Again, weeks went by, slowly turning into another month. Ash never asked me about liking people again, but he would drop subtle hints that he still thought about it. Even Brock and I were getting along even better. (Not that we hadn't before). He no longer hit on me and had even taught me how to cook some meals. In addition, Ash had gotten the last two badges he needed to enter the league. Although, that wasn't where we were headed. Instead, we were headed to Petalburg City for some reason. I had asked them why since Petalburg city was completely out of our way.

"Two of our good friends live there," Brock explained. "They traveled with us the first time we came to Hoenn."

"Wait. You've been here before?" I asked. I could have sworn this was the first time Ash had been here.

"Yeah. Ash wanted to come back and re-enter the league. He's trying to go back and do better in all the leagues again before he goes to any other regions."

"Oh." I didn't know that Ash had been here before. Then again, he had never called me, so how was I supposed to know? "Who lives in Petalburg?"

"Our friends May and Max. Their dad is the gym leader there." I had heard about May and Max from Tracy, but I never thought I would ever meet them.

Since we had backtracked and gone to Dewford Island, we were able to get a ride form Mr. Briney back to Rustburo City where we could walk to Petalburg from. We had only made it through half of the Petalburg Woods when we called it a night. While Ash got firewood and Brock cooked dinner, I was sent to get some water from the near by lake. According to Brock, all I had to do was walk straight and I would find it. After a few wrong turns, I managed to find a lake, not necessarily the right one. Using the canteens they had each gave me, I filled them up with water and headed back to camp. As I got closer to our campsite, I could hear Ash and Brock talking. I knew I shouldn't have been eavesdropping, but this was the only way I could get some more information.

"I told Max that we should be there by tomorrow," Ash told Brock while he built the fire.

"Yeah. That should be right if everything goes smoothly. I'm actually excited to see them. I can't wait to hear what they've been up to. It's been a long time."

"Yeah. Me, too," Ash added, although in a less exciting voice.

"Hey, Ash?" Brock asked.

"Hm?"

"Since we are visiting May and Max, when we get back to Kanto we should go visit Misty. It's been a long time." Yeah, I agreed. It had.

"No."

"What do you mean no?" Brock asked. "Ash it's been three years. Why won't you go visit her?"

"I don't want to," he stated, kicking the dirt in front of him.

"Why not?"

"Because... because..." Come on Ash! "Just forget it." Dang it.

"Ash."

"Just drop it, okay? I'm not going."

"Fine. But I am. You're welcome to join me," Brock told him.

"Okay. Whatever." And with that the conversation was over. Standing up, I waited a few minutes before I walked back to camp where Ash and Brock were pretending that nothing had happened.

It was a slow night after dinner, nobody really doing much of anything. Pikachu and Ash trained a bit while Brock read from his breeder's magazine. I let my Pokemon out so that they could get some fresh air. Pikachu and Plusle got along right away, both sharing the same bouncy personality. My Growlithe stayed close by in case it would need to defend us, while my Vaporeon lounged around and Bellossom danced around. I hadn't actually trained many of these Pokemon by myself, borrowing all except Vaporeon from Professor Oak. He had given me the Pokemon he felt needed to get out and travel with a trainer for a while. I had briefly mentioned my interest in learning about different Pokemon types, so he had sent a few over before I left. Finally it was time for us to head to bed if we wanted to make it to Petalburg by tomorrow afternoon.

After breakfast the next morning, we made our way through the forest at a record pace, arriving in Petalburg in no time. When we got to the home of Max and May, Max came running out the door to greet us, followed by his mother.

"Hello! Welcome back. How have you guys been?" she asked. She reminded me a lot of Ms. Ketchum.

"We're doing well, Caroline. It's nice to be back," Brock answered for him and Ash.

"So what Pokemon have you caught, Ash?" Max asked, eager to get to the important part. "You have to show me later."

"Okay. Sure. No problem."

"Yes!" Max cheered in celebration.

"Where's May?" Brock asked, noticing she was not there.

"With Drew," Max explained, adding a laugh after.

"Drew?" Ash asked confused. I had no idea who they were talking about.

"Yeah. Her booooyfriend," Max teased. I bet he drove May crazy.

"Max, be nice to your sister," Caroline scolded. "She should be back soon, so don't worry. You'll get to see her."

"Okay." In the meantime, Caroline invited us into her home, which was spotless just like Ms. Ketchum's would be.

"What would you guys like for lunch?" she asked.

"Pasta!" Max yelled before any of us could answer.

"Max, let our guests pick."

"Pasta actually sounds good," we told her. I didn't mind it. I liked pasta.

"Well okay," she said before heading to the kitchen.

"Would you like any help?" Brock offered.

"Oh no. Don't worry. Sit down and enjoy yourself."

"Follow me!" Max called, taking us to the living room.

It was a nice family room, complete with two couches, a table and a T.V. so Max could watch the latest Pokemon matches. According to Ash, he was a huge Pokemon fan. He wasn't old enough to get his license, yet, but he probably knew more than any beginner.

"I'm home!" a girl called, the door slamming behind her. That must have been May.

"In the living room," Max yelled.

I heard footsteps going down the hallway followed by May walking into the living room. "Ash! Brock! Pikachu!" she yelled. "It's great to see you guys!" She ran over and gave them each a hug before finally resting her eyes on me.

"Maddie," I answered before she could ask.

"Hi, Maddie. I'm May. It's really nice to meet you." She had dark brown hair that she had tied in a ponytail, and big blue eyes that seemed to sparkle a bit. She was dressed like she had just been running instead of hanging out with her boyfriend.

"So, May," Brock began. "What's this about Drew?"

"How did you hear about him?" she asked.

"Little bird," Brock stated.

"Max," May hissed, anger in her voice. I could see a sibling fight breaking out. I knew all about those. "I'll deal with you later."

May sat down and we started talking a bit about what everyone had been up to. Midway through the conversation, Caroline had told us she needed to run to the store, having forgotten some ingredients, and would be back soon. After a bit, though the conversation died down.

"Let's play a game, " Brock suggested.

"What kind of game," Ash asked.

"The question game."

"What's that?"

"You just go around asking people questions about themselves." It seemed easy enough. I had to be careful, though.

"Sounds fun," I said, followed by agreements from May and Max. Now it was up to Ash.

"I guess we could play," he said. And with that, the question game began.

"I'll go first," Max offered. "May. What did you go do with Drew?"

"That's a dumb question. Do I have to answer?" she asked.

"You don't HAVE to, but it would make it more fun if you did," Brock explained.

"Fine," May huffed, crossing her arms. "We went to the park and did some contest training."

"Yeah right," Max replied. I think it just wasn't what he wanted to hear. He probably wanted to hear some juicy story.

"You're turn, May," Brock said.

"Okay, Hmm...Maddie," she said, turning towards me. "How did you meet Ash and Brock? Did Pikachu fry your bike, too?" So this had apparently become quite the trend for Ash to meet traveling companions.

"Hey!" Ash yelled in defense. "It was an accident. It was Team Rocket's fault anyway." May just rolled her eyes.

"Ha ha. No, he didn't. I met them in Slateport. Pikachu wouldn't stop following me and refused to leave me, so they asked me to join them," I told May. In reality, though, Pikachu had fried my bike when I fished him and Ash out of a river. So yes, May, he had.

"Okay guys. Everyone calm down," Brock said trying to keep things from getting out of hand. "It's your turn Maddie."

"Brock," I started. "Has there ever been a girl you've not hit on?" I asked.

"Yeah. Believe it or not, I didn't hit on Misty when I first met her." Ding ding ding. We have a winner.

"Ooo," I awed, jokingly. "What a lucky girl." Now it was Brock's turn.

"Okay, Ash. I have a question for you."

"Oh no," Ash said in fear. This could go so many directions.

"What would you do if I told you I had called Misty and invited her to come watch the league championships in a few weeks." I knew he was lying because I had received no phone call from Brock, nor had Daisy called me to say so.

"You did what?" Ash gasped.

"I called Misty and invited her." I wonder how long Brock could keep this lie going.

"I told you not to!" Ash yelled. He was starting to freak out a bit. "Why did you invite her? What made you think you could do that? What the hell were you thinking? GOD DAMN IT, BROCK! I TOLD YOU NO!"

"ASH!" I yelled. I had never heard him curse before.

"In case you've forgotten Ash, she's my friend, too. You don't have any right to control who can invite her to places just because you don't want her around." I could sense Brock was getting fed up with Ash's behavior and that we were slowly reaching a tipping point.

"I TOLD YOU NO AND YOU HAD TO GO AND TRY TO MAKE THINGS BETTER BY INVITING HER! STOP TRYING TO HELP BROCK! I DON'T NEED IT! I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP AND I DON'T NEED HERS!" Poor Max and May were clueless as to what was going on. I'm sure they've never seen him act like this either.

"STOP MOPING AROUND AND GET OVER YOURSELF, ASH!" Brock yelled.

"WHAT?"

"What would Misty think about the way you're acting?" Brock asked, lowering his tone a bit. Well, Brock. If you want to know, Misty is furious and thinks Ash has finally lost it.

"I DON'T GIVE A DARN ABOUT THAT SCRAWNY RUNT!" Ash yelled. And to prove it he pulled out the lure I had given him from his backpack and set it on the table. "HERE! KEEP IT! I DON'T WANT IT!"

"ASH! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM? I'M SICK OF YOUR BEHAVIOR! " Brock yelled, raising his voice again. "YOU'VE BEEN AN ABSOLUTE JERK TO HER! YOU'VE DONE NOTHING BUT PUSH HER OUT OF YOUR LIFE! IT'S OBVIOUS YOU LOVE HER! EVERYONE CAN SEE IT BUT YOU! SO JUST FORGET ABOUT YOUR STUPID PRIDE FOR ONCE AND ADMIT IT TO YOURSELF!"

Dead silence filled the room as Brock realized what he had said, letting a word of profanity slip through his mouth. Ash just stared at him, pain and anger written all over his face. "GOSH DARN IT BROCK!" he yelled, picking up the lure and throwing it towards Brock who had to duck to avoid getting hit. "I TRUSTED YOU!" And with that he ran out the door before anyone could say anything else.

"PSYCHO!" May yelled after him before she left the room, Max following behind her. "Remind me to beat him up later." Apparently she had a temper of her own.

Brock remained where he was not saying a word. Pikachu had bounded after Ash, but not before he glanced in my direction. Instead of the usual smirk he wore upon his face, he looked a bit distraught. He was torn between the concern he felt about me and for that of his trainer. In the end, though, his loyalty to Ash won out. Without saying a word, I walked over to where the lure had landed and stared at the shattered pieces that were scattered all over the place. Despite how hard I tried to fight it, I felt the tears sting my eyes threatening to fall down. Lacking the strength not to, I started crying, collecting the scattered pieces in my hand. To me all they represented was the shattered friendship I had with Ash. I had come on this journey to find out what they said about me when I wasn't around, and that's what I had gotten. I'd gotten just what I wanted, but not like I had hoped. I knew how Ash really felt about me. Just like my sisters had told me countless times, I was just a scrawny runt that nobody cared about.

"Maddie?" I heard Brock call. "Are you okay?" Shoot. He must have heard me crying.

"Yeah," I told him. Before I got up, I wiped the tears from my eyes and collected the remaining pieces of the lure. "I'm okay." And to convince him some more, I smiled a bit.

He frowned at me, probably noticing the tear stains on my cheeks. I couldn't tell him why I was upset. If I did, it would give away my whole plan. A plan that I had kept hidden really well over the past few months. "Okay."

"Here," I said, handing over the pieces of the lure.

He frowned at the pieces in my hand before taking them. "Misty would be devastated if she knew what happened to this. Especially what led to it," he commented. She already knew, Brock. She knew how much her best friend hated her.

"Well, I should probably go find him before he gets himself into more trouble," Brock sighed before getting up to leave.

"Brock, wait!" I yelled. He stopped where he was and turned back towards me. "Let me go." I knew it was going to be hard to face him, but I could do it as Maddie.

"Maddie-"

"He's mad at you and I doubt he'd talk to May or Max. Just let me try. I think I might know how to help him."

"Okay. If you need anything, call me. I'll get the number from May," he said, doing just that.

With May's home number plugged into my phone, I headed out to find Ash and try to get through to him. The only problem was I had no idea where to start looking.