A/N: It's gonna get shorter and shorter, but it will get faster and faster. Ok? Ok. I'm determined to finish this quickly while getting my review count up to 100. Remember that goal. Thanks to crazywolf1991, OSM, Mario, Luigi, dude-whos-name-is-too-hard-to-say, and Xcalibre. Let's shoot this chapter out!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

"Why did Ash have to go? He likes May, but he's not being loyal to us!" Iris yelled. "I hate that little kid! He doesn't know what he's doing, and he'll end up lost on the streets! Good riddance!"

"Iris! Snap out of it! You usually never go off like this; this is not like you!" Cilan exclaimed, grabbing Iris's shoulders and shaking her.

"Ugh, you're right. I don't think there's anything we can do now." Iris sighed, unhappy that her traveling companion had left. "And he went to the trouble to look for me; that's really nice."

"Iris!" Ash shouted, overcome with joy that he found his friend.

"Shouldn't have kept calling you a kid, shouldn't have kept belittling you." Iris thought. "There are a lot of things I shouldn't have done."

"May seemed to have a spicy taste; but was also sweet. The combination of Ash and May make a fantastic concoction, and I hope they have fun together." Cilan pondered, then quickly realized what he said. "Not that kind of fun, however."

"You ready to land in Hoenn?" Ash asked May. He felt her hand tense up against his, and she shivered, echoing the emotion inside of Ash. He wouldn't want the feeling of fear in him when he would return home, so she wouldn't like it either.

"Y-y-y-yeah..." May responded after a long silence.

"You seem a little nervous. What's wrong?" Ash asked.

May took a deep breath, and exhaled. "My brother's turning ten tomorrow. That's really big for me... it makes me feel older. Wiser. The veteran of my family, even though my dad is still gym leader. I have traveling experience. And also... What will my mom and dad think when they see that I'm dating you? They know you're a nice person; they've met you before. But that still doesn't determine what will happen when Dad will react."

"Hm, and what about my mom? She might be okay with it... but she might not be. I hope that she's in a good mood when I video call her and tell her the news... eh, if she says no, it's not like she can reach over the screen to kill me." Ash responded. "That's a good reason to be afraid."

"Yeah..." May responded.

"But you don't see me shaking. I'm confident that Norman will be okay with this, so I'll be fine." Ash exclaimed. He flashed her a toothy grin.

"Okay. But if this doesn't turn out as good as you think it will... well, it's your butt." May said.

"You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

At that moment, the plane landed, the pilot saying, "We have arrived at Petalburg, Hoenn."

A/N: How will Norman react? What Pokemon will Max choose? Review. :D