DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon and probably never will.
By nightfall, the three friends had made it back to the Pokemon Center, with Pikachu resting contentedly on Ash's shoulder and Piplup ambling alongside Dawn. They had barely made it through the entrance when Ash's stomach started to growl.
"You may be a little distracted, but some things never change," Dawn teased. Her cheerful demeanor vanished instantly when she saw Ash's face fall.
"Some things never change, but why did May have to leave?" he thought sorrowfully.
"Ash, are you alright?" she asked, her eyes laden with worry.
"I'm fine. I'm just... disappointed that we won't be eating Brock's cooking tonight," he replied, thinking quickly.
At the thought of Brock's food, both started to drool, but they hastily wiped it away before anyone noticed.
"By the way, where is Brock?" Dawn wondered as they looked around, puzzled by his sudden disappearance.
Her question was answered a few moments later by a distressed wail coming from the counter. As they turned towards the sound, they saw Brock tumble to the ground as a result of Toxicroak's Poison Jab, who then proceeded to unceremoniously drag him away from a flustered Nurse Joy.
"Yup, some things never change," said Ash, and he, Dawn, Piplup, and Pikachu burst into laughter.
After Brock's recovery and a quick dinner in which everyone was practically sleeping as they ate, it was finally time to turn in for the night.
"Maybe… maybe," began Dawn until she let out a yawn. "Maybe we shouldn't have spent all day at the park."
"The Pokemon needed to a take a break from being stuffed inside their Pokeballs, and besides, we all got to swap a few good stories," said Brock as he began to nod off at their dinner table. Toxicroak released itself from its Pokeball, and Brock was dragged off for the second time that night.
"Well, good night Dawn. You ready to go to bed, Pikachu?"
But Pikachu was already curled up comfortably in his chair, sound asleep.
Or so they thought.
Ash's snores echoed around the tiny two-bed room, and to Pikachu, it sounded as if a thunderstorm was brewing outside. He glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table between the beds. A red 12:00 PM glowed back at him.
Pikachu stealthily crept out of his bed and over to the foot of Ash's bed, and located Ash's backpack, which he quietly unzipped and started to rummage around in.
Ash suddenly cried out "Drew! Get away from her!" and he sat up sharply in his bed. Pikachu froze.
"Oh, it was just a dream. Yeah, that's all it was. A dream," he said uneasily to himself as he lay back down. "Just a dream."
Pikachu remained still until he could hear Ash's breathing return to normal, and then resumed his search of the backpack, and soon found what he was looking for: a photograph. It was taken shortly after Ash had completed the Battle Frontier. He was holding up his final Frontier Symbol and was smiling broadly. Pikachu was on his left shoulder and had a matching smile. Brock was standing to the left of Ash with a dazed expression on his face, and was looking not at the camera, but at an Officer Jenny who had walked by off-camera. Max was standing beside Brock, and was reaching for Brock's ear with a baleful sneer on his face. But Pikachu was interested in only one person in the photograph: May. She was standing to Ash's right, leaning against him as she smiled and flashed a peace sign.
Pikachu's mission was not yet complete. Holding the picture in his mouth, he crept quietly up to the bedside table, and silently snatched off the Pokeballs. Carrying them in his tiny arms, he surreptitiously left the room, shuffled as quietly as he could manage down the Pokemon Center's main hallway, and out the exit.
Meanwhile, in Ash's dream…
He was standing in the middle of the stadium where the battles of the Sinnoh League took place. Ash was momentarily blinded by flashes from thousands of cameras, and didn't immediately notice the sound of the crowd: they were laughing at him. When his vision cleared, he saw Drew and May standing across from him. His heart leapt into his throat. They were holding hands, and in his free hand, Drew held a gold trophy almost as tall as himself: the trophy of the Sinnoh League Champion. May was pointing and laughing at Ash, and Drew had a sneer on his face.
"DREW! How'd you become the Sinnoh champ? You didn't even enter the tournament!" yelled an exasperated Ash.
"It doesn't matter Ash. I'm so amazing they just gave it to me on the spot. And besides, even if you won the tournament, you wouldn't have been named the Sinnoh Champ. You're too weak to deserve it," he responded in a snotty voice.
Then, Drew and May turned their faces towards each other, and leaned closer and closer together…
"NOOOO!!" Ash yelled in horror as the jeers of the crowd pounded his ears.
Ash woke to find himself sitting up in his bed again.
"It was just a dream. May will never fall for Drew. She's too smart for that," he said unconvincingly to himself. And with that, he fell back into a fitful sleep.
Once he exited the Pokemon Center, Pikachu kept walking until he found a secluded clearing, bordered on one side by a forest and a hedgerow on the other, which kept him out of site of the windows of the Center. Bathed in moonlight, the clearing was mostly deserted, with the only ones there being Pikachu, a wild Honchkrow, and a few wild Murkrow, who were scavenging for berries while the Honchkrow ordered them about. Knowing he would not find a better spot, Pikachu released the Pokemon from the Pokeballs he was carrying.
"(Okay. Next time we meet secretly, we definitely have to do it during the day. Too many of these midnight jaunts and I won't be able to wake up in the morning,)" grumped Torterra.
"(Yeah, just look at you! You obviously need your beauty sleep,)" quipped Floatzel, earning a smack from Staraptor's wing.
"(Stop that! We're a team! We mustn't insult each other!)" ordered Staraptor.
"(Jeez Staraptor! When did you become as bossy as a Honchkrow?)" joked Infernape. Noticing the glares he was getting from the Murkrow and the Honchkrow, he added a hasty "(No offense, of course!)".
"(I don't get why you guys don't like it. The night is perfect!)" exclaimed a happy Gliscor.
"(You can take the night and shove it up your-)" grumbled Torterra before he was interrupted by Staraptor.
"(Torterra, we know you don't like the night, but that doesn't mean you should act so grumpy. Now, we have precious little time, so we need to concentrate on what we came here for. Pikachu, if you would please show us)".
Pikachu took the photograph from his jaws and held it up in the moonlight, displaying it for all.
"(Here's a photo that Ash carries everywhere with him. It was taken nearly right after he won his final Frontier Symbol,)" Pikachu informed them.
"(I take it that May is the girl standing to right of Ash,)" Floatzel said.
Pikachu gave a nod.
"(Good, cuz it would be pretty awkward if May was the small boy standing next to Brock. He must he half Ash's age)". This earned him a second smack from Staraptor.
"(The boy standing next to Brock is Max, May's younger brother. He is on his own journey in Hoenn now,)" Pikachu said as if he hadn't even heard Floatzel's comment.
"(You know, May looks kind of hot,)" Infernape said out of the blue.
All who heard him, even the wild Honchkrow and Murkrow, turned and stared at him with expressions ranging from shock to disgust.
"(I meant as a human,)" Infernape tried to explain.
The staring continued.
"(Look. Just because I'm an ape doesn't mean that I-)"
"(That was waaaaay too much information,)" Floatzel interrupted.
"(Come on guys. I just meant that as far as humans go, May just looks reasonably better than the average ones. I only said 'hot' because I'm a Fire-type. It's natural,)" Infernape explained sheepishly.
"(I will admit May does look a little better than other human females,)" Torterra said grudgingly.
Everyone reluctantly murmured their agreement.
"(Now, when will we next meet?)" asked Gliscor.
"(Well, after the battle and award ceremony, Ash said he'd go back to Pallet Town to have a celebration with his friends. He'll most likely drop us off at Professor Oak's lab, where we could plan without being disturbed. And it'll be the perfect chance to get Ash's other Pokemon involved)" Pikachu announced thoughtfully.
"(Very well, we shall meet then. Any objections?)" Staraptor asked.
After no one spoke up, he walked over to his Pokeball, tapped it with his beak, converted into a red beam of energy, and was sucked back inside. The others followed suit.
The meeting concluded, Pikachu grasped the photograph delicately in his jaws, gathered up the Pokeballs, and began the walk back to the Pokemon Center.
