Here is chapter two and thank you to those who reviewed!
I received one review that asked a lot of questions. I will answer some without giving away too many details.
How will the fic be organized? I'll be honest and say that I haven't given it much thought and I'm more focused on getting this story up and running. I'll keep you posted.
Will anyone else be joining Ash and May, and why? I can't answer this without giving away spoilers. I will say, however, that certain characters won't appear and some won't appear until much later.
What Pokémon will they end up with? That's a surprise.
Rivals? I'm thinking about a major rival for Ash. Chances are that Drew and Harley will appear since they are vital towards May's character development. The relationship between them, however, may not be the same.
Team's Aqua and Magma will be appearing in this story. You'll find out to what extent in this chapter. I'm still undecided on Team Rocket.
I will be keeping all these questions in mind as they will be a big help in the planning of this.
Now, onwards to Chapter Two!
It was around early afternoon as the sun shone brightly through the thin covering of leaves and branches on Route 101. Ash and May had been travelling for an hour or so. Actually, it was more like May was travelling and Ash was being dragged since she had, for whatever reason, not released his arm. Because of this, they were travelling at a slower pace than what Ash was accustomed too.
Neither of them made any effort to start a conversation, the main reason being out of awkwardness. Ash wasn't a shy person, far from it actually, but he couldn't bring himself to actually say anything.
May was too busy looking out for any 'potential threats', as she liked to call them. The incident with the Poochyena and Mightyena had rattled her. Now she was getting edgy; jumping at the slightest noise.
Needless to say, this was irking Ash because whenever she did jump, she unconsciously tightened her grip on Ash's arm, which cut of the blood circulation and therefore made the limb numb.
"Um, May?" Ash said, trying to get the attention of the brunette. She looked at him with an inquiring look.
"What is it, Ash?"
"Could you let go of my arm?" Ash asked in a hopeful tone. May looked at her hands that were had tight hold on the boy's arm and hastily let go.
"Sorry…" she said embarrassedly. Ash shook his arm to get the blood moving again and put both of his hands behind his head.
"You know, nothing is going to just jump out and attack you," Ash stated.
"Really? I'm not so sure," May said, still looking around. Ash sighed.
"Unless you provoke them, or something, they won't," he said confidently, "So stop acting so jumpy."
"I'm not jumpy!" May insisted. Ash looked at Pikachu, who was perched on his left shoulder, and nodded. Pikachu suddenly hopped onto May's shoulder, causing the girl to yelp loudly in surprise. When she saw it was only Pikachu she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Not jumpy, eh?" Ash chortled. Pikachu hopped back on Ash's shoulder and laughed as well.
"It's not funny!" May yelled. Ash and Pikachu stopped laughing, "How do you know something isn't going to just jump out and attack us? That Poochyena did!"
"I thought you ran over that Poochyena's tail?" Ash said.
"Oh yeah, I did…"
"Then stop worrying," Ash sighed again, "Wild Pokémon don't just jump out and attack people for no apparent reason."
"Then what about that?!" May said frantically, pointing behind Ash. The teen whirled around and came, literally, face to face with an unidentifiable flying object. The UFO bounced off of Ash's face with a lot of force, causing the Kanto native to stumble over. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and stood in a battle stance. Ash stood up and saw what 'attacked' him.
It looked two blue balloons connected by a zigzag of black string. The top 'balloon' was perched atop the other one. It had two small feet, ears and a tail. It also had two white marks on its cheeks and small black eyes.
"Aw, it's so cute!" May cooed.
"It packs a wallop as well," Ash grumbled, rubbing his face.
"I wonder what it is," May said as she pulled out her new Pokédex. She opened it and pointed it at the Pokémon.
"Azurill: the Polka Dot Pokémon. Azurill spins its tail as if it were a lasso then hurls it far. The momentum of the throw sends its body flying, too. Using this unique action, one of these Pokémon managed to hurl itself 33 feet."
"That explains why it crashed into you," May said to Ash who only grumbled in response. She rummaged through her fanny pack and pulled out an empty Pokéball, "You know what? I think I'll catch it!"
She enlarged the ball and threw it at Azurill. Ash made a move to stop her but he was too late. Azurill noticed the incoming danger and spat a small torrent of water from its mouth. The water stream hit the ball and sent it back towards the two humans, or more specifically, May's face. Ash reacted quick enough to catch the ball before it hit her.
"You've got to weaken a Pokémon in battle before attempting to catch it," Ash explained, "If you don't, things like this will happen."
"Right, I knew that," May said, sweat-dropping. Ash sighed, yet again, and handed the ball back to her, "Nice catch, by the way."
"Being hit by a Pokéball hurts," Ash said simply before turning his attention to the Azurill. The Polka Dot Pokémon was feeling threatened and started to hop away on its large balloon like tail, "It's getting away!"
May threw out Torchic's ball and the Chick Pokémon appeared, hopping up and down. It was excited about the fact its trainer had called it out, "Stop that thing with… Peck!" May called out unsurely. Torchic looked around for a while before finally spotting the fleeing normal-type. It charged at it as fast as its little legs could go.
Unfortunately for Torchic, Azurill had just so happened to hop over a conveniently placed rock. The Chick Pokémon collided with the rock's hard surface. Azurill kept bouncing away while Torchic was getting back up.
The hyperactive fire type continued its pursuit of the normal type but it didn't have the speed to catch up to it. This time, Azurill led Torchic into a tree before hopping off once more.
"Ah, Torchic!" May exclaimed as she ran over to the downed Pokémon. Torchic managed to stand up again and, yet again, chased after Azurill.
"Maybe you should try a different attack," Ash suggested, noting that this current method wasn't going to work.
"Um… let's see," May pondered, "What were those attacks again?"
Ash and Pikachu face palmed. Azurill hopped into a bush and Torchic unexpectedly opened its beak and let loose a barrage of small red balls, otherwise known as Ember. The attack hit its mark, much to Torchic's pleasure as it happily started to celebrate.
May ran over to Torchic and hugged it, "Good job!" she praised, making Torchic even giddier. Ash looked over at the bush and saw a charred looking Azurill, along with a Marill and Azumarill. The Marill was larger than the Azurill. It had a smaller tail but a bigger and rounder body with a white belly, hands and bigger ears. The Azumarill was larger than the Marill, with a longer tail and longer ears. It had a white bubble pattern on its front.
The three Pokémon glared at an unsuspecting Torchic that was dancing away. May was giggling at her Pokémon's antics. The three Pokémon then took a deep breath each and shot out a torrent of water from their mouths. The triple Water Gun attack hit Torchic, causing it to fly into a tree. The super-effective attack instantly knocked the poor Pokémon out.
Ash saw that the three Pokémon weren't done there so he intercepted them, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu aimed the attack just in front of the Pokémon, scaring the three Pokémon as they ran away and dived into a pond, judging by the splashing sound.
Ash and Pikachu wandered over to May who had the knocked out Torchic in her arms. She had a deeply concerned look on her face.
"I feel awful about this," she said, "I should've been paying attention to the Azurill. What do I do about this?"
"It's okay to make mistakes," Ash said, "We should get Torchic to a Pokémon Centre, where it can get its health restored right away."
"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" May said, suddenly rushing off. Ash and Pikachu quickly followed her.
The supposed half a day it takes to get to Oldale Town ended up being about one or two hours at the pace Ash and May were going. It was the amazing that the two could keep up the pace for that long but it could have been just adrenaline.
Oldale Town was smaller than Littleroot Town and lived up to its name of being old as every building and pathway looked aged. The majority of the buildings were made out of wood and hay with the odd concrete one dotted around. The pathways were made of cobble stone, giving Oldale Town a sort of historic and nice touch.
Ash and May ignored the interesting looking ruins that were atop a hill and kept on running down a pathway. They eventually came across a large and modern looking building with a large red 'P' on the side. They ran through the automated doors and stopped to catch their breath. Once they had done that, they walked up to the counter where a young looking woman stood behind. She had red hair that was tied into two loops, a pink dress with a white apron over it and white nurse cap. She had a warm smile as she greeted the two tired travellers.
"Hello, how may I help you?" she asked kindly. May walked up to the counter and held out Torchic's Pokéball.
"Nurse Joy, could you take a look at my Torchic?" May asked.
"Sure," Joy said, taking the ball from May and placing it in a complex looking machine. A couple of minutes later, Joy said, "Torchic will be fine in a couple of hours."
"That's a relief," May sighed.
"See May? Nothing to worry about," Ash smiled.
"Yeah," May agreed, "Hey, I've never been in a Pokémon Centre before. Do you think you could show me around?"
"Sure, why not?" Ash said.
The first stop was the Trainer's Lounge, a place where trainers can sit and rest. Trainers can also find out information on specific things here, mainly Pokémon and battles. May asked Ash if people knew where the best shops and malls were, to which Ash replied that they only really talk about stuff to do with Pokémon but might know something.
The next stop was the bedroom. Ash explained that trainers sometimes need to stay overnight so they sleep in cosy looking rooms. May thought the rooms weren't that bad.
The last stop was May's favourite; the cafeteria. She was delighted to find out that the first meal was always free and wasted no time in ordering the day's special; a curry with some bread on the side. Ash was starving as well so he ordered the same thing.
"This place is like a home away from home," May commented, happily digging into her meal.
"Yeah, but the difference is that you can't stay here forever," Ash said, digging into his own meal. Sat next to him was Pikachu who was licking at a bottle of ketchup; it's favourite snack.
"How come?"
"Pokémon Centres can get really busy so they need the room," Ash explained, "So once you're done in a centre you're expected to leave."
"I guess that makes sense," May said. She quickly finished her meal, "I think I might look around town, wanna come with?"
"Sure," the teen replied, "I've just got to register for the Hoenn League first."
"That won't take long, will it?" the brunette asked.
"It shouldn't," the raven head claimed as he stood up. He picked up his tray and placed it on the cafeteria counter where it could be cleaned. Pikachu hopped onto his usual perch and Ash walked over to the main reception. He approached Nurse Joy, "Nurse Joy, could I register for the Hoenn League?"
"Sure thing," Joy smiled (she's always smiling), "I just need your Pokédex."
Ash pulled out the device and handed it over to Nurse Joy. She slotted into a machine and began to type something. On an overhead wide-screen appeared Ash's profile page, including a picture of him, his Pokémon and several of his badges. Chunks of text flashed on and off the screen for a while before the whole page disappeared. Nurse Joy handed Ash his Pokédex back.
"You're all set," she said. Ash thanked her and walked over to May, who was waiting by the Pokémon Centre doors.
"Ready to go?" May asked him. Ash nodded and the two left the centre.
"You two should be careful; they say there are suspicious looking people wandering around town!" Nurse Joy called out to them.
"We'll keep that in mind!"
The two looked around the assortment of buildings, wandering where to go first. Ash took out the guide book and flicked to the page on Oldale Town.
"It says here that Oldale Town has no attractions other than the ruins on top of that hill," Ash said, pointing the hill that a little ways to the right, "Other than that, there're only houses and a Pokémon Centre in this town."
"Well that sucks," May said simply, "I thought this place would at least have some shops or something."
"We could always look at the ruins," Ash suggested, shrugging his shoulders. May sighed.
"There's nothing better to do, but a bunch of old rocks doesn't sound very exciting," she said. The pair made their way to the ruins. When they arrived, they immediately spotted something out of place.
"Why is there a helicopter here?" Ash asked. True to his word, a large black whirly-bird was parked in the middle of the ruins. On the side of it was a red symbol that looked vaguely like an 'M'.
"There's another one over there," May said, pointing in the direction of another helicopter. This one was blue with a green 'O' on the side, "Something's going on here."
"I wonder what's going on," Ash said, his curiosity getting the better of him as he ran over to the helicopters. May, just as curious, went to examine them as well. She noticed an entrance to a chamber in between the two and walked over to it. She could hear voice from below.
"Sir, there's nothing here," a deep voice said.
"Yes, I can see that," another voice, a younger sounding one, snapped.
"Should we pull back?" a different voice, a female, asked.
"No, let's stay here a little longer," the younger one said, "I'm having this strange feeling…"
"Hey May, what're you looking at?" Ash asked, walking over.
"There're people down there," May said, pointing into the chamber. Ash looked down there and saw nothing but darkness. He looked over at May confusingly.
"I don't see anything," he said.
May shook her head, "They were talking. I'm going to go see."
May walked in through the entrance and down the stairs. Ash followed her quietly, making sure to keep a hand on the wall in case he got lost. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they found themselves in a dimly lit chamber with a pool of water. The stone was a blue-green colour and sparkled slightly. The air in the chamber was remarkably cool and fresh.
"What're you kids doing down here?" a deep voice asked. Ash and May looked towards the source and saw a large man of about seven feet leer down at them. He was completely bald and his head stuck out like a light bulb in the dimly lit room. He wore dust coloured cargo trousers that were tucked into a pair of black boots. He wore a green shirt with an intricate gold pattern going from one shoulder to the bottom of the shirt. Around his neck was a short green scarf.
Ash and May stepped back a bit, intimidated by the man's size. Feeling brave, May answered him, "We-we came down here to… look at the ruins."
"Yeah, we're tourists," Ash chipped in, grinning nervously. The man eyed them suspiciously before calling out to someone.
"Sir, we have a couple of kids here. What do we do with them?"
"Kids?" someone questioned. He looked no older than Ash and was about three inches taller. He had messy blond hair with two large bangs going down the side of his face down to his chin. He wore the same clothes as the man, accept his scarf was longer; it was down to his waist. His emerald eyes eyed the two for a while. He unexpectedly smiled a friendly smile and asked them, "You haven't seen any guys dressed in red around here have you?"
"Guys in red? I don't think we've seen anyone like that, sorry" Ash answered, feeling more comfortable around the younger boy. Said boy sighed.
"Its fine," he said, "We're a little busy down here, so try not to interrupt us, please."
"Sir," a woman said. She had a pretty face and over shaped glasses. Her long red hair was tied into a bun on top of her head. The only difference in her uniform was that her scarf was worn like a tie and she wore a white lab coat over her clothes, "I don't think those buffoons in red are here."
"Who are you calling 'buffoons'?" yet another person questioned. Everyone turned around to see three men in red and back uniforms blocking the entrance. The man who just spoke stepped forward, "You are the buffoons for falling into our trap."
"A trap, you say?" the young boy stepped forward, "That would explain the lack of Magma grunts around here. So where have Team Magma really gone?"
"Unfortunately, Team Ozone, that info in classified," the man smirked, "Now, will you come with us quietly or do we have to destroy the whole of this pathetic town first?"
Ash and May gasped at the threat. The three people in green, now known as Team Ozone, didn't seem fazed.
"Your bluff is obvious," the woman said, "Blowing up an entire town would not only alert the authorities, but Team Aqua as well. Team Magma can't afford to have all that attention now, can they?"
"Oh, you think we are bluffing?" the man laughed. Team Ozone didn't reply but the giant man started to crack his knuckles.
"I say we just beat the living crap out of them and be done with it," he started to loosen his neck and made some threatening gestures. The young boy held his arm out in front of him.
"Calm down," he said. He then made a gesture with his other hand behind his back that only his team mates noticed "We'll come quietly."
"Good choice," the man chuckled. He pointed to the two men behind him, "Tie them up and take their Pokéballs!"
"Yes, sir!" they both saluted and carried out the task that was set for them.
"Whoa, talk about drama," commented May. She and Ash were standing quietly in the background, viewing the spectacle before them.
"Yeah," Ash agreed. He watched as Team Ozone were restrained by ropes and forced to walk out of the chamber, "Let's follow them."
The two travellers silently tiptoed up the stairs and quickly hid behind a large slab of rock. They saw that Team Ozone was standing right in front of them and Team Magma was preparing their helicopter.
"Wow, this is exciting," May said in a hushed tone. Ash silenced her. They didn't want to draw any attention themselves.
The head member of the Magma trio had just finished talking on a walkie-talkie, "It looks like Tabitha has done his job," he turned to Team Ozone, "It's time to go back to HQ. Boss will be very pleased with this catch."
"Sir, the transport will be ready in a few minutes," one of the grunts said, saluting. The leader nodded and walked off.
"Hey, you who is hiding behind the rock," the blond said in a whisper. Ash and May looked up, knowing full well that he was referring to them, "We need your help."
"Who are you?" Ash asked, not willing to help these guys straight away.
"That's not important right now," the blond answered, "We don't wish to harm you or anyone in this town."
"What do you need us to do?" May asked.
"I need one of you to distract those guys long enough for the other one to set us free," the blond instructed.
Ash and May looked at each other and silently agreed to the request.
"I'll distract them," Ash said, "Pikachu can help me out."
"Right, be careful," May said, moving aside so Ash could crawl through. The teen and Pikachu silently walked away from their cover to a safe distance away from May and Team Ozone.
The blond spoke again, "In a pouch on my trouser leg is a knife. Use it to cut the ropes when they are distracted."
May nodded to herself and waited for Ash to do his job.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called loudly. The Magma trio looked over at the source and were shocked with the attack.
"Get that kid!" the leader ordered, shaking off the momentary paralysis. The two grunts chased after Ash who ran down the side of the hill. The leader took over the preparations in the helicopter.
May took this chance to lean over the rock and locate the pouch the blond was talking about. It was a bit difficult since he was in the middle but she managed open the pouch and carefully pull out the knife.
The knife was a simple two and a half inch blade that was slightly curved. She held it uneasily, having never held a weapon before and not knowing what it has been used for didn't help either. Despite that, she started to hastily cut the ropes, making sure she didn't accidentally cut one of them in the process. It took about a whole minute worth of effort to finally cut the thick binds.
Team Ozone silently threw the ropes to one side. The blond turned to May and took back the knife. He quickly thanked her, nodded to the woman and man and ran over to their helicopter. They were in and out in a mater of seconds, each of them holding one Pokéball. The giant tossed his ball out and a large grey bird with red wings and a long beak appeared. It shined in the afternoon soon and cried shrill a cry. Curious, May took out her Pokédex and pointed it at the bird.
"Skarmory: the Armour Bird Pokémon. Skarmory is entirely encased in hard and protective armour. This Pokémon flies at close to 190 MPH. It slashes foes with its wings that possess sword-like cutting edges."
"Skarmory, use Steel Wing!" the man commanded. Skarmory's wings glowed white as it flew towards the helicopter at incredible speeds. The man in the air craft quickly dived out of it as the Armour Bird's wings sliced it in half like a knife through butter.
"Go, Houndoom!" the man called out his own Pokémon; a black dog like creature with silver horns and a small skull on the centre of its collar bone. It roared loudly, "Use Flamethrower!"
Houndoom breathed an intense jet of orange flames towards Skarmory. The flying-steel type manoeuvred out of the way.
May looked up Houndoom on the Pokédex, "Houndoom: the Dark Pokémon. In a Houndoom pack, the one with its horns raked sharply towards the back assumes the leadership role. These Pokémon choose their leader by fighting amongst them selves."
"Skarmory, use Aerial Ace!" the man ordered. Skarmory dive bombed Houndoom, surrounded by a white aura. Houndoom had no time to counter as the attack was too fast. Skarmory's sharp beak rammed into the Dark Pokémon, knocking it back.
"Whoa, that's fast…," May marvelled at the sight. She was brought out her thoughts by Ash tapping her on the shoulder.
"Hey, we should get out here," he advised. May reluctantly stood up when the two grunts that were chasing Ash appeared next to their boss.
"Sir, that brat got the police on us!" one of them exclaimed.
"He did what?!" the leader yelled. He looked to the destroyed helicopter; their only way out, "We're screwed…"
Team Ozone smirked at their predicament and hopped into their helicopter. The giant recalled his Skarmory as they flew away.
The leader of the Magma trio was having a fit and literally screaming at the two grunts. Ash and May quickly ran away so as to not feel their wrath. They could vaguely here the sound of police sirens as they re-entered town.
"Well that was fun!" May said happily, "If not a little scary…"
"They both look like trouble to me," Ash said. He then yawned loudly, "I don't know about you, but I'm a little tired after that."
Ash and May entered the Pokémon Centre and saw a police officer, a woman with green hair and a blue uniform, was taking with Nurse Joy. The police officer turned around and walked over to Ash.
"What's the situation?" she asked him.
"The guys in green, I can't remember who they were, escaped but the Magma guys are stranded there," Ash reported.
"Thank you for informing us of this," she thanked him before leaving the centre.
"You both look tired, would you like a room?" Joy asked them.
"Yes please, I was about to ask," Ash said.
Nurse Joy handed him a room key. The two went to their turn in after a day full of excitement.
Meanwhile, the Team Ozone helicopter had landed in a clearing a few hundred miles north of Oldale Town. The three members were sitting around a camp fire, silently looking up at the stars in the night sky.
The giant man was lazily lying on his side as he munched on a bag of peanuts. He yawned loudly, loud enough for it echo throughout the forest they were camping in, "Explain to me again why we are camping out here?"
The woman adjusted her glasses and looked up from the laptop she was typing away on. She looked over at the giant with an annoyed look, "You know perfectly well that Magma and Aqua send out scouts during the night. If we get caught it's all over for us."
"I know that!" the man insisted, "But wouldn't a fancy hotel be much better?"
The woman sighed in annoyance, "We're not exactly loaded, Kyoku!"
"That's because the guys at the office don't pay us," Kyoku said, a bit angrily, "You're the genius, Rouge; why don't we get paid?"
Rouge sighed, "I don't know. But we really don't need to get paid."
Kyoku snorted, "Why not? We are working for them and should be rewarded. What do you think, Joaquin?"
Joaquin, the blond boy, was simply gazing up at the stars. He didn't answer Kyoku and looked distant. Kyoku snapped his fingers in front of his face, "Hello, anyone there?"
"Stop it Kyoku, you know how he gets," Rouge scolded, "So what's up, Joaquin?"
Joaquin slowly faced her, "I'm just thinking…"
"About…," Kyoku urged.
"Nothing you should concern yourself with," the blond said as he stood up, "I'm going for a walk."
Kyoku rolled his eyes, "That kid has such an attitude problem."
"Shut up and eat your peanuts, I'm trying to work here!" Rouge snapped, "Besides, Joaquin won't be too pleased if he heard you say that."
"Yeah, he can get pretty nasty if he has to," Kyoku agreed. He popped a nut into his mouth and spat it back out in disgust, "Almost as nasty as a nut with too much salt."
And we're done for now. Feel free to ask questions, make suggestions and most of all, review!
