Chapter 1: Follow Me

The sound of rustling trees and scampering feet made for a natural symphony in the depths of Viridian Forest. The afternoon was warm, and light flitted down through the forest canopy, casting shadows that seemed to dance on the mossy floor.

A young woman with brown hair crouched amongst the ferns, her eyes locked on a pikachu unaware of its pursuer. It was late summer and very humid. Beads of sweat collected near the trainer's brow, though she felt at ease in the humidity.

The young woman took out a Nest Ball from her shorts pocket, bouncing the ball lightly in her hands to get used to its weight. It had, after all, been quite some time since she had last done this. All the while, the young electric mouse sniffed gingerly at some unripe berries that had fallen from the tree above.

Within a flash, the young woman threw the ball at her target. She felt her heart in her throat, pounding away as she watched the ball twitch once, then twice, and finally a third time for a lock. Though she was out of practice, she felt the same way as she did when she caught her first pokemon, many years ago outside of Petalburg City.

The trainer stood up, and wiping the sweat off of her brow, walked over to the still pokeball and picked it up. Before, the ball felt hollow and stiff, but now, with her newest capture, she felt the pokemon inside move and hum curiously at her touch. Pressing her finger to the clasp, the trainer released her pokemon in a flash of white. The little pikachu still looked dazed; it had all happened so quickly.

The young woman knelt down in front of the little mouse, and smiled gently, "Hello, little one. My name is May, and I am a pokemon trainer. If you want to join me on my travels, it would be an honor to have you. If you would prefer to remain in your forest, I will honor that decision. So, what do you think? Do you want to come with me?" The yellow mouse nodded fervently in response.

May smiled, "Excellent! I can't wait to welcome you to my team! Only, we must think of a good nickname for you..." May thought aloud as she stroked the pokemon's red cheeks. She could feel a spark of static prickling through the pokemon's cheeks.

"Aha! How does "Firth" sound to you?" The pikachu nuzzled its cheek into May's hand and gave an excited cry in affirmation of May's suggestion.

"Firth it is. Let's get you back in your ball so you can meet your new family later tonight."

Once May returned Firth back into her ball, she started to make her way out of the forest. She could tell the sun had already begun to set, as the air felt cooler and less oppressively humid. The forest's symphony had changed its tune to signal the sunset, as well: the sound of bug pokemon chirping and fluttering and buzzing filled the air. Though May loved to befriend every pokemon she met, she did not particularly enjoy the company of bug pokemon. She waded her way through the forest maze, until she was back on the well-trodden path that led out to Viridian City.


By the time May exited the forest with her newest team member on her belt, the sun had set, and the fading light cast a rosy hue along the Viridian City skyline. The evening was late, and though May was staying nearby at the Pokemon Center, she didn't feel like turning in quite so soon. Besides, she hoped to see someone before she moved on to the next town.

Viridian City was properly speaking a town; there was one "skyscraper" that provided stunning vistas of the city and neighboring forest at night. But Kanto was more rural than Johto or Hoenn, as it gave way to large stretches of grassland instead of sprawling cities or mountains. May walked toward the tall building, and she was pleased to find the door and elevator unlocked and ready for use. The top floor was deserted, and the city streets were beginning to settle down as people walked home from work.

She was waiting for someone.

The view of the city, the golden hour, and the warm weather all brought to mind a memory of May's: sitting on the roof of a similar, but larger building in Lilycove City, also waiting for someone. For the first time in a long time, May felt that sharp ache of homesickness in her chest. Kanto and Hoenn were akin in many respects, much to May's surprise and joy, but Kanto lacked the locality and pervading presence of the ocean. Without the ocean, May felt disoriented. For May, Hoenn carried with it sense of adventure that May came to love at the dawn of her own pokemon journey nearly eight years ago.

May suddenly felt her DexNav buzz at her waist. She grumbled as she dug through her messy purse, past the numerous potions and antidotes and nest balls to find the useful, but annoying, device.

She caught the caller on its last ring: "Hello?"

"Yes, hello May? This is Drake," came the veteran's gravely voice.

"Hey Drake! I know, I have your number saved." May could hear him grunt over the line.

"Sorry to bother you while you're on vacation, but have you been keeping up with what's been happening in Kalos?"

May frowned. News clips of a ravaged town of old and of a crime syndicate in red came to the forefront of May's mind. She thought bitterly back to a time when Hoenn dealt with Team Magma and how their ignorance nearly caused a natural disaster.

"Yeah, it's absolutely horrible. But I heard Team Flare was stopped by a trainer and that Lysandre is now in custody." Lysandre was a name that had made its way even to the quiet villages of Kanto, and May had seen his crazed, lion-like face on television and heard him speak about his desire for a new world, beautified and shed of its pain and suffering.

"Yes. Rightfully so. But, that brings me to the reason for my calling," there was a pause on the line, "Kalos is a mess right now, May. Geosenge Town was nearly decimated and the country authorities are trying their best to round up the last of Lysandre's cronies. Even Malva was put behind bars, so they're down a League member for the time being. They cannot host this year's League Convention."

May's spirit fell as she realized where Drake was headed with this discussion. But she remained silent.

"So...do you catch my drift?" he said after a moment.

"But why can't another region host it, somewhere closer like Unova? We did it the time before last, and besides, some of the other regions haven't even hosted yet!" May whined. She could tell Drake didn't want to host this either; he hated public appearances and events, especially an event as well-publicized as the League Convention. It was far too chummy for Drake's comfort.

"I suppose. But, at any rate, the last time Hoenn hosted a convention was early into Steven's tenure, and he didn't participate or engage with the others as the board would have liked. Which is the whole point of the damn thing..." May's stomach flipped at Drake's casual mention of his name. Of course, Drake had no idea of May's complicated relationship towards the former Champion. Very few people knew of her girlhood crush on Steven, and beyond that, not very many people knew that Steven Stone, heir of Devon Co., was also Hoenn's previous, elusive Champion. When May first began her tenure, she wondered why Steven remained so anonymous from his role and from the fans; but now, after four years deep into the job, she felt worn down and so exhausted from the demands and pressure of the career. She suddenly realized Drake had been rambling on for a while, though she hadn't been listening.

"...but the board asked us to host, and so I agreed on your behalf."

"Well, from where in the budget are we taking this money?" May frowned. Drake began to say something, but stopped himself. It dawned on May that he meant to use their residual funds from the year.

"Oh, that's just great. We discussed using that money for improvements to Victory Road."

"I know, but it's too late to rescind our offer."

"Well, I never authorized-"

"You weren't here!" Drake bellowed, "And the four of us unanimously agreed, so even if you were here to vote it wouldn't have ended in your favor," he muttered. May frowned. She had a hard time picturing Sid voting in favor of hosting the Convention, though it was possible he was bribed by Phoebe. Or Glacia.

"When does it start?" May asked miserably, rubbing her now aching forehead.

"In a month, the last day of August. But we'll start welcoming guests here in three weeks, so please get back soon. I'm going to put your name down as a contender in the bracket. You need to be sociable with the others, and you can spare a match at the very least."

"You know I'm technically your superior, so I shouldn't let myself put up with this anarchy," May muttered. But Drake chuckled and hung up.

She groaned loudly and leaned over the railing, looking down at the now quiet city below her. May had thoroughly enjoyed her summer vacation in a different region. Nearly four years of time and devotion spent at the Hoenn League, and she finally asked for a summer off. May realized it was stupid to have waited this long, and that vacation days were a part of most jobs. But she felt that after Steven's constant aloofness and abrupt departure that the League feared May would one day do the same without notice.

Suddenly, the young woman straightened up and turned her head away from the city vista.

"Did you hear that phone call?" she called out, seemingly no one. There was a long pause, before a deep voice sounded in her mind.

Yes. This...Drake, is it? He has the authority over you to summon you home?

Out of the shadows stepped a cloaked figure, taller than any human man.

She nodded slowly, eyeing the figure from the side as he joined her to look at the city and sky.

"It's earlier than I had planned. I figured I'd have at least another month to travel and explore."

Some silence settled between the two figures. Though it had made her uncomfortable in the beginning of their friendship, May was now used to this ritual of silence.

How long until you will return to Kanto? the figure finally asked. May smirked.

"Not for a long time, I'd imagine. My home, my duties are in Hoenn. I can't just gallivant the world for the rest of my life and not expect it all to catch up to me," May's voice trailed off towards the end. She thought briefly of Steven, of his stoic face and pristine suits, and of a time when she waited and hoped expectantly for his return.

And if she could help it, she would never make her new friend feel as jilted as she once did.

I suppose.

May turned to look at the figure finally. His eyes glinted blue... did that mean he was reading her mind? Or was it just the nightlife glow of the town beneath them?

"Which means, my friend, you're gonna have to find some other trainer to lose to."

The pokemon's eyes narrowed, and in a flash, May's mind flooded with images, sensations, of a battle between the two some time ago: her gardevoir nearly at her strength's end, before the pokemon dealt another painful psychic attack. May remembered that battle with excitement and adrenaline. The hooded figure knew how to give May and her team a good challenge: something they hadn't felt in a long time.

It's not like I haven't made your pokemon work for their victories. I am still the most powerful pokemon.

May smiled, "You know I would never deny that, Mewtwo. But consider this amendment: you are the most powerful wild pokemon. Of course you have the greatest ability, but without proper training...without friendship, you will never reach your fullest potential."

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed, and May could hear his psychic voice chuckling in her mind.

You sound like a man I once knew. But he used me for his own selfish gain.

May nodded. The bits and pieces Mewtwo had shared with her combined with what she had learned from her time on Cinnabar Island gave May a clear indication of the fires Mewtwo rose up from. Part of her still wondered how it's been the case that he's let another human like her get this close. It was humbling, honoring, and made May cherish her relationships with her pokemon all the more.

"That is because he was selfish and insincere from the start. He never meant to be your friend, as I do, and have done. Without friendship, we could never enjoy life as it was meant to be enjoyed. Great friends help you realize your truest potential. That's what friendship is: teasing the good and the beautiful out of the other." There was a passionate glint in May's eyes as she spoke. She thought of her pokemon, of Finn as a tiny mudkip and of Maris as a timid ralts. She thought of Brendan and Wally, and of Wallace and Phoebe. She desperately wanted Mewtwo to share in her belief.

Before I met you, I would have disagreed with that vision.

"Understandably," May said. She glanced down at her watch and sighed. Knowing Mewtwo, she was going to have to play this the hard way.

"Well, it's after dark, and I suppose I should go and book my flight home. So, I guess this is goodbye for a long time," May said, almost indifferently. She barely detected a faint smile on Mewtwo's mouth. Did he see through her bluff?

The purple pokemon finally cast down his hood, just as the blue incandescence of his eyes faded.

Is this what you humans call "playing hard to get"? Mewtwo nearly sighed in her mind.

A jovial grin broke through May's face.

"No, people say that about dating and relationships! But you're right, I wasn't being straightforward with you. My routine in Hoenn will be considerably busier than it has been here in Kanto, but would you consider joining me and my pokemon back to our home country? You can live with me and my team, or in the wild I guess, if that is what you want."

Mewtwo paused thoughtfully at the offer. May always thought that he knew she would one day return home and ask him to join her back. The young woman, at first, took Mewtwo to be a strange, lonesome creature, but since befriending him in the depths of Cerulean Cave, she saw inside of him a deep, primal desire for companionship and empathy, like everyone else in the world.

Yes. I...it would be my honor.

May smiled. "So... can you teleport and meet me there, or will you fly?"

Mewtwo shook his head. It's too far to fly, and since I haven't been there before, I don't think I could teleport safely.

May nodded thoughtfully. She had imagined this exact conversation many times, and each reached the same conclusion that she really didn't want to suggest to Mewtwo. So she offered up something else she knew also wouldn't work.

"Well, you could transfigure into a human and fly with me...but you don't have a passport-"

May, Mewtwo's voice silenced her, I think you and I both know what we have to do.

May's eyes widened.

"A-are you sure? I didn't want to make you feel weird...like you're my pokemon or something," she stammered.

Well, what do you think I am? There was a hint of amusement in his voice. It was such an odd question.

"You're my friend and equal. You're more intelligent than me, and you can understand and speak human languages. But you're not human, you're a pokemon."

Yes. So I am. He said simply, looking down at May's bag. May sighed in resignation, and reaching inside, grabbed a simple, red pokeball and held it out to Mewtwo.

"Whenever you're ready," she murmured. But Mewtwo didn't hesitate in placing his paw on the pokeball's clasp. Within a flash, he was gone and the pokeball rumbled thrice in May's hand. She stood like that for a few moments, perhaps waiting to see if Mewtwo would come out of the ball or change his mind. But he remained, and May could feel the pokemon hum contentedly inside.

She placed Mewtwo's ball on the sixth clasp of her belt and set out for the Pokemon Center to arrange her flights and to get a good night's rest. May was ready to come home.