Talk about a bizarre beginning to a reunion for Thanksgiving. May saved Piplup from a botched Draco Meteor only to tear up and apologize to Ash. In his room back at his home, Ash was contemplating on May's apology while joined by Dawn and Misty. "That was rather odd of her to just leap into your arms and say sorry," Dawn replayed. Maybe it was something she found and did to harm Ash's legacy over in Johto.
"Well keep in mind," Misty spoke up. "Ash and I traveled through Johto and came across many landscapes. For May to apologize in the manner would mean something happened that would've terrified her." The obvious question: what could it be? Dawn turned to Ash to see if anything Misty said rang up a possibility.
"You got a clue yet?" Ash thought hard. It wasn't normally his business to actually think but the distress in May's cry kept beating his head.
"You're asking me?" he acted annoyed. "Her mood switched the moment she saw my face. She couldn't have missed me for that long considering we participated in the Wallace Cup." Dawn remembered the Wallace Cup. She won the event.
"But that was early on. I'm asking about anything from Johto." A lot of time had passed since the Wallace Cup meaning May had all that time to see Johto...meaning anything she saw could have triggered May's sadness.
"Not enough time for me to actually figure out her problem. Norman and Caroline whisked her and Max away before I had a chance to speak." Something didn't make sense. Then, there was a knock at the door. Who now? "Come in!" The door opened to reveal Norman. He didn't look pretty chipper.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. Why? May's the one who was crying onto Ash. "May returned home after losing to Solana in the Quarterfinals of the Johto Grand Festival." A Quarterfinals loss is more of an accomplishment than a disappointment. "It was abnormal to see her be sad about where she finished since you've finished there a couple of times." Maybe it wasn't the Grand Festival at all.
"Did you see the Grand Festival?" Misty asked.
"Caroline and Max did but that's when it got interesting. Despite being TV wavelengths from May, she noticed that May seemed semi-alert prior to her performance stages. She knew something was bothering May. Of course, I wasn't aware." Ash had a good idea why.
"You're the Petalburg Gym Leader," he concluded. "You've probably were battling a few trainers vying for the Evergrand Tournament." An easy enough explanation...or so Ash thought.
"Actually, I was having some conversations with the Nurse Joy in our hometown." Ugh... The kids collapsed in anger and disbelief. Norman, how could you? Norman focused back on the issue at hand. "Anyway, when May returned home, she seemed really out of sorts. She wouldn't talk to Caroline or Max." Did Norman make an attempt?
"What about talking to you?" Ash questioned. He's family, right? He should count.
"She got real physical on me. She knocked me down a few times and started to fight me even before I said a word in edgewise. But when Caroline mentioned you, Ash, she began to act like herself, more or less. But I mean she wouldn't eat, she wouldn't sleep and most of the time, she'd hang out in the greenhouse with our Pokémon for several hours. All in all, she refuses any help." Wow...mood swings aplenty. It would be like May was forcibly denying any help except for Ash's. Misty and Dawn felt helpless. That would mean it was up to Ash to reason with her.
"Ash, I hate to say it," Dawn grumbled. "But it looks like you're her last hope for a stable May." Ash groaned, feeling the pressure of the situation.
"Why am I the one who has to do everything?" he hissed at the upsetting circumstance. Surrendering, he stood. "Fine. I'll help her." He began to walk out.
"Try checking Prof. Oak's ranch," Norman suggested. "She could be there watching the Pokémon." A lead. Ash listened and bolted out of the house to Oak's backyard. There was one hitch...and it was coming Ash's way at high speed.
"Get outta the way!" a young man screamed. Ash turned, seeing a blond young man in an orange striped shirt barreling toward him. Ash acted like a deer in headlights, frozen in panic. But someone was watching out for Ash because his Bayleef came from behind and used Vine Whip to lasso the blond up, stopping him in his tracks. The blond landed flat on his butt from the recoil.
"Barry? Don't tell me you were invited too!" Barry sprung back up, the vine still wrapped around his stomach.
"How dare you stop me in the middle of my panicked run!" he ranted. "I'm fining you for it! Pay up in 10! 9! 8-" Bayleef heard enough and hoisted Barry up. Barry began to freak. "Get me down!" Ash sighed in thanks to his leafy dinosaur.
"Thanks, Bayleef!" Bayleef accepted the praise as Ash dashed to the ranch, much to Barry's chagrin.
"Don't you leave me, Ash! At least tell me where your house is!" He was invited. Who else? Hearing that dumb question, Bayleef used another vine to pat Barry on the shoulder, making Barry turn his head. The vine then pointed to the house where Ash exited from. When Barry looked, he felt like an idiot. He should have known that Ash exited from his home while he stampeded down the roadway. "Gee...Thanks..."
("You're welcome,") Bayleef huffed proudly. In minutes, Ash reached the ranch but May wasn't there. No bandanna was in sight.
"Where is she?" he cringed. It didn't take long for Ash to come up with a plan. "Noctowl! Swellow!" On cue flying in, his giant black bird and a yellow owl swooped to meet with Ash. He's not done as he snagged a Pokéball. "Staraptor, I need your help too!" The ball opened, allowing Staraptor to spread it's gigantic wingspan. "I need all three of you to help find May!" The winged creatures listened. But hold on.
("Let us help out too!") Pikachu squeaked with Bulbasaur and Buizel by his side. Ash began to think that extra eyes could be of use.
"Okay, Pikachu. You get on Noctowl. Buizel, you board Staraptor and Bulbasaur, you're with Swellow." Hopping on in acknowledgment, the Pokémon had taken to the skies to seek May. Checking the western piece of the ranch were Buizel and Staraptor. East belong to Bulbasaur and Swellow as the north went to Pikachu and Noctowl. Ash stayed with the ground game and looked below his owl and mouse. The Pokémon searched high and low for an hour, no sign of May anywhere. "Where are you, May?" He could need some help. Where's Brock? Shouldn't he help Ash out in this situation?
("We found her, Boss!") Buizel screeched. Ash looked up to find Staraptor and Buizel fluttering overhead. That sounding from Buizel was promising.
"You found May?" Staraptor cawed to confirm Ash's wishes. "Great work. Lead the way!" Staraptor flew in lead. Who knew the Oak Ranch was this big? How many acres did Prof. Oak own? Ten minutes after Buizel and Staraptor found her, there she was sitting and tearing on a tree stump. Ash hid behind a tree to make sure May didn't see him too soon but was joined by the locators. "Okay, go and round up Swellow and Noctowl but remain hidden."
("No sweat,") Staraptor quietly beaked before flying off. Now it was Ash and the unsuspecting May. Time to unveil himself. Ash stepped into the clearing. If he wanted to remain quiet, he was failing miserably.
"Go away!" May shouted. She was verbal. She didn't think for a second it may have been Ash. He had to clarify.
"It's...me," he murmured. May suddenly turned to Ash, her face badly stained by the tears she cried. Ash became ever more worried. He pulled a tissue from his black vest pocket and handed it to May. "Interesting that Mom gave me a vest with waterproof technology." May wiped her face with the tissue.
"Sorry about before. I was...really relieved to see you." Relieved? She cried and leaped onto Ash like a worried parent being reunited with her child whiles after he was kidnapped.
"I'm surprised that you didn't latch onto Brock or Max the same way. They were happy to see you again, even if it's for Thanksgiving." Still, something bugged Ash. "By the way, when you leaped onto me, you were outrageously apologetic. What happened?" May realized that the truth needed to come out.
"It's...not easy to say with a face that can't break a smile. It doesn't deserve one." She's being rather harsh. "You see, when you were with me in Hoenn and Kanto, I saw how you resolved situations like the lighthouse incident or helping Manaphy back to his home. So when I found myself in those situations..." She was tearing up again. This was hurting May more than Ash first realized. That wince meant that she got hurt doing...what would May be doing to being with?
"You wanted to go out of the way to right wrongs the way I do it?" May dipped her head in shame.
"I panicked!" She lost all nerve to do what Ash did? "I-I didn't know what to do in those moments!" She froze when she needed to act. This troubled Ash. May showed that she couldn't pull through in the heat of the moment. "I'm afraid to do it!" May cried out and made Ash jump and hug her.
"It's okay." May cried for the while, soaking Ash's shoulder as Pikachu and the other Pokémon emerged from the trees. For someone trying to act like him, Ash took the situation in stride. He wasn't upset with May.
"You don't understand! I mean...there were..."
"Let it go, May." There can be one Ash and May tried to be him in female form. Still, Ash praised her for trying to do something for the greater good despite results.
"Thank you, Ash." Ash turned to see the Pokémon, knowing he didn't deserve all the credit.
"I'm not the only one you need to thank." May was befuddled...until she saw the Pokémon who were concerned. May sniffed, feeling the overwhelming support. Suddenly out of nowhere, a net rained down. Ash and May looked up, only to be snagged and trapped in the net. "What the-" The humans clasped the net, trying to pry it apart...but the nylon rope wouldn't give an inch.
"No, don't tell me!" They looked up, seeing a balloon the shape of Meowth's head. Deep trouble.
"Listen, is that the twerps we caught?" a familiar female voice teased.
"They're in for a ride, like it or not," another male voice chimed.
"On the wind!"
"Pass the stars!"
"Aiming for Pikachu!" Meowth wrapped up with shooting a hand to snag Pikachu. Success for them.
("Hey, let go of us!") Pikachu yelled in protest. It was useless.
"Let us go, Team Rocket!" Ash roared. Jessie, the redhead, wanted no lip from the young trainers.
"We'll let the boss determine your fate!" she mocked. Ash, May and Pikachu were in trouble. "I can't believe we actually worked this thoroughly and successfully!" As the Team Rocket balloon gained altitude, Ash was ready to act...if only his belt wasn't ripped apart by the nylons. The belt rested near the stump and no Pokémon wanted to attack in fear of the net breaking and the humans falling. Ash and his friends were in danger...and only their Pokémon could watch. Can they escape Team Rocket's trap in time for the dinner?
TO BE CONCLUDED...