Advanceshipping Week 2018

Chapter 1: Theme 1: Future

With the evening having made its arrival over Rustboro City, it was very safe to assume that the livelihood of the city was now in full swing. And nowhere was this more apparent than at the Pokemon Centre located on the outskirts of the city as sitting at one of the tables outside the building was May, dressed in an evening gown that was a shimmering dark purple with amethyst purple colored small heels, her hair flowing freely on either side of her head and a silver necklace with a sapphire gem in the center, the exact same one she had received on this exact same day. It had been five years since she and Ash went out on their first date and they had decided to go to the place where it all began for them to celebrate the occasion. As she was sitting by herself waiting for her partner to come out to meet her, she turned her head to look down at Glaceon as she was sitting just beside her wearing a small snowflake necklace and a shining light blue dress with white near the end, making her smile of excitement clear as day. "It's hard to believe how long it's been since that night, isn't it, Glaceon? I mean, here I was, going out on my first date! It was something I had been looking forward to, but I never expected it to actually happen. But the fact that it still did is something I always look back on with joy." While May spoke, the smile she had been showing slowly grew in size as she was thinking back on that day; she and Ash had decided that after his battle with Roxanne, the two of them would spend the day in the city together.

Needless to say, the day had been something she enjoyed immensely, since the two of them got to explore the city and do things together such as having a look around the shopping district, getting some lunch and getting to have a look around the museum to see what they had on display. But it was what happened as the day was drawing to a close that really stood out to her: as they were heading back to the Pokemon Centre, Ash stopped her as he had something he wanted to ask her. The memory of what happened in that moment was still clear…

Ash quietly took a deep breath and let it out before he lifted his head up to look at May as she watched him in silence, awaiting what he wanted to ask her. He felt fully aware that the moment he asked her this, there would be no turning back. But that was something he was fully aware of and he knew that hearing what he had to say next would make May the happiest she had been all day. "Well, I've just been wondering... I've really enjoyed spending time with you today, and it was really a lot of fun looking around the city and just doing things together. But... there is something else I would like to do before we head back." May showed an expression of surprise as she was beginning to wonder what Ash wanted for them to do together before they met up with Brock and Misty. Ash fell silent for a few moments as he was trying to figure out this question before he looked up at her, with certainty that he had the right words. "May... I was wondering if... you wanted to... go out with me tonight..."

While his voice was almost completely while he spoke, his words were loud enough for May to hear clearly and she nearly froze where she stood while her eyes went wide from shock. 'Did he just ask what I thought I heard him ask?' With a smile of amazement slowly crossing her face, May focused her attention on Ash as she wanted to be sure she was hearing this correctly. "Ash... did I just hear that right? You're asking me to go out with you?"

Ash slowly nodded in confirmation with a bright smile showing as he continued. "Yeah… I was thinking that… maybe we should go out somewhere?" Before he could get the chance to say anything else, May managed to effortlessly shush him up as she rushed forward before stopping just in front of him much to his surprise.

"For dinner? At a nice restaurant? Like a proper date?" From the way things were going, May was looking pretty close to grabbing Ash by the front of his sweatshirt in her growing excitement. Ash nearly jumped in surprise as he was noticing how excited May was to find out if he was really saying all of this and, with complete silence, he slowly nodded in confirmation. Fortunately, this seemed to be all May needed to know, as her smile instantly grew in size and she began jumping up and down in excitement while Ash watched her in disbelief. "Yay! This is great! This is exactly what I've been waiting to hear since we started this day!" After a few seconds, May took a few breaths to calm herself down and she turned her head back to Ash before happily nodding in agreement. "Yes, Ash. I would love to go out with you."

With the memory of what happened that night now running through her head, May let out a happy sigh before looking down at Glaceon while she had been silently listening the whole time. "That was when we went out on our first date, and it was also… the night where we became boyfriend and girlfriend." She then let out a giggle as Glaceon was looking up at her the whole time before getting out of her seat and bending down to her Pokemon. "I'm sure you've heard that story quite a few times by now. But… it's one I never get tired of sharing."

Glaceon showed a smile of understanding as she shook her head. "(Don't worry, May. I never tire of hearing it either.)" May showed a smile of relief once she heard that her story hadn't worn Glaceon down in the slightest and she let out a cheerful laugh to herself; that story was one she planned on sharing for a long time to come.

Just then, the sound of the doors of the Pokemon Centre opening from behind her reached the two's ears and they turned their heads to find that their partners were now prepared and ready to go: Ash was dressed in a white shirt with a light brown jacket on top, matching pants and dark brown shoes, while from where he was sitting on Ash's shoulder, Pikachu was wearing a small dark blue jacket with a dark red bow and a small black top hat. "Hey, we're ready to go. Sorry to keep you both waiting." Ash commented, a nervous smile crossing his face as he was starting to worry that he had kept May waiting for too long. Fortunately, this didn't seem to be the case as May shook her head.

"Not to worry. I just got done telling Glaceon about the night we went out on our first date; figured it would pass the time while we were waiting." Glaceon happily nodded in agreement with a bright smile on her face, while Ash showed a smile of relief upon hearing this.

"Well, that's great to hear. I wanted to make sure both of us were ready to go before we came out here to meet up with you." As May let out a giggle of amusement since she could tell it seemed to pay off, Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and made his way over to Glaceon while she was proceeding to do the same thing. Once she approached him, Pikachu felt a wide smile cross his face at the sight of what May had decided on for her to wear.

"(Wow, Glaceon, you look amazing! It looks like May made quite a few great choices when she was making sure you were ready to go.)" Glaceon showed a smile of delight that Pikachu approved of what she was wearing before happily nodded in agreement.

"(Awww, thank you. I just wish I could say the same about how Ash chose your outfit.)" Pikachu felt his eyes go wide in alarm and he showed an expression of annoyance as Glaceon began happily laughing for a few seconds before calming down. "(I'm just kidding! In all seriousness, I think you look wonderful yourself. You certainly look a gentleman who's ready for a wonderful night with his lady.)"

The look of annoyance that was showing on Pikachu's face faded once he heard the rest of what Glaceon had to say before a shy smile crossed his face as he felt certain it was about to start turning red at any moment. "(Heh-heh… thanks, Glaceon.)" The two then proceeded to smile happily at each other, looking forward to their night together.

While the two were busy with their conversation, Ash and May were looking down at them before Ash was the one to speak up, looking up at May while he did so. "It looks like Pikachu and Glaceon are ready to go. What about you, May?"

May showed a bright smile before nodding in agreement. "Mm-hmm; I'm ready to go when you are." She then turned her glance down to Pikachu and Glaceon to get their attention. "Come on, you two! You ready to go?"

Pikachu and Glaceon turned their heads to their respective Trainers before nodding in agreement. "(Yep, we're coming!)" Pikachu replied. He then looked over at Glaceon before holding one paw out towards her. "(Shall we get moving to enjoy our night together?)"

Glaceon let out a giggle before nodding in agreement. "(We shall.)"

Without a moment to spare, the two couples began to make their way out towards the city to start enjoying their night. As they were walking, May turned her head to Ash. "I'm so glad you decided on this."

Ash turned his glance to May in surprise before showing a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too. I figured that since tonight was something special, it'd be best to celebrate where it all began. And I'm thinking of doing the same thing when we hit our next milestone." While he spoke, he reached over to wrap one arm around May while she showed an expression of surprise as she was met with him happily smiling at her in delight. "Happy Anniversary, May."

May fell silent for a few moments before her smile grew in immense joy. "Thanks, Ash." She then lowered her head to rest it against his shoulder while the two of them simply kept their glances on each other, eagerly awaiting the many years together ahead of them.