I
Home is Where the Start is!
…Do not be fooled by the similarities, for this world is like an apple compared to the orange that we humans know as the Earth, where an amazing adventure shall take place. Pay attention, you're about to read a tale regaling you with excitement, action, mystery and a narrative that will keep you staring at the screen with thrilling adventures. But above all the tale of a young woman with tremendous determination, for this story is about how a girl from Petalburg City came to be known all across the aforementioned world. Proceed and read the untold experiences of the first coordinator we got to know. This is the story of how May became the Princess of Hoenn.
Evening, Terracotta Town's harbor.
Following the journey of a photon that had managed to shoot out of a nearby star after millennia traversing its insides, it could be seen crossing a thin atmosphere, passing by molecules of oxygen and nitrogen. Continuing this years long journey the photon proceeds its trek downwards into a small seaside town known by its inhabitants as Terracotta Town, and this mass-less particle travels at it at the highest possible speed in the universe. Finally, not unlike the inside of its star, the invisible photon crashes against an ocean of blue, the blue irises of a young girl. Zooming out of the girl's eyes it shows she is accompanied by three other males. This quartet of youths came all the way to this settlement in order to catch a boat. That boat would be the why the group is sitting at a bench, a comfortable silence that comes only from a long journey together, as half of their companions will be leaving on the water transport.
The only girl in the group had brown colored hair, with a red bandana tied around the chestnut locks. It had a strange marking on top of the red, the figure it represented is known commonly as a Poké Ball. The girl also wore a red short sleeved shirt along with white and blue gloves that stopped at her wrists. Beneath her top she wore a white skirt and underneath blue biker shorts, and the outfit was completed by a pair of yellow shoes.
She sat beside a younger boy with black hair and glasses resting on his face, something appeared to be bothering the kid in his brown eyes, but no one noticed this. The kid wore shorts along with green shoes, and gave off a knowledgeable air for someone of his young age. In front of him sat a raven haired boy wearing a red and black cap, with the same Poké Ball symbol on it. He was smiling warmly the entire time, a tan covering his skin from constant traveling under the sunlight.
Finishing up their group was a notably older man with spiky brown hair and narrow eyes, he was carrying a tray of food to the table where the other three were. Once he sat he was well above everyone, further signaling his age and experience over the group. He gave a proud smile at the younger companions and was the first to speak, "For our winners, in honor of your awesome double victory and piping hot!" he placed the food down on the wooden surface, smoke coming from the delicious smelling product. Picking up his own silverware, "Dig in, it's just the way you like it."
The man's earlier statement referred to a recent contest battle, in which two powerful creatures called Pokémon fought in order to win a ribbon, either by being the last one standing or giving the most pleasing display of their powers. A tie was a rare, if not impossible, situation for this competition. It had come off as a pleasant surprise for the group when their two companions, the hat wearing trainer and the brunette had reached the finals and ended in a tie. The two, in a rare display of friendship, chose to split the ribbon in two in order to carry half each. After the tournament was over the group had headed off to the harbor in order to be ready to board the ship that would take the girl and the younger boy away, so their recent draw in the contest was heartwarming for all the group.
Back at the present the glasses wearer spoke, "Looks great, you deserve it!"
The other boy answered him, "I can't wait Max." He looked over at the boiling food hungrily.
Being the only one who hadn't spoken yet the brown haired girl had been silently struggling with a decision ever since they sat down. Her hand was gripping into the half of the ribbon she had got earlier that day and she looked up, "Hold on guys," the three turned to look at her, "there's something I need to tell you first." There was no going back now, the girl had their attention and she had to tell them before it was too late.
The hat wearing boy asked her with an amused expression, "What's on your mind?"
She gripped the ribbon underneath the table harder, "I've been thinking this for a long time." She didn't know if she said that just to reassure herself, "I decided to enter the Johto Pokémon Contests by myself!" Her blue eyes sparkled under the sunset, determination practically leaking from the blue pools.
Everyone was rather surprised to hear the news, "By yourself?"
The older boy also asked with a worried tone, "But what about Max?"
She turned to the youngest person in their group, "Max, I know if you came along I'd start to depend on you." She had already said what she planned, but felt like her traveling companions deserved an explanation. She recalled the very beginning of her journey, almost a year ago. "You remember when we all first met up don't you? I hadn't the slightest idea what I wanted for myself," she looked to the colorful sky and got a smile on her face, "but now things are different!" The determination in her eyes shone even brighter and she stopped playing with the half-ribbon, "After traveling around with you all I know exactly what I want to do. You see, I know there's a lot more for me to learn, lots more contests to be in, new ways of presenting my Pokémon, lots of ways to make them shine!" By the end of her speech she felt elated to have told them her decision, the prospect of learning so much proved exciting to the young girl.
The younger boy looked dejectedly at the ground while the spiky haired boy said, "You're right May." He seemed to have considered her idea carefully, knowing she'd appreciate his advice.
Thanks Brock, "Sounds good to me!" the boy who was slightly older than her was eager for an adventure as always, and May's speech seemed to have pumped him up.
The older boy, Brock, cut in, "And there's Drew and Solidad waiting for you over there!" The mention of the coordinator who had bested her recently in the grand festival almost made the smile disappear from her face; no, I can't let them see it still affects me, otherwise they might worry about me.
"Yeah, and Harley too!" Her friend's antics made the girl laugh, he really had no sense.
"Not sure that's a good thing." After her nervous statement the boy besides her stood up, "Max what's going on?" he ignored her and walked away. She worriedly called out to him, "Wait, where are you going?"
Brock looked at the kid's back, "I'm sure Max's thinking about his journey right about now."
The raven haired boy nodded in agreement, "I'll go talk to him." May appreciated his help; Ash's always such a great guy, I'm sure he'll get through to Max.
As the trainer who she'd tied with went over to the swings where Max sat Brock spoke to her, "Well May, you'll be going on your very first solo trip." He judged her reaction, "Are you nervous?"
"Sort of, but I'm much more eager to just travel around and meet new Pokémon. I'll also make sure to learn a lot of new things."
The older boy nodded in agreement, "But I still think that there's something else that you aren't telling us, something that makes you have to go alone. I'm sure you have a good reason to leave your brother behind."
May felt herself freeze at being caught, she didn't mean for them to find the hidden reason behind her absence. If anyone was going to figure it out I'm glad it's Brock, he can help me figure out what to tell Ash. "You got me, but I didn't want Ash to hear this in case he took it the wrong way." She calmed herself, remembering their battle today; it was a tie. "One of the reason I'm leaving is because of what happened today, funnily enough." Brock seemed to confirm something from this but remained silent, "In our battle Blaziken and Sceptile tied, and that was the problem. How could I tie with Ash on a Pokémon Contest, where I have far more experience? How did our attacks match each other's every time?" She looked at Brock in his narrow eyes, "I thought about it for a while, ever since we exited the contest hall actually. I realized that the problem wasn't a mistake I made, but how I battled. I fought just like Ash taught me, just like he did."
He interrupted her there, filling in the blanks himself. "I understand, so you decided to travel alone because that way no one else can influence your style?" She nodded, "Well I think that's the wrong approach," seeing her shocked look he quickly added, "your style, while in the end is made by you, is formed by the interactions you have with other trainer's own style. Isolating yourself isn't the key to gaining a new style, heck a new style is the last thing you want May." He gave her the most serious look she'd ever seen grace his face, "You want to stand on your own, I respect that and trust your judgement, but the way you're going about it is all wrong."
She was slightly frustrated by his rebuttal of her reasoning, "Well then what am I supposed to do Brock?" She pleaded with her wise companion, who gave her a pat on the head.
"I saw the look in your eyes earlier May, the same look Ash has in his." He looked over to the ocean, "You'll figure it out on your own, it's best for me not to interfere in your growth." The spiky haired trainer looked down at her again, "But if you ever find yourself in need of a friend remember that we are just a call away. Don't think that if you ever ask us for help we'll think badly of you, that's what friends are for."
May appreciated his words and hugged the older trainer that had watched over their group through Hoenn and Kanto, "Thanks for everything Brock."
He laughed and patted her on the back, "I wish you luck in Johto May, make us proud." Brock's words of encouragement filled her heart; I will, I promise I will.
They suddenly heard her brother declare that he would easily defeat Ash if they ever had a battle, and the two laughed at his proclamation. The girl now had more questions plaguing her mind, after Brock's disapproval of her plans. These thoughts were dispelled quickly enough by the sound of a horn in the distance and May looked startled at the clock nearby. She screamed in horror at the hour.
"Max we got to go, that's our ship!" Her brother looked as startled as she and scrambled over to the table, picking up his stuff. Brock hurried over too and packed a small box with the food they still hadn't eaten, handing it over to May. The group turned around and ran down the hill to the ship, where a year of traveling together would finally come to an end for the two children from Petalburg City.
As they were running down the dirt path Ash approached her and told her about his conversation with Max. "You don't have to worry, he was just upset he couldn't battle with Pokémon yet after our contest back in town."
May knew her brother better than that, "How did you convince him to come back home knowing he'll stay there for two more years, he always talks about how much he likes to travel with you guys." Ash looked at her and rubbed his head sheepishly.
"I don't know why he'll go back, I just promised to him we would battle when he got his first Pokémon. That seemed to do the trick but I don't get why." Ash had always been rather dense about people's feelings for him.
She looked over at him and realized having adopted his battling style wasn't her problem, Brock was right about that. It was him after all who she had seen defeat not one but two Legendary Pokémon across their journey, and a style that allowed that to happen was definitely not bad. Maybe I have been going about this all wrong. He had been offered the Frontier Brain positon and he refused, always looking for new adventures. They always did have that in common, the urge to see new places and make new friends all across the world. He was the first to teach her that Pokémon were not so bad after all, helping her get over the dislike she held for the creatures in the beginning. "He admires you a lot silly, especially after you defeated seven of the best trainers in the world!"
"Oh yeah, I guess I never noticed that. He always seems to be teasing me." Ash was rather confused by the contradicting nature of her younger brother, May noticed.
"Max is always like that, the trick is to see past his tricks and you find the true meaning behind his words. Trust me on this Ash, for him you're a hero." He got a smile on his face at the thought and she decided that now was probably the time for their final goodbyes. "And you mean a lot to me too Ash," he looked surprised at her words, not quite expecting the coordinator's words, "you were there when I first started out my journey and I had no idea what to do until you explained things to me." She placed her hand in her pocket and held onto her half of the ribbon, "You're like a mentor to me and I'll be sure to make you proud in Johto!"
The boy who had Pikachu on his shoulder got an embarrassed look on his face, which quickly turned into a frown as he realized this was meant to be their goodbye. "Thanks about for that May, I never realized that you learned so much from me. And no matter what you do I'm already proud of who you are, and to have you as a friend." They had arrived at the ship and the last people were boarding it. The group stopped for a moment for everyone to say goodbye, and Ash dug his half of a pink ribbon out of his pocket. "May, let's promise we will keep following our dreams and join these thing one day!"
She felt her heart skip a beat at the proposal and smiled in return, getting her own half out. "Alright, I accept that promise Ash!" The two trainers joined the ribbon together once again, forming a beautiful piece of jewelry that would be with each of them wherever they'd go. I'll keep these to remember the memories I made, and to keep getting better.
The group of friends finally separated, ending a journey that had begun a whole ocean away, and that had expanded into Kanto as the two Hoenn natives followed Ash in his toughest challenge yet. The two siblings boarded the ship that would take them back to their home region, while Ash and Brock would be heading for their own homes next.
Max didn't seem too eager to leave his friends, "May let's head to the back so we can say bye!"
Agreeing with her brother's sentiment May didn't argue his proposal and the pair quickly headed to the outside of the ship, and looking behind them saw the two older trainers waving at them happily. The Petalburg children returned the gesture, all four of them reminiscing over the memories they had made together. Seeing how both trainers on the pier had released their Pokémon May let her own team out.
Never stopping the salute she said, "You all take good care of yourselves!"
Ash shouted back at her, the distance between them rapidly increasing as the ship sailed away. "We will, and you do the same!"
Brock suddenly slipped back into his old 'womanizer' habits, "Make sure you tell Solidad I said hi!" May did lose her smile this time, if only for an instant. Solidad'll be at the Grand Festival this time too, I never thought about that. May shook off her fear before Max noticed. If I ever see her, she prayed to Arceus she didn't, I'll make sure to tell her Brock.
Her brother said goodbye to Ash himself, and no more words were exchanged between the two pairs as the ship drifted away, a cliff face eventually blocking the sight of their friends from them. That made her realize that this was it; we're actually heading back home and Ash and Brock won't be there anymore.
Max turned around and bragged, "You know Ash promised he'd have a battle with me right away, just as soon as I become a Pokémon trainer." May nodded in understanding and her brother showed his excitement and closed his eyes, "Man I can't wait, as soon as we get to Hoenn I'm going to make dad teach me everything he knows, then I can grow up to be an awesome Gym leader just like he is!"
May looked at her brother with warm eyes, noting how much her little brother had matured during their journey; no Max, you'll be better than he ever was. Then she felt her stomach remind her that they couldn't eat anything yet, "Hey, what do you think about eating Brock's lunch now?" Max quickly agreed with her idea, mentioning he was starving. "Brock's not going to let that happen." The man had been like an older sibling, May realized as the two walked inside the ship laughing. Thank you both for everything.
Three hours later, a cabin aboard the SS Tidal
They had eaten Brock's food at the ship's cafeteria after reheating it, and the two had stayed there talking about the best moments of their journey.
"Remember the time Anabel was totally crushing on Ash and he didn't even notice?" Max barked a laugh, almost choking on whatever sweet he was eating.
May too let out a laugh, remembering how the psychic Frontier Brain had shown an interest in their travel companion while all he wanted to do was battle her. "Those days were so great, I could barely hold my laughter whenever Anabel talked with Ash and he just told her he'd beat her in their rematch! Poor girl, Ash's probably the worst person to crush on."
Max disagreed with her, "Nah, nothing tops off Harley 'crossdressing as girls for my evil plans', that guy is seriously crazy!" May shuddered, remembering the time the purple haired man had dressed like her. How he got a hold of her clothes May had no idea, but she didn't want to know either. Max suddenly yawned, the stress of the day having taken its toll on him.
"Let's go to our room, you better be awake tomorrow when we see mom and dad, otherwise they'll scold me for being so lax with you."
Max would argue that bedtime shouldn't matter until they were back with their parents, but he was far too tired to construct a coherent sentence, so he followed his sister into their own suite and went to change his clothes. Once her little brother changed into his pajamas he looked at her and said, "I'm sorry for getting mad May, it's just I saw you battling with Ash and you both seemed so excited battling, and I just couldn't stop thinking of how much I wished I was there battling too." She could undersdtand that, "I am also worried for you, I mean how could you survive traveling alone? You can't distinguish a Swellow from a Dragonite!" May glared at her little brother, who quickly turned serious and continued, "But I realize that you want to go on your own journey and become your own person, so I am sorry for being selfish."
May blinked in confusion, hearing Max admit he was wrong with something was a new experience for her; but it shows that he truly has grown up. May walked over to the smaller kid and gave him a tight hug, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to convey her thanks.
Max however, had to ruin the moment, "Jeez May, are you practicing to become mom or something? I can barely breathe with those hugs of yours!" The brunette glared at him and he lifted his hands, a smile spreading across his face, "I'm just joking, now let me go to sleep please." May watched as he climbed onto one of the beds and placed his glasses on the table. He noticed her staring, "May, aren't you going to sleep yet?"
"No, but you should, can't have the baby sleep past midnight and all." Max didn't have the energy to reply, so he turned around and said something that was muffled by the pillow. May stared at her brother's form until he started breathing out regularly. She smiled and pulled his cover further up, keeping the promise to take care of Max until the very last day of their journey. May then walked over to a sliding door that led into a small balcony, the smell of the sea calming May.
She remembered her last adventure at the sea, how she'd met the baby Manaphy who had chosen her as its mother, how she cared for the little thing until it became strong enough to protect itself. May knew she couldn't keep such a force of nature to herself, but leaving the legendary had still hurt her more than she admitted. Still, looking at the sea always makes me feel so warm, knowing it's out there keeping the oceans under control. I'm proud of you Manaphy.
Then she remembered her other adventures all across Hoenn and Kanto, battling Drew in Slateport, stopping Team Magma and Team Aqua, meeting Lucario and Mew, Deoxys and Jirachi. And she remembered her latest Grand Festival, where she finally beat her rival Drew and Harley. She remembered the feeling of satisfaction and power she felt after their close match, until Solidad had come along and taken all her pride away. Tears started to form in her eyes as she remembered how the pink haired coordinator deflected all of her attacks, observing her style in the previous matches and adapting completely. I never stood a chance, she's too good. May started to feel her chest tighten as she thought about how Solidad would be in Johto too; what if I can't beat her there either? What's the point of all this if the reality is that I'm not fit for coordinating? Ash tied with me after his first contest, how do I know I'm any good at all?
She didn't notice as the tears fell from her eyes and joined with the salty waters below, for the moment not even the sea could calm the girl.
The next day, coast of Littleroot Town
They were awoken by the sound of a horn announcing their arrival to Littleroot Port, they had finally reached Hoenn, and the siblings woke up groggily, May in particular felt sick after eating too much food yesterday. She ignored the little voice that told her she wasn't sick because of that, ignorance is bliss after all.
Soon both siblings had dressed and packed their belongings, and they headed to the top of the ship. As they looked to the shore among the crowd of people, Max distinguished their parents and began waving. May was confused by her brother's action until she looked towards where her brother was motioning his hand. What she saw made her incredibly happy, as she saw both their parents at the shore, waiting for their children. A warm feeling in her stomach started, which wasn't due to her being sick, as she too waved at them. Perhaps for now she could just relax and go back home, she hadn't grasped it until now but seeing both her parents there and Max being next to her she finally realized what that warm feeling growing in her stomach was,
She was home.
We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere
-Tim McGraw.
7/1/17, Fixed grammar mistakes again. Productin of Chapter 14 is halfway done, outline of arc 2 is done.