Ash fell asleep not long after returning to his hotel room that night. However, he did not sleep long and during that time his sleep was restless and disturbed: it had been some time since he had last had a happy dream. When he awoke, he stretched out to retrieve his phone, which was perched on the dresser placed on the left side of his double bed. He groaned when he saw it was not even 2:00 yet.
"Man, still another 5 hours to get through until morning", he muttered dejectedly. Ash hated the night. Since he didn't feel like going back to sleep just yet, he decided he would instead go outside and get some fresh air on the communal rooftop balcony located on the top of the building.
As he left his room, he gently closed the door behind him. On his way, he decided to check in on Serena, who was staying in a room further down the hall in the same wing as Ash. It was also on the way to the main lift. 'Maybe she would be awake', Ash speculated internally.
When he reached his girlfriend's room he opened the door cautiously before standing silently at the entrance to the room to listen for any noise. He soon heard the soft sound of Serena's light breathing. A few moments later, he decided he would head up to the balcony alone, and promptly left the room, gently closing the door behind him.
From there, Ash went a little further down the hall to the main lift entrance, which was on his right. He pressed the button, hoping the lift would arrive as soon as possible, as it was pitch black and no one else was around, which made Ash feel nervous. A minute or so later, the green light above the entrance flashed, and the door to the lift slid open. To Ash's relief, there was no one on it waiting in ambush. He pressed the button for the 9th level, the top level, six floors above his present location. Moments later, the doors opened on the ninth level, revealing a hallway with a number of rooms, as well as an open area down the end of the hall on the right. This area included a circular staircase surrounded by potted plants, which led up to the rooftop.
After a moment or two of initial hesitation, Ash walked out of the lift and down the hall to where the staircase was located. He then began walking up it, carefully watching his balance on the slanted steps. He was relieved when he reached the rooftop balcony, before he turned to his right and realised he was not alone. There was a person, around Ash's height, with their back turned to him, facing the edge of the balcony which overlooked the parkland Ash had been in earlier that evening, in addition to a number of other scattered buildings. Ash had no idea who it was, so he pulled out his phone to use as a light and called out to the figure who then turned to face him. Ash was both shocked and relieved when the figure revealed itself...it was May!
"Ash Ketchum", she exclaimed enthusiastically, "what a surprise."
"Phew", Ash responded, still shaking, "I'm glad it's only you May."
"Who did you expect, a ghost?"
"To be honest, kinda, yeah", he responded giddishly. "I couldn't sleep. How about you?"
"Yeah, same. To be honest, it's been a while since I slept well."
"It's hard with everything going on, huh? And with those weird things that Luke guy has been saying?" May hesitated a moment before responding, as if there was something she wanted to get off her chest but she just couldn't quite bring herself to say it.
"Yeah, that's right", she eventually responded. Ash sensed there was something May was concealing and he felt concerned for his friend. He lowered his eyes slightly to meet hers in the darkness, before leaning in and placing his hand on her right shoulder. "You know May, if there's anything you ever need to talk about, I'm here."
"Thank you", she responded in her customary softly kind voice, "I will." She then placed her hand on Ash's free one, and began to stroke his palm, while smiling sweetly, staring into his eyes intently. Ash found it nice but also uncomfortable at the same time. He smiled back at her nervously before quickly withdrawing from her grip and removing his other hand from her shoulder. She glanced at Ash with a look of disappointment written on her face.
After a few moments of awkward silence, May spoke: "hey, where's Pikachu at?"
"Oh, he's in here." Ash began to remove the Pokeball containing Pikachu from his pocket. "Recently, we both agreed that it's best for him to go into his ball sometimes, for safety reasons you know? Ok buddy, come on out."
"Picka-Picka."
"Hey Pickachu", said May, as she wrapped him in her arms in a warm embrace. "Do you still like me?"
"Picka-Picka", it responded enthusiastically.
May spent the next several minutes enjoying cuddling Ash's favourite Pokémon. It was then that Ash had an idea: "Hey, you know what I think would help both of us. Let's have a Pokémon battle. That always helps me when I'm feeling worried about stuff."
"You know what. It helps me to. Yeah, let's do it. Just not up here on the roof", she giggled.
"Haha. Fair point. How about the park across the street?"
May nodded in agreement and moments later the pair headed down the winding staircase and back down inside the lift which led to the ground floor lobby. It was as pitch black as before but all of a sudden things didn't seem so dark to Ash. He hoped his friend was feeling the same way.
Not long after, they found their way to the park where they had been earlier that day. It was now almost entirely deserted. There were scattered lights coming from most of the buildings which lined the Main Street as far as the eye could see in both directions: to the left, in the direction of the larger park where Ash and his friends had watched the sound and light show earlier that evening, with Mount Silver rising above the skyline far off into the distance; while to the right lay the path to the main city gate, which Ash and his companions had entered through days earlier.
Ash revelled in the sensation of the crisp nighttime air on his face and the beauty of the town lit up at night but without the claustrophobic feeling of bustling crowds all around him; it made him feel alive, and also like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He sensed that May felt the same way.
They found a space towards the middle of the park to carry out their battle. Ash chose his Lucario, while May brought out her Blaziken. It was a fun battle. May seemed a little less enthusiastic then Ash. However, he was able to progressively draw out more and more of her energy by steadily raising the tempo of the contest, while simultaneously making sure it didn't get to challenging for her. Ash could tell that his friend was not at her best. He used moves such as metal claw, life dew - which was more effective because of the cold nighttime conditions which meant the grass was more dewey - and quick attack, before progressing to more advanced moves such as counter and power up punch which seemed to finally wake May up, as she counted with slash, followed by flame charge. It was then that May's eyes finally lit up and Ash felt the happiest he had all night. The battle was now generating a large amount of noise, in stark contrast to the silence around them. Funnily enough, it was around this time that a number of lights from the surrounding buildings happened to switch on.
As the energy levels of both Pokémon wained and the battle drew near its end, May enthusiastically commanded her Blaziken to perform a Blaze kick. It had a significant effect on Lucario, who was now staggering. However, Ash knew his Pokémon well and he knew he had at least one move which would win him the match. However, for the sake of his friend he decided to use a less deadly but still effective metal sound. This move further weakened Blaziken but not lethally.
May then did something surprising: "Blaziken, ember." This move was far from her Pokémon's most powerful...a stronger move would almost certainly have finished off Lucario. Instead, it staggered again before regaining its balance. It was then that Ash decided to stop the battle and call it a draw, just like their last battle. 'Maybe that's what May wanted?' He pondered internally.
"Great battle Ash", said May, as they both approached one another to shake hands.
"You too May. It was great battling you again."
"Likewise", she responded, smiling coyishly. Ash smiled back at her before the pair began walking back towards the light of the hotel, hoping to get at least a little sleep before the big day they had ahead of them.