Love, Wallace Cup Style
Chapter 1: A Surprise Call
Night time had fallen over Lake Valor, and in the Pokemon Centre that was located just outside the local area, Ash, Dawn and Brock had arrived back from having spent the day with Wallace, and the three of them were sitting together in the lobby watching Wallace's interview with Marian on the TV screen. "Thanks to our special guest, Wallace, the one and only!" Marian commented, showing a smile of excitement over having gotten the opportunity to share an interview with Wallace, as he was going to be one of the judges for the pristine Wallace Cup which would be starting in only a few days' time. Of course, her excitement paled in comparison to that of Ash and the others as they were sitting on the nearby seats and watching the screen, with Dawn busily fluffing one of Buneary's ears as the little Pokemon sat beside her while Piplup sat alongside his Trainer, while Ash and Brock both sat together on one of the seats just behind the one Dawn was occupying.
"Wow… and to think we spent the whole day with him today!" Ash commented, showing a smile of excitement over the day they had spent. His little partner Pokemon, Pikachu, seemed to agree with Ash, as he was sitting right beside his Trainer before he stood up from his sitting position and nodded in agreement with a big smile on his face. "(I know! How awesome is that?)" Pikachu agreed. Ash turned his head to Pikachu upon hearing his response of enthusiasm and couldn't help but let out a giggle to himself, seeing that Pikachu was just as thrilled about this as he was.
"Yeah, you're right about that, Ash. That kind of chance is something you'd only get once in a lifetime." Brock commented, nodding in agreement as he was watching the two. Dawn seemed to be the most interested in what was going on, as she turned her head to the others while showing a small confident smile and keeping her glance down as she was thinking at the same time.
"Yeah… it's easy to say that I'll put my Pokemon first, but not so easy to actually do. I really need to appreciate what's truly special about each of my Pokemon…" Dawn commented. It was clear to say that Wallace's advice had given her quite a bit to think about when it came to what she should focus on in regards to her Contest performances; she had to focus on making sure her Pokemon came first before her, and that was something she had lost sight of as of late. But now, she was going to make sure she didn't repeat that mistake, and do her best to make sure she ensured a spot on this time around. Those thoughts were enough to give Dawn a boost in confidence as a confident smile showed on her face as she turned her glance up to Ash and Brock. "I'll do my best!" Dawn stated. Ash and Brock seemed to be agree with her as they both nodded, knowing how right she was about that.
"Just relaxing's a good start." Brock suggested. Dawn quickly showed a nervous smile as she raised a hand and placed it behind her head. "Yeah, that's true. I hear you, Brock. I guess all of this excitement for the Wallace Cup's gotten me more worked up than usual." Dawn nervously replied, clearly remembering how well her attempt at practicing her Contest appeals earlier that day turned out, and she was using 'well' quite loosely when it came to that.
"Yeah, same here." Ash replied, nodding in agreement as Dawn lowered her hand back on top of her lap. Ash then showed a bright smile as he turned his glance to Brock. "Besides, Wallace did say that spending time with our Pokemon is always important. But we don't need to worry about that; we do that all the time whenever we can. Right, buddy?" Ash asked, turning his head to Pikachu sitting beside him. Pikachu turned his head up to Ash and nodded in agreement with a bright smile, knowing full well how right Ash was about that. "(That's right!)" Pikachu happily replied.
"And besides being fun, it can also help with their Appeal." Brock added. Upon hearing this, Dawn turned her glance down to think with an expression of uncertainty showing on her face. 'Their appeal, huh? I guess that means I'll have a lot of work to do before the Wallace Cup starts…' Dawn anxiously thought to herself. After her less than successful Appeal rounds in the last two Contests, Dawn had been feeling quite uneasy about whether or not she should continue competing in Contests since nothing seemed to be going right for her. And now with the upcoming Wallace Cup taking place, it was safe to say that Dawn was coming to realise just how much work she had to do before she felt that she was ready to compete, and hopefully get things back on track. It seemed that she wasn't the only one, though, as Ash and Brock were starting to think it over as well, with Pikachu having followed suit with his eyes closed and his arms crossed. However, the group's time of contemplation was suddenly interrupted as Nurse Joy walked up to them.
"Excuse me?" she asked. Ash and the others turned their glances up in surprise to see Nurse Joy standing there, as she was showing a bright smile as she had something she needed to tell them. "Ash, a message asking you to call the Pokemon Centre in Snowpoint City has just come in." Nurse Joy explained. Ash quickly showed an expression of surprise as he stood up from his seat, with Pikachu following suit as he climbed up on top of Ash's shoulder, while Dawn and Brock turned their heads as they were wondering what was going on.
"Where's Snowpoint City?" Ash asked. Nurse Joy turned around to face the the map of the Sinnoh Region hanging on the wall just behind her, and she pointed towards an area that appeared to be out in the mountains which was covered by white.
"It's just up here; it's Sinnoh's furthest northern city." Nurse Joy replied. Ash stared up at the area in surprise before turning his head towards Nurse Joy.
"So then, who could be asking for me?" Ash then asked. Nurse Joy showed a bright smile before letting out a giggle. "I have a feeling they're waiting for you to find out for yourself." Nurse Joy replied. Ash and Pikachu both turned their heads to each other as they were wondering the same thing: who could it be that was asking for him? After a few moments passed, the two figured that there was only one way to find out, so with this in mind, Ash turned his head to Nurse Joy and nodded in understanding with a bright smile.
"Okay, I'll go see who it is. Thanks, Nurse Joy." Ash replied. As Nurse Joy started to walk back towards the front reception, Ash then turned his head to Dawn and Brock as they had been listening to this. "I'll be right back, guys. I'm going to go see who's calling me." Ash stated. So with this, he started to make his way towards the phone area so he could find out who this mystery person calling him was.
Meanwhile, in the Pokemon Centre at Snowpoint City, a young brunette girl was sitting on the couch and watching the TV when she heard Nurse Joy make her way over where she was sitting. "Excuse me? You have someone calling you; it's a message from Ash Ketchum." Nurse Joy stated. The girl then stood up from her seat and turned around to face Nurse Joy with a grateful smile on her face.
"That's great! Thanks! I'll go take it right now." The girl replied. She had lovely sapphire blue eyes and she was wearing a bright orange dress-like sleeveless t-shirt with a black collar and two white Pokeball symbols on either side at the hip area, short black shorts, orange sneakers that had white around the sides and bottom and a black strap at the front, white gloves that were black at the finger areas along with a black and emerald green strap and an emerald green bandana with a white Pokeball symbol on the side around her hair, which was dark brown and hung down in two pigtail-like sections: it was none other than May Maple. May walked over to where the phones could be located and sat down at one of them, before picking up the phone, causing the screen to turn on and reveal Ash's face, with Pikachu sitting on top of his lap since he was with him.
"Hello?" Ash asked. May quickly showed a smile of excitement upon seeing his face and immediately waved to him. "Hey, Ash! It's me, May! I'll bet it's been a while since you've seen me, huh?" May asked. Ash could only stare in shock for a few moments as he was trying to register that he was seeing this before he spoke.
"May? Is that you?" he asked. May let out a giggle before she nodded in confirmation; it was indeed her. After a few moments to make sure that he was seeing her face on his screen, Ash quickly showed a big smile of excitement. "Wow! Hey, May! For a moment, I almost didn't recognise you. How have you been?" Ash asked. May quickly felt her smile grow bigger once she realised that Ash had now recognised her face after needing a few moments.
"I've been great! And from the looks of it, I can tell that things have been going good for you too." May replied. She then turned her glance down to notice Pikachu sitting on Ash's lap and gave him a wave. "Hey, Pikachu! It's been a while, huh?" she asked. Pikachu showed a big smile seeing May's face and quickly waved back.
"(It sure has. It's great to see you too, May!)" Pikachu replied. Ash turned his glance down to his partner Pokemon upon seeing his excitement before looking back up at the screen, with Pikachu now climbing up on his shoulder. "So, May, what are you doing down here in Sinnoh? The last I checked, you were on your way to Johto to compete in the Contests there." Ash commented, showing an expression of puzzlement as he was wondering why May had made the long trek towards Sinnoh, as well as just why she was calling him.
May showed a bright smile and promptly nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, that's right! And I've been having a great time over there. But when I heard about the Wallace Cup being held here in Sinnoh, I thought that maybe this could be a great chance to compete in it and get a chance to pay you a visit and find out about what you've been doing. I'm guessing that you've been keeping yourself busy?" May asked. Ash felt a bright smile return to his face and he nodded in agreement; he had been enjoying himself down here in Sinnoh.
"Yeah, I sure have. There's really a lot I want to share with you, but I have a feeling that I'll probably keep you up all night with all the details." Ash commented, showing a nervous smile as he started to rub the back of his head, seemingly realising just how much he had to fill May on about his journey so far. As he started to let out a laugh, May couldn't help but laugh along with him as she seemed to know just how true that was. After a few seconds, the two calmed down before Ash started to speak up again. "I'll tell you all about it when you get here. When should you be here, anyway?" Ash asked. May quickly showed a smile of excitement at this question, since that was the part she was now eager to share with him.
"Oh, you're not going to believe this! The ship towards Lake Valor departs tomorrow morning, so by that time, I'll be on my way to meet up with you guys. And since the Wallace Cup doesn't start for a few days, we'll have plenty of time to catch up with each other and talk about everything we've been doing!" May explained. Ash could only stare in stunned silence for a few moments after he heard this before he felt an eager smile cross both his and Pikachu's faces.
"Wow, really?! That's great! I bet you'll probably need to get ready to go tomorrow morning, so I'll leave you to it. I'll make sure we're there to see you when you arrive!" Ash replied, his excitement that May would be here with him the others the following morning shooting upwards at the thought. May showed a grateful smile at this statement and nodded in agreement as she was looking forward to that.
"All right! Thanks, Ash. I'll see you then!" May replied. So with this, her screen turned off so she could start getting ready to board the ship towards Lake Valor and meet up with Ash and the others. Back on his side of the screen, Ash stood up from his seat and started to make his way towards Dawn and Brock, and turned his head to Pikachu with his partner Pokemon following suit.
"Isn't this great, Pikachu? May's going to come here and compete in the Wallace Cup, and we'll get to spend time with her before the main event starts! I bet she's really be looking forward to getting to meet Dawn and see Brock again. What do you think, Pikachu? Does that sound great?" Ash asked. Pikachu quickly showed a smile of excitement and promptly nodded in agreement. "(It sure does!)" Pikachu replied, as he was eagerly looking forward to May's visit as much as Ash was. As Ash turned his attention back to in front of him, he had just arrived back at the seats where Dawn and Brock were waiting for him. "Hey, guys! You won't believe who called." Ash said. Dawn and Brock both turned their heads up to him in surprise as they were ready to listen who it was.
"Really? Who was it?" Brock asked. Ash quickly showed a smile of excitement as he was looking forward to sharing this with them. "It was May! She said that she's going to compete in the Wallace Cup, and that she's going to be here tomorrow morning." Ash replied. As Brock showed a bright smile at this statement, Dawn could only stare in puzzlement as she was wondering who Ash was talking about.
"Hey, that's great! It's been a while since we last saw her, so it'll be nice to get to see her again." Brock commented. As Ash happily nodded in agreement, Dawn showed an expression of puzzlement for a few moments before she stood up from her seat and made her way over to Ash and Brock before sitting down on the seat just beside Brock. "Uh… guys? I hope you don't mind me asking, but… who's May? I don't think I've heard of her." Dawn asked, shaking her head as she was wondering who Ash and Brock were talking about, while Piplup and Buneary both followed behind her as they were wondering what was going on. Ash and Brock turned their heads to her in surprise for a few moments before they both showed bright smiles as they were looking forward to sharing this with her.
"May was one of our old travelling partners. When we went to Hoenn, she travelled with us along with her little brother, Max." Brock replied. As Dawn listened in surprise at this statement, she then turned her head to Ash as he then spoke up. "Yeah, that's right. She wasn't a big fan of Pokemon at first, but now she really loves them! And she's also a Pokemon Coordinator just like you, Dawn." Ash added. Dawn quickly showed an expression of amazement at this statement, before she slowly showed a smile of excitement.
"Wow! So I get to meet another fellow Coordinator? Awesome!" Dawn exclaimed, clenching her hands together in excitement. Brock nodded in confirmation upon taking notice of her excitement. "That's right. I'll bet May will be really happy to see us too." Brock agreed. Ash simply showed a bright smile as he was listening to this and turned his glance upwards to think this over; it had been such a while since he had last seen May after they parted ways after the Terracotta Contest, and now he had the chance to see her again.
Later that night, the group of three had gone back to their room to turn in for the night; while Dawn and Brock were both sound asleep in their respective beds, Ash couldn't seem to get to sleep. He was filled with so much excitement and anticipation over May's upcoming visit that it was preventing him from getting to sleep. As Pikachu was curled up at the foot of the bed, he slowly opened his eyes and raised his head to see that Ash was still awake, before rushing over to check on him and see if he was okay. "(Ash?)" Pikachu asked. Ash turned his head to see Pikachu looking at him in concern, before he showed a reassuring smile as he sat up.
"Hey, Pikachu. I can't really get to sleep, can I? I'm just so excited to see May tomorrow morning, and we'll all be there to see her when she arrives." Ash explained. Pikachu showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding. "(Yeah, I know what you mean. So am I; it's been quite a while since we've last seen her.)" Pikachu replied. As Ash was listening to Pikachu, he slowly lay down back on the bed to stare up at the ceiling while Pikachu made himself comfortable beside him, before Ash turned his glance to his partner.
"I wonder how May's been doing since she went to Johto by herself… she's really come a long way since she started her journey, so I bet it'll be really exciting to find out about what she's been doing and how she's been since she left. I guess I'm really looking forward to seeing her, huh?" Ash asked. Pikachu promptly nodded in agreement with this question; it certainly seemed to be the case to him, especially considering Ash's excitement that she was coming after he had finished up his call with her as well as his eagerness to see her. After a few seconds, Ash let out a sigh before closing his eyes. "I think we should probably get some sleep now. We'll have a big day ahead of us when May arrives." Ash suggested, with Pikachu nodding in agreement with him.
"(That sounds like a plan to me.)" Pikachu agreed. So with this, he curled up beside Ash and the two were ready to get some sleep, eagerly awaiting May's arrival and getting the chance to spend time together before the Wallace Cup started in a few days' time. Needless to say, this was really something to look forward to.