"Looks like it's finally leveling off..." May commented as the two travelers finally neared the end of their climb down the mountain.
"Sweet." Ash smiled.
"Lavaridge is at the base?" she wondered. Ash nodded as the last of the sun set behind the tree line and darkness settled in. "Does it light up like the other one? It's getting dark…"
"Oh yeah. Every city should." Ash answered.
"Amazing...!" she grinned. Ash gave a small smile at her enthusiasm as they both emerged from the tree line. Just to their left, they could see the glow of city lights and May gasped excitedly. "Oh! That must be it right?"
"Uh huh." Ash chuckled. May smiled at him before she took off running towards it with Ash hot on her heels. Within a few minutes, they crossed into the city and found themselves walking down the main street. As they walked, May looked around in awe, looking at everything she could. Even the subtle differences between this city and Mauville City brought a smile to her face. Once again she seemed to just emanate an air of positivity that Ash just couldn't help but smile at.
"It's like there's a festival going on in every town...it's just wonderful." She happily sighed. Ash chuckled softly as May turned her attention back to him. "How do they do that...? Light up the city I mean."
"Electricity." He answered.
"Like the kind Pikachu uses?"
"Right. Just on a much lower scale." He nodded.
"Incredible..." she smiled. The two walked a little further into town when May let out a small yawn, drawing Ash's attention.
"Tired?" he questioned her.
"Heh...I guess I am." She replied sheepishly.
"I don't blame you. It's been a big day for both of us. Luckily, we're almost at the Pokémon Center." He said, pointing out the building at the end of the road. May smiled tiredly at the familiar building as Ash led her inside.
"Good evening." A familiar nurse greeted them. May's eyes widened in surprise when she saw the woman's face.
"Evening Nurse Joy." Ash echoed her greeting. May looked repeatedly between Ash and Joy with great confusion, trying to figure out how Nurse Joy could've beaten them there. Ash noticed her confusion and it took him a minute before he realized why she was confused.
"Oh. Right." He sweatdropped, embarrassed that he forgot. "Every Pokémon Center is run by a Nurse Joy. They're all siblings, or cousins, depending on where you are."
"Oh my..." she mumbled.
"Heh..." Ash chuckled awkwardly.
"What can I do for you two?" Joy spoke up.
"We were wondering if you had any rooms available and if you could heal my Pokémon." Ash explained.
"I can certainly heal your Pokémon. As for the rooms, we have one left that has two beds. Will that be acceptable?" the Nurse explained. Ash looked at May, silently asking if she'd be ok with that. She nodded in agreement and Ash gave her a nod back.
"Yes, that'll be fine." He told Nurse Joy. She nodded and checked them in on her computer. She then handed over the key to Ash.
"Enjoy your stay. And feel free to try our hot springs as well while you're here." She reminded them.
"A hot spring?" he questioned.
"Right. Lavaridge is famous for our natural hot springs and sand baths." Joy pointed out.
"Wow, that's really cool." Ash smiled softly.
"It's been so long since I've had a soak in a hot spring." May commented.
"The ones here at the Center are free to guests if you're interested." Joy informed them.
"Thank you very much. We'll make sure to try them out." Ash agreed.
"Of course. Have a good night." Nurse Joy smiled.
"Thanks."
"Thank you very much." May added. Taking May's hand, Ash lead her down the hall towards their room. He unlocked the door and held it open for her. She walked inside and let out another big yawn, earning a chuckle from Ash.
"Too tired for food tonight?" he wondered.
"Heh, yeah. That's a first for me honestly..." she chuckled. Ash smiled softly as May laid down on one of the beds in the room.
"Well are you comfortable at least?" he smiled. May nodded and let off another yawn.
"I couldn't believe how soft it was when I first laid on one last night." She told him. The two shared a smile as May's eyes began to drift shut. "Goodnight Sir Ash..."
"Goodnight May...sleep well." He whispered. May closed her eyes and cuddled up to the pillow, falling asleep near instantly. Ash watched her with a smitten smile, taking it upon himself to shut off the lights for her. He laid down on the opposite bed and Pikachu curled up and laid on his stomach. Ash smiled at his partner, who returned the smile and began whispering to him.
"Smitten Skitty." He teased. A blush crossed Ash's cheeks as he shot Pikachu a warning glare.
"Oh shut up..." he mumbled.
"Don't be embarrassed. It's cute." The Electric Type told him. Ash sighed as Pikachu continued. "You gonna tell her?"
"I-I..." he stammered as his blush deepened at the thought of telling her about how he was feeling. "I don't know..."
"Why?" Pikachu wondered.
"I-I mean...I like her...sure...but...she still needs to get home...I promised her that I'd help her go back…" Ash pointed out.
"So what? You can't like her because of that?" Pikachu wondered.
"What's the point…? We'll get separated forever at some point..." Ash reminded him.
"But you don't know when that will be...quite frankly, you don't even know if it's possible at all..." Pikachu countered.
"Still..." the trainer tried to think. "What if she liked someone from there..?"
"You could ask. We still don't know much about where she's from." Pikachu countered again.
"...I just don't want to get shot down...she's a real-life Princess…what could I possibly offer her?" Ash signed.
"You shouldn't assume the worst. I really think she might like you too." Pikachu insisted. Ash remained quiet for a few moments, weighing his options before conceding a little.
"...I'll mull it over in the morning..." he agreed.
"Ok..." Pikachu nodded.
"Goodnight Pikachu..."
"Goodnight Ash."
Early the next morning, May's eyes shot open and she sat up with a jolt. She let out a terrified scream that woke up the entire room in an instant. Ash jerked up from his bed in surprise and quickly turned towards May. He saw her panting hard as she looked around the room franticly as if she was surprised as to where she was. Ash quickly got out of bed and rushed to her side, taking her hand in his own.
"May what's wrong?" he asked. May looked at him and a wave of relief passed over her.
"S-Sir Ash..." her voice trembled as she began to tear up. Able to tell just how shaken up she was, Ash sat on the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms. She laid her head against his chest and broke down into tears.
"May..." he whispered as he held her close, trying to calm her down. She continued to cry into his shirt as he stroked her back gently.
"Oh Sir Ash...it was awful..." she cried.
"What was…? Tell me what happened…" he nudged her gently.
"Th-There was this giant blue Pokémon...a-and it was trying to kill me...I c-couldn't get away..." she sobbed. Ash held her close to his body and allowed her to cry for several more minutes until she got it all out of her system and slowly calmed down.
"It's ok May…it was just a dream…" he assured her. She sniffled and lifted her head to look up at him. He flashed her a small smile and moved a strand of hair from her face. "Better?"
"A-A little... It was just so scary..." she sniffled as she tried to dry her eyes.
"You're safe now May...I've got you..." he promised. May moved closer into his embrace and Ash held onto her protectively. "No one will hurt the Princess while I'm around." A blush crossed May's face as she let her gaze drift up to his face. His gaze met her's and their eyes locked. The blue and brown eyes couldn't seem to look away from one another.
"Sir Ash..." she whispered. Ash blushed slightly at the soft sound of her voice. The remains of her tears had made her blue eyes sparkle more than they normally did. He couldn't look away from her no matter how hard he tried. He felt an urge well up inside him, an urge to just kiss her lips right at that moment. To truly be all that he could to her. His heart was beating so hard and fast that it threatened to leap from his chest at any moment. He was about to lean in, unable to resist her any longer when she broke the hypnotic gaze by laying her head against his chest. "Thank you..."
"I-It's no problem…really…" Ash answered as he blushed harder and stroked her hair. He mentally cursed himself for letting his feelings for her run away like that. He had to find a way to keep himself under control around her. Though that wasn't exactly easy with her laying in his arms. The two stayed locked in their embrace for a few moments longer before May had fully calmed down.
"Thank you, Sir Ash..." she gave her first smile of the morning.
"You sure you're ok?" he checked.
"Yeah, I feel better now...besides you have more important things to worry about." She answered.
"I do..?"
"Isn't your Gym Battle thing here in this town?"
"Oh!" he gasped, not realizing he had completely forgotten about it in all the commotion. May blinked in confusion, surprised that he could've forgotten about something so important. Ash blushed in embarrassment as he finally released her from the embrace and scratched the back of his head. "Well, then l-let's get ready and go then."
"Ok." She nodded. Both of them cleaned themselves up and got dressed in fresh clothes before heading toward the lobby. Pikachu perched himself back on Ash's shoulder as the trainer walked up to the front desk and Nurse Joy flashed him a cheery smile.
"Good morning." She greeted him.
"Morning." He replied.
"Your Pokémon are all in tip-top shape." Joy informed him, handing him the tray full of his pokeballs. Ash collected the pokeballs and reattached them to his belt.
"Thank you very much, Nurse Joy." He said politely. May smiled softly behind him.
"Alright. So now, how do we get to the Gym?" she asked.
"Oh, are you headed to the Lavaridge Gym?" Nurse Joy wondered aloud. Ash turned back to her and nodded.
"We are. Do you know where it is?"
"Yes of course it's right up the road from here. A large building with a red roof. You can't miss it." She explained.
"Perfect. Thank you." He smiled.
"My pleasure. Good luck in your battle." Ash smiled again and led May outside.
The two travelers walked down the street towards the Gym, having another pleasant conversation. Soon enough a large building with a dark red roof came into view at the end of the road.
"I think I see it up against that ledge." May pointed out the building.
"Looks right to me." Ash agreed as they approached.
"So how will this all work?" she wondered.
"Well I challenge the Gym leader to a battle with set rules, They'll use Pokémon of a specific type and if I win, I get a badge." Ash explained.
"And badges will...?"
"They're my right of passage into the regional tournament. Only trainers who collect all eight will be allowed to compete." He continued.
"Like qualifications?" she asked.
"Exactly." He nodded.
"Do you already have some?" May inquired. Ash nodded again and pulled his case out of his pocket. He handed it to her and she looked inside, seeing three metallic pins inside. "Oh wow...! You have so many!"
"Heh. Not yet. But I'm confident I can get the rest." He corrected her.
"So when you win this one today you will be the halfway point." She realized.
"That's right."
"Sounds like you're quite impressive." She grinned at him. Another warm blush crossed his cheeks as he tried to clear his throat in an attempt to keep himself in control. May giggled at his fluster as he sighed in defeat, still flashing her a smile.
"So do you know what type this Leader specializes in?" she wondered.
"I don't actually. Guess there's one way to find-" a sudden scream from inside caught both of their attention. They quickly ran inside and found a young woman running back and forth across a practice field. She had bright red hair, a black t-shirt and jeans on. She was also wearing a green jacket which was currently on fire.
"HOT HOT HOT!" she screamed as she ran around. Ash and May gasped in surprise at the scene as Ash quickly jumped into action.
"Corphish! Help out with Bubblebeam!" he called as he threw a pokéball and released Corphish.
"Cor phish phis phis phis!" Corphish yelled as he fired Bubblebeam at the woman.
"Ack!" she yelped as she was hit and then extinguished by the bubbles. The spray of water quickly put out the flames and she yanked off the charred remains of her jacket. "Oh thank goodness..."
"Are you okay...?" Ash asked as he and May cautiously approached.
"Yes...thank you very much for the assist." The woman sighed in relief. She straightened herself out and turned to face the two of them. "Are you two here to challenge the Gym?"
"I am." Ash answered. The woman smiled brightly and thrust her fist into the sky excitedly.
"Awesome! This is great! I'm Flannery the Gym Leader!" she introduced herself.
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town!" Ash followed suit, matching her enthusiasm. May smiled a little and shyly spoke up as well.
"My name is May..."
"Awesome! Let's do this battle right away!" Flannery cheered.
"Sounds good to me. What are the rules?" Ash asked.
"We have a three-on-three battle and the winner is whoever knocks out all three of the other side's Pokémon first. And if you win you'll get the Heat Badge." She explained.
"Awesome. And judging from what I've seen I assume you'll use Fire-Types?" he followed up.
"Sure will! They're the best!" she nodded.
"Assuming they don't set you on fire..." Ash chuckled. May giggled at his joke as Flannery laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head.
"Every trainer has a misstep here and there." She pointed out.
"Don't I know it." He agreed.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
"Yeah, take us to the battlefield!" he declared. Flannery smiles and headed around back to the main battlefield as Ash and May followed her. Flannery ran over to her side of the field as May put her hand on Ash's shoulder before he could run off to his.
"Something wrong May?" he asked. May shook her head and wrapped Ash in a tight hug.
"Good luck Sir Ash." Ash blushed slightly as he tried to keep his cool.
"Thanks, May." He smiled. May smiled back and then headed for the stands to sit as Ash ran over to his trainer box.
To be Continued...