May's Awesomely Youthful and Stupendously Unique Expedition
Story Written by Freedom Fighter
We're pushing towards the homestretch! Will May make it to the end and get home? Or will two of her greatest rivals stand in her way?
The answers MAY be revealed in this penultimate chapter!
I hated that I had to cut about three pages worth of material, though... there was a lot of good stuff that didn't make the cut.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this fanfic. They all belong to Nintendo and Pokémon USA.
Chapter Nine (04.05.07)
Magma Cavern Pit B3F
May had closed her eyes as the floor had opened up beneath her. But for some reason, the sensation of falling went away after a few seconds. At the same time, she had remembered something being chucked into her mouth and being swallowed without any trouble. Opening her eyes, May saw that she was sitting on a portion of the floor that was still intact. Groudon was chugging down another bottle of beer about twenty feet away. As for Bulbasaur and Alakazam, they were nowhere to be seen.
"What happened?" May asked out loud. "Where's Bulbasaur? And Alakazam?"
Groudon put her bottle down and answered May's question by pointing towards the large hole in the floor left by the Earthquake.
"They fell down. That partner of yours threw a Reviver Seed at you before he hit the ground on the floor below us. Then... they disappeared."
"I can't believe you did that!" May yelled, getting to her feet.
"It's all in the name of justice, love, and... hic... friendship!"
"Justice? Love? Friendship? You've been watching 'My-HiME,' haven't you?"
Groudon chuckled. "I make a great Midori, don't I? SAY I do! That reminds me... maybe you should suggest to that writer friend of yours to do a parody of that anime next! Could you imagine it?"
"Hmmm..." May wondered, a thought cloud appearing over her head.
After a few seconds, May shook her head in disbelief, trying to forget the horrible images of Harley in a schoolgirl outfit.
"No, no, NO! That's even worse than Harley dressing up like ME! I'm REALLY gonna make you pay for making me see that!"
May's Torchic body became ablaze with flames as seething anger enveloped her. Grace opened her eyes to this act, whistling with praise.
"So this is the real you. Now that you're taking this seriously... let's FIGHT!"
"I'm gonna make you pay for taking away my brother!"
May reared back and used Ember, launching a stream of fire right at Groudon. She laughed as the flames hit her, though they didn't seem to be hurting her much.
"May, please! That barely tickles! You must REALLY not be prepared to fight someone as strong as myself!"
"Oh yeah? Then let me turn up the HEAT!"
May used Focus Energy to hone her strength, but Groudon wasn't going to wait for her to power up. Groudon sprinted towards May with claws drawn, ready to perform Slash. May slid between and through Groudon's legs. Popping up behind Groudon, May quickly used Ember again. This time, it had a more noticeable effect, especially given that Groudon didn't see it coming.
"Very impressive, getting me from my blind side!" she complimented. "But it'll take MORE THAN THAT!"
Utilizing Ancientpower, Groudon fired a mysterious blast from her hands. But as she fired it, she leaned left ever so slightly, causing her to just miss hitting May, who wasn't fast enough to dodge it otherwise.
"Talk about a close shave!"
May then inexplicably began glowing a burnt red orange color. A smile crept across her beak when she saw '25' appear above her head. She then felt something warm generating inside her stomach.
"Another new attack!" May exclaimed. "I feel good about this one!"
"Don't count your eggs before they've hatched!" Groudon told May. "After all, I've got a... hic... move left to reveal!"
"It's... it's coming up!" realized May, as the warm feeling in her stomach started to move up her throat and towards her beak.
"Mine's coming first!" smiled Groudon... before her cheeks bulged and she had to reach up to cover her mouth... as to prevent it from coming out.
Groudon did have something come up first. Apparently, she had reached her drinking limit, and her body was rejecting the excess alcohol, causing Groudon to puke.
Meanwhile, May was ready to reveal her newest attack.
"1, 2, 3, here we go... FIRE SPIN!" she yelled the last part, even though her entire mouth was filled with flames.
The steady stream of fire spiraled as it made its way to Groudon, who only at that second realized what was going on.
"YEAH! I'M GOING TO POKEMON HEL..."
Groudon never got to finish her thought, as she became enveloped in a twister of fire reaching several feet higher than even her tall 11 1/2-foot structure.
"And don't call it a comeback!"
May snapped her fingers, and upon doing so, the flaming tornado dissipated in an instant. She saw Groudon lying face down in a puddle of her own puke, unwilling to fight anymore.
"Oyyyyyyyy..." she groaned.
With Groudon defeated, Charizard and Tyranitar limped onto the floor. Right behind them was Alakazam and Bulbasaur, who apparently had survived the fall through the ground. And got back up to May's floor even though technically there were no floors below May.
"I just saved my brother and the Frontier Brains!" May growled at the narrator. "Who cares about the details?"
"Blimey, that's my sis!" Bulbasaur agreed... with an Australian accent.
Suddenly, May felt her eyes roll back as she spun around and did a face plant on the ground, fainting from exhaustion.
A door appeared before May in her dream instead of Drew, making her think for a minute and wonder what was going on.
"Is this a sign?" May thought out loud. "Has Drew slammed the door on our relationship? You mean... gasp... it's over? But I don't want it to be over..."
Proving her point, May reached for the doorknob and turned it. The door creaked open. But to her horror, Gardevoir wasn't waiting for her on the other side. It was...
"Hello, May!" greeted Gengar.
"Harley? I don't remember giving you permission to be in my dreams! My nightmares, maybe..."
"I told you there was still time left for you to pay for upstaging me and my crew! Representin' Florida, peeps!"
He snapped his fingers, and a song started playing in the background. He danced to the beat as he sang the lyrics.
"It's peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time!"
"Oh, please... anything but THAT!"
"Where he at, where he at, where he at, where he at? There he go, there he go, there he go, there he go! Peanut butter jelly! Peanut butter jelly! Peanut butter jelly! Peanut butter jelly! Do the peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat! Do the peanut butter jelly..."
"THAT'S EVEN WORSE THAN THE CHICKEN DANCE!" Gardevoir yelled, appearing and using Psychic to boot Gengar out of the dream.
"But I didn't even eat May's dream yettttttttt..."
With that, Harley disappeared from the dream... and from the fic.
"Peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat. No, seriously... what the crap does that mean, anyway?"
"Thanks for the save, Drew! I mean, Gardevoir! No, wait... I did mean Drew. I... think."
"Look, there isn't much time! Listen... THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO END! Oh, and so is the game."
"Stop being so serious! Sure, that song was bad, but that doesn't mean that..."
"May... there's a meteor coming down from space. When it hits, the world will end!"
"Ha ha, very funny," May remarked sarcastically. "You're a little late on the 'My-HiME' jokes..."
"Fine then! We'll see who's laughing when you can't go home because you were killed with everyone else when this world explodes!"
May rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Look, let's assume you're telling the truth. The next question is... how am I going to stop it? Even if I out of the blue became a Blaziken right now, I still wouldn't be strong enough to stop it!"
"Uh... I'm not supposed to give you the answer."
"Why not?"
"Because you're only NOW believing me! If we were lovers, you would have believed me from the start!"
"As much as I love you, we're not officially a couple until we kiss in the anime! And since we're not in the show anymore, the fandom that supports our relationship has as much clout as the BelleShippers."
(Caption - BelleShipper - Drew and Dawn)
"Anyway... you were going to tell me how to stop that meteor. Right?"
"Oh, that? Eh... someone will find that out for you. Now... let me see if there's a ship for me and..."
"IF IT'S NOT ME, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!"
May woke up in the middle of Town Square, surrounded by the entire town. They were all looking down at her, wondering what she was doing lying there.
"Uh..." May chuckled nervously, "if there's anyone here who's in an established ship with me and your name's not Drew, could you please take a step back? Especially if it's you, me, and at least one other person?"
"So what does it mean if I step forward?" asked a mystery voice.
May and everyone else looked around the square, trying to figure out who was speaking. But Alakazam quickly cleared that up.
"You fools! It's Xatu, and she's communicating telepathically!"
"You mean... Dawn?"
"MY NAME'S NOT KARI, IT'S... oh, wait, you did get it. Then... uh... oh yeah, I want you to come to the Hill of the Ancients. There's a giant meteor coming..."
"AND WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Ekans and Medicham yelled.
With that, the entire square went into a panic, as some went to their homes to hide, while others started rioting and wrecking the shops. All except for May, Bulbasaur, Absol, and Alakazam.
"I think I'd understand this more if I explained it to you in person. Alakazam, could you help me, please?"
"As you wish," Alakazam bowed, before starting to charge up his psychic powers. "Everyone join hands!"
May clasped with Bulbasaur on her left and Absol on her right, and the two males joined hands with Alakazam. The psychic Pokémon then used Teleport to transport them to the...
Hill of the Ancients
Xatu cheered as May and the others arrived. She waddled up to them, holding an ancient, multi-faced, colorless rock in her wings.
"What's that?" May asked.
"This is a Teleport Gem!" Xatu explained. "This will get you to the Sky Tower, the home of Rayquaza!"
"You mean the Guardian of the Sky?"
"That's amazing!" Bulbasaur and Absol said at the same time.
Xatu nodded. "Only SHE has the power to destroy the meteor. It'll be up to you to reach her and convince her to do so."
Alakazam looked at the sky and did some calculations in his head.
"Hmmm... by my guess, I'd say we have until sunset."
"Isn't that peachy keen?" Xatu said cheerily.
"Why would you be happy about the world ending?" asked Bulbasaur.
Xatu ignored Bulbasaur's question, as she focused her concentration on the rock she was holding.
"I have to power up this Teleport Gem enough to send your team up there, May. But... I'm gonna need some help."
She looked at Alakazam, who immediately caught on and walked over to starting pouring his energy in. After a few hours...
"We're ready!" Xatu said, off-screen.
May and Absol joined Bulbasaur besides Xatu and Alakazam, who were now holding the brightly shining Teleport Gem.
"Concentrate!" Alakazam told them, handing the gem to May. "We only generated enough power for one trip! So if you MISS the Sky Tower... well, that's self-explanatory."
May held out the Teleport Gem and closed her eyes. Bulbasaur wrapped one of his vines around it, while Absol touched it with his horn.
"Skyyyyy Tower, Top Floor, Top Floor," they chanted in unison. "Skyyyyy Tower, Top Floor, Top Floor."
Then, somebody's mind wandered.
"Skyyyyy Tower, Top Floor, Chili Dog..."
"ASH!" May scolded.
With that, May, Bulbasaur, and Absol disappeared with the Teleport Gem. Left in their place was a plate with two chili dogs on it.
"I had forgotten all about lunch," Alakazam said, licking his lips as he ran over to the plate and started eating.
"Uh..." Xatu hesitated, sweatdropping.
"My apologies... did you want one of these?"
Xatu shook her head. "No. I'm not into that."
"Then... what ARE you into?"
Xatu blinked, confused as to what Alakazam was alluding to.
Sky Tower Entrance
May, Bulbasaur, and Absol arrived at the Sky Tower, but they weren't at the top floor. They, instead, had materialized at the lowest cloud level.
"Thanks a lot, Ash!" May yelled at Absol. "You just HAD to make this difficult, didn't you?"
"Oh, come on! It'll be more fun if we wait 'til the last minute to reach Rayquaza!"
"We don't have time for that! The world's about to end, and you want to go the cliché hero routine!"
"You'll be praised more if they've seen you've done more."
"Guys, let's go!" Bulbasaur shouted. "Time is of the essence!"
Realizing Bulbasaur was right, May and Absol nodded and followed the grass-type into the dungeon.
Sky Tower 2F
With a team of three, Team Chic seemed to be breezing through with no resistance at all from the dungeon's residents. That is, until a Masquerain showed up to take on May and her teammates. Masquerain started by using Water Sport to weaken May's fire-type attacks. Which she quickly discovered first-hand...
"Oh no!" May freaked after Fire Spin did little to hurt Masquerain. "Even my strongest attack couldn't take it down."
"That's why you've got us!" Absol exclaimed.
Absol leaped forward and used Bite, sinking his teeth into Masquerain's left wing and injuring him immensely.
"And... Razor Leaf!" Bulbasaur yelled, using his attack to finish the opponent off.
"And that's how it's done!" Absol and Bulbasaur said to May.
"Thanks, guys," thanked May. "You really... saved me."
"That's nothing!" Absol said with a smile. "Just wait 'til we get to Rayquaza!"
"We'll protect you, May!" reassured Bulbasaur.
The two then ran ahead.
"Yeah, I know I said I didn't like being the damsel in distress. But they seem to be having so much fun... I don't want to ruin it..."
May then left, skipping after her teammates.
Sky Tower 25F
Things stopped going smoothly for Team Chic when they hit one of the game's biggest traps... a Monster House. With the stairs plainly in sight on the other side of the room, May and her team were jumped by a room filled with two Venomoth, three Aerodactyl, a Flygon, and two Tropius.
"So many..." May said with worry. "How can we beat them all?"
Ash smirked. "Time once again... for Ash Ketchum to save the day!"
"Time for teamwork, you mean!" Bulbasaur jumped in. "Bulbasaur uses Sweet Scent!"
Sweet Scent lowered their opponent's ability to dodge attacks.
"And then I'll use Growl!" May announced, growling at the opposition.
Growl succeeded in lowering attack strength.
"And now, the hero of the day! Double Team! Double Team! Double Team!"
Absol created dozens of copies of himself, increasing his evasiveness.
"Now... Quick Attack! Quick Attack! Quick Attack! Quick Attack!"
The Absol ran all over the battlefield, hitting all of the Pokémon before they could even react. And when they did, they always seemed to hit one of the copies... or nothing at all.
"To think, this is the one time I'd love this much Ash!" May said aloud.
"Look at him go!" Bulbasaur pointed out. "They can't catch him!"
As the Pokémon started to fall, one of the Aerodactyl actually got smart and decided to go attack Bulbasaur instead. To increase his success rate, Aerodactyl also decided to use Agility to reach his prey faster.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
May quickly came to Bulbasaur's rescue by using Fire Spin, which burned Aerodactyl to a crisp before knocking it out. As Aerodactyl fell, Absol was finishing off the last of the others.
"Thanks for saving me, May!"
May shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "It's a chick thing."
Absol ran for the stairs and motioned for May and Bulbasaur to follow.
Sky Tower Rest Area
Arriving at the Rest Area, Team Chic found it to be very barren. All that was there was a Kangaskhan statue... and a sign next to the path leading the tower's summit. They immediately went for the sign.
"DANGER!" May read aloud. "Maze-like catacombs ahead! Proceed from this point on at your own risk!"
Bulbasaur then read aloud the small print. "To inquire about housing in the Sky Tower Summit District, contact Rayquaza on the 9th Floor."
"Nine floors!" May whined. "We don't have time to scale nine more floors!"
They all looked up and saw the meteor getting close to the summit. Bulbasaur made a quick observation.
"We can't let the meteor get past Rayquaza's house! If we try to destroy it after that happens, it won't completely burn up before it reaches the planet's surface! Pokémon will surely die!"
May glanced west and saw that the sun was already on the way down.
"We've got at best, what, thirty minutes? We won't make it!"
"Don't worry!" Absol cut in. "I've got a secret weapon!"
Sky Tower Summit 9F
"That was more like secret weapons!" May exclaimed.
Ash laughed heartily. "You can thank the towns-mon for that! Warp Seeds, Totter Seeds, Petrify Orbs, Big Apples, and a bunch of Iron Thorn! All those Pokémon didn't stand a chance!"
"And those were some pretty tough Pokémon!" noted Bulbasaur.
"So... we're finally at the top. I wonder where Rayquaza is..."
"DO I HEAR SOME UNINVITED GUESTS?"
May gasped as Rayquaza appeared before them. She was about to yell at them, but she changed her attitude when she saw May.
"Oh... hi, May! Nice to see you again!"
"Solidad?"
"SOLIDAD?" yelled Bulbasaur and Absol.
"You really should've called, May. I love having guests. When they're invited. But seeing as you're not... sadly, I have to kill you all now."
"But Solidad..." May cried.
"Rules are rules. I don't like 'em any more than you do, but I gotta abide by them like everyone else."
"Will you two settle your rivalry later?" Absol butted in. "If you hadn't noticed, there's a meteor that needs destroying!"
"Ha!" Rayquaza mock-laughed. "That thing? Like I care."
"You mean you don't?" asked Bulbasaur. "We live down there!"
"You ground-mon have never done anything for us! So why should us who reside in the sky do anything for you?"
"Because it's the right thing to do!" Absol said to Rayquaza. "It's the Pokémon thing to do!"
"Okay," Rayquaza gave in. "I'll destroy this meteor for you."
"Yippee!" Team Chic hollered in celebration.
"But first, you're going to have to prove your worthy of me saving you. So... the three of you are going to have to beat me in battle!"
May, Bulbasaur, and Absol started throwing Iron Thorn and some spare Gravelerock they had collected at Rayquaza at once.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, OWWWWW!" cried Rayquaza. "Okay, May, I know you're not happy that I completely dominated you at the Kanto Grand Festival, but... three-on-one? That's not fair!"
"We're in a hurry, alright?" May shot back.
Rayquaza then used Dragon Dance to increase her speed and attack power. She then used Dragon Claw to take out Absol with one blow. But he didn't go away, as May quickly threw him a Reviver Seed. Undeterred by this, Rayquaza used Dragon Claw on Absol again! Absol fell and May revived him with another seed.
"I thought you were in a hurry to lose!"
"No!" Absol declared. "We're in a hurry to win!"
Absol and May teamed up and both used Quick Attack to get some fast damage. Bulbasaur then used Leech Seed... but Rayquaza dodged that easily.
"My turn!" Rayquaza said excitedly as she used Dragon Dance again.
She then used Dragon Claw twice in succession. Once on Absol, and then on Bulbasaur. On both occasions, May brought them back to life with Reviver Seeds.
"We can't keep this up!" May panicked, showing her empty pack. "That was the last of our Reviver Seeds!"
"Then we'll have to combine our strongest attacks NOW!" shouted Absol at the top of his lungs. "On my mark..."
The three Pokémon charged up for one last attack. It was do or die time... literally.
"One shot to decide it all?" Rayquaza grinned. "Fine. My Dragon Claw against your best attacks! Leave it all on the court, May!"
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Absol used Razor Wind, Bulbasaur threw out Razor Leaf, and May blew out Fire Spin. The three attacks combined and barreled towards Rayquaza, who charged it head-on, ready to go right through it with Dragon Claw.
"IT'S OVER!" both sides screamed.
Rayquaza collided with the tri-attack, resulting in a giant explosion that blinded the area with white light. As May and the others regained visibility, an Earthquake that had started on the planet's surface could even be felt up at the top of the Sky Tower, as the cloudy surface left May and her team with nothing to hold onto for support. Bulbasaur screamed in terror when he saw the staircase leading up to the floor collapse.
"This doesn't make any sense!" Rayquaza shouted in disbelief, yet covered in bruises and cuts. "How could I lose?"
"I think we've got bigger problems!" May told her between rumbles.
"The shooting star?" Rayquaza remembered, as she looked up and saw that it was about a mile away and closing fast.
"If you don't destroy that thing right now!" explained Absol, "this entire tower will be taken out! As well as the rest of the planet!"
"I could use Hyper Beam, even though I'm not at a high enough level to actually learn it... but doing so at this close distance would destroy this Tower anyway!"
"We accepted the risk when we made Kelly a Caterpie!" Bulbasaur shouted. "DO IT!"
"YEAH, DO IT!" Absol agreed.
"Hey!" May shouted. "I'm the main character, and my vote counts! Solidad, this is not a democracy, it's a cheerocracy! I'm sorry, but I'm overruling you!"
"You're being a cheertator, May," Rayquaza shot back, "and a pain in my ass!"
"Somebody please blow up the big rock thingy!" Bulbasaur shook nervously. "Like, NOW!"
Rayquaza immediately turned to the meteor and used Hyper Beam. The ray of pure energy drilled straight at the falling rock's core. The result was another explosion, and another big flash of white light that again blinded our heroes and Rayquaza.
To be concluded...
Character Guide, Part Nine: We've finally come down to the last reveal! Hope you enjoyed the story and the wonderful cast of characters! You're only a few pages away from the end...
Solidad (Kanto Grand Festival Champion) as Rayquaza