A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews again! They make me so happy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.


CHAPTER 3: Truth or Scare

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The cold fizzy pop drink bubbled in the brunette's clear glass. A warm breeze gently shifted her bangs and rattled a few of the lanterns that adorned the rooftop. She brought the cool glass up to her lips and took a long sip, savouring the peachy flavour. She sighed contently and looked up at the stars, noticing a large white streak blink across the sky. The brunette closed her eyes and paused, making a small plea to the guardian up above to give her the strength to reach her goals tomorrow.

When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with a white swirling form.

A vanilla ice cream cone.

"Hey May! Thought you'd like one."

May stepped back a bit, surprised by the sudden sweet in such proximity to her face.

"Ah! Ash, that scared me!" She exclaimed, "But thanks, I was itching to get rid of this sweet tooth." She took the cone from the trainer's hand and grinned widely.

"Ice cream isn't that scary, in fact, it's probably one of my favourite foods." The raven-haired boy grinned back as he took a lick from his dessert. The brunette scoffed as she started on her cone.

"Everything is your favourite food, Ash Ketchum." She smiled as she begun to enjoy her sweet dessert. "I can't believe you actually put together this surprise party Ash... I honestly wasn't expecting anything big at all."

The boy smiled and leaned against the edge of the roof with her.

"We were in Hoenn anyway, and if I can make a friend happy, it's worth it!" He took a lick from his cone again. "Though... the others did help me a lot, I didn't know there'd be that much work involved. Hell, even choosing balloon colours was a headache!"

May giggled to herself, Ash would never change.

"Well, it did make me very happy, Ash. It was just what I needed to calm my nerves before the semi-final tomorrow!" As she continued, she pulled a shiny object out from her pocket slightly hesitantly. Would he even keep this object with him after all this time? It had been a few years, after all.

"Do you still have this with you, Ash?"

The boy recognized the item immediately, and a warm glint raced across his eyes. He nodded and pulled the small object out of his backpack, putting it beside her half completing the two halves of the ribbon.

"Of course I still have it May, it reminds me of how far we've both come."

May smiled and nodded, feeling the same sentiment. She shut her eyes while bringing the ribbon close to her heart and let her mind wander off to that day, the same day pair won the Terracotta medal together.

The spectacular roaring of the crowd, the feeling of both surprise and contentment. They were both perfectly in sync that day. Although, it was also a bit of bittersweet ending for her journey, because it also solidified how much of an influence Ash had on her style.

She opened her eyes again and glanced up at the sky.

"We've both come far Ash, and this ribbon always gave me strength when I was down..." She put the ribbon away in her bag while speaking, "But tonight, I don't need it because I have all the support and courage I could need, right by me."

With both of them still looking up at the sky, the raven-haired trainer placed his hand on her shoulder gently.

"You got this May. You don't need a ribbon, or friends, to remind you of how talented you are. I know, I've seen it with my own eyes. You can beat Harley, you can beat anyone."

May slightly tilted her head and glanced at the young trainer, who continued to look out at the sky. She wished she had half as much confidence as the trainer was suggesting, but if he believed in her this much, she definitely couldn't let him down. She didn't understand why, but just hearing those words coming out from his mouth made a world of difference to her.

"Thank you Ash, for believing in me. I promise I won't let you down."

At this, the trainer took his hand off her shoulder and turned slightly to face her, looking into her eyes.

"Whatever the outcome is May, you could never let me down." He smiled at her, then looked down as he was interrupted by two certain Pokémon.

Minior and Pikachu were looking up at the ice cream cone the pair were holding. Before they could pounce, Ash chuckled and picked up the comet-like Pokémon.

"Oh, don't worry buddy, we'll get you your own cone too!"

May laughed and took out a pokeblock from her bag as well.

"Hey, maybe Minior will like May's blue surprise?" May questioned.

Minior leaned forward excitedly to smell the pale blue pokeblock, as Pikachu watched from Ash's shoulder. Minior took a bite of the pokeblock then immediately turned around and buried its face in Ash's shirt, muffling its cries of horror. May pouted while Ash started to laugh.

"I'm sure Minior just has... Er, selective tastes? Come on May!" He started to make his way back to the food table, while May sulked and followed as well, mumbling under her breath.

"I'm coming... No one appreciates my cooking! Except Munchlax."


In the lounge area, a large commotion was occurring. The assortment of trainers were all seated in a large circle on the floor, in between the blue velvet couches. Yelling and screaming were exploding from all corners of the large circle of friends.

"It's okay, touch it Misty!" Mallow exclaimed.

"Yeah, you can't back down now..." Brock smirked, content at the dare he had selected for his friend.

"Gah! I seriously hate all of you!" The fiery redhead shot back at the circle of friends. She then turned around and hesitantly drew her hand towards a small, grub-like Pokémon. After a moment, she took in a breath and decided to take the plunge, and poked the bug Pokémon.

"Grubbin?" The wild Pokémon turned its head towards the gym leader.

"EWWWWWWW! IT'S SO SLIMY! AND IT LOOKED AT ME!" Misty instinctively recoiled her hand and crawled back to her spot as swiftly as she could, while the others began to laugh.

"Oh my, and I thought I was afraid of Pokémon..." Lillie giggled.

"Well, that's Misty for ya. She does NOT like bug-types." Brock chuckled, while promptly being slapped by the aforementioned girl.

"You are an ass! You know I'm still trying to get over my fear!" Misty fumed. She still was deathly afraid of bug-type Pokémon. And though she was improving slightly with the bugs back in Kanto, Grubbin was entirely new species for her.

"I was trying to help you get over it! You didn't have to abuse me..." Brock sniffed and shifted so Misty could take her place back in the circle.

"Well it didn't..." She mumbled, while noticing two shadows at the food table from the corner of her eye.

"Oh hey, Ash! May! Come join us in our game!" The redhead waved over at the pair, who were trying to feed Minior ice-cream with a spoon.

May's ears perked up.

"Oh, a game? We're coming!" May turned to Ash excitedly, who promptly picked up Minior and took it along to the lounge with the ice cream in a cup. As they took their place in the circle, Misty glanced around to make sure everyone was present.

"Drew, get your butt here. Don't be a party pooper." Misty ordered.

The coordinator, who had been sitting on the couches with his phone for the past half an hour, sighed.

"I'm kind of busy trying to plan strategies here..."

Misty rolled her eyes, expecting him to say something along those lines.

"This is a party, Drew. What's the point of being here if you're not going to talk or do anything?" She said.

"I mean, she does have a point Drew." May added on.

The coordinator sighed and stood up, putting the phone back in his pocket and joined the others in the circle reluctantly. He couldn't believe they were wasting time like this when the contest was happening tomorrow.

"Alright alright, I'm here. Now what?" The coordinator questioned in slight annoyance.

"Yeah, I actually don't know what you guys are playing." Ash confusingly stated.

"We're playing truth or dare! If the bottle lands on you, you get to decide to either answer a question, or do a dare by the person who spun the bottle. Simple." Mallow explained. Ash nodded to signal that he understood.

"Oh... I've heard of that game but never really played it before. This will be fun!"

May laughed at Ash's refreshing innocence. She knew all too well that games like these could get awkward really quickly, moving on from one embarrassing topic to the next. So she really hoped with all her heart that Harley wouldn't land on her.

"Alright ladies, I'm spinning next.~" The purple-haired man said as he flicked the bottle into a spin. May and Brock glanced at each other and slightly frowned in unison, crossing their fingers in hopes that luck would save them from him.

"Annnnd..."

As the bottle' s momentum slowed, it gently passed by Misty, Brock, Drew, eventually landing on...

"Oh yes! Ashy-boy! Truth or dare time!" Harley grinned menacingly. Poor oblivious Ash didn't know what he was about to get himself into.

"Umm, well I guess I'll go with dare. Try me!" Ash proclaimed, wanting to show that he was brave enough to do whatever embarrassing task the man would ask of him. But little did the young trainer know, Harley could read him like a book. The sneaky coordinator knew exactly what to ask to throw May off of her game for the contest tomorrow. Pressing her buttons was his specialty.

"Yaysies!" Harley clapped. "Okay, Ash I dare you to kiss the girl - or boy depending on if you're gay or not - you like most." Harley proclaimed, with a smug expression on his face. "I hope it isn't your first kiss... that'd be a shame." Harley giggled.

Everyone's jaw immediately dropped in astonishment, and they couldn't help but stare at Harley, not believing the question their ears had just heard.

Max sweatdropped. Brock spit out his drink started coughing. Misty squeezed her fists.

Ash froze.

He looked around at the circle, looking for anyone that could help him out of this extremely awkward situation. How could he kiss one of his friends?! This was his worst nightmare. He didn't want anyone to feel bad about it, either.

At the other end of the circle of friends, May felt a mixture of emotions boiling up in the pit of her stomach. Who would Ash choose? She didn't know how to feel about any of the possible outcomes... but as she stared over at the boy, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She looked down at her lap. Minior had now momentarily paused stuffing its stomach with the cold dessert, and now was glancing at the sky.

"Oh my! Classic Harley." Solidad broke the silence, as she looked over at Ash who still hadn't said anything yet. "Ash, trust me, don't make a big deal of it and just choose someone." She pushed him.

Ash nodded while still contemplating what to say.

" I-I don't mean for this to be awkward... but I guess, um..." He looked as if he was about to run out of the room, but continued on while swallowing his fear, "It's not that I like any of you less, but she was just the first person to come to mind because I was just talking to her... so May, you don't mind... do you?"

May's eyes widened in absolute surprise and a tinge of light pink began to spread across her cheeks.

Out of the five females in the circle... he actually chose her.

The brunette bit her lip and a million thoughts began to swirl around in her head like a dark storm cloud looming over an ocean. Was this confirmation that Ash actually felt something for her? Or did he only choose her because they were just talking? She didn't want to take anything the wrong way. She'd really thought that she had managed to bury her old emotions for Ash away, but all this birthday had done was bring all the feelings that she hid deep inside her heart to come bubbling up again like a volcano ready to erupt. She shifted a little in her spot and swallowed nervously while Harley was grinning from ear to ear, content with the inner turmoil he just put the brunette in.

May could feel the pressure of the moment building up, feeling all eyes glued to her now pink visage. However, when she looked over at the desperate trainer, her mind miraculously cleared all doubts.

"I-sure Ash. I don't mind, don't worry about it." May smiled a little, trying her absolute best to not make the situation more stressful for him than it was.

Brock whistled a catcalling like tune, and everyone turned to him.

"What? I was trying to make it less serious!"

Misty elbowed him.

"You made it more awkward!"

"This is stupid... Just get on with it already so we can move on with this game." Drew blurt out, looking visibly peeved.

Harley chuckled, knowing he just hit two birds with one stone. "Awww, their first kiss! Look Drew, aren't you happy for them?"

Drew mumbled something under his breath as Brock started secretly recording the event without anyone noticing.

May could feel her heart beating even swifter than it was moments ago, she glanced over at the raven haired boy, his wild messy dark hair framing his tan face. His soft brown eyes looked both scared and confused, as if he could also feel her frantic heartbeat through her chest from where he was sitting. She glanced at his lips for a moment, that still had a bit of ice cream left on them. She could almost imagine the feeling of them against hers... it was then she realized that she wouldn't mind that, not at all.

Ash gulped and looked down at Pikachu quickly, the small yellow Pokémon was content with the bottle of ketchup in its hands and had no inkling as to what was occurring around it. He had always relied on his Pokémon when he needed help, but this situation was something that he would have to work out on his own. It's not like this was his first kiss, but that moment with Serena in Kalos was infinitely different than this one. This time, it was his decision.

As he looked into May's eyes, a feeling of warmth emanated towards him and instantly calmed him down. He didn't know why, but she made him feel at home.

Ash leaned forward a bit, not sure how to start the kiss, as May could feel a thousand butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.

This is it... The brunette thought.

As she also reciprocated his action and leaned in closer, their faces now inches apart, breaths being exchanged between them, Minior tugged on the brunette's shirt.

"Minior!" The Pokémon floated and attempted to redirect their attention up towards the sky, frantically crying out and spilling the ice cream over May's pants. Ash moved back quickly, startled by the sudden movement.

"Minior, what's wrong?!" The brunette asked, her face still tinged a deep shade of pink from being so close to Ash moments ago. She grabbed a tissue and began to wipe her pants clean.

"No! The show was just getting started! Kiss! Kiss!" Harley whined, upset that his plan was being delayed.

"MINIIIII!" It cried out again, as a deafening crash was heard down below followed by a whirlwind of air sending all the decorations loose across the roof. Lanterns flew off and smashed against the walls. The cake toppled down to the floor. The giant birthday banner flew off into the night sky, being whipped against the wind. May could only watch helplessly as she observed the culmination of her friends efforts be utterly destroyed.

The others instantly rose from their seats and sprinted over to the edge of the roof. Many of them had noticed that the air around them felt unusually heavy. As May quickly pulled back the strands of hair from her face to see better, she turned her face towards Ash's, and found that he was staring right back at her, eyebrows scrunched together in worry.

As they all leaned forward to find the source of the noise, the sight that awaited them below was something that no one could have predicted.

"RAAAAAAAAA!"

An ear splitting roar rang through the air, followed by a bright beam of energy which hit several cars, instantly disintegrating them. Chaos and screaming took over Goldenrod's atmosphere, completely opposite to the peacefulness from moments ago. Frightened pedestrians immediately took cover in the various stores on the street below, with many of them pulling out their phones to dial for help. The large, green, snake like Pokémon turned its head towards the direction of the Poke-Mart, eyes gleaming as if it had picked out its next prey.

"W-What is Rayquaza doing?! It's not supposed to be down here!" The younger Maple exclaimed, blurting out what everyone was thinking.

"I don''t know Max... but we have to help the people down there!" May exclaimed, pointing to the frightened children and people that had gotten injured by the earlier hyperbeam.

Ash's face drained of colour as he looked over at his friends. Rayquaza was one legendary that was extremely powerful and deadly when it was angry.

"It's too dangerous down there... You guys wait up here, I'll go down there myself!" He started, almost daring anyone to challenge him.

"Ash, I know you're an idiot, but you have to be extremely idiotic to be going down there alone. And even more idiotic to think we'd even let you do that." Misty declared, already grabbing her backpack in anticipation. The others nodded while May glanced over at her younger brother.

"Max, you have to go back inside and find shelter, I'm going with Ash-" But her words were cut off with a fury she had never witnessed before.

"May, I'm not seven anymore! I'm twelve! I'm more than capable now, I've beaten gym leaders, I've even beaten you once, I can handle this!" He fumed.

May stared back at her brother in worry, as the sounds of more screams echoed through the dense night.

"I know you're strong Max... but I can't help but worry." She sighed, giving in. "You're staying close to me and you better stay in my sights or you'll deal with something worse than an angry Rayquaza!" Max grinned back at her and grabbed his backpack as well.

After a few moments of preparation, everyone began to make their way down the stairs much to Harley's dismay. The elevator had been shut down due to the power outages on the street.

May didn't know why Rayquaza was here, or what was going on, but there wasn't any time to figure that out. She jogged down the stairs, while Ash was unusually quiet, following closely behind her.

"May, are you sure about this?" Ash questioned, prompting the green-haired coordinator beside him to chuckle.

"She's not a kid, Ash. May's strong. If she says she can handle it, then she can handle it." Drew responded, while May glanced over at him then back at Ash who clenched his fist into a ball.

"That's not why I'm asking Drew, and you know it. I know she's more than capable, I'm just worried about her..." He paused, trying to make Drew see his point of view. "You know, like how she's worried about Max."

"So like an overprotective mother? Got it."

May couldn't handle this right now.

"Guys stop! The situation is already tense and you're making it worse!" She glared at Drew, who shrugged his shoulders and looked ahead.

"I don't want to sit behind while everyone else puts themselves at risk, Ash. Don't worry about me, really. I'll be right by you." Ash nodded and fixed his cap. He wanted to add something on about how he couldn't help but worry, but he decided to withhold himself, though still angry at Drew's earlier response.


"Professor Birch! What in the world are you doing?! Do you even know what's going on right now?!"

A frantic man rushed over to the lounging professor. He was clothed in lab coat similar to Birch's, but he was much tanner and taller than he was. Around them, machines were whirring with energy. Large computers were lined across the wall, with several scientists seated at them.

"Ah, Professor Kukui, what seems to be the matter?" The brown haired professor replied, opening one eye.

"Seriously Birch, get up now. It's about your research."

Professor Birch yawned and stood up from his recliner, stretching his arms and tilting his head.

"Well, I'm currently researching many things, is it about the Herd Mentality assignment you're working on in Hoenn?"

Professor Kukui shook his head quickly and took out his tablet, pointing to a picture of the Earth with several layers labelled on it.

"No, it's about your research into the atmospheric ecosystem, I'm afraid there's something terribly wrong."

At this, Birch straightened up his back and put himself at full attention of the Alolan professor. Kukui zoomed into the outer-most layer of the Earth diagram, labelled 'Exosphere'.

"Normally, the Exosphere contains many different organisms, for example..." He swiped on the screen to show a picture with several Pokémon on it. "Like particles from satellites, broken meteors, and even Pokémon like Cleffa, Elgyhem, Beheeyem, Lunatone, Solrock, Minior, and so on and so forth." He swiped the screen again. "And more powerful beings such as Rayquaza, or Deoxys, or even Kyurem, who can occasionally eat the smaller Pokémon as well for sustenance."

Professor Birch nodded, wheels turning in his head in the meantime. "Yes, I am familiar with that research. It's exciting, isn't it?! I've visited the Weather Institute quite a few times and assisted them. So what's wrong?"

Professor Kukui looked at him worriedly.

"It's just that... All the smaller Pokémon..." He frowned.

"... They just vanished."


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A/N: Truth or Scare indeed...

(See what I did with the title? LOL okay I'll stop). I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the AS moments (I know a lot of people wanted more, but I'm slowly building it up)!

I apologize for taking longer than usual to update, I wanted to plan out the whole story before I continued writing because there were a lot of storylines to work on. I hope to update within a week, most likely by Dec 15th (for the couple of readers who were asking). Happy Holidays!