Evening all, sorry for the long gap in posts. Been really busy lately, working on my GED, I've been sick for the past few days, ect. Anyways, Chapter seven is up, and for reference, I'll be using Pokéarth off if you're interested in what Map I'm working off. Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, Setting, ect.


Chapter Seven

In the early morning hours before the sun rose above the still quiet Pewter City, Lucian could be found sitting in a chair on the balcony of the Inn, lost in one of his books while simply enjoying the crisp morning air. Alakazam sat by his trainer, continuously bending and unbending his spoons with his mind while pondering his own strategies.

As he read his book, he became aware of a certain blunette standing in the doorway to the balcony, Piplup clinging to the back of her head. Smiling lightly he told the girl "You're up early today, you two. What's on your mind?"

Moving to stand by the railing, she looked out towards the still sleeping city, sighing lightly while Piplup hopped onto the railing. "Piplup and I had a battle with Max yesterday. We won, but it was only barely," she said, trailing off as she continued to stare off towards the impending sunrise.

"Let me guess, you finished by having Piplup use Bide against his Kirlia's Magical Leaf," he stated with a smirk, causing the girl to turn around shocked.

"H-how…?" she started before being cut off by her mentor.

"Did I know that? Sir Riley, Lucario, Alakazam and I watched your battle yesterday. Needless to say, I was impressed by your battle, although I still believe you put too much emphasis upon showing off. His Kirlia was well trained, and if you continue to battle with him, you and Piplup will both have to adapt," he told the two, having closed his book.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously. "All he cares about it power and charging headfirst into battle. What would I have to adapt for?"

"Dawn, just as we specialize in using tactics, combinations, and speed to fight, he focuses on raw power and strength. In a straight up battle, assuming you can remain one step ahead of your opponent and retain control of the battle flow, a Tactician will come out on top. But if you lose that edge, his raw strength approach will overpower your Piplup," he explained to the girl.

"You and Piplup won simply because you caught him off guard several times with your combinations and use of Bide," he continued, "But now that he's seen those, he'll be able to create counters for them. The more you two battle, the more he'll learn from your battle style, adapting pieces of it into his own."

The blunette shook her head. "Besides the fact that we're leaving for Sinnoh soon and likely won't be battling again, he's too focused on his own path to pick up anything from me," she stated simply, looking back at her mentor, who smirked at her declaration.

"Are you so sure of that that you're willing to bet your next battle on it?" he asked her with slight amusement.

"Next battle seems a bit premature, seeing as we're heading back to Sinnoh tonight," she retorted, crossing her arms.

Lucian simply smiled. "Riley has informed me that Max and his sister have requested to accompany us to Sinnoh. They apparently have business there, and as a result will be traveling with us for foreseeable future," he informed the teen, who now wore a shocked expression.

"He's coming with us?!" she blurted, nearly causing Piplup to fall off the railing from her reaction.

Lucian's smile widened as he watched her outburst, inwardly enjoying the shocked expression on his young pupil's face. "Indeed. So, I ask you again. Are you willing to bet your next battle will go the same? That Max and Kirlia won't strive to improve themselves in order to win? How would you have reacted after a loss like that?"

Dawn thought to herself for a moment, glancing at the still slightly annoyed Piplup. "We'd… we'd probably try to become faster and better... maybe study different techniques…" she said reluctantly. "You think he'd really try to use my style against me?" she asked, now looking more unsure than earlier.

Leaning back into his chair, Lucian folded his hands and told the girl "Whether he uses your precise style is unknown. One thing at the very least, they'll be ready for the tricks you already used. Piplup's Bide and your… 'Whirlpool Catapult'... You'll need to be careful about how you use them from here on out," he told her with a thoughtful smile.

"Well… Piplup and I were working on a new combo, but we haven't managed to perfect it quite yet," she admitted, wringing her hands nervously.

"That being?" he inquired curiously.

"I call it Counter Shield. The idea of it is to have Piplup use Bubble Beam defensively by firing it while spinning, creating a barrier of bubbles. The problem is Piplup can't handle the amount of rotations without getting too dizzy to complete it. We've been trying to work on endurance, but we just…" she trailed off with a sigh.

"So it's physical training you and Piplup need help with, then?" Lucian asked her, an idea slowly forming in his mind. One that would help her and Piplup, but would likely infuriate them at the same time.

Frowning, Dawn nodded a little. "Yeaaah… Lucian, why do you have that 'you're going to hate this idea' look on your face?" she asked him, even more nervous than before.

Lucian gave the teen a grin. "Well, the way I see it, you've got three main choices. One, continue training with Piplup until you two master this. Two, we're traveling with a trio of Aura Guardians, a group renowned for their fighting abilities. They'd probably be willing to assist you in your training. And three…" he said, trailing off as he watched the sun finally rise, only causing Dawn to worry more.

"And the third?" she asked hesitantly.

"The third, and the course of action most likely to assist you due to similar skill levels and expertise would be to ask Max to assist you," he told her, bracing himself for the impending reaction.

"WHAT?!"


May found herself in a dark and foreboding landscape, the edges of her vision clouded by what she could only describe as an oily border, disorienting her. She looked around frantically trying to make out her surroundings.

'I know this place… This is the cliff from earlier.'

She recognized this place as the cliff she nearly fell off the previous day, except much darker than it was when she was there. Max wasn't with her, she also noticed.

Suddenly her eyes widened as she heard the screech of a Skarmory. Turning quickly, she saw the Armor Bird Pokémon flying directly towards her, razor-sharp talons extended towards her.

Locked where she stood, all she could do was close her eyes as the Steel/Flying type got got closer and closer. 'This is it,' she thought solemnly to herself.

The last thing she heard was the screech of the Armor Bird Pokémon right near her, before the last bits of her dream were obliterated, the girl now sitting upright in her bed.

'Where am I?' she thought to herself in panic as she shivered, looking around to get her bearings. 'This is my inn room. Uh… Pewter City. Max and I arrived here yesterday after meeting...'

Her train of thought broke as the events of yesterday all came crashing back to her. Max and her waking up and traveling towards Pewter City. The Skarmory that knocked her off the cliff. Ash saving her. Meeting their group and making it to Pewter City. The discussion she has with Ash last night.

Looking down, she found her night clothes clinging to her from sweat. 'From the nightmare, no doubt,' she thought to herself as she glanced around her room, noticing Max was already gone. Judging by the sun, it was still relatively early in the morning, likely just after sunrise.

'Well, no time like the present,' she thought as she got up and began getting dressed, considering after that dream she wasn't likely to get anymore sleep. Putting on her red travel shirt, baggy dark blue shorts, light Hoenn boots and her hair styled in it's usual reverse-V shape, with the rest tied up in her red handkerchief. The symbol of Petalburg was embroidered on it, a pair of rings, mostly black in color with purple sections dominating the outer third opposite each other. Connecting the two rings was a small straight section.

'Alright, ready for the day,' she thought with a small smile, still shaking off the final remnants of sleep from her head. As she made her way down the halls towards the main entrance of the inn, she spotted Ash, Pikachu, Gary, and Eevee talking with each other in the dining area, the four of them eating some berries from a basket.

Ash was wearing his gray, baggy pants and shirt along with his blue tunic. His dark blue cloak was on his shoulders, hood down, while Gary sat in similar gray pants, but with a purple shirt with sleeves rolled up, along with a simple black vest. Gary's own gray-brown cloak was also down.

"Morning guys!" she shouted with a smile as she approached the pair, gaining the attention of the group as she sat down next to Ash at their table. "Sleep good?"

The four of them shot her a smile, with Ash pushing the basket towards the brunette. "I slept okay, we're just eating before we head out," the raven-haired teen told her, face covered with berry juice.

Gary smirked. "I'm eating. Ash is inhaling. That's your eighth Sitrus berry, Ashy-Boy," he said.

May giggled to herself lightly as she grabbed an Oran berry of her own, tossing it into her mouth with a single bite, quickly followed by a Pecha berry and a few Lum berries in quick succession. As her breakfast continued on with other native Kantonese berries, she eventually became aware of the other brunette staring at her in shock, causing her to blush in embarrassment.

"Is something wrong, Gary? Do I have something on my face?" she asked checking if any bits of berry were stuck there, causing him to shake his head and drop it to the table.

"Just never thought I'd meet another person who could match Ash's Munchlax-like eating habits," he told the girl, causing both her and Ash to redden.

"Tell me about it. She's like this at home, too." Turning, the three teens saw Max approaching dressed in his green shirt, gray vest, and brown pants as usual. His spotless glasses flashed as he approached, grabbing a seat next to Gary. He also sported the same symbol on May's handkerchief on his vest, embroidered on the back and left breast. At his side was his Kirlia.

"She's been like this since we were both little," he continued, much to the annoyance of his sister. "You should see her near a bowl of ramen. I've seen Mightyena with better table manners!"

"Keep it up, Max, and you'll be walking back to Hoenn with broken legs," May threatened as she grabbed another berry alongside Ash. Both teens were now nearing twenty or so berries each, a fact Gary was smartly keeping to himself.

"So, when do we head out?" the younger of the Hoenn siblings asked as he grabbed a pair of berries for breakfast, tossing one to Kirlia.

"Well, we're just waiting on Dawn and Lucian now," Gary explained. "Misty went to send a letter to Cerulean City before we go. We'll be heading south through Viridian forest towards Viridian City then towards Pallet Town. Viridian forest should be the hardest bit of the journey. After that, it's basically a straight shot to Pallet. Once we arrive, we'll charter a ship to Sinnoh."

Ash smiled. "Viridian Forest is also known for the various types of Pokémon that inhabit it. Might be a good place for you to start, May," he told the girl.

Max's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Start? As in catch a Pokémon?" he asked in sister in disbelief.

May simply nodded, looking away. "Uh, yeah. I've decided to try to train a Pokémon, so I asked Ash about it last night," she explained nervously. "So you think I should start in Viridian Forest?" she asked the two Aura Guardians.

Gary was the first to respond, nodding. "For someone just starting out, it'd be a good a place as any to begin. There are probably more than a few Pokémon who you could train there," he supplied as he watched his Eevee pounce on a berry that had fallen out of the basket from Ash and May's earlier pillaging.

"Ideally, you'll want to find one that's either younger or one with a decent temperament," he continued. "Viridian forest is home to many different types of Pokémon, including several with nasty attitudes, such as Beedrill, Ariados, and the occasional Fearow flock."

Ash, finally having eaten his share, which amounted to around a third of the basket, agreed with his friend and rival. "Might be a good idea to bring some berries with you, too. You never know, Pokémon have been known to follow people who feed them," he encouraged his friend.

May nodded, grabbing a few and stowing them in her messenger back just as a certain redhead returned.

"Ah, good, you're all up. You four ready to go? Dawn, Lucian and Riley are just about packed," Misty informed the group, who began picking up their various backpacks and other supply carriers.

The youngest of the group straightened his glasses and sighed. 'Well, this is their group, I should have expected this,' he thought to himself. 'Besides, Kirlia and I need a chance for payback. We can only do that if we travel with her.'

Having gone over the fight again and again in his head last night, he had formulated a good series of counters for her combos. While Max clearly thought that power and strength were cornerstones, even he realized that going in without a plan was suicide.

He prided himself at being able to adapt to most situations, but this blunette was unlike any opponent he'd fought, relying on gambles and advanced combos. Just when he thought he'd be able to land one final attack to destroy her defenses, she completely flips the battle with Bide, taking a huge risk but somehow managing to still beat him.

"Alright everyone, let's head to Sinnoh!" The female cry snapped him out of his thoughts, causing Max and the rest to turn to see Lucian, Dawn and Riley enter the dining area with their bags and companion Pokémon.

'We'll beat her yet. Her tricks can only get her so far before Kirlia and I overwhelm her,' the sixteen-year-old thought to himself with an annoyed look.

'I see he's still sore over yesterday,' the blunette thought to herself, regarding Max. 'Why Lucian thinks it'd be best for me to train with him, I'll never know.' She mentally sighed to herself after a moment. 'Well, Lucian has been doing this longer than I have… Maybe he has a point. I mean, it won't cost me anything to ask, right?'

While Dawn struggled with her own pride, Riley cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. "Alright, assuming everyone has everything, let's get moving shall we?" he asked them, to which they all either nodded or grunted in agreement.


The group had been traveling for a little over four hours and found themselves in the middle of Viridian forest around noon when a certain pair's stomachs began complaining at the lack of food, causing the humans attached to the stomachs to do the same.

"Come on, Riley, we've been at this for hours! I'm going to pass out from hunger soon!" Riley's raven-haired little brother whined overdramatically, clutching his stomach.

"Yeah, I'm starving too," May complained. "Can't we stop for lunch soon?" she asked Riley and Lucian, who were chuckling at the two teens.

"Alright, I think we can stop for lunch. But, it won't be done for a bit, so you two will have to wait," Riley told the two teens as the group entered a small clearing.

Ash sighed at hearing this but decided to keep positive. "Alright. It'll give May a chance to search for a Pokémon, at least."

Riley nodded. "I'll have Lucario contact you two telepathically when lunch is ready," he told the two teens who nodded eagerly before heading off into the forest. The rest of the group began lounging around the clearing while Riley and Lucian pulled out cooking equipment.


Ash, May and PIkachu wandered around the forest for a while in search of Pokémon. Viridian forest was buzzing with life as the many different types of Pokémon went about their lives, foraging, hunting, training, or seeking a mate.

Spotting something, she poked Ash. "What's that Pokémon?" she asked quietly.

Turning to see, Ash smiled lightly. "That's a Kakuna. They eventually evolve into Beedrill, but Beedrill have a tendency to- May? What are you doing?" he suddenly asked the teen as she began getting closer to the Cocoon Pokémon.

"Catching a Pokémon of course!" she replied happily as she knelt down and picked the Kakuna up. A faint buzzing could be heard but she ignored it. "Hey there. My name's May, and I was wondering if you'd like to join me!" she told it with a wide grin.

The buzzing intensified, causing her to look around, and Ash and Pikachu raised their guard. "May, we have to leave. Now," he told her.

Just as she opened her mouth to argue, a pack of Beedrill burst into the clearing, looking directly at May, who was currently still holding one of their Kakuna.

"Uh… Nice Beedrill? I was just leaving? Hehe…he?" Dropping the Kakuna and grabbing Ash's arm, the two plus Pikachu, who struggled to hold onto his trainer, bolted back through the forest. Thankfully, the Beedrill didn't pursue, given they had their Kakuna back.

After running for a minute or two, they entered a small clearing and May was about to apologize when a pair of small brown bird-like Pokémon fly by.

"Who are those Pokémon?" she asked, again curious.

"Those are Pidgey." the raven-haired teen said with a grin, not holding a grudge for earlier. "Probably looking for food," he explained to her, shortly before freezing as the three of them heard a loud cry of "Fearow!" Eyes widening, the two teens and Pikachu turned around to see two more Pokémon enter their clearing.

The first was a terrified-looking avian Pokémon with a small, round blue body and little wings that looked reminiscent of clouds. It was being pursued by a much larger bird with a long neck, sharp pointed beak and a massive wingspan.

"Swa Swablu!" the smaller Pokémon cried in terror as it flew unsteadily towards the teens. As it made it's way through the clearing, however, it cried out in pain as it suddenly was covered in a red, fiery aura, signifying a burn. It also looked as if one of it's wings was injured.

'It's been hurt, the poor little thing' May realized sadly. 'It looks burned too...' It had never occurred to her how dangerous the wilds were, especially for Pokémon themselves until that moment. Ash, however, was more worried about the Fearow at the moment, knowing their temperaments were on par with Misty's after Gary did something stupid.

"Pikachu! Stop that Fearow with Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded causing Pikachu to leap off his shoulder towards the Normal/Flying type.

"Pikaaaaaa," he shouted as he charged his powerful electric attack, defiantly glaring at the larger Beak Pokémon as they charged towards each other.

The Fearow, in response, began gathering orange energy towards it's beak, preparing an attack of it's own.

May watched worriedly as the Swablu flew towards her to the best of it's abilities, between it's burn and hurt wing. Rushing forward, she managed to catch the small Cotton Bird Pokémon as it's wing finally gave out.

"Chuuuuu!" the Mouse Pokémon cried as he discharged a blinding bolt of pure electricity towards the Fearow, only to be countered when the Fearow released it's own attack, firing off a blast of orange wind from it's beak towards Pikachu, Swablu and the teens.

Within seconds, the entire clearing had raised in temperature, becoming oppressively hot, reminding May of her trip to Lavaridge town when she was younger. May took the injured Swablu and retreated behind Ash and Pikachu, attempting to comfort the Cotton Bird Pokémon. Ash and Pikachu, however, glared through the now hazy clearing at the Fearow.

"Pikachu, quick attack!" Ash called out.

Charging forward with speed that amazed May, Pikachu jumped straight towards the Fearow, slamming into it's torso before it could react. As Pikachu returned to the ground with a confident smirk on his face Ash called out his next attack.

"Alright, let's finish this! Thunderbolt, full power!" he called up while clenching his fist in front of him.

"Piiikaaaa… CHUUUU!" With a cry, the yellow mouse hurled a massive bolt of lightning towards the Beak Pokémon again, this time making contact in a blinding explosion. When the light finally faded, the teens, Pikachu and Swablu saw Fearow lying on the ground, residual electricity surrounding it.

Turning to his brunette companion, Ash grabbed her hand. "Come on! Let's get back to the group before that Fearow get's up."

The two left the clearing, heading back towards their group. May was still carrying the Swablu in her arms and Pikachu was clinging to Ash's shoulder as they ran. Neither teen nor Pokémon gave a look back at the Fearow. Had they, they'd have noticed the the hooded figure standing by the Fearow, glaring at them as they left.


Growing up as an Aura Guardian, Riley learned how to cook from his mother early on, so he and Lucario wouldn't starve when they were out training. While he wouldn't say he was as good as Delia, he hadn't had any complaints yet.

As he was ladeling lunch into bowls, having made a decent recreation of his mother's Tamato Berry soup, right on time, Ash and May came barreling back into camp.

Riley grinned and told them "Nice timing, you two. I was just… What happened?" he asked as he trailed off, noticing both teens were out of breath, their faces were smeared with dirt, and May was clutching something close to her.

By then, the rest of the group was looking the two over, slightly worried.

"We… just had to… outrun a Fearow…" Ash got out between breaths.

May, on the other hand, moved towards the fire and sat down, cradling a small, round Pokémon in her lap. "We saved this Pokémon from the Fearow, but they're hurt and I think burned," she said sadly, trying to comfort the Swablu.

"A burn? From a Fearow?" Lucian asked, slightly surprised. "You have a Rawst Berry in that bag of yours from earlier? Should help with the burn," he explained helpfully. "They're small and light blue. It's rather bitter, but it'll help."

Checking quickly, May pulled a berry out and showed it to Lucian, who nodded. She then brought it to the Swablu's mouth. "I know it doesn't smell good, but it'll help. I promise," she told the little Cotton Bird Pokémon, who after a short fight finally gave in and took a bite of the Rawst Berry.

"Hard to believe a Swablu made it this far south on it's own," Gary stated as he watched May care for Swablu and Ash sit down next to her, having finally caught his breath.

"How so?" Max asked. "Swablu are common in Hoenn, shouldn't that be northeast?" he asked, seeing as Hoenn was located to the southwest of Kanto and Johto.

"Swablu and their evolved form, Altaria, migrate between Hoenn and Rota from time to time," Gary replied. "If it was a Fearow, it may have attacked their flock and that wing injury forced your little friend there down into the forest. The burn, though… That's what doesn't make sense," he stated, tapping a finger to his chin.

"Fearow can learn how to use Heat Wave, given the right training," Lucian supplied. "If that's the case, your Fearow was likely not wild."

"But who would attack a flock of Pokémon like that?" May asked as she fed Swablu an Oran berry from her bag to help with the bitter taste, much to Swablu's delight.

"Poachers, if I had to guess," Misty stated suddenly. "There are a few poachers in northeast Kanto, but I heard the Battle Frontiersmen were trying to clean them out. Maybe they missed a few."

May frowned sadly as she looked down at the little blue Pokémon in her lap, feeling sorry for it. "Poor little thing…" She examined the wing and pulled a bandage from her pack, lightly wrapping the soft, fluffy cotton-like wing with it. "What'll happen if they don't find their flock?" she asked Gary, who sighed.

"Assuming that Fearow doesn't find it? I'm not sure. Swablu aren't known for being on their own, so unless it found some flock of Flying types to take it in… Well…" he trailed off, looking sad.

May looked back at Swablu, who was looking back at her sadly.

'I can't just leave Swablu like that,' she thought to herself. Making a decision, she put a small smile on her face as she scratched the back of Swablu's head. "Well, what if Swablu came with me?"

Everyone in camp, from her little brother Max to the stoic Lucario smiled at the girl for her thought. But the one happiest with the decision was Swablu, who chirped happily as they snuggled up against May.

"Swa Swablu swa!" it cried happy, causing May to giggle and hug the Cotton Bird Pokémon.

"I take that as a yes?" she asked.

"She says she'd love to travel with you, Lady May," Lucario told her. "She also claims her flock used to refer to her as Bubbles."

Smiling happily, May looked down again and ask "So, Bubbles is it? Assuming you're interested, I'd be honored to be your trainer. I'll admit, I'm still new to this, and I may make mistakes, but I'm willing to give it my all."

"No need to worry, May!" Dawn exclaimed, doing everything in her power to not squee at the sight of the two. "I'm sure you two will get along great, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!"

The group agreed with the blunette and began moving back towards the food Riley had finished making, momentarily leaving May and Ash alone for a moment.

Turning to her friend, May beamed. "Thank you so much for all your help, Ash and Pikachu. If it wasn't for you, I'd have never met or been able to save Swablu… Huh." she stated thoughtfully. "You continue to help and save me, now that I think about it," she pointed out as her face blushed lightly.

Ash however was staring at the ground sheepishly. "Don't worry about it May. Pikachu and I were happy to help, right Pikachu?"

"Pika!" the yellow mouse exclaimed happily, giving May a thumbs up.

Turning back to her new companion, she was slightly surprised when Bubbles reached one of it's wings towards her face. She froze for a moment before she realized Bubbles was cleaning the dirt off her face with her wings.

"Aww! You are just too cute!" she gushed as she hugged her new companion again.

'So, starting today I'm a Pokémon trainer. I helped out Bubbles and she has a place to stay, and it's all thanks to Ash…'


So, Chapter Seven is done! I hope you all enjoyed it, and for those curious, my sister normally has an Altaria named Bubbles, so that's a reference to her team. Anyways, feedback is encouraged, have a great night and God Bless!