It was a bright and beautifully sunny spring day outside the boundaries of Vermillion City. The flowers that had recently bloomed were displaying the most luscious shades of pink, purple, red, white, yellow, orange and blue, while the bird Pokemon resting in the trees overhead sang the most melodious of songs.

It was here that four individuals relaxed to admire the view and catch the sun on the soft green grass at the peak of the nearby cliff. The black-haired boy with dark brown eyes positioned in the middle was known as Ash, the brown-haired girl with blue eyes to his left was known as May, the ginger-haired girl with turquoise eyes to his right was known as Misty and the small yellow creature in his lap was known as Pikachu.

"Wow, the view is so beautiful..." May said just above a whisper.

Misty nodded in agreement. "It sure is," she commented.

"I can't believe Max is missing this."

"Hey," Ash said, turning to May, "it was his choice to stay in Petalburg City with your mom and dad."

May sighed. "I know."

"Just the same as it was Brock's choice to stay in Pewter City," Misty added, smiling at her friend. There was a slight pause before she continued. "Y'know... I'm really glad you two came to visit me."

May looked up at her. "Really?"

"Yeah. I was getting kinda lonely, what with Togepi... I mean Togetic... not being there anymore and my sisters off being actress models."

Ash turned to Misty with a smile on his face just before the light wind caught his hair and began to play gently with it. The sun was also shining on his face just perfectly to give him that lovely golden glow. Misty could feel that strong emotion tugging at her heart again as she smiled back at him.

The moment was broken by a grumble from Ash's stomach, followed shortly by one from Pikachu's stomach. The two looked slightly embarrassed, throwing their hands behind their heads... and who could blame them, what with the exasperated looks the girls were giving them?

"Hungry again?" Misty asked, rolling her eyes.

Both put their hands back to where they were originally as Ash replied, "Aheh... yeah... Anyone fancy going for a bite to eat?"

"Pika!" Pikachu said enthusiastically.

"Not really," Misty said coolly, looking back at the view of the city.

"No thanks," May said, smiling at Ash before following Misty's example.

Ash shrugged. "Well, okay. Pikachu and I'll be at the nearest restaurant if you need us."

"Okay," both girls replied, giving a slight wave of the hand as the two clambered up and took off down the hill together.

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"So... are you glad we didn't do as you suggested and stay in Cerulean City?" Misty asked.

May nodded. "I sure am. It did take quite a while to get here, but it well worth it for this view."

Misty laughed. "At least it only took three days this time around. The first time took me, Ash, Brock and Pikachu two weeks!"

May burst into laughter herself. "No way!"

"Yeah... and it's a good thing Tracey had stopped by to check on the water Pokemon on Professor Oak's request... If he hadn't been there, I couldn't have asked him to mind the gym, so I'd never have been able to come."

"Yeah, that is a good thing."

There was silence for a few moments as the girls casually observed a passing flock of Spearow, squawking their names so loudly, the echo could be heard all over the city. There was also, oddly enough, a Pidgey following them, apparently believing it belonged with the Spearow. Unfortunately, it was a little behind the rest and was struggling to keep up.

"Ash is great to go on adventures with, isn't he?" May asked, still staring at the sky.

Misty looked at her suspiciously, frowning slightly. "Yeah... he's a great friend..."

May nodded. "The best."

Is that a dreamy look in her eyes? Misty thought. It better not be! Wait, maybe I'm just being paranoid... Just because she's smiling at the sky with her eyes gleaming and talking about how wonderful Ash is...

"Y'know," May said, not noticing Misty's expression and instead watching the clouds form shapes, "if it wasn't for Ash, I'd have probably never become interested in Pokemon... I'd have probably never felt the joy and excitement of being a co-ordinator... and I'd have probably never competed in the Grand Festival..."

Misty's frown deepened, her eyes practically burning with anger. She does love him! I'm sure of it! How dare she! I was his friend way before she was and travelled through way more regions with him than she did!

"May," Misty said with a tinge of bitterness she hadn't meant to add, "tell me... do you love anyone?"

This made May tear her gaze away from the beautiful ocean blue sky to stare at Misty, suddenly filled with confusion.

"Why would you ask that?"

Misty's slight frown deepened. "Curiosity."

May blushed and turned away. I can't believe she's asking this! she thought. Should I tell her? Or should I just say that I'd rather not say? But wouldn't that make her even more curious? I know I don't want to lie to her. May glanced at Misty, who was watching her intently. Well, I suppose there'd be no harm in it.

"I guess so... but I'm not totally sure."

Did I imagine that? Or did a murderous look just pass through Misty's eyes?

"Who with?" Misty asked, the icy tone impossible to miss.

May turned away, feeling really awkward and embarrassed. I'm not sure I want to tell her. I mean, there'd be no harm in telling her, but... I'm not even sure of my feelings towards this guy... plus, I was planning to keep this a secret to the grave. It's kinda like that song Things I'll Never Say... only he's rather easy to talk to most of the time… and I tend not to blush too much around him...

"Well?" Misty said rather impatiently.

"Um... y'know what? I'd rather not say…" May replied.

Fire burned in Misty's eyes. She was dangerous when angered. "It's Ash, isn't it?"

The outburst took May immensely by surprise and her eyes widened. "What?"

Misty was on her feet now. "Well, guess what! You can't have him, so back off!"

May got to her feet also. "Misty-"

She stopped dead as she noticed tears lining Misty's eyes. What? What could she be crying about? Wait... is it that she loves Ash and thinks I love him too, therefore considers me a threat? No, it can't be... Misty having feelings for Ash is too hard to picture, the way she talks to him sometimes...

She gently touched Misty's shoulder, but it was shoved away in an instant, the red-head growling at her much like a hungry Rottweiler would do to a rabbit that was unfortunate enough to cross its path.

"Now just calm down, Misty... I'm sure we can-"

This just enraged Misty even further. "Don't tell me to calm down, you rotten little Ash stealer!" She hadn't meant to say it, but it just blurted from her mouth.

May was horror-struck, but that was only a fraction of what she felt, compared to when the red-head's body moved of its own accord and pounced on her.

The two rolled around on the floor, Misty tugging ferociously at May's hair while May desperately tried to defend herself and push Misty off. Misty then tried clawing at May's face, but May managed to throw her arms up to block the attack.

Oh, why did we have to leave all of our Pokemon at the Pokemon Centre? May thought with remorse. If only I had just one of them, I could get it to get Misty off me!

Feeling she had no other choice but to fight back, May shoved Misty hard, which made them roll the other way... towards the edge of the cliff. Misty fought hard, but so did May. Their strength matched equally, body parts were flying in all directions, even their heads... which, a moment later, both banged on the nearby tree stump, instantly knocking both girls unconscious.

May was the closest to the cliff's edge, which, due to the weight pressing against the fine rock, crumbled away, leaving her lifeless body to plummet twenty feet into the deep and fast-moving river below, with no one around to save her.

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A green-haired boy with green eyes known as Drew sat cross-legged on the bank of the river just outside of Vermillion City, staring at his reflection in the crystal clear water, his Pokemon doing their own individual things behind him. Absol was stretched out on the grass, trying to get some rest, but, much to its chagrin, had Masquerain hovering around its head, while, nearby, Flygon was also trying to rest, but was mildly irritated by Roselia dancing round it.

Drew sighed as he glanced at the bed of roses that lay beside him. He hadn't felt the need to flip his hair in such a long time... even though he had been winning battles left, right and centre. It was only lately, when someone he knew had asked him why he wasn't doing it did he notice.

That was when he'd realised something... he'd only started flipping his hair when he met May, only ever flipped it in her presence and only stopped flipping it when they parted ways. This had led him to think about their first meeting on that beach... He'd seen her throwing Frisbees and immediately felt the impulse to show off to her, catching one that flew in his direction with his eyes closed. She'd been impressed, but his arrogance that had grown inside of him during his life just couldn't resist rubbing in how much better he was than her.

It had started in the time he lived at home with his parents in LaRousse City. He was an average boy who led an average lifestyle, but his favourite hobby was to relax around the house and do nothing. However, this never went down well with his parents, who were unmarried, constantly bickering and taking their anger out on his laziness. Drew didn't like it, but he'd always grit his teeth and bear it. Unfortunately, the line was one day crossed when his father told him directly that he was a complete waste of space and that he couldn't wait for him to move out.

Drew was angered. All he'd wanted was to live life the way he desired, but, since being told that, he was determined by any means necessary to prove him wrong... and the best way he could see to do that would be to become a Pokemon trainer... although, he didn't much fancy the idea of battling recklessly in gyms. He'd always preferred style over substance, so he did immensely heavy research on Pokemon co-ordinators, using many different books and countless Internet websites, before setting out to become one himself.

He trained hard... harder than anyone would have thought possible... just so he could enter the contests a professional, rather than a rookie getting through on sheer dumb luck. To say his parents were amazed at his devotion was an understatement, especially when he'd presented them with a Flygon, only a few weeks after he'd caught its first of three forms: a Trapinch.

His endless victories went to his head though... which was why he'd been such a jerk to the pretty brunette on their first encounter... and most other times after that. His ego just kept on growing, especially whenever he beat her in battle, until the day they were alone together in a cave of Wynaut. Sure, she'd said she didn't save his life, but he wasn't that stupid. The Wynaut may have pulled them out of the water, but, somehow, he seriously doubted she hadn't played a part in it... like, perhaps, keeping his head above the water as they'd drifted along.

From then on, his opinion of her had changed entirely. He no longer saw her as an irresponsible nuisance, but a fun-loving girl with a heart of pure gold. She had changed him... He knew it had been unintentional, but she'd changed him. Her happy-go-lucky attitude that once made him scoff now made him smile. There was such a thing in life as fun, but, with the turn his life had taken, he'd almost forgotten that... and he deeply admired her for helping him see the light.

He sighed again as he plucked one of the roses and twirled it in his hand. The first rose he'd given May was, indeed, meant for Beautifly, but... the other roses that followed weren't... they were for May herself. He couldn't deny she was very pretty, no matter how hard he tried... Add to that her adorable personality...

As he stared into the water, he imagined a whole scene unfolding before him, playing out as though it was some obscenely mushy television programme, May sat next to him, her knees up to her chest.

Drew held out the rose in his hand, a genuine smile upon his features. "For you, May," he said.

May took the rose and blushed crimson. "Aw, thanks, Drew," she replied, unable to stop herself from smiling too.

Drew flipped his hair. "Don't mention it."

May turned to the rose in her hand, pretending to busy herself with it through embarrassment. "Y'know, you don't have to pick all these roses just for me."

Drew shrugged. "Hey, you deserve every single rose this planet holds."

May giggled, but was still unable to look Drew in the eye. "Hey, Drew?"

"Yeah?"

May finally looked up at him, her eyes gleaming. "I've been meaning to tell you something for... quite a while now."

Drew's eyes were also gleaming at this point. "Yeah? What is it?"

"I-"

Drew was immediately snapped from his daydream as he noticed something red and brown floating past him... and, horribly, it looked much like an upside-down human body.

Is that a... person? he thought, gobsmacked. Then, he noticed the style of clothing... the shape of the hair... and the red bandana with a white Hoenn symbol...

"May!" he screamed, all common sense escaping him as he jumped in to save her, leaving the rose behind him.

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"Ugh..." Ash groaned as he climbed up the cliff, Pikachu taking a ride on his shoulder, "I knew I shouldn't have eaten that burger and fries so fast." Pikachu laughed at him and he rolled his eyes.

As soon as he got to the top, the first thing he noticed was Misty lying on her side and a smile spread across his face. He'd always thought she looked adorable when she slept. It was definitely a huge improvement to biting his head off. Pikachu, however, could sense something was wrong, thanks to its strong animal senses.

"Pikachu!" it screeched, pointing at Misty.

"Huh?"

Ash looked at the frantic Pikachu, then back at Misty. It was only then that he noticed that her head was lying beside a tree stump and she was at least five feet away from her original position. This panicked him.

"Misty!"

He quickly ran over and knelt beside her, gently shaking her and repeatedly saying her name. Unfortunately, she wasn't moving. Getting desperately frantic, he switched to hard and fast shaking and shouting her name. Finally, her eyes opened and she glanced up at him.

"Ash..." she muttered, then, slowly, her brain began to speed up. She'd had a fight with May, she'd hit her head pretty hard and now...

She shot up so fast, Ash fell backwards in surprise, Pikachu having the sense to jump off his shoulder. "Hey!" Ash then noticed the look of panic in Misty's eyes as her head spun in all directions at lightning speed. "What's wrong?"

"May... Where's May?"

Ash blinked. Come to think of it, he thought, looking around, where is May?

Suddenly, Misty remembered something. Wait... we both fell down here, me on this side and May on... She looked to the other side of the stump and her blood ran cold. Part of the cliff had crumbled away.

Throwing her head over the side, she looked around desperately for her friend, but all she saw was a twenty-foot drop and a fast-moving river down below. She jumped to her feet and ran past Ash, heading down the cliff.

"Come on! We have to find May!" she screamed to Ash, who soon jumped up and followed her, Pikachu hot on his heels.

Oh, I really hope we find her, Misty thought, trying hard not to cry. I need to tell her how sorry I am for hurting her like that.

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A soaking wet May, still unconscious, lay sprawled out on the river bank, a soaking wet and exhausted Drew kneeling by her side. That adventure sure had taken more out of him than expected, but it was worth it to save her life.

Turning his attention to May, he began to shake her, saying her name... but received no response. He shook her harder, shouting her name... and still received no response. He bit his lip, deciding to check her neck for a pulse; nothing. He began to panic, his heart rate increasing rapidly.

Oh no! May! he thought, chewing hard on his lip. Am I really going to have to do C.P.R.? He looked around quickly, searching for someone, anyone else to do it... but there was no one to be seen. He looked back at May and gulped. Well, okay... here I go...

Immediately, he dove into the procedure, which he'd learned a long time ago and had thought was a pointless waste of time. Now, however, he couldn't feel more relieved about learning it. There was the factor of physical contact to both the lips and the chest to take into account though, which made his face burn, but he continued on with it anyway... until May began coughing up water.

He stopped and instead cradled her head before turning to his tallest Pokemon with a warm, gratified smile. "Thanks, Flygon," he said to it. It nodded its head in response. "I never would've been able to get May out of the water if it wasn't for you. I really appreciate you listening to me and pulling her out first." It nodded again, this time more slowly and solemnly.

At that moment, May opened her eyes... and she couldn't have been more shocked at what she saw.

"Drew?" she whispered. He nodded and she sat up to get a better look at him, then glanced at the river beside her. "I... was in the water?" She looked back at him. "And you saved me?"

Drew blushed slightly and averted his eyes. "Oh, you heard... Well, I jumped in after you and got you above water, but Flygon was the one that pulled you out."

"Yeah, I heard you mention that... but didn't you also say it was on your orders?"

"Um... kinda..."

"And... was I... breathing?" Drew slowly shook his head. May's eyes widened. "So... you performed...?

"C.P.R.? Uh... yeah..."

There were a few moments of deafening silence as May just sat there, staring at a rather embarrassed Drew. Finally, her brain processed his words and, with a huge grin, threw her arms around his neck. His blush intensified ten-fold.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Aheh..." He tentatively returned the embrace, unused to her touching him at all. "You're welcome."

May pulled away, positively beaming, yet blushing slightly at the same time. "Oh, how can I ever thank you, Drew? I owe you my life."

"Aw, you don't have to-" He halted mid-sentence as he spotted the fallen rose he'd picked earlier and a smile crossed his features. He picked it up and handed it to her. "Well, you could accept this from me."

May giggled as she took the rose. "Another one? Y'know, you don't have to pick all these roses just for me."

Drew blinked stupidly. Wasn't that what she said in my daydream earlier? he thought, dumbfounded. Hmm... I wonder... what would happen if I said...?

He shrugged, trying hard to keep his cool guy demeanour. "Hey, you deserve every single rose this planet holds."

May's eyes widened and her face turned bright red. Determined not to look Drew in the eyes, she pretended to busy herself with the rose in her hand.

Drew smirked. Oh, now that is priceless...

"So, uh... why are you in Vermillion City, anyway?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh, I have a cousin who lives here... and, as soon as I was told he'd fallen into a coma, I felt the need to come and visit him... then, once I was done, I came to sit by the river bank, 'cause it's a place I like to relax and gather my thoughts... You?"

"I went with Ash and Pikachu to visit our friend, Misty, in Cerulean City, since I had nothing to do at home, but we decided to come to Vermillion City together, 'cause it's particularly beautiful in the springtime." There was a slight pause. "Uh, Drew?" She began to fidget with her rose, blushing slightly. "C-Can I ask you something?"

Drew suddenly lost his cool and began to fidget with his fingers. Surely she's not going to ask what sort of thing I think she's going to ask...

"Uh, sure. Go ahead."

"Well... um... do you... d-do you have a... a girlfriend?"

Drew's eyes widened. Oh, crud... she is going in that direction... "Uh... no... Do you have a... boyfriend?"

"N-No..."

Drew gulped. Okay, so we've established that we're both single... Now, if I can just build up enough courage to say... "Well, do you wanna come see a movie with me tonight in the city?" he blurted out and, straight after, his face burned so bright, one could swear he had sunburn, yet, no matter how much he wanted to, he never dropped his gaze.

May blinked in surprise. Wow, that was courageous of him, she thought. Smiling, she replied, "Sure, I'd love to."

He smiled back. "Really?" May nodded.

It was only then that Drew noticed just how close her face had moved towards his while they'd been talking and his heart skipped a beat.

He had never kissed a girl before, despite many groupies offering to... or, rather, pleading to... All he'd ever cared about in life was becoming the world's greatest Pokemon co-ordinator and finally putting Robert in his place for pulverising him in battle.

Now, however, May didn't appear to know what she was doing as she leaned in closer... but, not only that, his face was inching closer as well, seemingly moving of its own accord. Both closed their eyes as the same time, tilted their heads and... locked lips.

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Misty turned the next corner at a run, but skidded to a halt at the sight that met her eyes... which caused Ash to collide into the back of her and Pikachu to collide into the back of his legs.

"Watch it!" she snapped at him in a whisper.

"Sorry..." he mumbled in a huff before noticing what Misty was looking at. His jaw dropped.

Drew and May were sitting on the river bank, Drew's arms wrapped around May's waist and May's arms wrapped around Drew's neck, their mouths locked firmly together.

Ash suddenly noticed his open mouth and forced it to close. "Wow..."

"Aww, that is so sweet..." Misty said, eyes gleaming with emotion.

Pikachu, who seemed to be going giddy from a mush overdose, suddenly snapped back to reality, looking at the two humans in front of it. It had always known Ash and Misty liked each other in a more than platonic way... maybe even loved each other... as its animal instincts could detect romance a mile away. Heck, it'd even detected it in Drew and May whenever they were together... yet it'd had never said anything... deciding to let nature take its course. However, now that the co-ordinator rivals were an official couple and the long-term best friends weren't... it was time to kick things up a notch.

Powering up an iron tail, Pikachu silently apologised to Ash for what it was about to do. It jumped up and swung around in a full circle, smacking Ash in the back, making him fall on top of Misty and knock her to the floor. As Pikachu landed, it took note of the slight blushes of both faces before jumping on Ash's back and declaring, in its own language, that they should both stop fooling around and admit they want to be a couple. As would be expected, the blushes intensified quite rapidly.

"I so do not want us to be a couple!" Misty hissed and Pikachu reached over and gave her cheek a light slap, declaring her a liar.

"Pikachu, this is ridiculous!" Ash hissed also and Pikachu folded its arms and looked away. "Please get off me so I can get off Misty. Otherwise, I'll get up myself and send you flying!" Its response was it wouldn't budge until at least one of them admitted their feelings.

"Pikachu!" Misty growled, trying and failing to push Ash off her. Her punishment was a powerful thunderbolt attack, which, of course, sailed through Ash to get to her.

Ash sighed. "Alright, fine," he grumbled. "I guess I like Misty as more than a friend... Ya happy now?"

Pikachu, beaming, leapt off and Ash was able to stumble to his feet. Misty, however, hadn't moved from her spot on the floor, her arms out in front of her, staring at the grass.

"Uh... Misty?" Ash asked. "Are you okay?"

Misty slowly climbed to her feet and looked him directly in the eyes... so directly that it unnerved him slightly.

"D-Did you mean that?" she asked in a low voice.

Ash blushed again and averted his eyes, throwing an arm behind his head. "Well..." There was a pause. "I guess so..."

Misty merely stared at him for a few seconds, unable to believe her ears. So, all this time, May liked Drew and... Ash liked me? she thought.

Down below, Pikachu tapped its foot impatiently before lightly kicking hers. She got the message, though why Pikachu was getting irritated with her about it she had no idea.

"Uh, well... I like you as more than a friend too..." she replied, also blushing again.

Ash blinked at her, moving slightly closer. "You do?" Pikachu took this as its cue to disappear round the corner.

Misty nodded, also moving closer. "And maybe you'd like to do something later, like go to the movies?"

Ash beamed at her, shortening the gap even further until they were mere inches apart. "Yeah, I'd like that... I'd like that a lot..."

As though being dragged together like a magnet and a piece of iron, they closed in on one another, shutting their eyes slowly, until... their lips locked.

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Finally, Drew and May had broken apart and were staring into each other's eyes. They were both in pure bliss, having experienced their first and most perfect kiss. However, the moment was broken by the sound of a thundershock attack coming from not too far away. Turning, they saw their friends, Ash, Misty and Pikachu in very strange positions, Misty being face down on the floor, arms out in front of her, Ash being on top of her, arms at his sides, and Pikachu standing on top of Ash, its arms folded and looking very irritated.

May looked back at Drew. "What do you suppose is going on?" she asked.

"I dunno," Drew replied, "but I think we'd best stay here. I sure don't want either of us to get shocked... especially with this wet clothing."

"I know... but what could cause Pikachu to turn on them like that?"

Drew thought about it for a moment. "Maybe it's not turned on them... I mean, we don't know the whole story..."

May nodded. "That's true."

The two looked back at the trio in time to see something that made their jaws drop. Ash and Misty were standing up, Pikachu nowhere in sight, Ash's arms wrapped around Misty's waist and Misty's arms wrapped around Ash's neck, their lips locked firmly together.

"Oh my..." Drew muttered, trailing off before reaching the last word.

"Wow..." May muttered also. "How, in the world, did that happen?"

"I dunno..."

May, suddenly realising her mouth was open, closed it and smirked. "Well, that was unexpected. I never knew Ash and Misty really loved each other. Guess I should pay more attention to these things, huh?"

Drew stared at her for a moment, then laughed lightly. "Still clueless, eh? It's a good thing I've come to love that about you."

May giggled. "Aw, who knew you could be such a romantic, Drew?"

Drew put on a face of mock annoyance. "Hey! What about all those roses I gave to ya, huh?"

"Words mean more than gifts, y'know..." May replied playfully, winking, "and don't think I won't be expecting a confession of undying love from you in the future."

Drew blushed crimson. "Become very brave all of a sudden, haven't we?"

May waggled a finger at him. "Well, I'd say my courage built up when you asked me on a date."

"Aheh..." There was a brief pause as Drew looked over at Ash and Misty, who were still locked in their little love embrace. "So... when should we talk to the lovebirds and inform them of our presence?"

May giggled again. "Whenever they stop smooching each other's faces off." Suddenly, her eyes gained a devilish glint. "But, in the meantime..." Silently, she placed her hand on the back of Drew's neck and pulled him forwards, locking lips with him and returning them to their original position, his arms around her waist and her arms around his neck.