Hi guys! This is the first official chapter that will help lead into the main plot of story. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon
Chapter 1 – The Magazine
The gang had just left from Ash's house in Pallet Town and were now on their way to the ferry port. They had just taken a break by a large lake to let their pokemon out to play.
"Hey Brock, what time does our ferry leave?" Ash asked.
"It leaves at 3pm." Brock replied.
"Ok, well its 10am now, so that means we have 5 hours until we have to leave. What should we do until then?" Misty asked.
"I know! There's a great restaurant by the ferry port called Poké Chef. I read about it my magazine." May suggested as she got out her 'Kanto: Guide to Good Food'.
"Of course, you'd know that, May. All you ever think about is food. I'm surprised you're not fat by now." Drew remarked. May didn't react at all, but instead a tiny smirk was plastered on her face. Drew was confused by this until…
*Whack*
"Ouch! What was that for?" Drew groaned as he rubbed the lump that was forming on the back of his head, thanks to Misty's mallet.
"I thought you might say something like that, which is why I bought Malletware before we left." May stated.
"Malletware?" Drew questioned.
"Right. May and I each paid Misty, 10 dollars, and in return she gives us protection by whacking any of you boys with her mallet when you say or do something out of line." Dawn explained.
"So, how do we know if something is 'out of line'?" Kenny asked, using air quotes.
"Thought you'd never ask. Misty created an information leaflet just for such an occasion. I'm sure Ash is already familiar with it, so you and Drew might want to take a look at it." May replied as she held out the leaflet to the two boys. Drew took the leaflet from May's hands and opened it up for him and Kenny to read.
Misty's Mallet 'DO NOTS'
DO NOT insult Misty.
DO NOT insult Misty's best friends.
DO NOT make a girl cry.
DO NOT make fun of a girl's weight.
DO NOT mess with a girl's emotions.
"Well, that's quite a few rules to remember." Kenny said once he finished reading.
"That's right, so you better make sure that you stick by them encase you want to get a taste of Misty's mallet, Kenny." Dawn told him.
"Yeah, you saw what happened to Drew when he disobeyed rule number 2 & 4. Plus, if he doesn't apologise for calling me fat, right now, then he's going to get another whack for disobeying rule number 3." May replied as tears threatened to spill over, so she covered her face with her hands, pretending to cry. Although, to Drew, it looked like she was really upset. He looked behind him and saw Misty hovering above him with her mallet, about to strike if he doesn't do something. He gulped and proceeded to comfort her.
"I'm sorry, May. I didn't mean what I said. Please don't cry," Drew apologised as he rubbed May's back.
"That's okay. I forgive you, Drew," May answered, cheerily, as she gave Drew a hug. Drew was slightly taken aback by her sudden change of mood, but hugged her back anyway. The two of them stayed like that for a long while until Dawn purposely coughed, and they both broke apart blushing.
"Well, I think we should get going if we want to stop by that restaurant for lunch." Brock said. The others agreed and returned all their pokemon before setting off for the ferry port, once again.
"Alright, guys. It's 11am now, so if we have lunch at 2pm, then that gives us 3 hours. What do you want to do?" Brock asked. May and Dawn looked at each other and shared knowing smiles.
"Uh oh. We know what that looks means." Drew, Kenny and Max all replied, terrified, in unison.
"Shopping!" May and Dawn exclaimed. May grabbed Drew and Max while Dawn grabbed Kenny and Misty. Ash tried to escape, but Misty grabbed onto him tight.
"Brock, help me!" Ash cried. Brock chuckled at the sight of everyone being dragged to the mall by May and Dawn.
"I'm going to stock up on supplies before lunch. Have fun you guys!" Brock called out as he waved at them before walking off, laughing.
"Okay, Misty, you're coming with me and Dawn. Boys, you can look around this shop while you're waiting, but if any of you dare leave, then it will be a date with Misty's mallet for you!" May threatened.
"Hang on a minute, that's not a rule." Drew pointed out. The girls all rolled their eyes in unison.
"Seriously, does it even need to be a rule? You know that when a girl wants to go shopping, you either go with her or die. It's just common knowledge." Dawn explained. The boys all nodded in understanding.
"Alright, see you later, boys!" May called as she and Dawn dragged Misty away. Misty gave Ash a pleading look, but he just chuckled and waved at her. She then proceeded to give him one of her best death glares that said 'You are so gonna die later' which made Ash gulp in fear.
"How about this one?" May asked.
"Too girly." Misty replied.
"This one?" Dawn questioned.
"Too pink," Misty groaned in disgust.
"Ugh, come on, Misty, there must be something you like!" May complained. May and Dawn had been trying to get Misty to buy more girly clothes, so they tried to find her a bikini. Misty had a skeptical look on her face, but she took a look around the shop anyway. Her eyes scanned the racks and stopped on a turquoise tankini with a picture of a horsea in the corner. May and Dawn followed Misty's gaze and spotted the tankini, before sharing knowing looks.
"That one!" May and Dawn exclaimed.
While the girls were shopping for clothes, the boys were looking around the store they were all in called 'Poké Chic'.
"Man, why do we always get dragged shopping," Kenny complained.
"I don't know what you're complaining about. Being the little brother, I got dragged around shops all the time with my sister and my mum." Max stated.
"Yeah and I've been shopping with your sister. Compared to May, Dawn can't be that bad. The last time I had to go shopping with May, she made me carry all the bags and threatened to fire blast me with me her Blaziken if I refused." Drew explained.
"Can't be that bad? The last time Dawn forced me to go shopping with her, I had to go carry all her bags and pay for both of our lunches. Then, to top it all off, when I made the mistake of trying to run away, she set all of her pokemon on me. Piplup used whirlpool on me, Buneary froze me with ice beam, Quilava melted the ice and burned me with flamethrower, Pachirisu used discharge to shock me, Togekiss used air slash and finally, Mamoswine used take down. You really think May is worse than that?" Kenny questioned.
"Okay, okay, you win, but how do you think Ash handled it? He travelled with Misty through 3 different regions." Drew told him. Both Kenny and Drew shuddered at the thought of travelling around with Misty's unrelenting fury and her mallet.
"I don't think it would be that bad. I think travelling with Misty would be fun." Max cut in.
"Yeah, but that's because you two are both the youngest of your families, so you have something in common. Therefore, she is nice to you, but for us, everything we do is wrong." Kenny replied. "Why don't we just ask Ash?" Kenny suggested. "Hey Ash, come over here for a minute," Kenny called.
"What's up guys? Ash asked.
"Me and Kenny have some scary stories about May and Dawn going shopping, but I'm sure yours are worse. How did you manage to survive travelling and shopping with Misty through Kanto, Orange Islands and Johto?" Drew asked.
"Oh, well travelling was alright because I had Brock there with me, so she was mainly focused on dragging him away from girls." Ash explained. Kenny, Max and Drew chuckled and nodded in agreement. "As for shopping, we hardly did any of that. Misty hated clothes shopping and most girly things. Perks of travelling with a tomboy." Ash stated.
"Wow, you are so lucky man." Kenny replied.
"Why is Ash lucky?" Dawn inquired.
"Uh, no reason," Kenny responded, quickly. Dawn gave him a doubting look, but decided to drop it.
"Anyway, let's go everyone!" May exclaimed as the girls dumped all their shopping bags on the guys and walked off while the boys trailed behind.
Meanwhile, while the rest of them were off shopping, Brock was stocking up on supplies at the Poké Mart.
"Alright, so we need potion, pokemon food, berries…" Brock trailed off as a beautiful woman came in to view. She was wearing a plain white dress with a light grey ¾ length sleeve blazer and grey flats. She had hazel eyes and mid-back chocolate brown hair.
"Wow!" Brock exclaimed as he rushed up to the woman, startling her. "Excuse me, Miss. I just had to come over here and tell you that you are most beautiful woman that I have ever laid eyes on. Your flawless skin and your hair as smooth as silk- AARGH!" Brock complimented, but was cut of Croagunk's poison jab.
"That slips right through my fingers, just like you…" Brock managed to get out before he collapsed to the floor in a heap and was dragged off by Croagunk. The lady stared in shock at the events that just took place before continuing with her shopping.
After everyone finished with their business, they met up at the ferry port at 2pm, just as planned, before May took them to Poké Chef.
"Here it is!" May exclaimed. The restaurant was a huge brown building with two gold doors on the front. The words 'Poké Chef' were written at a diagonal angle in large gold letters on the sign and next to the words was a picture of a charmander wearing a chef's hat.
"Aww, the charmander is so cute!" Dawn cooed. Kenny sniggered, from behind, at her childish actions.
"What's so funny?" Dawn asked as she turned around to look at him with her hands on her hips.
"Nothing, Dee Dee," Kenny teased. As soon as she heard this, her face turned red with anger and she glared daggers at him.
"My name is DAWN!" Dawn screamed causing Kenny to laugh even more. Before Dawn could strangle him, Ash and Brock held her back while Misty whacked Kenny with her mallet.
"Hey!" Kenny cried.
"What? You broke rule number 5 'Do not mess with a girl's emotions' ergo, you got whacked." Misty explained.
"Can we please go and eat now?" Ash whined. Everyone nodded in agreement and Ash raced into the restaurant causing everyone to sweat drop at his behaviour.
"Wow, there's so much to choose from! I have no idea what to choose." May said as she struggled to pick something for lunch.
"Well, let's see. Ash is having a hotdog from Unova, Misty and Max are having dumplings from Johto, Brock is having fish with miso from Kanto, Drew is having noodles from Hoenn, I'm having seafood from Sinnoh and Kenny is having soup from Kalos. Why don't you choose one of those, May?" Dawn explained.
"I do love the noodles from Hoenn, so I'll have what Drew is having." May decided. They gave their orders to the waitress and she took them to the chef.
"Of course you would copy me. I am better than you after all," Drew said, haughtily.
*Whack*
"Anything else you want to say, Drew?" May asked, giggling. Drew shook his head and shrunk down in his seat. Just then, the waitress came back and brought their food.
"Yes! The food's here!" Ash and May cheered before they dug in. You'd think they were having an eating contest, the pace they were eating at. Suddenly, Ash's face turned red as he started to choke. Pikachu used iron tail to hit him on the back and a piece of food flew out of his mouth and onto Brock's forehead.
"Sorry," Ash apologised. "Thanks buddy," Ash said to Pikachu, gratefully.
"Pika. Pi." 'No problem.' Pikachu replied before finishing off its ketchup that Ash had given it. When Ash and Pikachu were travelling through the Kalos region, Corina, the Shalour City gym leader, used ketchup to take Pikachu's paw print, so Pikachu tried some and took a liking to it. Everyone laughed at Ash and Pikachu's antics and continued eating their lunch.
After dinner, it was time to board the ferry. Brock gave them all their tickets and they went to go and see Nurse Joy to get their room keys. Upon arriving, Brock went crazy.
"Aaah!" Brock cried as he stood in front of her and grabbed both of her hands. "My dear Nurse Joy, your eyes sparkle like diamonds and your smile can light up a room…" Brock trailed off. Croagunk got out of its pokeball and was about to attack Brock with a poison jab when…
"Croagunk!" Dawn cried.
"Croa?" 'Huh?' Croagunk asked. Dawn beckoned it over to her and Croagunk obeyed.
"Why don't you sit this one out? Then you can see how it's really done." Dawn told it. Croagunk had a confused look on its face, but agreed anyway.
"You want to take this one or shall I?" Misty asked Max.
"You may have the honours, master," Max joked as he did fake bow. Misty giggled before taking care of business.
"…you and I- Ow! Not the ear! AARGH!" Brock cried as Misty grabbed his ear and tossed him over her shoulder. Brock hit the floor with a loud thud and Croagunk dragged him away. Everyone sweat dropped and smiled sheepishly as they looked on.
"Sorry about that, Nurse Joy. Do you have a room of 5 and room of 3?" Misty asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we only have four rooms of 2 left," Nurse Joy replied regretfully.
"Thanks anyway, Nurse Joy. Well, what do we do know?" Misty asked.
"I have a suggestion." Brock replied.
"Wow, you recover fast," Dawn responded, shocked.
"Years of practice. Anyway, if Max and I share a room then that means it's equal for you to split rooms. One girl with one boy." Brock finished.
"What? No way!" They cried.
"Remember, it's only for one night." Brock added. "Plus, in case you forgot, the whole point of this journey was for you all to get along with each other, instead of arguing all the time. So, here's how the rooms will work: Ash with Misty, May with Drew and Dawn with Kenny." Brock finished. "No arguments!" Brock sternly told them before they tried to complain about it.
"Right, well, it's 4pm now and dinner isn't until 6, so what should we do?" Max asked.
"I remember the brochure saying something about there being a pool on board." Brock suggested." The girls and boys all looked at each other, sharing the same look.
"Pool!" They all cried.
Once they all agreed, they went to their rooms to get changed before they went to the pool. When May and Drew reached their room, they both ran to get to the bathroom first, but Drew was faster and managed to get in there before May did, so while Drew was changing, May was sitting on her bed pouting.
"Dreewwwwww! Hurry up, you're taking forever!" May whined.
"Sheesh, May. Do you have no patience at all? I've only been in here for about five minutes." Drew replied.
"That's still really long!" May protested.
"Sorry, you'll just have to wait," Drew responded in a sing-song way.
"Drew, you open that door this instant before I break it down!" May yelled.
"Oooh! I'm so scared!" Drew teased.
"That's it! You asked for it mister!" May shouted through the door as she backed up and prepared to ram the door. Drew chuckled and shook his head at her childish behaviour.
'She's so cute when she's angry.' Drew thought. 'Wait a second, why I am thinking like that? I don't like her.' Drew told himself once he realised what he was just thinking.
"1, 2, 3! AAAHHHH!" May roared as she charged at the door. Drew timed it perfectly and opened the door just as May was about to hit it, causing her to fall flat on her face.
"Well, May. I knew you'd fall for me sooner or later." Drew stated. May got up and growled as she turned to look at him, but her anger soon dissipated and her cheeks were burning for whole other reason once she caught sight of him. Drew was clad in his purple board shorts and emerald flip flops, but he was shirtless. May had to keep herself from drooling at the sight of his toned muscles and abs.
'He is so hot.' May thought to herself. 'Hang on, that's not how I'm supposed to think of him. He's just a rival.' May told herself.
"Like what you see, May?" Drew asked, arrogantly. He caught her gaze and knew that this was a teasing opportunity that he could not miss.
"Huh? No way!" May retorted.
"Then why were you staring at me?" Drew inquired with a smirk on his face.
"Oh, that. I was just shocked at how puny your muscles are, cabbage-brain." May answered, with the hint of a smirk tracing her lips. Drew's smirk fell as he frowned.
'Damn, she's getting better at those comebacks.' Drew thought.
"Now, get out so I can get changed!" May cried as she pushed Drew out the bathroom, slightly flustered, and shut the door. Drew's cheeks were tinted with a faint blush as he thought about everything that just happened.
"Same old May." Drew said as he flicked his hair and put on his black shirt as he walked out the door, chuckling. Once May heard the door close, she gave a sigh of relief and slid down the door until she hit the floor.
"That Drew." May said to herself while giggling before she went to get changed for the pool.
Brock and Max where chilling by the pool while they waited for the others to come. Brock was wearing green board shorts and an orange shirt with brown flip flops, and Max was wearing brown board shorts and a green shirt with black flip flops. They were talking about their past journeys.
"So, what's one of the best moments from your journeys, Brock?" Max asked.
"Hmm, that's a tough one. There have been so many." Brock replied. "Oh, I know. You know how Ash will do almost anything to get a gym badge?" Brock questioned.
"Yeah…" Max trailed off, not knowing where this conversation was heading. He took a sip of his drink while Brock continued.
"Well, back when Ash was getting badges to enter the Indigo League, Ash, Misty and I went to Celadon City, so that Ash could get the Rainbow badge. When we got there, he insulted the perfume that the gym manufactured, so they banned him from the gym and wouldn't let him battle. Do you know what he did?" Brock asked. Max shook his head. Brock chuckled before finishing.
"He dressed as a girl and called himself 'Ashley' to get into the gym and he almost got away with it too if it wasn't for Pikachu recognising him." Brock finished, laughing. Max spit out his drink and stared at Brock in disbelief.
"No way!" Max replied.
"Yep. He wore an orange frilly dress and a blonde wig with a pink bow in it as well as red heels." Brock laughed.
"That's priceless!" Max cried, full on laughing.
"What's priceless?" Ash asked as he sat next to Brock. Ash was wearing dark grey board shorts and a blue shirt with red flip flops. Drew and Kenny sat down next to Ash. Kenny was wearing beige board shorts and a green shirt with dark green flip flops.
"Nothing, Ashley," Max teased, smirking at Ash.
"Brock, you told him!" Ash cried, horrified.
"Told him what?" Kenny asked.
"Nothing!" Ash responded, quickly, flailing his arms about.
"A story for another time, boys." Brock replied, chuckling.
"Hey, where are the girls?" Drew asked. Max's gaze was caught by something coming from behind Drew. He smirked and tapped Brock, pointing at what he spotted.
"Look behind you." Brock commented, grinning. The boys shared confused looks before turning around to see what they were looking at. Instantly, their eyes grew wide and their jaws dropped.
"No…" Ash started.
"…freaking…" Drew continued.
"…way." Kenny finished. Misty, May and Dawn were all walking towards them, dressed in their swimwear. Misty was wearing her turquoise tankini with the little horsea on the left side of the top and navy blue flip flops, May was wearing a scarlet red bikini with the black outline of a rose in the right corner of the bottoms and crimson flip flops, and Dawn was wearing a rose pink halter neck bikini with a small black ribbon on the centre of the top and fuchsia flip flops.
"Hi boys!" May greeted, cheerfully. Brock and Max said hello to them, but Ash, Drew and Kenny didn't. The girls saw the boys staring at them and their smirked inwardly. They each placed a hand under their roommate's chin and closed their mouths.
"You'll catch flies like that you know." Dawn said to them as the girls walked off giggling. They took off their flip flops and were stretching by the pool. The boys all grinned at each other and crept up behind them before pushing them in.
"AAAGHH!" the girls screamed as they plunged into the cold water. Ash, Drew and Kenny were laughing their heads off at their little prank. While they were busy laughing, they didn't notice the girls reach their hands out of the water and grab onto the boys ankles as they pulled them in.
"Waaah!" the boys cried as they fell into the pool. The boys emerged from the surface and the girls started giggling at their appearance. They all had soaking wet hair that was hanging in front of the face. Drew was the least pleased with this.
"May!" Drew shouted.
"What's the matter? I think your new style suits you, mop head," May teased. Drew tried to flick his hair out of the way, but it just stuck to his forehead.
"Right, that's it!" Drew yelled as he started to swim after May.
"Aaah!" May screamed as she swam away. Brock and Max chuckled at their friends' antics before joining them in the pool.
After they finished up in the pool and had dinner, the boys all gathered in Brock and Max's room.
"Alright, fess up. When are you going to confess?" Brock asked Ash, Drew and Kenny.
"What are you talking about, Brock?" Ash asked, confused.
"Oh don't dumb play with me, Ash. You know as well as I do that you like Misty." Brock replied.
"N-no I don't!" Ash protested.
"Really, then why were you so upset when Misty left to go back to Cerulean City and take over as gym leader, and why were you so excited when we met up with Misty again in the Hoenn region?" Brock inquired.
"Uh…" Ash trailed off as he started to blush.
"I thought so. And you, Kenny. You practically confessed your feelings to Dawn back in Sunyshore City, so there's no point in you trying to deny it." Brock pointed out. Kenny felt his cheeks heat up and he suddenly found the floor very interesting.
"Besides, they're not the only ones, are they, Drew?" Max questioned.
"I have no idea what you're on about," Drew replied, coolly.
"Oh please, 'Roses for your Beautifly'? Yeah right." Max responded.
"What? They were!" Drew argued.
"Right and I suppose all the times when you worried about May or gave her advice or just made her smile were nothing?" Max asked, knowing the answer.
"Hmph." Drew replied as he flicked his hair, trying to rid his face of the blush staining his cheeks.
"So, once again, I ask, when are you going to confess? After all, I did organise this journey for you." Brock added. The boys all looked at each other and sighed, knowing they were found out.
"When the moment is right." They replied in unison.
While the boys were all in Brock and Max's room, the girls were talking in May and Drew's room.
"Wasn't it great when we pulled the boys into the pool?" Misty asked, giggling.
"I think Drew's reaction was the best! 'May!'" May replied as she imitated Drew. "What do you think, Dawn?" May asked. When she didn't reply, Misty and May saw that Dawn was engrossed in the magazine she was reading 'Poké Teen'.
"What are you reading, Dawn?" Misty asked.
"There's a really interesting article in here about how to tell if a guy likes you." Dawn told her.
"Oh yeah? Anyone in mind? Kenny perhaps?" May teased.
"What? No!" Dawn argued.
"Dawn, you told me all about it when Kenny asked you go on a journey with him. You said you weren't ready yet, but you couldn't stop blushing. Plus, you called him handsome. Do I need any more proof?" May asked.
"Fine, but I'm not as obvious as some people. You are so crushing on Drew," Dawn stated.
"Why would I like Grasshead?" May questioned.
"Well, then you think of an answer as to why he's practically all you talk about, even if isn't all good, and whenever he gives you a rose, you blush like crazy!" Dawn replied.
"Okay, maybe I do like him a bit…" May trailed off blushing. "…but Misty likes Ash!" May blurted out.
"May!" Misty cried, blushing terribly.
"Oh you do, huh?' Dawn asked as she wiggled her eyebrows, suggestively.
"Alright, maybe I do. I mean, at first I didn't, but I just couldn't help it. I've never met anyone like Ash before. He's so sweet and caring and he's kind to all his pokemon and everyone he meets…" Misty babbled on and on about everything she liked about Ash.
"Who are you and what happened to Misty?" Dawn asked.
"…but if either of you breathe a word of this to anyone, you will DIE!" Misty threatened.
"Aaaaand, she's back." May replied, laughing nervously. "Don't worry, Misty. Your secret is safe with us as long you keep ours." May told her. Dawn nodded her head.
"Agreed." Misty responded.
"Well, should we have a read of the article then?" Dawn asked. May and Misty agreed and they proceeded to read the page.
How to tell if a guy likes you
1. Guys feel like they need to prove themselves, so he may talk about himself a lot
2. Teasing can be used as a form of flirting
3. He will treat you differently to others
4. If a guy likes you, he may become protective over you
5. He will be jealous of other guys you talk about or may show an interest in
6. Look out for any strange behaviour
7. Watch for him taking a previously unexpressed interest in the things that you like
8. Take note of touching and being touched
9. He may try to talk to you more often
10. He remembers little details about you
11. You receive random gifts from him for no reason at all
12. He lets you have your way
13. He compliments you from time to time
14. Look for increased eye contact
15. He's willing to open up to you
If your guy shows at least 5 of these signs, then he definitely likes you, so buy the next issue of 'Poké Teen' to see what this all means.
"I don't know, this could be just one of those things that they print in magazines to try and sell it to people." May said after finishing the article.
"How about this? We'll each keep an eye on someone else's guy and see if they show any of these signs. We'll each keep track of them over the course of our journey and then at the end of it, we'll buy the next issue and decide if we think what the article says is true or not. Deal?" Dawn asked. May and Misty looked at each other and nodded.
"Deal." May and Misty replied in unison.
"Okay, so I'll keep an eye on Drew for May." Dawn decided.
"Then, I'll watch Ash for Misty." May responded.
"So, I guess that leaves me with Kenny for Dawn." Misty added.
"Well, I think we should head to bed, May. We'll see you in the morning." Dawn said as she yawned.
"Yeah, goodnight May." Misty responded as she and Dawn waved to May and walked out the room.
"Goodnight guys!" May called out to them as Drew walked through the door.
"What were you girls talking about?" Drew asked.
"Oh, you know. Girl stuff." May replied. "What were you guys talking about?" May questioned.
"Oh, you know. Guy stuff," Drew imitated. May rolled her eyes and got into bed.
"Whatever. Anyway, I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep." May responded. "Goodnight Drew…" May trailed off as she fell asleep. Drew chuckled at her cute childish actions. He sweetly kissed her on the cheek before getting into bed as well.
"Night May." Drew replied as he switched off the light. A small smile could be seen on May's face.
Hope you enjoyed it! This was very long for a first chapter – I think this is the longest chapter that I have ever written for a story. A Level work may make it difficult for me to write the next chapter because of timing issues, but I will try to update as soon as possible. Please R&R!
xBandanaRosesx