It was a sunny fall afternoon in Viridian City; good vibes flowed throughout all of Kanto High. The bells rang signifying the end of another school day, sending many students on their various ways.

Ash made his way out the doors of school and was joined by best buddy.

"Pika Pi!" The electric mouse squeaked as it jumped onto its trainers shoulder. Glad to be reunited with Ash, Pikachu rubbed his head against Ash's, missing him after being stuck in Viridian's Pokemon Day Care all day.

"Hey you were supposed to wait for me to come get you!" Ash said with chuckle. While he was glad to see Pikachu, those at the day care were likely to be worried sick that they lost a Pikachu.

"Well looks like were going to make another stop on our trip." Ash said as he approached the tennis courts. He soon found May sitting on a bench where they had agreed to meet and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, where else do we have to go?" Asked the brunette, who was both nervous and excited at the same time.

"Well you see… Pikachu kind of escaped out the day care a little early. So we better go let them know that everything's all right." Ash explained with a laugh.

"Well that's not good, you should know better than that." May said to Pikachu. Pikachu however, ignored her and leaped off of Ash's shoulder right into May's lap, obviously excited to meet a new friend.

May, never having held a Pokémon before, began to freak out. Pikachu calmed her nerves though as he put on his cutest face and curled up on her lap.

"It's alright May, Pikachu wouldn't hurt anyone." Ash told her, sensing her momentary anxiety.

The two then decided to get on their way, as there was a lot to be done. After a quick stop at the day care they headed towards the Viridian City Pokémon Center.

Ash and May made general small talk along the way, with Ash explaining the process of what getting a Pokémon is like to May. The two soon entered the Pokémon Center and found Nurse Joy.

Ash, noticing May wasn't exactly sure what to do, took charge of the conversation.

"Good afternoon Nurse Joy! My friend May here is going to get here first Pokémon today, so she'd like to register for a Pokémon license."

"Oh that's great!" Nurse Joy said with a smile. "Just fill out this paper and you'll have your license in no time!"

Once May had returned the form to the Nurse Joy they were told that it would take about fifteen minutes to process everything and print out her license.

"Hey, do want to grab some ice cream or something while we wait?" Asked Ash, who was starving.

"Oh that sounds great!" May replied, also one to never turn down food.

"Awesome, I heard that there's a great place just down the street!" Ash said as the two walked out the door.

The ice cream shop definitely was amazing, more flavors and toppings than you could count. Their eyes lit up as they saw the massive assortment of treats before them. After several minutes of weighing their options Ash went a mix of chocolate and vanilla ice cream, with hot fudge poured over the top, while May went with strawberry and some berries on top.

The two took a seat and scarfed down their ice cream without any hesitation. They didn't even talk or look up until they had each finished their dessert.

Ash and May both finished their ice cream at the same time, they both looked up at each other. Now the two of them weren't the cleanest of eaters so they each began to laugh when they saw their faces covered in ice cream.

"Well we better get on back to the Pokémon Center!" Ash said.

"Once we clean ourselves up first." May said with a giggle. With that the two of them went to the bathroom to wash their faces.

Meanwhile:

"Wow this place looks amazing!" Dawn said as she took in the glorious sight that was ice cream.

"I told you I knew a place." Replied Gary in his swaggerific voice.

Dawn received her ice cream and stood waiting for Gary. The server handed Gary a cone with 6 scoops of ice cream stacked on top.

"You're actually going to eat that?" Dawn asked with a look of shock on her face.

"Of course! They don't call me the ice cream king for nothing!" Gary said with a laugh.

The two headed towards the back of the shop, only to be cut off by a girl exiting the bathroom.

"Oh I'm sorry." May said quickly, not even realizing that it was her best friend Dawn right beside her.

"May what are you doing here?" The blue haired girl asked her friend.

"Oh Dawn its you, I was just…" She answered as Ash walked out of the other bathroom door.

"Well if it isn't the ice cream king himself!" Ash said as he approached the three of them, he'd never seen anyone else eat that much ice cream in one go besides Gary, his ice cream eating skills were some sort of rare talent that only Gary possessed.

"Wait, May are you here with Ash!" Dawn asked in surprise.

"What are you doing?"

"Does Drew know about this?"

"You aren't cheating on him are you?" Dawn asked intensely.

"Wow, who would of thought, I can see that I've taught you well Ashy." Teased Gary.

"No, no it's not like that!" May said frantically, trying to hide her embarrassment. While May had never pictured her and Ash being a couple, she couldn't deny that he was at least somewhat attractive.

"Ash is just helping me get my Pokémon license today, that's all!" May told her blue haired friend.

"Wait what are you two doing here?" May asked in return.

Dawn tried to hide her blushing but failed miserably, while Gary raised his ice cream in front of his face, trying to hide behind it.

"Are you two out on a date?"

"Maybe…" Dawn answered with a smirk, her cheeks beginning to glow red.

May, knowing how Gary was with girls, returned the favor as she started questioning Dawn.

Meanwhile Ash and Gary were laughing as this whole debacle unfolded in front of them.

Once the two girls settled down the two parties went their separate ways.

"I'll text you about this tonight!" Dawn said sternly, obviously still thinking that something more was going on with May and Ash.

"I was just about to say the same to you." Replied May, hoping that Dawn wouldn't get herself hurt by dating a womanizer like Gary.

Ash and May waved to the couple as they walked out and made their way back to the Pokémon Center.

"Ash, I'm not trying to be rude so don't take it the wrong way, but why are you friends with Gary? From what I've seen he just try's to get girls all the time?" May asked the raven-haired trainer.

"Well me and Gary go way back, we grew up together. Sure he may be a bit cocky but that's just who he is, he makes for a good rival." Ash said with a laugh, all 103 of his consecutive losses to Gary coming to his mind.

"As for how he acts around girls, he just hasn't met the right one yet. It might be hard to believe, but Gary is actually a really caring guy. He really didn't start all of this until after the breakup."

"What breakup?" Asked May, who was finding it hard to picture Gary as a gentleman.

"I can't tell you, sorry. I promised Gary that I wouldn't tell anyone about it, but it really changed him." Ash told her.

"Oh…." May replied, the mood getting a bit somber between the two.

"Never mind that though, let's go get your license!" Ash said as they reached the Pokémon Center. The two ran inside and found Nurse Joy.

"Oh hello again!" Nurse Joy said with her usual smile.

"Everything is all set. Here is your Pokémon license May."

May's eyes light up with excitement as she was handed her official Pokémon license.

"Ahhh, I can't believe I'm actually doing this! I just can't wait to get my first Pokémon!" May exclaimed.

Her eyes stayed glued onto her new license all the way to the Pokémon Market.

"Alright May, since we don't now what type of Pokémon your going to pick yet we'll just get some generic Pokémon food for now. Once you know the type of your Pokémon you can buy type specific food, you can tell the types by the color of the bags. See how the blue bags are for water types, and the yellow ones over here are for electric types." Ash explained.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu squeaked in excitement. He loved this type of Pokémon food.

"I suppose I need to get some more for Pikachu too." Ash said with a chuckle.

Ash grabbed the two bags and after paying for them, carried them over his shoulder on the way out. Ash's physical strength played a big role here, as each bag was about 50 pounds.

Ash ended up carrying the bags all the way back to Pallet Town, while May couldn't help but try to guess which Pokémon she would be able to choose from. While Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur were the usual Kanto region starter Pokémon, Professor Oak had been studying Pokémon from other regions, making newer Pokémon available to beginner trainers.

"Well there it is!" Ash pointed up to a large building at the top of the hill in front of them.

"This is Professor Oaks Lab, and It's where you'll get your first Pokémon May!"

The two ran up to the front door. Ash dropped the bags of Pokémon Food off to the side and led May inside. Ash had been inside Oak's Lab hundreds of times, and was great friends with Professor Oak himself.

"Hello Professor! Are you here?" Ash shouted. Not hearing an answer, Ash went around to see if he could find the man. While Ash was off searching, May stood in awe of the interior of the building. The whole place was filled with machines and computers, books and pokeballs.

"Ah hello Ash, it's good to see you again! What brings you here?" Oak said as he and Ash rounded the corner back towards May.

"My friend May would like to get here first Pokémon today sir."

"Very well, it's always nice to see new trainers. It's a pleasure to meet you May!" Oak said with a smile as he shook May's hand.

"Any friend of Ash's is a friend of mine, so make yourself at home!"

"Thank you professor, it's great to meet you too. My brother Max has told me all about your works!" May replied. Even she knew that Professor Oak was one of the most famous Pokémon Researchers in history.

"Alright May, I'm sure your excited, as all new trainers are, so I won't keep you waiting. Can I see your Pokémon license?"

May handed the man her license, who examined it thoroughly before returning it.

"Ok, I'll be back in just a moment." The professor told the two before heading into one the back rooms. It was after a minute that he returned, carrying three pokeballs in his hands. He led them over to a table and placed the three balls in front of them.

"Here we go May. These are the three starter Pokémon that you'll be able to choose from. First we have Totodile, the water type Pokémon." Oak said as he released Totodile from the pokeball.

Totodile was certainly an energetic Pokémon as well, as it danced around on the table in front of them.

"Next we have Torchic, the fire type Pokémon."

Out from the pokeball came the small orange chick, with a quiet squeak it jumped right into May's arms.

"Well aren't you a cutey!" May said with a smile, already thinking that she'd made a decision.

"And finally we have Snivy, the grass type Pokémon."

The small green Pokémon surveyed its surroundings, as May looked it over.

"There are your three starters, do you know which one you want to choose May?" Professor Oak asked the girl.

Without any hesitation, May knew which Pokémon was right for her.

"I choose Torchic!" May said. Torchic's face lit up as it danced around and jumped back into May's arms.

"Haha it seems that Torchic has already taken a liking to you." Laughed the professor, who just loved seeing the joy of new trainers faces when they receive their first pokemon.

"You'll need Torchic's pokeball too." Oak said as he handed May the ball.

"Thank you so much professor! I'll make sure to take great care of it!" May was literally bursting with joy as she spoke. She returned Torchic into the pokeball before running over to Ash and giving him a hug.

"Thank you so much for helping me do this Ash. You wouldn't believe how long I've been waiting for this day! Now I can finally say that I have my own Pokémon!" May said during their embrace. After the two broke apart Ash spoke up.

"It's no problem May! Today has been tons of fun! But we better get moving if you want to be home before dark." The day had been moving fairly quickly, sunset would come along pretty soon.

"Ya, plus I can't wait to show everyone else my Torchic!" May said cheerfully as they made their way towards the exit.

"Thanks for helping us Professor Oak!" Ash shouted as the two waved goodbye to the man and walked out the door.

Ash grabbed the bags of Pokémon food when Professor Oak burst out the doors.

"I almost forgot May, here are your pokedex, and pokeballs." He said as he handed them over to her.

"I'm sure I can trust Ash to teach you how to use them. You kids take care now!"

The kids waved goodbye as they made their way down the hill towards the main road.

The journey back to May's home in Pewter City was a rather long haul, the sun having already set by the time they reached Viridian City. The two headed back towards the school where May's car was parked, and after arriving, packed the vehicle full of May's new supplies.

"Ash, are you sure you want to walk all the way back to Pallet Town? You could stay at our house tonight. I wouldn't mind learning more about Pokémon anyways!" May asked, feeling bad that Ash had to walk everywhere. The Ketchum's only had one car, which Delia typically used most days, so Ash had grown accustomed to the walk from school to home.

"As fun as that would be, I don't want to intrude on your family, and they don't even know who I am." Ash replied. While he would rather stay at the Maple's he certainly respected their privacy and didn't want to waltz in uninvited. May's mind also ran through a list of possible consequences. For one, she was bringing a boy home, and her father never seemed to appreciate when Drew had visited in the past. May shook any bad thoughts out of her head; nothing was going to ruin this perfect day.

"It's alright really Ash! My parents won't mind, actually they'd probably love you! Did you forget that you're famous now? Nearly everyone in all of Kanto knows your name Ash!" May said, giggling as she mentioned Ash's newfound fame. At some points throughout the day she did get chills just thinking that she was spending time with a celebrity basically.

While things had slowed done a little bit for Ash, the media would soon be all over him, he was scheduled for an interview on Saturday in Pallet Town, something Ash was nervously awaiting. He was a nobody before the Johto League, now he going to be featured on a region-wide newspaper, as he made it the furthest of all trainers who participated from Kanto.

"Only if you're sure it's ok." Ash answered, a bit more sternly than he had intended.

"Come on Ash, it'll be fun. My brother Max has been talking about you all week."

Ash finally gave in and got into the passenger seat, while Pikachu hopped in the back.

By this time mostly everyone was settled in for the night, so they only saw an occasional car or passerby every couple minutes. May maneuvered the car around the streets of Viridian City, the huge grin she'd had all day still on her face.

As Ash stared out the window the view of the city turned dark and eerie as they passed through the Viridian Forest. The forest was generally safe during the day, and was a great spot for Pokémon training and catching. During dark hours though the forest is usually pretty dangerous, enough that the city was eventually planning to enclose the forest with gates so that no one could enter at night.

Ash eyed the forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of some Pokémon, as many nocturnal Pokémon lived in the area. Ash caught a glimpse of a white light before his attention was turned back to the car.

Pop!

The car started vibrating strangely, while a strange noise came from the back.

"Oh no!" May cried. Hoping her car wouldn't die on her.

"Let's stop and check it out." Ash said. May pulled onto to a side road before bringing the car to a stop on the edge of the road. After some investigation, they found one of the back tires to be nearly completely flat.

"Do you know if you've got a spare tire in the trunk May?" Ash asked. He'd changed flat tires several times before on his mother's car, so Ash was in no panic. May was in the opposite state at the moment. For one thing, she didn't like being anywhere near a spooky forest at night, and after frantically searching, no spare tire was found.

"Looks like we'll just have to call someone to come get us." Ash said after examining their current predicament. May called her father Norman, who said he'd be there as soon as he could.

"We can just play with our Pokémon while we wait!" Ash suggested. May calmed her fears and sat on the side of the road next to Ash. She let out Torchic from its pokeball and watched as it ran around playing with Pikachu.

The sky was perfectly clear, the stars and moon lit shining brightly. The two of them surveyed the sky as they talked.

"So what do you want to do with your Torchic May? Battling or contests?" Ash asked her.

"Well honestly I just wanted one as a pet, I don't think I'd be able to actually do anything with it." May answered.

"That's cool, Pikachu was my first Pokémon, now he's my best friend. I get the feeling that you and Torchic will be the same way!" Ash said as he twitched his head to the right, thinking he saw something.

"Hey Ash, can I ask you something?" May asked as she began blushing.

"Yeah, what's up? Ash replied, curious as to what May wanted to know.

"Have you ever…"

"PIKAAA!"

"TORRR!"

The screams of the two Pokémon made them both jump. Floating before them was a Haunter that had appeared out of nowhere. Pikachu and Torchic were completely spooked. Pikachu ran back towards Ash, but Torchic took off running into the forest.

"Torchic no! Wait!" May yelled. Ash, May, and Pikachu took of past the Haunter after Torchic, while the wild Haunter followed them from behind.

"Torchic! Where are you Torchic?"

"Pika Pika!"

Before they even realized it, the three were in the middle of the forest.

"Uh oh, May we shouldn't be in here at night. You go back to the car it's dangerous out here, I'll find Torchic." Ash told her.

"No Ash! Torchic is my Pokémon, and frankly I have no idea where the car is." May retorted.

It was true, they were completely lost.

"Hm, alright but let's stick together, watch out for any wild Pokémon." Ash warned her. The darkness of the forest didn't help at all, as the trees blocked out the night sky.

The party continued to search the surrounding area. The whole forest was silent, not a single Pokémon in sight. In the corner her eye, May saw a bush off to the side rustling, so she went over to look.

"AHHHH!" She yelled. From the bush a Beedrill flew up, obviously not happy about being disturbed.

"May Run!" Ash yelled as they turned and sprinted deeper into the forest. They weaved and darted around the trees, hoping to lose the Beedrill.

Ash jumped behind a tree and grabbed May, pulling her next to him. The Beedrill could be heard in the distance, but after a minute the buzzing was out of range.

"Thank God! That was…" Before May could finish Ash had covered her mouth with his hand. Ash then pointed up at the other trees in the area. They were all filled with sleeping Beedrill. Ash slowly lead May out of the area into a little opening near a pond.

"We should be safe now." Ash said, trying to regain his breath.

"Ash where's Pikachu?" May asked, causing Ash to jump right back to his feet.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled. Ash was about to yell again but was then cut off by May's hand.

"Ash those Beedrill are still close by!" She whispered. Ash realized his mistake and waited a minute before moving, just to make sure that the Beedrill didn't wake up.

The silence of the forest continued as they began searching again.

Nearly 30 more minutes of searching later, they had found their way back to the small pond. Pikachu and Torchic were nowhere to be found. May sat down and took a short rest; while Ash paced around try to formulate a plan to find them. He returned to find May huddled together, her head in her knees.

"Are you alright May?" He asked her. May looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy with tears streaming down her face.

"No, this is all my fault! Now Torchic and Pikachu are gone." She managed to get out before sobbing again. Ash got down and wrapped her in his arms.

"This isn't your fault May, Torchic and Pikachu will be fine. Come on, the quicker we find them the quicker you'll feel better." Ash helped her onto her feet and let her regain her composure. After wiping away her tears, May nodded to Ash, signaling that she was ready to keep looking.

Back On The Road

It had been nearly an hour since May had called, and she was nowhere to be found. Now Norman Maple watched as Officer Jenny called for backup to make up a search party, worried that the kids were lost in the forest. Once several other officers had arrived they entered the forest, keeping a close watch for any clues.

In The Woods

"Torchic there you are!" Ash said. The small Pokémon had just emerged from a nearby bush. May ran up and picked up Torchic, hugging it tightly.

"Thank goodness your ok! Let's get you back in your pokeball where you'll be safe."

May put Torchic in the pokeball, then the ball rolled out her hand onto the grass, it rolled several times, until Torchic reappeared outside again.

"Um, did I do something wrong Ash?" May asked, confused as to why Torchic didn't go back in its pokeball. Ash however was just as confused as May was.

"May, I don't think that's your Torchic. That only happens when you're catching a wild Pokémon." Just then the Torchic ran and jumped back into the bush it came from. Ash and May ran over. Behind the bush they found the Torchic and two Pikachu's.

All three of the Pokémon looked up at the two of them, Torchic jumped into May's arms, while Pikachu jumped back onto Ash's shoulder, each happy to see their owner.

"Finally we found you guys, you're safe now." Ash told the Pokémon.

"Hey Ash, where did that other Pikachu go?" May asked in a confused tone of voice. Ash looked back to the ground only to find another Torchic.

"Maybe it ran off?" Ash guessed as they looked backwards to see if they could find it. What they did find however was that the Pikachu had returned and the other Torchic had vanished.

"What the! Something weird is going on here May. I think we should get out of here." Ash said, who wasn't usually one to get scared, but this time even he was getting somewhat creeped out.

The other Pikachu looked around as if it sensed something, then began to glow. It turned into a small purple blob on the forest floor.

"A Ditto! That's what was playing tricks on us!" Ash exclaimed.

"Is that a Pokémon?" May asked, not sure of what she had just witnessed.

"Yup, Ditto's can transform into any nearby Pokémon and gain it's ability's." Ash explained to her.

"Wow, so that's why we were seeing double of Pikachu and Torchic." May said.

"Come on, lets get out of here now. We'll find the nearest road and work our way back from there." Ash said as he led the way.

30 Minutes Later

"Thank God your alright May, I was so worried about you." Norman said as he hugged his daughter. Ash and may had eventually found their way back to the car only to come across a whole police squad who happened to be searching for them.

"The only reason I'm okay is because Ash was with me, without him I never would have stood a chance in there." She told her father.

Norman looked up to see Ash standing several yards away. He walked over and shook his hand.

"You must be Ash Ketchum! Thanks for keeping my daughter safe, and it's quite an honor to meet you! Why didn't you tell me you were friends with this boy May? Your welcome to come to our home for the night, its my way of saying thanks for helping May."

Norman had May's car towed away to be repaired, so he drove the two of them back to Pewter City. Norman was a big fan of Pokémon, and Pokémon battling. During his youth he was a formidable trainer in the Hoenn region, where he grew up. The whole length of the ride back felt like an interview to Ash, as Norman asked numerous questions about his training and his experience in the Johto League. Ash happily answered all his questions; he did need some practice before his interview on Saturday anyways.

After some time they arrived at the Maple household. It was your average Pewter City home, just on the outside of the city where the city meets the country. Norman parked the car in the garage and led the kids inside. The door led through a small laundry room and finally into their basement. After climbing a set of stairs they emerged in a hallway that led to the kitchen.

"Carolyn and Max are already asleep, and I'm pretty tired too, I'll see you kids in the morning. There's some leftover dinner in the refrigerator. First thing in the morning I want to see your new Pokémon May!" Norman said, before biding them goodnight, and heading upstairs.

May lead Ash into the living room that consisted of a couch, coffee table, a large TV in the corner of the room, and many family photos that hung around the room.

"Your house is amazing May!" Ash said, while he knew this was a fairly normal house, it was certainly much nicer than his.

"Oh this is nothing, my cousins house is so much nicer." May said, wondering why Ash thought her house was so cool. Ash and May both sat down on the couch, finally having an opportunity to relax.

"So how to I use this pokedex thing?" May asked as she pulled the pokedex from her pocket.

" That can give you information on any Pokémon, here I'll show you." As took the pokedex and aimed it at Pikachu before pressing a button. The pokedex spoke aloud, giving a brief description of Pikachu.

"This will come in handy if you ever come across any new Pokémon." Ash explained.

May turned on the TV, but continued to play around with her pokedex, using it on Torchic as well.

On the TV were reruns of the Johto League Championships. Ash felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him as he recalled his battles in those very stadiums.

"These are battles from the Johto League, right?" May asked as Torchic, who was tired from the long day, curled up against May on the couch.

"Yup, it feels like I was there just yesterday." Ash said, a somber look growing on his face.

"Everything ok Ash?" May said, noticing the look on his face.

"Of course, I just miss battling, I can waited to get started in the Indigo League!" Ash said, feeling a burst of motivation.

"Well I think you've got a pretty good shot at winning! I'm sure all of Kanto agrees!" May told him. Despite just getting to know him over a few days, she really felt proud of what Ash had accomplished.

"I almost forgot, Dad said there was some leftover food in the kitchen, I'll grab some if you want." Ash nodded, he hadn't eaten since being at the ice cream store. Even that felt like it was days ago; today had been very eventful for the two of them.

May got up and went to the kitchen and searched the refrigerator for some food. She grabbed a plate and set it on the table. As she closed the door a small buzzing came from her pocket. She pulled out her phone, wondering who would be calling her so late. It was Drew. She motioned for Ash to come grab the food before answering the phone.

"Oh hey Drew, why are you calling me so late?" May rounded the corner towards the laundry room. Drew had called because May hadn't texted him all day. May always thought that Drew seemed to be rather clingy, or maybe it was because he was always full of himself. Drew's cockiness was the one thing she never really liked about him, as he wasn't really all that he claimed to be.

While that may be the case it still is pretty normal for couples to text everyday, so May could understand why Drew might have been worried. She then told Drew about the days events, leaving out any mention of Ash, as she was sure that Drew wouldn't appreciate her hanging around another guy.

Meanwhile Ash had entered the kitchen to grab the plate of food on the table. He could hear a faint echo of May talking, but after a minute the quiet speech turned into loud shouting.

"Why In the world would you get one of those? There worthless and a waste of time, plus how can we hang out if your taking care of that stupid thing!" Drew was not happy that May had gotten a Pokémon, more so that she did it without his permission. Drew hated Pokémon. While he didn't usually mind them, he thought the whole idea of training and battling them was pointless and something childish.

Ash listened closely, picking up on some parts of their conversation.

"Well frankly, I don't really care what you think about it Drew! It's my choice and no one can tell me what I can or can't do!" With that May hung up on Drew, both of them being very upset.

Drew's House

"Great, now I'm going to have to fix this all tomorrow." Drew said with a sigh, even he realized that he had gone a little overboard.

"She's getting to be bit too much work for me." Drew thought to himself, as he began questioning whether their relationship was actually worth it or not.

"Everything all right Drew?" Asked Hilda, a fellow classmate from school.

"It's nothing, just May. We got into a little disagreement." Drew explained.

"Perfect, I keep telling you that you should dump her, I don't know what you see in her. Let's forget about her for the moment, now where were we?" Hilda asked teasingly, as she took Drew's hand and pulled him in for another make-out session.

Back at the Maple Household.

"Ugh, he just irritates me so much sometimes!" May said out loud. She then walked back into the kitchen, to find Ash standing near the table.

May then realized just how loud she had been shouting earlier, realizing that Ash had to have heard some of it.

"S-Sorry about that." May said, trying to hide her embarrassment. Ash noticed this and pretended like he didn't hear a thing. Ash put May out of her uncomfortable misery by suggesting that they eat. So the two split the leftover meal, each trying to think of something to say. After finishing the whole plate, the silence was broken by the two of them yawning simultaneously. It had been a long day, and they were both ready for some rest.

May gave Ash some blankets, as he decided to sleep on the couch for the night. The two said goodnight as May headed up the stairs. She reached her room and started changing her clothes when her phone buzzed once again. It was text from Dawn.

"So how's boyfriend #2?" It read.

May sighed and answered back "We'll talk about this later."

Downstairs Pikachu had curled up beside Ash on the couch.

"Goodnight buddy, we got to be ready for our next battle tomorrow!" Ash said as he petted Pikachu's head.

"Pika!" The yellow mouse squeaked. With that the two of them closed their eyes and went to sleep.

The next Morning

Ash woke up to the sound of May walking down the stairs.

"Good morning Ash." The two exchanged greetings before getting up and readying themselves for the day. After getting dressed they both sat down for some breakfast in the kitchen. As the two of them ate their cereal, Max emerged from his bedroom.

Still being rather sleepy, Max didn't even notice Ash was there until he had poured himself a bowl of cereal and sat down.

Max nearly spit the cereal out of his mouth when he recognized the boy sitting next to him.

"Holy crap, your Ash Ketchum!" He said, as Ash and May just laughed.

"I've seen all your battles from the Johto League! You were so awesome!" Max said, as he finally met his new idol. He dashed of back to his room before coming back with a fake pokeball, and asked Ash to sign it.

"I don't have any Pokémon yet, but when I get one I'm going to become a trainer just as strong as you are!" Max said. The rest of breakfast was filled with discussions about various battling techniques between Ash and May. May smirked as she watched the two of them; she had never seen someone who could actually handle Max's overly excitable personality.

It wasn't long before Dawn's car pulled up in the Maple's driveway; she had agreed to pick them up, instead of the three of them having to walk all the way to Viridian City.

Dawn's eyes glared back and forth between Ash and May, when she realized that he was still with May. She gave May an "I told you so" kind of smirk as they got in the car, while May rolled her eyes and shut the door.

They four soon arrived at Kanto high and went off their separate ways for their first class of the day.

After first period, Ash noticed a notification on his phone, which was a text from May. The two of them had exchanged phone numbers the night before, in case May ever needed any help with Torchic. Ash threw his books in his locker and read the message.

"Hey Ash! Dawn and I are going to go watch the soccer game on Friday, just wanted to know if you wanted to join us? :)"