Chapter 3: An Unexpected Reunion
"Finally, we're here!" Ash shouted, punching the air in excitement.
The group walked around a bit, looking at all the houses and buildings. Serena noticed what looked like a big, outdoor stadium. Or maybe it's a theater for showcases? she wondered.
Bonnie turned to face the group. "Okay, I'll go take my big brother to get his new glasses. We'll meet you guys at the Pokemon Center okay?"
Ash replied, "Alright, sounds good to me. Maybe I can train for my gym battle! I saw the Gym earlier and I'm totally psyched!"
Serena blushed, realizing that she would again be alone with Ash in a city.
"Have fun, you two!" Bonnie smiled and laughed. Serena could have sworn she saw a smirk on Bonnie's face. "C'mon, Clemont let's go! Don't fall behind, now!" Bonnie said as she started running off.
Clemont sighed and started running after her. "Wait up, Bonnie! I'm still recovering from that Discharge!"
Ash and Serena both laughed as they watched the two blonde siblings disappear around the corner. After about a minute Ash turned to Serena.
"So, what do you think we should do, Serena?" He looked at Pikachu. "How about you, buddy, any ideas?" Pikachu shook his head.
Serena said, "Well, I thought I saw a place where they hold Pokemon showcases back over there. Maybe we could go and check it out?" She blushed as she talked. Maybe this can be a real date, she thought to herself. Oh, snap out of it, Serena, don't get ahead of yourself again.
Ash smiled. "Sure, that sounds fun! Although afterward, I kinda need to start training my Pokemon for our gym battle."
Of course, Serena thought. "Okay, then let's go!" she said, hiding her slight disappointment.
The two of them walked together and arrived at the building Serena had mentioned. They walked inside and entered a huge theater-like facility, with hundreds of chairs in circular rows surrounding a long runway. Serena's eyes gleamed with amazement.
She said, "Wow, this place is huge! And no doubt this is for Pokemon showcases! I wonder if they're going to hold one here soon?"
Ash looked around, equally intrigued. "It does look pretty awesome, doesn't it? And the stage looks like it could be a battlefield, too. I wonder...maybe they also hold contest battles here?"
"Well, I'm impressed you managed to figure that out by yourself, Ash!" said a familiar voice from behind him.
"Huh?" Ash turned around.
A girl with brown hair and blue eyes stood in the doorway. She wore a red shirt and a matching colored bandana on her head. Ash smiled.
"May!" He ran over to her, giving her a brief hug. Serena watched and fidgeted nervously, frowning slightly at the sight of Ash hugging another girl.
"It's been so long, Ash. Hey Pikachu!" May smiled and stroked Pikachu's fur, eliciting an affectionate coo from the little electric mouse.
"May, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be doing contest battles back in Hoenn and Sinnoh?", Ash asked.
"I guess you haven't heard, Ash, but they're going to be holding a Hoenn festival in Couriway Town, and I'm going to be hosting one of the main events there!" May cried out in excitement, her blue eyes shining with delight. Then she turned and noticed Serena. "Oh, who's this, Ash? I don't think we've met before." May extended her hand to Serena.
"Um, hi, I'm Serena, nice to meet you May," Serena said nervously as she shook May's hand. She's pretty, Serena thought.
May sensed that Serena was nervous, although she had no idea why. "Nice to meet you, too, Serena. How long have you known Ash?"
Serena paused for a second. "Um...well..."
Ash interrupted, "Even though I just started traveling with her here in the Kalos region, Serena's known me for about 4 years, May!" He smiled and put his hand on Serena's shoulder.
"Oh, wow, that's so cool! But when did you two meet? I thought your first companions in Kanto were Misty and Brock," said May, who noticed that Serena was blushing. A lot.
"Well, we actually met when we were about 6 years old, at Professor Oak's summer camp! Serena had hurt herself in the woods, so I helped her out," Ash rubbed underneath his nose as he talked, removing his hand from Serena's shoulder.
Serena, still blushing, added, "Yeah, and w-when I saw Ash save Professor Sycamore's Garchomp on T.V., I, uh, knew I just had to come and see him again. And now were traveling together!" She smiled and looked away in an attempt to hide the deep shades of pink on her cheeks.
May began to speculate as to why Serena was nervous. There must be something that she isn't telling me, May thought. She grinned a little. "Aw, that's so cute that you two met up with each other after all those years!" She said with a dazzling smile on her face.
Now it was Ash that started blushing. "Uh, yeah, I guess you could say it like that...so...uh have you caught any new Pokemon, May? It'd be really cool to see 'em!" he said, trying to change the subject. Not that he didn't like talking about Serena, he was just really embarrassed at the moment.
May smiled and grabbed a Pokeball from her waist. "As a matter of fact, I did. I just caught this adorable Pokemon that I plan on using in future contest battles! C'mon out, Spritzee!"
May tossed her Pokeball into the air. After a flash of white light, a small pink Pokemon appeared. "Spritzee!" it cried.
Ash was intrigued. "Wow, a Spritzee! That's a Fairy-type Pokemon isn't it?" He took out his Pokedex. "Spritzee, the Perfume Pokemon. It emits a scent that enraptures those who smell it. This fragrance changes depending on what it has eaten."
May smiled. "Yep, Spritzee's gonna win me my next contest battle! Which happens to be taking place tomorrow, right here, on that stage!"
Ash smiled, looking at his old friend. "That's awesome, May! Glad to see you're still trying to become a top coordinator. And hey, I was thinking...I'm going to be challenging Valerie, the Fairy-type gym leader pretty soon. Maybe you could help us train for it by letting me battle your Spritzee? I'm sure it would help a lot and I would really appreciate it!"
May smiled, happy to be with Ash again. "Sure, I'd be more than happy to. You wanna get started now?" she said, winking.
"You bet I do! And I think I know just who to use," Ash said with confidence, grabbing a Pokeball from his belt.
Serena just stood there, not knowing what to do or think. Ash seems to really like this May girl, she thought. And not to mention he's traveled with so many other girls on his past journeys...maybe...he already likes someone?
"Frogadier, I choose you!" Ash shouted, releasing the Pokeball from his hand. In a flash of white light, the Bubble Frog Pokemon appeared, ready for battle. "Gadier!" it shouted, huffing up its chest.
May looked at the Pokemon closely. "Wow, Ash, where'd you get a Pokemon like that? It looks really strong!" She took out her Pokedex. "Frogadier, the Bubble Frog Pokemon. Its swiftness is unparalleled. It can scale a tower of more than 2,000 feet in a minute's time."
Ash beamed with pride. "Frogadier was just a little Froakie when it decided that it wanted to travel with us. I got it from Professor Sycamore in Lumiose City after I saved his Garchomp from falling off of Prism Tower."
"Amazing!" May exclaimed. "I would expect nothing less from you, Ash! But really, jumping off of that tower was really stupid of you, you know that? I saw the news report! If that Mega Blaziken hadn't been there to save you, you wouldn't be here right now!" May's tone was clearly full of concern, and relief.
Ash scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, it may not have been the smartest decision at the time, but I mean it was Pikachu we were talking about, I couldn't have just let him fall!"
May had a stubborn look on her face as she replied, "Well, you know what Ash there are people that care about you and you should've thought of that before you jumped off!" Both Ash and May were starting to get into one of those fights that they used to have all the time back when they were traveling together in the Hoenn region.
Gosh, they even fight like a couple! Serena thought, starting to feel really sad. Maybe I should just give up...Ash and May obviously care about each other a lot.
Frogadier and Spritzee both looked at their trainers arguing. They assumed that if they were going to battle anytime soon, it would not be in a friendly atmosphere.
"First of all, it was your Skitty that got in the way of my Corphish, NOT the other way around!" Ash yelled angrily.
"Yeah, well maybe if your Corphish knew how to battle it wouldn't have been as much of a problem!" May retorted, equally as angry.
"You know what, maybe we should have our battle right now and show who's really the better trainer!" Ash was about ready to explode.
"Sounds good to me, but don't get all upset when you lose!" May's face was as red as her clothes with rage.
Right at that moment, Clemont and Bonnie walked into the theater. They were both immediately shocked to see Ash so angry, and they wondered who the girl was. "Um, Ash? Wh-What's the problem here?" asked Clemont, almost afraid to get involved. He hoped Bonnie wasn't scared or anything. He looked to see how she was reacting, but she wasn't by his side. He looked up.
Down on one knee, Bonnie extended her hand towards May, saying, "You're just so beautiful! Please take care of my brother for me! He may not look like much, but he's actually a gym leader and a great inventor!" Immediately, Clemont's Aipom arm grabbed Bonnie and Clemont walked her out of the facility, yelling, "Bonnie, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that? It's just embarrassing!" Bonnie just laughed. "I hope you'll think about it!" she said as she smiled and waved to May, and the two siblings exited the theater.
Despite the intense rage he had been feeling a moment earlier, seeing Bonnie's matchmaking antics made Ash chuckle. Even May, who didn't even know those two people and was obviously very confused at the moment, couldn't help but smile and blush at Bonnie's words. Serena, who had been on the brink of tears, also cheered up. Ash and May looked at each other guiltily.
"Uh, I know I was pretty mad just a moment ago, but um...I'm sorry May. We're friends, and we shouldn't be fighting like this right when we've just reunited," Ash said, feeling a little shameful about what he had said.
"You're right, Ash, and I'm sorry too. I don't know what came over me. It's just like old times, huh?" May said, smiling a little. Ash grinned. "Yeah. You were always so immature back then," he said.
May's smile faded immediately. "Hang on just a minute, Ash Ketchum, who are you calling immature? You're the one who-"
And so, their arguing continued as if they had never apologized. Serena couldn't bear to watch any longer. All this arguing made her think that Ash and May undoubtedly had feelings for each other. She was heartbroken. She got up and sprinted out the door, trying to hold in her tears until she was far, far away from Ash.
So, what'd you guys think? I'm fairly certain that they'll bring May back to the show for a little bit, seeing as how ORAS is out and all that. I'm also thinking that when they do bring her back, she will notice Serena's feelings for Ash and attempt to help Serena, since she's kind of into all that romance, lovey-dovey type stuff. Anyways, leave any advice or comments in the reviews please! I really appreciate it. Thanks! I'm gonna get this fanfic writing stuff down soon.