!" It mumbled through its full mouth. The group laughed.
"I love your Pikachu," May said, smiling. "It's so cute."
"Thanks!" Ash said in return. "I really like your Torchic, too."
"Thanks!" May answered. "And it looks like they're already friends."
Pikachu and Torchic were now chasing each other around in a circle, playing. After the group had finished eating and the professor had paid the check, they stepped out into the evening air. The sun had long since set, so they made their way back to professor Birch's house. Ash, Brock and Pikachu walked behind the professor and May, satisfied with their meal.
"Hey Ash," Brock asked, voice low so that the others couldn't hear.
"Yeah?" Ash asked, lowering his voice to match Brock's.
"Is something bugging you? You've been really quiet ever since we left the restaurant."
Ash had not realized that he was being so quiet and thought for a moment. "I guess I've just been thinking." This was true. Ever since they had left the restaurant he had been deep in thought about a few things: May, Latias and Latios, and the adventure that awaited him... But mostly May.
"About what?" Brock asked.
Ash smiled. "A couple of things."
"We'll, if you ever need to talk to about it, I'm all ears."
"Thanks, Brock." Ash said, looking from Brock to Pikachu to May. with friends like this, nothing was gonna keep him from enjoying his adventure in Hoen. Finally, they arrived at Birch's house. There, his wife greeted them all and instinctively offered food.
"No thanks," Ash said politely. "I don't think I could eat another bite if i tried." May and Brock nodded in agreement.
"Honey," Mrs. Birch started, "I thought you said that only two were staying over- We're a room short!"
The professor looked at them apologetically. "I suppose I forgot to mention that May was staying over too... I'm so sorry."
"May, please excuse my husband. He's been so caught up in his work lately that he's been forgetting things... But you're welcome to sleep on the couch, if you want."
"It's no problem. That sounds great, thank you." She said politely. But Ash could tell that she would rather sleep in a bed. Without thinking about it, he came to her rescue.
"Hey May," he got her attention.
"Yes, Ash?"
"You could take my room, if you'd like."
"Really?" She asked excitedly, "But... No, it's okay. I'll sleep down here. You should get the bed."
"No, really! I like couches better, anyway."
Ash could tell that she didn't believe him, but she finally agreed. While Brock and May settled into their rooms for the night, Ash took a quick shower. After changing into his spare sleeping clothes, he started making his way back downstairs to the couch. But before he got to the stairs, he passed May's room where he could hear her gently breathing in perfect rhythm. The sound was comforting to Ash. Is she asleep already? He peaked into her room through the already open door and saw her form under the covers, her chest rising and falling with each breath. On the side table next to the bed sat her red bandana with the pokeball symbol on it. Wow, Ash thought to himself, she's even more beautiful without her bandana on. Although he loved the way she wore the bandana over her hair, seeing her without it in such a peaceful state was even more attractive to him. "Sleep tight, May." He whispered before heading downstairs and falling into a deep sleep on the living room couch.