Chapter 2: Smooth Criminal

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash exclaimed. "Treecko! Jump and use Pound!"

The trainer and his two Pokémon found themselves facing off with a Taillow. The flying Pokémon had attacked them before flying away with some of Ash's Pokémon food. After a long chase, the trio caught up to the Taillow to find the food was long gone. The Pokémon had left them nothing but a dry, empty can and a few small crumbs.

In anger, Pikachu and Treecko attacked the flying type. Ash found himself impressed with the wild Pokémon's determination and strength as it defended itself against his two Pokémon. He was now determined to catch it.

The Taillow was putting up a good fight, and had broken through three of Ash's Pokéballs.

Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he charged up for his Thunderbolt attack. With a shout, he shot bright electricity at Taillow. The super effective move hit the bird and was enough to stun him for a mere second. Treecko dashed up a large tree and swung around on the branches before launching himself high into the air. He flipped and slammed his tail into the stunned Taillow.

The attack sent the dark blue Pokémon rocketing downward and into the ground. With a loud thud, the bird hit the ground and uplifted tons of dirt.

Ash unclipped an empty Pokéball from his belt and enlarged it. He smirked with confidence and threw the ball into the dust cloud. He heard the red and white sphere hit the Pokémon. As the dust settled, he could see the ball shaking as the Taillow struggled to escape.

*Ding*

His eyes widened with excitement. He smiled as he picked up the fist sized device and tossed it into the air. "All right!" He said happily. He caught the Pokéball and spun around three hundred and sixty degrees. "I caught-" He held out the Pokéball for the world to see. "-a Taillow!"

...

...

...

"Pika pi..." Pikachu mumbled, embarrassed by his trainers energetic show. He and Treecko sweat dropped.

Ash needed to find a Pokémon Center to heal his newly caught Pokémon. He returned Treecko and ran down the route to the next residential area: Petalburg City.

"Please let there be a Pokémon Center." He panted as the city came into view. Although he wasn't under as much pressure as he had been when Pikachu had been hurt, he wanted to heal Taillow as quickly as he could.

He entered the city and continued his dash down the sidewalk next to a busy road. He slowed to a stop when he saw a large sign that appeared to be a map. He walked over to the sign to find out where he was and the location of the Pokémon Center. "Let's see, we came in on the east entrance, and the Pokémon Center is south." He muttered, tapping his chin as he examined the map closely. "We been to take a left on Maple Street and-..."

His train of though was cut off when he heard a familiar voice. His head perked up and he stood up straight. He took a few steps backwards and looked around for the source of the voice.

"Oh! And there's a Mexican buffet! I do love some good Mexican..."

Ash walked forward and peered around the map he had been scanning to see a familiar brunette examining an index of the buildings and businesses on the other side.

"May?"

The brunette stiffened at the sound of her name and looked over to see Ash looking at her:

"Oh... Hey... Ash..." she said slowly.

It was then Ash noticed her Torchic was perched on her shoulder, looking at him innocently. What really caught his attention was the Mudkip on the girl's other shoulder.

"Mud?" The blue water type asked.

"Hey..." Ash said, squinting at the water type. "That's a Mudkip..."

May smiled innocently and scratched Mudkip under his chin. "I know. Isn't he adorable?" she asked.

Ash exchanged suspicious glances with Pikachu and crossed his arms over his chest. "Where did you get it?" he asked.

"Oh! Um..." May began, her gaze turning upward as she stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Err... There's a man... Who... Uh... Breeds Mudkips..." she said, twisting her heel into the sidewalk.

"Well Birch lost his Mudkip right after you left." Ash said, taking a step towards May. She subconsciously took a small step backward away from him.

"R-really?" she stammered. "That's t-too bad... The poor thing."

Ash stopped and raised a brow. "What?" he asked.

May sighed and clasped her hands together. "It breaks my heart to hear a poor Pokémon has been lost." she said. Ash could have sworn she shed a tear.

"Yeah... It's too bad..." he said, taking a step back.

"Especially Mudkips," May continued. "If you haven't already heard, I really like them."

"Kip?" Mudkip asked in confusion. "Kip muuudkip mud mudkip?"

"Shhhh," May shushed quickly, pulling out two Pokéballs. "I know, I'm sad too." She said to Mudkip as she returned both her two Pokémon, who both looked a bit confused.

...

"Pika?" Pikachu asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"It's just such a coincidence that you would get a Mudkip right after-" Ash began, but was cut short when May quickly reached out and grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her.

"Hey! I have an idea!" May exclaimed. Ash quickly caught himself and regained his footing after May pulled him. "I hear there's a great Mexican restaurant around here! Would you like to have lunch there with me?"

Ash stood up straight and raised a brow. He once again exchanged glances with Pikachu. The sound of food was something that always appealed to him. He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."

Never in all his travels had Ash seen a girl eat so much. Misty would have gagged at the high pile of plates May had cleaned off. He was able to eat about the same as the brunette sitting before him, but he would have never guess it was possible for a female to eat as much as May had in one sitting, especially considering her thin figure.

How does that not bulge?Ash thought to himself, examining May's stomach, which was the same size as it had been when she started eating. He didn't see how all the food she had eaten could be compressed into her stomach without showing even slightly.

"Is something wrong?" May asked. She had taken off her black and white gloves and was licking the oily remains of the food on the tips of her fingers. She watched as Ash eyed her.

"Hm? No." Ash said, snapping back to reality. "My mind was wandering off."

May giggled and fluffed her hair. "Are my looks getting the best of you?" she asked.

Ash raised a brow. "No." he said plainly.

...

"Oh." May said, bringing her focus back to licking her fingers.

"Don't take that the wrong way, though." Ash said, grabbing a napkin and using it to wipe his hands. "You're not ugly or anything."

May snorted in amusement at what Ash said. "Okay, thanks." she muttered, also grabbing a napkin to clean her hands.

Ash sighed and looked down at Pikachu, who was lying in a small pile of now empty ketchup bottles. "Kaaaa." the mouse groaned in satisfaction.

"So where are you headed next?" Ash asked, tossing his now crumpled napkin on the table.

May dabbed her mouth with her napkin before also setting it down. "Rustboro City." she said. "There are supposed to be some really cool rocks and treasures there. It's the home of a rock type gym leader after all."

Ash took off his cap and ran his hand through his messy, black hair. "A gym in Rustboro? I'll have to look into that." he said. "Do you know if there's a gym here in Petalburg?"

May simply shrugged at his question. "I don't know." she admitted. "I'm not from around here."

Ash raised a brow and rested his elbows on the table. "Oh? Where are you from?" he questioned.

May remained quiet for a minute, watching Ash. "I used to travel around with my father." she said. "But recently we parted ways so I could go on my Pokémon journey."

Ash nodded and picked up his glass of water, taking a swig before setting it back down on the table. "Got it." he said. "I bet you're excited."

May smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah." she admitted. "It'll be interesting being out on my own."

With that she sighed and stood up. "Well, Ash," she began. "It was great seeing you again."

Ash grinned in response. "Yeah, hopefully our paths cross again sometime." he said. Pikachu grinned and nodded in agreement.

...

"Yeah... Maybe." May muttered. "See you later." With that, she walked away and out of sight.

Right after May left, the waitress walked up to the table and handed Ash the bill, which had both his and May's meals on them. The boy looked up in the direction May had disappeared in. "That little..." he began to mutter, but stopped himself.

With a sigh, he paid the bill and left.

After spending the day exploring the city, Ash retired to the Pokémon Center and checked in for a room. "Hey, is there a gym here by any chance?" he asked the Nurse Joy standing behind the counter.

The woman smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, but the Petalburg Gym has been closed for years." she said, her hair bounced a little as she spoke. "Rustboro has one, though. It's just west of Petalburg."

Ash sighed in disappointment before thanking the Nurse Joy and strolling down the hall to his room. He reached his door and pulled out his key, using it to unlock the door.

With a twist of the doorknob and a push, the door swung open revealing his single bed bedroom. He sighed and slid his backpack off his shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. He walked over to the window and slid it open, letting a cool breeze sweep into the room.

With that, he flopped down onto his bed. It felt so weird staying at a Pokémon Center by himself. He was used to having some other person aside from Pikachu going places with him. After several minutes of silently staring at the ceiling, his eyelids began to grow heavy. He blinked a few times and yawned before shutting them. Within a few seconds, he was asleep.

*Crash*

Ash's eyes opened as he turned his head in the direction of the open window upon hearing a loud crashing sound. From what he could tell, a glass object had been broken. Checking the clock on his Pokédex, he found he had been asleep for around an hour. Figuring he had nothing better to do than check out what was going on, he lifted himself up from the bed and walked over to the window. He looked on with surprise when he saw a small drug store that sat next to the Pokémon Center had a shattered window. There was no broken glass outside in the grass, so someone had broken in from the outside to get in.

Ash looked over at Pikachu, who was fast asleep at the foot of the bed. The sound of the breaking window must not have been enough to have woken him up.

Ash turned back to the drug store and sighed. He hopped out of the Pokémon Center through the window and began to quietly run towards the shattered opening in the building ahead. He came to a stop a couple feet before the window and peaked inside. Not seeing anything, he crawled through the opening and into the building.

It's probably Team Rocket up to no good. He thought to himself as he began to look around. He heard movement to his right. Turning and trying to see as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he began to look down the aisles of the store.

He froze upon seeing a lone, shadowy figure bending down looking at some of the items on the shelf. His eyes widened as he watched the figure grab something off the shelf and stuff it into a sack that was slung over its shoulder.

Ash silently crept behind the oblivious figure before reaching out and grabbing the black mask covering the person's face. With a strong tug, he threw it off.

Upon finding its mask had been removed, the figure swung its fist around in an attempt to attack whoever was behind it. Ash quickly reacted and managed to grab the wrist of the figure, blocking the blow.

The two's eyes met and widened with surprise.

"May?!" Ash exclaimed, backing up slightly. He had a terribly shocked expression on his face.

May looked around, finding she was caught. "H-hey Ash..." she muttered nervously. "What's up?"

"What's up?!" Ash asked angrily, taking a step towards May. The girl took a step back, but found herself backed up against the shelf. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Um... Seeing the sights?" May said innocently.

"Give me a break!" Ash exclaimed. He reached out and grabbed the shelf on either side of May, completely blocking her from escaping. "You really did steal Birch's Mudkip, didn't you?."

Suddenly, May smirked. "Oh my," she said with a sly grin. Ash could feel her breath on his skin. "You're not the type who's afraid to get close."

Ash raised a brow. "What? What does that have to do with-"

"Shhhh..." May hushed him, laying her gloved index finger on his lips. "You know... I have a thing for guys with hats..."

"What?" Ash asked. "Stop trying to change the topic!"

"I've been a bad girl..." May continued in a hushed voice, completely ignoring what Ash said. She pressed herself against him. "Maybe I should-"

"What the-? Get off me!" Ash said, shoving May away from him. "Yeah, you've been bad. Now I'm turning you in."

May scowled. Seducing is always supposed work on guys. she thought to herself as Ash yelled at her.What's wrong with this guy? Time for plan B.

May's bottom lip began to quiver and quiet whimpers began to escape her mouth. Her legs gave away and she collapsed on the floor, her chest now heaving as her whimpers turned into sobs. "I-I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "I-I just... I can't..."

Ash's stern gaze softened upon seeing the seemingly helpless girl cry on the cold tile floor. He looked around awkwardly as she continued before bending down next to her.

"Hey..." he said gently. "It's going to be okay."

May peaked in his direction and managed to halt her sobbing for a moment. "I-It is?" she asked, a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

Ash smiled and nodded.

May smirked. "Good." she said. Her elbow went jabbing into Ash's gut, sending the boy falling backward onto his seat. He hit the ground with a thud and a grunt.

With the precious seconds she had, May took off running down the aisle she and Ash were in. She made a turn and headed in the direction of the window.

"Hey!" Ash said as he recovered from the blow. He shook his head and hopped to his feet. "Get back here!"

He took off in the same direction May had gone. As he ran out of the aisle, he glanced in the direction of the broken window to see May standing a few feet away with a small shopping cart. With a shove, she sent the four wheeled cart in Ash's direction. It collided into him and knocked him back off his feet.

May ran to the broken window and dove through it. She rolled back to her feet and began to make her get away.

Ash growled in annoyance and ran to the window. Not stopping, he slapped his hand down on the sill and used the momentum from running to leap through the window and out of the building. His feet hit the slippery grass and he made a mad dash in the direction he had seen May go.

He reached the front of the drug store to find May kicking up the kickstand on her bike before quickly pedaling away.

"Stop!" Ash exclaimed. Not giving up the chase, he ran after the girl on the bike despite her obvious advantage. She made a quick turn into a dirt pathway leading into the forest, hoping to lose him amongst the shrubs and greenery.

She pedaled with all her might, her lungs feeling like they were going to explode as she desperately rode through the forest. She glanced over her shoulder to see if she had lost her raven haired pursuer. A smirk appeared on her face when she found he was no where in sight.

I lost him!She thought, letting out a sigh of relief. She turned around to look ahead just in time to watch her bike fly off the dirt path, which turned sharply. She let out a screech as she lost control of the bicycle and rode downhill. She rode into a bush, causing the tires on her bike to get caught in the branches. But as the bike stopped and flipped over, May kept going and was thrown into the air. She yelped again as she watched the ground fly by below her and grunted as she hit it hard.

The momentum from the fall and the fact that she was on the side of a hill caused her to roll uncontrollably downward. Her arms and legs were scratched as she scraped up against rocks and sticks in the ground.

Suddenly, her body collided with a tree. The impact hurt incredibly but was enough to stop her out of control tumble.

...

There she laid, in the dirt and leaves. Her body was scratched up and bruised from the unpleasant trip down the slope. Her chest quickly moved up and down as she attempted to catch her breath. Her eyes began to water from the burning sensation shooting through her body. Down her cheek ran a tear.

This time, her sobs were genuine.

Ash slowed his pace as he journeyed deeper into the forest he had seen May venture in. He found himself out of breath and weary. He bent over and laid his hands on his knees has he attempted to catch his breath, looking around at his surroundings.

"I... Probably... Lost her..." he panted in between breaths. He looked down at the dirt road below him and saw the tire tracks left behind by May's bike. His eyes followed the marks as it went down the trail, but stopped upon seeing where they led. He walked up to a place where the dirt path turned, but noticed the tire tracks didn't follow it and rather went down a rather steep slope.

He looked around one last time before following the tracks down the slope. It wasn't long before he saw May's bike in the bushes, it didn't appear to be in good condition.

He swallowed hard, wondering about the fate of the sapphire eyed thief. He took a deep breath and continued down the slope, finding he no longer was being led by tire tracks. He froze upon hearing a muffled cry. He looked around and followed the sound until he found May, who was laying under a tree. He watched as the brunette sobbed.

"May?" he finally asked. The girl looked up at him for few silent seconds before laying her head back down. Ash simply stood there and watched her, unsure if she was actually crying or it was just another one of her tricks.

Ash examined her a little more closely, noticing the bruises and scratches spotting her arms and legs. She would have to be really stupid to try the same trick twice.Ash thought. He could tell May was intelligent, even if she was a crook.

"Hey..." Ash said, approaching May and kneeling down next to her. "Are you okay?"

May looked up at him with watery eyes. "No..." she said.

Ash, concluding that she was actually hurt, laid a hand on her right arm. Gently, he grasped it and attempted to help her back up to her feet. As May tried to stand, she let out a yelp and crumbled back down to the ground.

"Ow..." she moaned.

Ash let go of the girl and sat down beside her. He pitied her, despite her poor ethics and morals. She was truly hurt, which caused her more delicate side to come forth. He couldn't leave her there on the ground, but she wasn't going to be moving too much for a while.

Seeing he didn't seem to have much more of a choice, Ash made himself comfortable on the ground, laying down next to May.

"What? You're not going to go fetch the cops?" May asked sarcastically.

"No." was Ash's reply. "There are wild Pokémon out here. Who knows what could happen to you while I'm gone."

As if cued, the howl of a Poochyena could be heard in the distance.

"Oh," May grunted in response. She rolled onto her back next to Ash.

"So you're a crook." Ash said. His eyes were locked on the twinkling stars hanging in the sky. "You live by stealing from others."

May swallowed, but didn't look in Ash's direction. "Stealing is all I know..." she said sadly. "That's the lifestyle I was raised in."

Ash let out a sigh and rolled his head to look at May. He remembered what May had previously said about traveling with her father. "Your father is a criminal as well?" he asked.

May closed her eyes and nodded. "Yeah..." she whispered. "Big time..."

Ash raised a brow. "Does he work for Team Rocket or someone?" he asked.

May shook her head. "No... He's an independent crook." she told him. "He'd only do something for Team Rocket if they paid him enough."

Ash nodded in understanding. "Do you work with him?" he asked.

May once again shook her head. "No." she said coldly. "I'm on my own now."

...

"Listen," Ash began, rolling onto his side to face May. "I believe that there's good somewhere in everyone."

May finally turned her head and looked at him.

"I don't want to have to turn you in, May. I really don't." Ash admitted. He took off his cap and ran his hand through his hair. "If you're willing to give up your life of crime and stop stealing, I'll let you go."

May's eyes widened. "R-really?" she asked in disbelief.

Ash smiled and nodded. "Yeah, but you have to promise." he told her.

May swallowed hard again and nodded. "Yeah, I promise." she said with a slight smile.

Ash grinned. "Pinkie promise?" he asked, holding out his right pinkie.

"What? Are you a four year old?" May asked, looking at Ash's pinkie.

Ash sighed and rolled his eyes, setting his hand back down. "Never mind." he grumbled, laying back down on his back.

...

"Hey, Ash," May began, turning her gaze back up to the starry sky. "You're pretty cool."

Ash couldn't help but smile at her statement. "Thanks," he said. "You're pretty cool too."

"Yeah right." May replied. "Like you'd ever think that."

"No, I do." Ash protested, looking back at May. "Even if you've done things that I disagree with, that doesn't mean I dislike you or something."

May smiled, feeling somewhat happy to hear him say that. "Thank you, Ash." was all she said.

About an hour later, Ash was fast asleep next to May on the ground. May looked over to check and make sure the boy was truly out before quietly getting up. She looked around at her surroundings before silently heading back up the slope she had tumbled down earlier.

"Sorry, Ash." she whispered as she broke into a run, disappearing from sight.

Messed up uploading this chapter earlier xD Thanks for pointing out that out Strength. I feel dumb. :P

~The Shiny Gengar