Well not much to say about the last chapter except thank you as always who chose to review. So without further adieu, onto chapter 14.
"Wait up May!"
Turning around, May saw Ash jogging as best he could to catch up to her, but his limp was still very evident. She did notice that he only had his t-shirt on and not his sweatshirt which was tied around his waist.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "You ready?"
"I have been for a while now. And is there a reason that you aren't wearing your sweatshirt?"
"I don't really need it," he answered. "Besides, it's ruined anyways."
"Yeah I guess."
Figuring that he was just comfortable not needed to hide his scabs she figured there was no reason to mention it to the trainer.
Walking along with shore of the lake until they got to the other side, the two teens continued on towards their destination. As they were walking May seemed to notice that the further they went the more Ash was almost looking for something.
"Ash, is there something wrong?" She finally asked.
"No it's… well not wrong actually. It's just that I think I'm beginning to actually remember this specific area."
"You did say that you used to play here as a kid, so is it all that surprising?"
"It's not something that I'm remembering from that far back," he told her. "It's a lot more recent."
The coordinator could only wonder what he was talking about, but all that seemed to pass once Ash set eyes on a river next to where they were walking.
"I knew it!"
"Knew what?"
"I do remember this place!"
Before she could even ask what he actually meant, Ash took off as fast as he could go in almost the exact opposite direction that they were currently heading.
"Ash where are you going? I thought we were supposed to go that way?"
"Going to meet an old friend!" He told her. "And even better yet it's a shortcut!"
"Shortcut?" She asked herself. "How can going the wrong way be a shortcut? Even back in Hoenn, while his sense of direction was bad, it was never that bad."
Not understanding one bit, she decided to at least follow the boy before she lost sight of him. Even if she didn't understand this 'shortcut', she would be in even more trouble without Ash guiding them.
Easily able to catch up to him, May found the trainer continuing to look for something.
"Okay, explain to me how this is a shortcut," she asked again.
"Well technically it's not a shortcut but we'll get there much faster this way, and you'll probably be happy to hear that I won't have to walk." Suddenly stopping at a small clearing, Ash had his eyes on the sky. "I think this should do it."
"There's nothing here."
"Not yet at least," he told her with a smile. "Alright Pikachu, think you have enough electricity to shoot a nice large bolt up into the air? That should probably bring him pretty quickly."
Finally understanding who he was talking about, Pikachu gladly agreed.
"Okay May, you might want to back away," Ash warned the brunette. "This could get pretty intense."
Standing in the center of the clearing, Pikachu began charging up his electricity. As he did the arcs of lightning began dancing off his body, charring everything around him.
"Pikachu!"
Finally launching the attack skyward, everyone there had to shield their eyes from the giant lightning bolt that he produced.
When the light died down, Pikachu still sat in the center of the clearing, just there was now a circle of blacked earth extending about half a meter around him, beyond that there were countless black spots covering the rest of the clearing from the stray bolts that came off his body.
"And what was that supposed to accomplish?"
"You'll see, hopefully it won't take too long."
Still not understanding what the boy meant, May could only wait to find out the answer. Thankfully it wasn't long before she heard something coming from the air.
Eevee heard the sound too. Instantly her ears perked up and twisted towards the direction it was coming from. It didn't take long before she recognized the noise, and a shot of terror ran through her system.
"Eevee, what are you doing?"
After figuring out what was making those sounds, the Normal-Type couldn't help but run down into May's blouse.
"Eevee are you scared of something?" The coordinator asked as she started to feel the small Pokémon shake.
Not hearing an answer, May could only wonder what actually happened to make her like this. But as the noise began to get louder, she finally recognized the sound as well. It was the sound of wing beats, and lots of them.
In moments the sky was filled with bird Pokémon. Most weren't all that big but there were three large silhouettes that circled around them all.
"I knew that would get them to come," May heard Ash say from next to her with Pikachu now back on his shoulder. He looked quite overjoyed at the sight of the flock of birds as they flew closer to them. When their forms started to come into focus, they could make out three different types of bird Pokémon that made up the flock. All of them looked relatively similar with brown feathers along their back and a light tan across their belly, but as the species grew larger a crest began to form on their head. The smallest had no crest, the next only covered the head itself, and the final ones had a beautiful crest that flowed behind them and was almost as long as the rest of their body. The three largest Flying-Types landed in the middle of the clearing while the two smaller types roosted in the trees behind them. Of the three birds that landed, there was one that was noticeably bigger than the others, standing on the ground it was nearly a foot taller than the others.
"Wait a minute," she said to herself as she got a closer look at it. "I know that Pokémon."
Pulling her Pokédex out of her pocket, May aimed the device at the largest of the three species. With a small whirring noise, the computer pulled up an image of the Pokémon.
"Pidgeot, the Bird Pokémon," it explained. "The evolved form of Pidgeotto. This Pokémon has been known to fly at a speed of Mach 2 in search of prey. Its large talons are feared as wicked weapons."
"I knew it; it's just like Solidad's. Then that means…"
Pointing the computer at the other two species, it didn't take long for it to recognize them as well.
"Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokémon, the evolved form of Pidgey. It flies over its wide territory in search of prey, downing it with its highly developed claws. Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. A common sight in forests and woods. It flaps its wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand."
"Ash, are you sure that we're okay here with all of these wild Pokémon?" May asked after getting the data. "Because, as the Pokédex said, they can be pretty dangerous."
Not entirely hearing what the coordinator said to him, Ash had something else on his mind. Running as best he could up to the largest Pidgeot, he threw his arms around the large bird.
"It's great to see you again Pidgeot," he said while burying his face in its warm feathers. "I knew that you would recognize that signal of ours."
"Pidgeot," the large Pokémon nodded happily.
"It took a while, but I kept my promise old friend. If you want to come back with me you're more than welcome. Before that though, I have a favor to ask. Would you mind taking May and I to Auburn Town?"
Seeing the Bird Pokémon looking back at the girl, Ash figured he should probably introduce them.
"Oh that's right; you've never met her before. Pidgeot, this is May. I traveled with her for a couple years after I went down to the Hoenn region. May, this is my Pidgeot. I caught him when he was only a Pidgeotto, and he was my second capture. We've been through quite a bit together, haven't we?"
Petting the feathers on his neck, Pidgeot chirped lightly at the feeling of his trainer's hands.
"Nice to meet you," May said while walking up cautiously.
"You don't have to worry May," Ash reassured her. "While he may look a little intimidating Pidgeot won't hurt you, and neither will the rest of the flock. He's been protecting them for nearly five years, and I seriously doubt they would attack anyone he considers a friend."
"If you say so Ash." Relying in the trust that she always had in Ash, May confidently walked up to the large bird. Reaching out to stroke its neck like Ash had done, she was relieved when it seemed to enjoy her touch as well. "So he's just a big softie, huh?" She giggled as Pidgeot made a few soft chirps.
"I wouldn't go that far. But as long as you don't make him angry, you don't have anything to worry about. If you do make him angry though, you better have a strong defense, because running is not an option."
"Come on Eevee, you should say hi too."
Hesitantly poking her head out of May's blouse, the Normal-Type came face-to-face with a bird even larger than the Pidgeotto. When it reflexively turned its head to look at her, Eevee quickly dropped back into her hiding spot.
"Oh come on, what's wrong with you?" May asked as she began fishing her partner out of her clothing. "It's just one of Ash's Pokémon, there's nothing to be scared of."
Finally grabbing the squirming Pokémon, May pulled her out and held her firmly in her arms.
"There, now you can say hi like you should have in the first place."
"Vee," she said softly, barely looking at who she said it too.
When the bird seemed to have no interest in her, Eevee began to relax slightly. That was until she saw the other unevolved forms perched in the trees. The Pidgey she could care less about, they looked like nothing more than stuffed dolls. It was the other Pokémon there that scared the wits out of her again. One of them in particular whose feathers still bore a black tint seemed to be eyeing her and Pikachu.
"Vee, vee, eevee!"
Finally squirming back out of May's arms, nearly tempted to bite her trainer in her efforts to escape, she went to her next best option. If May wouldn't allow her to hide from the thing that hunted and nearly killed her, then there should be at least one other who would. Moving as fast as her legs could take her; she raced the short distance over to Ash and climbed up into his shirt.
"Eevee, what has gotten into you?" May demanded as the Evolution Pokémon became nothing more than a lump near Ash's stomach. Though she was almost embarrassed at the way her Pokémon was acting, the brunette was starting to get a little worried considering she had never acted this way before.
"I think we should probably leave her alone for a little while," Ash spoke up as he felt her start to shake. "She'll talk when she wants to." Looking back to his old Pokémon, Ash repeated his earlier question. "So Pidgeot, would you mind giving us a ride?"
"Pidgeot!"
Leaning down low so the humans could get on easier, the bird was more than happy to assist his old trainer.
Making his way onto Pidgeot's back, Ash turned back around and offered a helping hand to May after placing Pikachu into his lap.
"You sure this is safe Ash?"
"I've done this plenty of times on Charizard, and Pidgeot is no different. Now come on, you wanted a fast way to Auburn Town that kept me off my feet, so here it is." Seeing her hesitate once more, Ash figured out what she was probably worried about. "You've never ridden on a flying Pokémon before, have you?"
"Not really, no."
"Then you're in for the time of your life," he told her with a big smile. "You'll love it so much you'll want to go again and again, I guarantee it."
Seeing him smile like that gave May the last bit of confidence she needed to grab hold of his hand and make her way onto Pidgeot's back.
"Now hold on tight," he instructed.
Grabbing onto Ash's waist, May braced herself for the worst.
"Okay Pidgeot, before we get to Auburn Town I think we should show May how great the skies can be, don't you?"
"Pidgeot!"
Spreading its massive wings, May could feel the air start to swirl around them as the Flying-Type began to take off. She was already impressed by the size of the Pokémon but with its wings spread to their max she could only guess that they were probably over three times as wide as she was tall, and it only made the bird look even bigger. Around her she saw every one of the other Pokémon there start to take to the air as well. Once she felt its feet leave the ground, the brunette pulled herself closer to Ash and closed her eyes. Although she trusted Ash with her life, she couldn't stop that primal fear of her feet not touching the firm ground.
"Alright Pidgeot, let's go!"
With one last large stroke of its wings, Pidgeot quickly gained altitude until it was over the forest canopy and continued even further, the entire flock not far behind.
As he continued to fly skyward, Ash could only stare as the land opened up in front of him. It had been so long since he last did this; even he had almost forgotten how great it was. It was a feeling a freedom that nothing could compare to.
"You can open your eyes now May," he told her as Pidgeot started to level off and steady his speed.
Slowly opening her eyes, the first thing May saw was the ground far below them. Grabbing even tighter onto Ash, it took her a few more seconds before finally looking once more. And when she did, she nearly forgot to breathe. The sight was literally breathtaking as the brilliant green of the forest sprawled out beneath them while the shining rivers and lakes dotted the landscape. In the distance she could see the hills and mountains, which she could assume one of which was the one that they scaled the day before, and even further in three different directions she could just make out the vast deep blue of the ocean. When she looked out at the rest of the sky, it was filled with the flock of Pidgey and their evolutions, flying alongside the visitors to their territory. But it was the great expanse of the light blue atmosphere which really made her feel small. No matter how far she looked, it just continued to stretch out further than her eye could see, and the only thing that interrupted it was a few scattered clouds drifting in the wind.
"Oh wow," she gasped while watching it all. The wind rushing up against her face was somewhat annoying in the fact that she could feel her hair flapping wildly behind her, but it was well worth the price to be able to see this. Resting her head on Ash's shoulder to get a better view of what was in front of them, she couldn't even find the words to start to describe what it was like and yet still give it the credit it deserved.
"He was right," she thought. "This is amazing."
Of course with May pressing up against his back, and her face so close to his, Ash was doing everything he could to prevent his face from heating up.
"You should see this as well Eevee," he decided on saying. "It is quite the sight."
Feeling her shake her head no underneath his shirt, Ash decided not to press the issue any further. Seeing a few small sets of clouds off to one side, the trainer motioned for Pidgeot to head that way.
Surprised at the sudden change of direction, May made sure to keep a tight grip on Ash. When she saw where they were headed, curiosity finally overcame her fear as she pulled one hand away from Ash to touch the cloud as they flew past. Considering how fluffy they looked from the ground, her hand effortlessly passed right through. Feeling a light film of water vapor collect on it, it was an odd feeling, but an enjoyable one nonetheless.
After nearly a half-hour on the wing, Ash finally decided that it was best to start heading to their original destination before they got too far off course. Pointing in the direction they needed to go, Pidgeot wordlessly followed his orders.
It still took another hour before they finally caught sight of the large arena that was to be used for the tournament, but they were on time. The flock had veered off from them by about half-way through their flight so it was just the two humans and their Pokémon that came in for a landing on the outskirts of the town.
"Thanks again old friend," Ash said to his Pokémon after they got off. "You were a great help today."
"Thank you for the flight Pidgeot," May chimed in. "I still can't believe how wonderful it is up there. You'll have to take me again sometime."
"Pidgeot," it happily nodded.
"You can go back to your flock now if you want," Ash informed the bird. "While I did promise to came and get you, I can't in the right mind just take you away against your will."
"Pidge Pidgeot Pidgeot."
"Pikachu pika pika chu chu."
"Really?"
"What did Pikachu say Ash?" May asked him.
"He said that Pidgeot wants to join back up with me," he explained, the exuberant smile on his face was unmistakable. "With two of the Pidgeotto having evolved he doesn't need to be the one protecting the flock anymore. So he wants to come back." Looking over at his Pokémon, Ash could barely hold his excitement. "Of course you can come back! The only problem is that I don't have your Pokéball on me right now, or any Pokéball for that matter. So you'll need to give me a few minutes to get it from professor Oak."
"Pidgeot."
Nodding once, he stretched out his wings and in moments was back up in the air, circling the town for the time being.
"You're real happy about this, aren't you Ash?"
"You can't tell," he joked with the large smile still on his face. "Pidgeot was one of my first Pokémon, how can I not be happy?"
Pulling out his Pokédex, Ash noticed that the time was a little later than he expected.
"But before we go to the Pokémon Center, we better find the place to register. They stop taking names in about an hour."
"An hour? I thought that you said we would have had plenty of time to make it here," May reamed him out. "If we didn't have Pidgeot fly us here we would have been late and everything would have been for nothing."
"I wouldn't go as far as it being wasted," he carefully countered. "But we're here aren't we? I must have just figured it out wrong because of the slow pace we had yesterday."
Realizing that it just brought it back to the fact that she was responsible for everything in the first place, May quickly let it drop.
"Well you are right, we did get here in time," she said. "Let's just get to the registration booth. I wonder if Dawn was able to make it here in time."
"She should have at least. It's a straight shot down the road from Viridian City." Remembering the lump in his shirt, Ash looked back down to Eevee who never once left the safety of her dark sanctuary. "You can come out now Eevee," he told her. "We're back on the ground, and it's only us. No other Pokémon."
Finally starting to move up towards the collar of his shirt, the Evolution Pokémon peaked out of the opening. When she finally saw that he was right, her entire body completely relaxed.
"So are you having a few problems liking Pidgeot and his pre-evolutions?" Ash asked as she draped her front paws out of the opening as well.
Shivering slightly at the memories the flying Pokémon brought back, Eevee didn't answer.
"Either way, I think we can go now," the trainer stated. "And since I have Eevee why don't you go and keep May company Buddy," he whispered to his partner who was sitting on his shoulder. "By this point she's used to having Eevee on her shoulder so I see no sense in me hogging both of you."
"Pi."
After the Electric-Type made his way over to May's shoulder, they all headed into town to find the registration booth. It didn't take long with all the signs they had posted around the town advertising the event. Eventually the two found the lines they needed to register and after another minute or so were able to give their names to the person there.
"Okay so Ash Ketchum and May Maple was it?" The person behind the counter asked. "Alright, you're both now registered. Here are your Registration Cards, make sure to present that to the judges or a representative before each round. That is going to be your identification while you are participating here. And finally, make sure that you attend the gathering at one o'clock for the explanation of the rules."
"Explanation?" May asked. "Are the rules really that different from a normal contest?"
"Not entirely, the core rules are at least still the same; it's just that each year we come up with a new way of organizing everything to make it more of a challenge for our combatants. Next please."
"Okay, I wonder what kind of rules that they will be using," May said as they began walking to the Pokémon Center. "I don't remember seeing that on the poster."
"Neither do I, but it sounds like it should be pretty fun.
"I don't know. I've been having enough problems when it was just a normal contest."
"You're just worrying too much," Ash told her with a reassuring smile. "This time I'll be right there with you to help. Remember, I've entered as well so I'm going to have to deal with these new rules too. But it's still a contest in the end, so I'll also probably be relying on you for your help just as much."
"I'm not so sure about that one," she replied, still not entirely enthused about the idea of this. Yet as she found what happened all too often, his confident attitude was starting to wear off on her. "But thanks, I'll try my best."
"That's all I ever ask for, and it's no problem. Anytime you need help, I'll be right there for you Angel."
"I want to say thanks again for hearing you say that," May started, though her down attitude was starting to give way to a strangely pleasant annoyance as her heart fluttered at the sound of that name. "But what did I tell you about calling me that?"
"That you like it but are too embarrassed to know that I'm referring to you?"
Grumbling at the fact that she admitted the truth back then, she could only deny it so much. And even then she knew Ash would see right through it.
"Fine, will you at least please not use that name in public?"
"Sure Angel."
Feeling that same effect yet again, May quickened her pace in effort to at least get away from the name and the grin that her partner had on because of it.
"Let's just find the Pokémon Center."
Considering how large the town was it wasn't too hard to find the Center. Going right for the transporter, Ash dialed in Professor Oak's number.
"Hey Professor," he said after the man's face appeared on-screen.
"Well hello Ash, hello Eevee."
"Eevee," the small Pokémon greeted from the collar of the trainer's shirt.
"I figured that you would have come over here early yesterday but you never did," the professor continued, looking back at Ash. "I barely saw you when you were here. Which reminds me; I never actually congratulated you on your win in the Sinnoh League."
Ash couldn't help but let out a light embarrassed laugh. Thinking about how he would have looked to someone walking in while he was trying to find information on the Elite Four and Cynthia in Professor Oak's lab wasn't something he would want to show many people.
"Thanks Professor, and sorry about that, while I was walking home that night I saw a poster for a Pokémon Contest over in Auburn Town and I figured that May and Dawn would enjoy entering it. As for myself, I'm going to use it to get a little practice for my battles in Sinnoh. So the next morning we set out for it and we just got here."
"So I assume that you're going to ask for a few of your Pokémon to be sent over, right?"
"Probably later actually, they apparently have special rules in this tournament so I'm going to wait until after I hear them before I choose which ones to take. Right now though, I was wondering if you could send me Pidgeot's Pokéball."
"Your Pidgeot?" The aging man asked. "I thought that you released him years ago."
"Not quite, I didn't completely release him because I planned on coming back for him at some point so I only let him out of his Pokéball. We took a little detour today so that I could finally fulfill my promise of coming back for him. I'll need all the help I can get for the Elite Four and getting one of my original Pokémon again should be just the kind of help I need. I remember giving his Pokéball to you before I went to the Orange Islands so it should be somewhere around the lab."
"Alright then, I'll take a look. Give me a moment."
Leaving the camera's view for a few minutes, he came back carrying a small red and while ball.
"You were right Ash; it was there with all the others. I'll transport it to you now."
"Thanks Professor."
Looking over to the transporter sitting next to the phone, it was only a matter of seconds before several beams of energy began to form into a sphere. As the light disappeared, the same ball the professor had was now sitting in its place. Grabbing the newly appeared item, Ash looked back at the video phone.
"Okay got it; I'll probably be calling you again later so May and I can fill up the rest of our teams."
"Anytime Ash, oh and one more thing. You haven't called your mom yet have you?"
"No, why?"
"Because if you do, you might want to wear a long sleeved shirt," the professor informed him.
Remembering his injuries, Ash took another look at his arms and was somewhat repulsed by the look of them. While they all had scabbed over by this point, the lines of black and dark red crusty skin wasn't the most pleasant thing to look at. Especially some of the larger ones.
"I'm not going to ask how you got them," he continued. "But you probably don't want your mother to worry about you, and that would be one way to make her do just that."
"Thanks Professor," Ash said to him in a bashful tone.
"I'm only looking out for you as well Ash, talk to you again in a few hours then I guess."
"See ya."
After hanging up, the trainer looked back at his arms.
"I guess I should have told you about those, sorry Ash."
Seeing May walk up to him, Ash began to put his sweatshirt back on. Even if it was almost as bad because of all the tears, it was still better than the alternative.
"It's not your fault May," he told her while carefully pulling the arms on the clothing down, making sure not to harm any of the scabs. "I should have noticed beforehand. I guess that was why the person at the registration desk was staring at me. I didn't think anything of it because ever since I won the Lilly of the Valley Conference I've had random people staring at me all the time. Probably because they think they recognize me."
"Well you have the Pokéball now; I think Pidgeot wouldn't mind taking a break after circling the city for the last half-hour."
"Yeah he definitely deserves a rest right now, especially after saying it would only be a couple minutes."
As soon as the duo stepped outside, Pidgeot was already landing right next to them.
"Sorry Pidgeot, we were a little later than I told you because we had to register for the contest before they stopped taking names," the trainer explained. "It's been a while since you've been in one, but I think resting inside your Pokéball will feel pretty good right now."
Activating the return mechanism on the ball, the large bird was engulfed in an aura of red light before his body turned the same color and was pulled inside the storage device.
"Good to have you back," Ash whispered to the Pokéball. "Alright let's head over to where they are going to explain these new rules. Maybe we'll meet up with Dawn over there as well."
"Sounds good to me."
And with that that not only has an old friend been brought back into the fold but the contest is about to begin. Next chapter will be up as usual, thanks for reading.