Ash was running towards Sunnyshore City, at his side was Riolu. After knocking into each other, Ash realized that this was the same Riolu he'd helped save from Hunter J
Seems as if Riolu had been searching for him for quite a while now and had been following May in hopes that she'd lead her to him... which she did. When Ash questioned how Riolu knew May was someone who'd met him, Riolu was secretive on that information
What had surprised Ash from the whole encounter was the fact that the blue Pokemon literally captured himself and soon was back at Ash's side. Due to possessing aura himself, Riolu was able to evade any infected and promised to return into the pokeball if danger arose
Both ran into a couple of infected wandering around. Riolu was able to knock them out with the help of Pikachu, who Ash had decided to let out of his pokeball for a while and help
Finally, the trio made it to Sunnyshore Tower. Ash took out his Rotom phone, going into contacts and searched for Red. After they met, Red had pulled him aside and asked for his contact information, saying that they might get separated in the future and should have a way to keep in contact
"Ash?! Where are you?" Red asked as soon as the call connected
"I'm a few feet outside of Sunnyshore Tower, did the rest of you get inside safely?" Ash asked, looking around the area for any sighs of infected
"Yes, we were able to get inside thanks to you. However, we're dealing with our own problems currently. Try and get here fast! We need all the help we can get with these guys" Red exclaimed as Ash could make out noise in the background
"I'm on my way" Ash seriously said as he hung up and started running faster
Staring at the infected blocking his way in, Riolu and Pikachu sprang into action. Ash on the other hand took out another pokeball as he threw it. When the Pokemon appeared, Ash realized it was the one that Saki had given him when they split ways
Standing before him was a Pokemon he'd seen before. This was one that May, Gary, Lana, Gladion, Saki and Serena had in common. It was a small, mammalian, quadrupedal Pokémon with primarily brown fur
"Eevee" Ash called out as the evolution Pokemon turned around "I know you must be confused, having been with Saki before... She gave you to me the last time I saw her and I hope you'll allow me to be your trainer, I'm sure you're a strong Pokemon after all" Ash said as Eevee stared at him for quite awhile before nodding in agreement as Ash saw this Eevee was a female and mentally decided to give her a nickname later on
The small group was able to take out the infected as Ash grabbed Eevee, running inside with Pikachu and Riolu following after him. Ash was starting to get annoyed with all the infected he kept coming into contact with as Eevee was returned after the 5th battle seeing as she was running out of energy. Even Pikachu and Riolu were getting tired, having to fight off infected non-stop
Finally, Ash could hear the others and knew he was getting closer as he suddenly stopped running and twisted as he grabbed a small pocketknife, he'd seen on the way up and stabbed the infected human who wanted to get the jump on him
Seeing the state of his two Pokemon, Ash decided it best to return them both. Of course, both Pokemon protested, but Ash wasn't going to allow that as he simply took out their pokeballs and were now safe from harm and could also take a break
Arriving at the scene where the others were all battling, Ash threw the knife in his hand as it landed on an infected Roserade that had been about to attack Brendan. This made Brendan turn around and see Ash finally joined back up with them
"Bout time you got here" Brendan shouted as he cut an infected Raichu in half "What took you so long, went sightseeing or something?"
"No, I was invited to a party I couldn't really miss" Ash replied as he ducked down and swept an infected off their feet "Though I almost thought I'd left behind the party, only to realize I was invited to another one. Imagine my surprise. I must be popular today"
"Enough joking around, both of you" Red said as he was seen slashing at infected instead of shooting them due to finishing all his ammo
Both said nothing more as they didn't want to get on Red's bad side and have him accidentally slash them with his sharp blade... like Brendan had happen to him once before
"Get clear!" Gary suddenly shouted as everyone took cover and dropped down. Much to their shock, mini explosions were seen as infect got heads or limbs blow off. May had to resist looking away from the gruesome scene, still not used to all this blood and violence if she were being honest
"That all of them?" asked Red as slowly the group lifted themselves off the ground and some grimaced at the sight before them
"On the bright side, we don't have to worry about cleaning up the place"
A soft chuckle could be heard from Leaf at this as everyone slowly started to relaxing... however,
"Don't tell me this tower is unstable!" Brendan exclaimed as a tremor was felt throughout the tower. Suddenly the whole building shook as everyone grabbed onto something, however one person wasn't as lucky as the others
"ASH!" Red cried as he saw the black-haired teen lose his grip on the ledge and was about to fall to his death
However, May was able to catch Ash before he went down… but lost her own grip on the ledge soon afterwards. Everyone tried to grab a hold of the falling teens but were unsuccessful
Luckily May was prepared, having just the item in her hand as soon as she slipped and launched the grappling gun that she found from before. The hook grabbed onto something as both teens found themselves dangling for their lives, quite the distance from where they once were
However, May took note on how the line seemed to be slowly be breaking due to the weight of them both and realized that one of them had let go if the other were to survive "Ash… one of us has to let go or else we'll both fall" she said with a sad look and Ash immediately knew what she was planning
Ash wanted to say something, anything to make her see reason, but May started talking once again
"Listen I need to tell you something. If this is the last time we see each other, then I need you to know something... thank you for everything. For being there for me when I needed someone, for becoming my friend, teaching me and becoming my mentor, cheering me on in Contests and helping me not feel down whenever I lost... Thank you. You've been one of the best friends I could have asked for" she said, her hand slowly revealing the ribbon they had both won so long ago "This ribbon that we both won in the Terracotta Contest those years ago... a constant reminder of our journey together, always at my side. I appreciate everything you've done for me and I could never thank you enough"
Shouts could be heard from above, as the others tried to find ways to help the two dangling teens back up. There Pokemon were either tired or unavailable, having fought infected that were in the tower and as such couldn't use any that knew the move Psychic at this point
"You've saved me multiple times... now it's my turn to return the favor and save you" Ash couldn't say anything, his whole body frozen by her words. May took this opportunity as she gave him one last smile and with zero hesitation in her moves, let go of the line
"NO MAY!" Ash yelled as he saw the girl who had become his best friend, to maybe even something more... plummet to her death
Slowly Ash felt himself get pulled back up and onto the floor. He took note of the multiple stares being thrown his way, but Ash couldn't bring himself to say anything. His mind was unable to get the scene out of his head, trying to see if there was something he could have done to stop her
"Ash… where's May?" Red finally asked with despair as he remembered the devastating scream Ash had given a couple of seconds ago
Ash looked at them all with a broken expression "She sacrificed herself to save me… May is… May's dead"
Everyone was quiet... the fact that one of their own was no longer with them finally sinking in. All Ash knew at this point was that nothing would be the same as before
Now none of you go screaming at me for this. I warned you all something was going to happen. The idea for this has been in my head for a while now. If you recognize the scene, it's because you should! I based it off one of my fav EreMika moments *sniff* Don't think this wasn't painful for me in the slightest... May is my top pokegirl and AdvanceShipping is my fav ship. Remember what I said, don't go attacking me until the end of the story.
P.S. Also this story is officially coming to an end soon since it's going to be split into two parts (unless someone is against that idea). If no one says anything, the next chapter will be the last, bringing an end to the 1 year and return to the present near the end as it will hint quiet a few things for the sequel