Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. All credit goes to Nintendo. I'm just taking credit for the storyline I'm creating.
I decided to have May tell the story
2: The Week before Departure and May's Recollection
Ash and I saw Pallet Town in distance much to our relief as we had been walking much of the day. Luckily for us an old friend of Ash's old Kanto Pokémon team made sure we were protected from a Fearow and his gang of Spearow. I asked Ash why a Fearow would give trouble to Pokémon in the forest and for him. Ash explained that the Fearow had grudge against him because of a misunderstanding when he first started on his journey with Pikachu. It was kind of hard to believe that Pikachu and Ash didn't get along with each other seeing as how they get along now after spending three years of travelling together. But I guess even friends have times when they start on the wrong foot just like Ash and I.
Once we got through the forest with Pidgeot protecting us, Ash hugged his old friend and Pidgeot flew back into the forest while we continued on our way to Pallet Town. As we saw Pallet Town a group of Butterfree gathered around us as if to welcome Ash home. It was a beautiful site to see as they flew away into the clear night sky with the moon shining brightly. Ash and I held each other's hands and continued towards Pallet Town. Once we got into Pallet Town, we headed to Ash's house where Ash's mother and her Mr. Mime waited for us. Mrs. Ketchum ran to the door gave Ash a big hug as she wrapped him and Pikachu in her arms.
"I'm so proud of you Ash," said Mrs. Ketchum as she bear hugged Ash and Pikachu.
"Thanks mom," replied Ash as he struggled to breathe, "now can you let me go; I can't breathe."
Mrs. Ketchum let her son go and both he and Pikachu caught their breath.
"Hi Mrs. Ketchum, it's good to see you again," I said to Ash's mother as Manaphy waved to her and said hello as well.
"Hello May," replied Mrs. Ketchum as she looked at both me and Manaphy, "and Manaphy; I saw the Grand Festival in Johto. Your Pokémon performed well in the Grand Festival."
"Thank you Mrs. Ketchum," I said to Ash's mother.
"You're taking good care of Manaphy, right?" asked Mrs. Ketchum as she looked at Manaphy on my shoulder.
I smiled and said, "Of course, I take good care of Manaphy. I am his mother after all."
'Love… you, mama,' Manaphy said to me and impressed Mrs. Ketchum.
"How did Manaphy say that?" asked Mrs. Ketchum.
"I taught him how to say that," I answered her as I got Manaphy in my arms.
Mrs. Ketchum smiled and said, "Well I'm sure you'll make a fine mother someday.
"Well come on you two lovebirds," finished Mrs. Ketchum. "I'm almost done fixing dinner."
'Oh boy!' exclaimed Pikachu as he leapt off of Ash's shoulder and followed Ash's mother in the house.
As we started to eat dinner, Professor Oak came in with his grandson Gary Oak.
"Why hello Ash," greeted Professor Oak as he looked at Ash and then noticed me, "and hello to you too May."
"Hey, who's the cutie?" asked Gary Oak.
"She's my girlfriend," answered Ash after washing down what food he had in his mouth. "This May from Petalberg City in the Hoen region."
"Ah, so you're the famous Princess of Hoen," assumed Gary as he recalled the exploits I had accomplished in Hoen, Kanto and in the Johto regions. He then turned to Ash and said, "Way to go Ash; I never thought you had good taste in girls."
Ash's face turned red with Gary embarrassing him; Professor Oak got after Gary and he backed off as both of them sat down and joined us for dinner. Gary told us what he had been doing since the battle at Lake Valor. He had been training his Pokémon and himself after being overpowered by Saturn and his Toxicroak. Gary said that he thought about getting into the Sinoh League but decided against it as he thought he wouldn't be able to gather all the gym badges in time and he didn't have a car with a chauffeur like he did at the start of his first journey; so he worked on his training instead and watched Ash compete in the Sinoh League tournament. He was a bit jealous to see Ash using rare and legendary Pokémon in his team.
Professor Oak mentioned to us that he was meeting with another Pokémon professor in a different region called the Unova region. He invited Ash and his mother to go with him; but Ash said that he wouldn't leave without me because he promised to travel with me. Professor Oak smiled and said to Ash, "I originally had planned on asking you and your mother but since you brought May home with you, I was going to ask her to join us as well."
"Of course I want to go with you," I said to Professor Oak. "Ash said he wanted to travel with me again. I'm not going to leave Ash's side again."
"My little boy is growing up," Ash's mother said as she smiledand looked at both of us. "I'm happy for both of you"
"Thanks mom," said Ash as his face turned a light red.
"Just make sure you take care of our little girl," said my parents as they came into the dining room from the kitchen and was a real surprise for me.
"Mom, dad? What are two doing here?" I asked my parents in surprise.
"Delia called us and told us that you were coming here," answered my mother. "I thought you were coming home after the Grand Festival in Johto. But then again you did ask me for a lot of advice about dealing with loneliness.
"I could also tell that you missed Ash greatly," continued my mother, "so you would've gone back to the Sinoh region to see Ash again."
"So Ash, I've got to congratulate you on winning the Sinoh League tournament," Dad said to Ash as he sat next to Ash and made him nervous. "But I'm concerned about you taking our daughter with you to another region."
"Don't worry about it Norman," Ash said calmly as he took my hand, "I'll protect May with my life."
'I'll help him protect your daughter,' added Pikachu.
"Caroline and I are holding you two to your word," Dad said to Ash and Pikachu as they guessed that Pikachu had said that he was going to protect me along with Ash. "But at any rate we planned on coming here after watching you win the Sinoh League and hang out with you for a little while."
"Hey, where's Max?" asked Ash.
"He and Ralts went their separate ways from me and my Pokémon," I answered Ash as I recalled Max asking me to let him go his separate way.
"Last time we heard from Max was when he was in Cherrygrove City," said Dad.
Mom then yawned and said, "Well Norman, I think you and I should turn in a little early tonight."
"Uh, I'm not tired," said Dad as Mom gave him her puppy dog eyes. "But, [yawn] I guess I could turn in too. Good night Delia, we'll see you in the morning."
"Good night Norman and Caroline," said Mrs. Ketchum as she looked at me and Ash after watching mom and dad go up the stairs. "Well Ash, I let them use your room so you and May are stuck either outside or on the fold-out bed in the living room."
Ash turned to me and asked, "Well what do you want to do?"
"Let's sleep outside," I answered Ash as I looked in his eyes and held his hands. "I think it would be romantic to sleep under the stars."
"Hey mom, where's the blow-up mattress?" Ash asked his mother.
"It's in the attic," answered Mrs. Ketchum as she smiled. "I hope you two enjoy the lovely clear sky. Well, [yawn] good night you two and enjoy your night under the stars."
"Night mom," said Ash.
'Night,' said Pikachu.
"Good night Mrs. Ketchum," I said to Ash's mother as Ash followed his mother to get to the attic.
After Ash got the blow-up mattress and a blanket, both of us headed outside after I tucked Manaphy into bed on the couch with Pikachu sleeping on couch with Manaphy. Pikachu promised to keep a close watch on Manaphy while Ash and I enjoyed our night away from the Pokémon. Ash led me to a hill close to his house with a beautiful view of Pallet Town.
"Oh my, what a beautiful view," I said as I took in the sight the small town.
"It's beautiful alright," said Ash as he finished setting up the mattress for us. "But it's not as beautiful as you."
I blushed as Ash said he thought I was beautiful; this was definitely a dream come true for me. I sat on the mattress and signaled for Ash to join me. He sat next to me and I sat in his lap as we watched the glowing lights of the town and some Pokémon still awake and moving about. While some of the Pokemon moved about, Ash and I made out with each other; a few young Pokemon thought Ash and I were putting on a show for them until their parents shooed them away.
After about twenty minutes or so, I fell asleep on Ash's shoulder. Then Ash began to fall asleep as well; he gently laid me on the mattress and fell asleep himself. As he fell asleep, I put my left arm across his chest continued to sleep. It was the best feeling I had, just being with the guy I fell in love with, in the great outdoors. For both of us, we slept in each other's arms peacefully throughout the night.
In the morning my mother came out to the hill with Manaphy crying in her arms. I was having a good dream when Manaphy's crying woke me up.
"Well, I see you two had a good night sleep," my mother said to me as she still had Manaphy in her arms still crying.
"Here, let me take Manaphy," I asked mother as I reached for Manaphy. Mom gave me Manaphy and I quieted him down.
'Why did you leave me alone?' asked Manaphy.
"I didn't leave you alone," I answered Manaphy as I gave Manaphy a gentle kiss on his forehead, "Ash and I wanted some time alone and I asked Pikachu to stay by you."
'Well you could've told me that you wanted time alone with Papa,' said Manaphy as he rubbed his cheek on mine.
"I know Manaphy," I said to Manaphy as I put Manaphy on my shoulder trying to copy Ash and Pikachu, "but I thought you'd like being with Pikachu last night."
'It was nice being with Pikachu,' said Manaphy.
Ash then got a rude awakening from Pikachu who used his Thunderbolt to wake him up; this really startled me, hearing Ash scream whenever he got shocked from Pikachu. He finally got up smelling crispy like chicken. Then he and Pikachu got into an argument with me, my mother and Manaphy watching silently both of them arguing. The argument was one sided because in the end Pikachu shocked Ash again and he relented. Pikachu grinned and made his way back to the house for breakfast. Mom followed Pikachu back to the house.
"You smell crispy like chicken," I said to Ash trying not to giggle at him.
"Yeah well, I wish Pikachu wouldn't resort to shocking me just to get me up in the morning," said Ash as he straightened his hair.
I gave Ash a peck kiss on his cheek and said, "I'm sorry about that Ash; I'll talk to Pikachu about that, okay?"
"Okay," answered Ash as gave me a peck kiss on my forehead. "Thanks May."
Ash folded up the blow-up mattress and brought it back with us as we walked back to the house.
"Pikachu!" I called to the cute yellow mouse Pokémon.
'Eh?' asked Pikachu as his ears perked up when he heard my sweet voice. Pikachu turned around and came over to my side.
"You shouldn't be shocking Ash just to wake him up," I said to Pikachu as he walked alongside me.
'Well it's not like I have much of a choice to wake him up,' said Pikachu.
I smiled as I said to Pikachu, "Well there is one way to get him up without shocking him and that's through his stomach."
'Huh, I never thought of that,' Pikachu said as he scratched the back of his head.
"You don't even have to have food with you," I added, "just tell him that breakfast is ready and he'll wake up."
'I guess I can try that,' said Pikachu.
'It always works on Mama,' Manaphy said to Pikachu.
"I guess it does work on me," I said nervously.
I don't know if Ash heard my conversation as we heard his stomach growling for food. Pikachu and I smiled after hearing his stomach growl only for our stomachs to growl for food. It was an embarrassing moment for us to have as we hurried back to his house for breakfast before Dad ate everything. I guess I get my appetite from him. Luckily for us Ash's mother had enough food for all of us to eat breakfast. Pikachu and Manaphy sure ate too as they were hungry as well.
My parents left Pallet after spending two days with us; they went back to Petalberg City and then Cynthia came to visit Ash after she dodged press mobs thanks to Relena's help and connections with the Black Reapers. Ash was surprised to see Cynthia again after the Sinoh League tournament; but welcomed her in.
'Hi Cynthia,' Pikachu said to the Sinoh champion as he leapt on her shoulder.
"Why hello there Pikachu," Cynthia said as she rubbed Pikachu under his chin much to his pleasure. "Are you keeping Ash out of trouble?"
'Yup, he's staying out of trouble,' answered Pikachu.
"So how did you find out where I live?" asked Ash as we entered his house.
"Relena told me that you lived here," answered Cynthia. "She also gave me a file the Pokémon Rangers have on you. I've gotta say you certainly got a knack for getting involved in breaking up crime syndicates."
"Oh, you mean Teams Aqua, Magma and Galactic?" asked Ash as he recalled which syndicates Cynthia was talking about.
"Yeah, but it's hard to believe that Team Rocket hasn't fallen yet," remarked Cynthia as we entered the kitchen to see Ash's mother making breakfast.
"That's because Giovanni has deep pockets in legitimate businesses around the world," said Relena as we saw her sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee.
"Hey Relena," I said to my best friend as my smiled faded, "I'm guessing you're still on assignment."
"Nope," answered Relena as she sipped her coffee, "I'm still filling out the details of the Team Galactic battle that left part of Lake Valor's lakeshore looking like a battlefield."
Beads of sweat dropped down my neck as I recalled the battle on Lake Valor when Harley and I blasted through Team Galactic's defenses and provided Ash's former rival, Gary Oak, some assistance and it was a bit overwhelming. I also remember having to apologize to the Pokémon about losing their homes due to our battle. Some of them were sore at me and Harley but Manaphy stepped in and told them that it wasn't our fault that part of their forest was destroyed. The Pokémon accepted our apology and asked us help bring Azelf back to Lake Valor.
Relena explained that there were some details that she had to fill in sections that were blocked from my report on the situation involving Team Galactic's defeat; like the excessive amount of force used to apprehend three Cyrus's commanders as Ash, Dawn and Brock ordered their Pokémon to attack them and their lawyers tried to use it to their advantage in an attempt to discredit the Pokémon Rangers saying that we told them to attack Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with their Pokémon. But luckily the jury didn't buy the defense's excuses sent them and Cyrus and his commanders to prison. The kitchen was silent for a few minutes then Ash's mother broke the silence after getting some food out of the microwave.
"Breakfast is ready," Mrs. Ketchum called as she saw that she had another guest. "Oh my, it seems that our house is starting to become a popular place to come and visit."
'Yeah,' agreed Mrs. Ketchum's Mr. Mime.
"Cynthia, this is my mother, Delia Ketchum," Ash said to Cynthia as he introduced Cynthia to his mother.
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Ketchum," said Cynthia as extended her hand out to Ash's mother.
"I would shake your hand but my hands are busy at the moment," Ash's mother said politely as she moved toward the kitchen table.
"Here, let me help," offered Cynthia as she took a plate of food in Mrs. Ketchum's hands.
"Thank you, Miss Cynthia," said Mrs. Ketchum as she went to the cupboards for plates, utensils and juice glasses to set on the table. Ash and I took the plates, utensils and glasses from his mother and set the table for her since she had been cooking since early this morning. Pikachu urged Mrs. Ketchum to sit down while we took care of setting the table. She was grateful for us helping her out a bit as she sat down next to Relena, who was still filling out paperwork. I felt sorry for her having to rewrite my report for the top brass in the Pokémon Rangers. But she was finished with the report and sent it off to headquarters.
"Yeesh," said Relena as she gave a sigh of relief, "I'm a Pokémon Ranger, not a pencil pusher. You think they'd make a copy of your report instead of asking another Ranger to write the exact same report."
"Well you were present during the mission and you lead it too," I said as I set plates on the table. "You tend to be lazy when it comes to filling out a mission report."
"That's why I send video reports instead of writing them out," countered Relena. "It's much easier for them to see it from my point of view instead on paper."
"Well sometimes the bosses will want a written version than videos," Mrs. Ketchum said to Relena as she took a sip from her cup coffee. "And kids should still practice writing; it is an important skill to have in life."
Once the table was set for breakfast, all of us enjoyed breakfast together. Cynthia told Mrs. Ketchum about how she met Ash and a few other stories about Ash during his travels in the Sinoh region. Mrs. Ketchum listened to Cynthia's stories as she thought about how much Ash had grown up and about how many friends he had made since he first left on his journey to be a Pokémon master. Ash is really a likable guy. Breakfast went by at a considerable pace as Cynthia asked me how I got Manaphy.
I looked at Manaphy as he ate his breakfast with Pikachu, took a deep breath and told Cynthia everything about how I met Manaphy, learning that I was descended from the People of the Water, and Relena's fight with Jack Walker… [Ahem] I meant Jackie, about wither or not Manaphy should've been forced to go back to the sea or if he should be allowed to make his own decision to stay with me or go back to the sea. Cynthia and Mrs. Ketchum listened as I told them how I came to being Manaphy's mother. When I mentioned Phantom the Pirate, there was some bitterness in my voice as I recollected how he tried to steal the Sea Crown and ended putting the lives of me and my friends in danger of being crushed to death by the ocean. Once Ash had restored the Sea Crown, Phantom had tried to snatch Manaphy from me but my motherly instincts told me that Manaphy was in danger. As I scooped up Manaphy, Phantom had tried to grab Manaphy but I gave him a swift and high powered kick to his face knocking a canine out of his mouth.
Cynthia knew that I was part of the Shadow Rangers because I had told her that during the mission against Team Galactic. Anyway, back to my recollection, Phantom had challenged to me a show of strength which I was foolish enough to accept. Phantom though that he could break me in half because of my petite figure but the fact that I was nimble and quick enough to stay out of Phantom's grasp allowed me to knock some more teeth out Phantom's mouth and subsequently breaking his left wrist and disabling the use of his mecha suit which allowed him to lift heavy things that normal humans couldn't lift.
"Wow that's one heck of a story," said Cynthia as she smiled. "Normally I would've thought it was a crazy story but I believe it."
Like my parents, Cynthia only stayed for a couple days and then went back to her home region. Cynthia was given a tour of Professor Oak's laboratory where she met all of Ash's Pokémon. She was surprised to see that Ash took good care of his Pokémon… just kidding she saw that Ash's Pokémon were happy with being Ash's Pokémon. The rest of the week, we didn't have any more visitors from friends and it was rather quiet until Professor Oak came by to get us for our trip to the Unova region. Then our journey together began and it would start on a positive note.