Hi everyone. It's been a while hasn't it. Like I said, this fic while be very slow to upload. I was actually contemplating not uploading anything at all for a while yet. But that chapter I was writing while in a rut? Yeah, I finally finished it and I have you all to thank for it. So I thought that you all deserved some thanks and my thank you to you will be a very, very small snippet of the first chapter. As before, this is no way the final draft.

So you may be thinking "Sheesh, Sheela, it took you this long to finish just one chapter?" Okay, first off, like I said, my chapters are long. Very, very long. Like ... I have one chapter finished that's over 40 pages, sooo ... yeah, takes a while. Second, this particular chapter was challenging because it involved a lot of 'hanging out with someone you just me'. And as we all know, hanging out with people you just meet hasn't been much a thing in the last few years for obvious reasons, so I really struggled in writing that. Third; I'm about to finish my masters in two months. I actually have a few huge deadlines coming up. Got 12 shots to finish animating before the 22nd of April and honestly, most of these should be finished before Tuesday, soo ... that's been eating up my time.

Good news is, after said 22nd, I will have much more free time and the newest chapter has a lot more planned content going into it. So hopefully from there, things will go faster. Again, the chapters are long, so if I can finish 10 chapters in a year, that's already a lot and until it's all done, don't expect more than 1 or 2 updates a year.

Like before, comments are highly appreciated and I want to give my sincerest thank you to everyone who has left a nice message for me in the prologue chapter. You have no idea how many times I've come back to those few comments and how much they've spurred me to keep writing despite the ridiculous workload that comes with making a masters film.

Now without further ado; the first 1/15 of chapter one (told you these chapters are long)

Wherever you go
becomes part of you somehow
- Anita Desai

Chapter 1 - Laughter functions as medicine even when you're not sick.

The ferry arrived in Cherrygrove City in the late morning. May's stomach was churning. On the one hand, she was so excited, she felt like throwing up, but at the same time, she was so scared she felt like throwing up. Either way, May was sure she was going to throw up. Ugh, she hated throwing up. If only Ash were with her. Or Brock. Or Max. Okay, maybe not Max, he'd just make fun of her.

The queasy feeling in her stomach disappeared once the ferry docked and she was back on land. Huh, maybe she had just been sea-sick. Would've been a first, but they did say that there was a first for everything. Or maybe it was Cherrygrove City itself that made her feel better. The sun shining down, the large promenade, the majestic ships docking, the beach in the distance, all the luscious trees growing out of every single space they were given and the myriad of cute Quagsire that were everywhere, the song of the sea in her ears; it was lovely. May couldn't help but to stretch. It was high time she shared it with her Pokemon.

"Come on out everyone", she cried.

Out of their Pokeballs came Blaziken, Beautifly, Eevee and Squirtle, every single one happy to be out and relish in the sun. Just like her. She sat down on the reiling and watched as Eevee and Squirtle pulled a reluctant Blaziken to play with them, while Beautifly made herself comfortable on her head. She let them play for a while, lips smiling and heart filling as she watched their antics. But she did have things to do and it was time she got on them.

"Hey guys," she cried. "Aren't you hungry?"

The way that Eevee and Squirtle jumped into her arms was all the answer she needed and she laughed as she struggled to hold them both.

"Alright, alright, I get it", she giggled. "But I'm gonna need my arms to get out your food, so if you'd please?"

With just as much enthusiasm as her two babies had sprung into her arms, they hopped back onto the ground. And what more, they sat down, perfectly still, the only thing giving away their excitement being their swishing tails. May smiled. So they could behave after all. All it took was bribing them with food. Well, she had expected that of Munchlax, but she guessed most Pokemon were similar in that regard.

With a little hum on her lips, she prepared bowls of food for all four. She herself would eat later. There were sure to be some nice restaurants once she went into the city. As a matter of fact, she could already spot a row of lovely cafes along the port and the beach. She'd just have to try them later on.

"Come on everyone, eat up", May chirped.

And there went Eevee's and Squirtle's good behavior. In a flash, those two were all over their bowls, while Blaziken and Beautifly shared theirs with a bit more dignity. Well, such was the difference between her eldest and youngest Pokemon.

She got out her Pokenav while they were eating and looked through the list of Contests taking place. She kept looking … and looking … and looking … man, that list was long. May never knew this many contests took place in a single season. Then again, she supposed there had to be, if over two hundred coordinators managed to get five ribbons every single season. Oh hey, the very first contest was taking place right here in Cherrygrove City. May had never taken part in the season's first contest before. She had come late into the game in Hoenn and even in Kanto, Ash's battles had always taken priority.

Okay, so when was that Contest taking place? Oh man, she hoped it wasn't today. Why oh why hadn't she checked this when she was on the ship. Wait, it was next week? Today in a week to be precise. Well that was a relief. Last time she was this early had been Slateport … though she had been late to actually sign up, but hey, that was all in the past. Okay, battle plan! Once her Pokemon were all done eating, she'd immediately go look for the Contest Hall and sign up. Once that was done, she'd need something to eat. Last but not least, she'd check in to the Pokemon Center. Then the rest of her day she could spend at the beach or the river with her Pokemon. And hey, if she was lucky, she'd run into Solidad or Drew. They were both very put together, so they were bound to come here. If she was a little less lucky, she'd run into Harley. Also a solid possibility, since he had been the most excited of them all to get to Johto.

"You guys are done?" May asked when the munching noises ceased. "Alright, listen everyone; you'll have to go back into your Pokeballs for now, but once the boring paperwork is done, how about we all go and play?"

The cheering was overwhelming and May laughed some more. What had she even been worried about back on that ship? With all her Pokemon being as cheerful as they were, there was no way she would ever get lonely. One after another disappeared into their balls, but May paused when it was Beautifly's turn.

"Hey Beautifly, how about you and I go look for the Contest Hall together, hmm?"

The delighted chirp was all the answer May needed. As always, Beautifly took her place on top of May's head, earning another giggle from the girl.

"Alright, let's get going. May's expedition starts it's first episode in Johto!" she began narrating, her thumbs and index fingers creating her trusty fake screen. "I've arrived in Cherrygrove City, a new, exciting place with new exciting Pokemon. Let's see what it has to offer!"

May had to admit, she had not expected a harbor city to be this green. Every street was lined with trees as large as buildings, creating the most beautiful shadow plays on the asphalt. The air was crisp and clean as well and there were probably as many Quagsire walking around as there were people. Curious to see what these little cuties were all about, May took out her Pokedex.

"Quagsire; The water fish Pokemon. A Quagsire hunts by leaving its mouth wide open in water and waiting for its prey to blunder in. Because it doesn't move, it does not get very hungry."

May giggled at that and took a deep breath. She was already in love with Cherrygrove City and she had barely even entered it. Now, to find that Contest Hall.

The greenery continued on even as May entered downtown Cherrygrove and reached the first Skyscrapers. Oh, there was a berry shop. She would have to check that one out later on. And man there was a delicious smell coming out of that restaurant. And … oh mew … was ... was that a chocolate shop? No, focus. Business first, pleasantries later. She didn't have Ash or Brock or her little brother with her this time to get her out of trouble, so she'd have to make sure she wouldn't get into any begin with and WAS THAT A RAMEN SHOP OVER THERE?

… Okay fine, a small detour shouldn't be a problem. She rushed over to the restaurant, a tiny little place in the corner of downtown and man did it smell delicious. Let's see … they had Shio Ramen, Shoyu Ramen, Kotteri Ramen and … Blue Moon Ramen? What was that supposed to be?

A sudden lack of weight on her head paired with Beautifly's chirp diverted May's attention once again.

"Beautifly?" May inquired as her contest darling flew off.

Beautifly wasn't one to just go off by herself randomly. That was Skitty's thing. Maybe sometimes Eevee's. Or Munchlax's, when he's sniffed out some good food. She must've noticed something, so instead of stopping her, May decided to follow. A good idea, as it turned out. Just as she followed Beautifly around the corner, she spotted a highly familiar shade of green. So he was here, as usual with his faithful Roselia by his side. Immediately, the biggest and brightest of smiles graced her features and she put up her hand to wave to him.

But then Beautifly caught his attention and as he turned to her, May felt her arms slowly sinking back to her side. There was something … something different about his smile. She didn't know what that something different was, but it was then she decided that she wanted to observe this for a little while longer. Without really thinking about it, she hid behind a tree, watching with fascinated eyes as Drew held out his arm for Beautifly to land on.

And there it is, my dear readers. Of course, I just had to cut it off at the best part, right? But please, be patient with me. I promise, what I have in the works is great and you will not be dissapointed. Your patience will be rewarded. Again, please leave a comment, they're very helpful. Criticism is always welcome, and feel free to ask if you have any questions. I'll answer them next time I post (whenever that may be).

If you're wondering where the snippet from the prologue was ... that actually happens later in this chapter. So for now, I will post a snippet from another chapter. So until next time, I'll see you around.

"She's using the trick you used in the Grand Festival", Soledad commented. "Though admittedly, hers is better."

"That move was hers to begin with, darling", Harley answered. "Little Drew over here stole it."

"I didn't steal it, I saw it's potential and tried to make it better by putting my own spin on it."

"Not that it worked out", Harley snickered. "But she's used that move so often. If that's all she has to offer at an Opener, then I'll be seriously disappointed."

"Haven't you learned that May has a way of surprising you?" Drew shot at him.