A/N: Hey everyone! I wanted to write something for the upcoming Advanceshipping week, but I wanted to go big or go home... so multi-chapter story it is. It's my first time writing one, promise I worked hard on it! Enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, sadly.

UNEXPECTED

Chapter 1: Cupcake Blues

May stared longingly through the brightly-lit bakery store window. It was decorated with various cakes, cupcakes, macarons, and other desserts the brunette had never seen before.

Her eyes landed and honed in on a baby blue cupcake, it was the most beautiful cupcake she had ever seen in her life, and she wanted it in her belly.

"Guys, wait, can we please stop here? I heard they have the best cupcakes around! You won't regret it!" She exclaimed with so much passion she was about to burst from excitement.

"... Er, I'd rather we get to our destination first then we'll see afterwards, right guys? It's just half an hour more." The green-haired coordinator looked over to their comrades, a red-head named Solidad and a purple-haired eccentric fellow named Harley.

"Hmm... I' d have to agree with Drew on this one May." Solidad said thoughtfully.

"Sorry doll, you should keep the calories low anyway, you wanna look your best for the festival right? Not like some pig?" Harley said slyly while poking her belly.

May squinted her face in disgust and promptly slapped his hand away.

"First of all, Harley, one cupcake isn't going to make me gain that much! We literally walk everywhere! And secondly... calling overweight people 'pigs' is mean. But then again I don't expect kindness from you." She sighed, wondering why she even wasted her time explaining anything to that man.

"Well girly, you can eat whatever you want now, but you better watch yourself when you're older-"

Drew gave Harley an annoyed look. "Harley shut up for once! Jeez. And maybe they'll have something once we reach Goldenrod, May. I really wanna get there first and scout out the competition. I promise we'll get you something there. Let's go guys!"

"B-but it'll only take two minutes-"

"Those two minutes might matter May, you need to focus. It'll be worth it, I swear. Trust me."

Drew shot her a sympathetic look while mouthing 'sorry' to her and started walking ahead with the others, while May begrudgingly followed behind them, pouting while seeing the lights of the bakery store disappear behind them.

Heartbreak. Disappointment. Longing. All these emotions were lingering in her head as she continued walking. It was just a cupcake to some, but it was a culinary experience to her. It was like stopping and smelling the roses. To experience the top restaurants the world had to offer.

She had always been a fan of travelling and seeing new places, which was one of the main reasons she was trekking the Johto region in the first place. It was also an opportunity to grow with her rivals and force herself to become stronger without the support of her old friends.

But it was times like these, she really missed them. Max's know-it-all attitude and wonder of new Pokémon. Brock's brotherly charm and constant crushes on literally any walking female - which was hilarious most of the time. And... Ash' s enthusiasm and caring side... they were her support team, her personal cheerleaders, and her some of her best-friends.

May giggled as she thought to herself, knowing full well that Ash would have never missed an opportunity to eat with her. She sighed to herself, she really missed him. Her heartbeat was picking up as she remembered their last goodbye, a wave of melancholy washing over her like a waterfall. She quickly took some breaths to hide from Harley, who always liked to tease her about her 'boy-toys', as he liked to call them. Literally any guy she was friends with, he'd tease her, making her life a personal hell.

May shuddered. Classic creepy Harley.

Around half an hour later, the group made it to Goldenrod city, the bustling harbour city of Johto. The four coordinators looked around excitedly at the contest hall, it was buzzing with activity. Coordinators were brushing their Pokémon, feeding them poke-blocks and poffins, and practising moves.

"This will be interesting..." Drew noted, a hint of excitement evident in his voice.

"Yeah, so many Pokémon I haven't ever seen before, wow." May examined, her spirits quickly picking up in spite of the cupcake disappointment earlier.

The group decided to pick up supplies at the Poke-mart first as they were running low on pokeballs and medicine. May picked up a couple of things and placed them on the counter, however the cashier paused after he saw the name on her credit card.

"Oh! I actually have a delivery for you here, May Maple right?"

May tilted her head. She wasn't expecting anything from her parents, who usually told her when they' d be sending her something. Maybe it was a surprise?

"Yup, that'd be me." She pulled out her ID from her wallet to confirm. The cashier nodded and took out a small box with a red ribbon wrapped around it. She could tell whoever did it had never tied a ribbon before. She inwardly giggled to herself and thanked the cashier.

"Oh, what do you have there, May? Did you get an early birthday present?" Solidad nudged her playfully with her elbow.

May's birthday was coming up, in fact it was next week. So she wasn't too surprised that she got something a week early.

"Maybe! I wonder who it's from though..."

She pulled on the ribbon but it looked like it was glued on tight, so she decided to rip open the packaging. A small note fell out and May picked it up, reading it.

'Make a wish.

Happy Birthday May!

-Ash

Ps. Sorry, I don' t know how to tie a ribbon. (: '

May smiled to herself as she read his name.

-A/N: And there you have it. Classic Ash. What's in the box? Find out next week. (;

I'm actually really excited to write this because it' ll be my first multiple-chapter story, EVER. What better week to publish it than Advanceshipping week, right? If you guys see anything wrong, please let me know right away! I don' t have a beta yet so there might be some things I've missed. Thank you for reading, I appreciate it!