Chapter 24

"Re-energized for combat!"

May was sitting solemnly on the edge of her bed in her hotel room. She was looking down at the floor as her hands lie in her lap. Her locks of hair cascaded down her face in a discouraged manner. She had kicked off her slippers when she first stepped into the room and plotted herself down on the mattress.

She knew that Ash was waiting for her to return with their Water Pokemon so they could start practicing for the competition, but instead the whole ordeal seemed hopeless. She wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation, as she had never been in a situation with overbearing, intimidating, and controlling people before. She pulled on the right cup of her dark red bikini as she thought about Precita's remarks back at the club. She continually replayed the events of the last couple of hours in her mind, but no matter how much she thought about it, the outcome was always the same. She was discouraged.

"Maybe competing in the race isn't such a good idea after all," she muttered to herself.

She turned her body over as she crawled to the top of her bed where she rested her head gently on the pillow. She curled the rest of her body to the right facing away from the door and window. The room was dark except for the small amount of light that trickled in through the curtains. The light reflected off her smooth, delicate skin as she lay with her arms crossed over her breasts.

She began to lose track of time as she rested in her bikini with her eyes closed on the bed. Unbeknownst to her, a little over a half hour had passed as she rested. A few more minutes went by as May found herself in a deeper stage of sleep, completely unaware how much time had passed since she promised Ash to return with their Pokemon.

*~*~*

"I know the hotel is far from here, but it doesn't take this long to walk there and back," Ash said, annoyed.

Ash was sitting on the sand with his arms wrapped around his legs next to Max and Pikachu and their sand castle. The surfboard was also brought to the sand, as Ash didn't want someone to take it if they left it carelessly in the water unattended. The sand castle was now quite big, as nine different mounds of sand were in the center of the moat.

"Do you think my sister ended up getting distracted by something and forgot to come back?" Max asked as he dug through the sand with his shovel, "She's like that sometimes, she'll get totally caught up in something that's fun like those amusement games those venders are having on the boardwalk and forget about what she was supposed to be doing."

"Give your sister some credit, Max, she would never promise something to her friends and then completely forget about it," Ash told him, "I know how much she wants to win this competition too because of all those swimsuit prizes. She was so happy that she couldn't put down the pamphlet that pictured the swimsuits, remember?"

"I know," Max said, turning to him. His voice was in a more worried tone. "Do you think something bad happened to her, Ash? I mean…it's been over 30 minutes hasn't it?"

"Pikachu pika…" Pikachu shook his head as it tried to comfort Max.

Max was a bit shaken as Pikachu placed its paws on his leg to try and reassure him.

"May knows how to take care of herself, Max," Ash said boastfully as he stood up, wiping the sand off his butt, "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. You know, all the close calls we've encountered traveling through Hoenn and Kanto? We've faced lots of danger on our quest and she was always able to pull through."

"Pika," Pikachu cooed echoing its trainer.

"But…can you go check, Ash?" Max said uneasily, "She might be at the hotel or the boardwalk, wouldn't it be a good idea to see where she is after all this time?"

"Yeah…I probably should go find her anyway. She's taken long enough to get back here with our Pokeballs," Ash said.

"Thanks, Ash. I know it's probably nothing, but I get worried about my sister sometimes. She's…the only sister I've got, and even though she teases and annoys me sometimes, I know she'll always be there for me," Max said, eyeing the ground, "I never told her this, but even though she promised our Mom that she was going to look after me on our journey, I kind of made a promise to Mom that I would look after her as well."

"That's very sweet, Max," Ash said in an understanding voice, "You're a good brother."

"Cha pika," Pikachu agreed.

"I don't think she knows that though," Max smiled, "Maybe one day I'll tell her that her little brother is always looking out for her too."

Ash nodded at Max's good faith as he pulled the tether of the surfboard and brought it close to the boy. The oval surfboard lie flat down where he was sitting, and he took both tethers that were tied through the opening and threw them into the middle of the surfboard.

"Are you going to leave that here with me?" Max asked, rubbing his belly.

"Yep, this thing is too annoying to carry with me all over the boardwalk," Ash said, placing his hand on the side of the board, "This surfboard cost us a lot of money, we have to make sure that we don't lose it."

"Of course, we'll never be able to afford to buy another one and then we could forget about the race," Max said.

"Pikachu, mind helping Max defend the surfboard?" Ash cheerily asked his favorite Pokemon.

"Pika!" Pikachu triumphantly patted its chest.

Pikachu jumped in front of the surfboard, crossed his paws, and acted like it was on sentry duty.

"We have to make sure nobody takes it either," Ash instructed his Pokemon, "I lost sight of Brock a half hour ago so who knows where he is, but you guys gotta hold down the fort until I get back. Right?"

"Right, Ash!" Max grinned.

"Pikachu, chu pika," Pikachu agreed.

"Go find my sister, Ash, please?" Max asked nicely.

After some farewell gestures, Ash started trotting through the sand heading toward the boardwalk. Since he wasn't sure where May was, he kept an eye out as he trekked along the beach hoping that he would spot her walking back with their Pokeballs in tow.

He noticed that the beach was awfully packed, a lot more people seemed to be here now than in the morning. Many families and teenagers were sitting on towels or allowance chairs conversing or relaxing. The Wingulls flying in the sky chirped and darted down to the sand whenever someone would throw them a piece of bread. Ash smiled as he watched a small little boy befriend a Wingull by giving him half his sandwich – or rather – the Wingull ate half his sandwich when the boy wasn't looking. The boy found that amusing however, and hugged the Wingull in his arms until his mother yelled at him for letting the Pokemon bite half of his lunch.

Ash stepped on the boardwalk and passed by the various stores, clubs, amusement vendors, and eating areas, briefly glancing in each one to see if he could spot his friend. The boardwalk was filled with people, and many of them bumped into Ash as he was walking due to his clumsiness while looking around. He would apologize to them quickly, saying he was just trying to find a friend, in which most people – especially the teenagers – scoffed at him as they walked by.

Ash grunted, "I don't think she's up on the boardwalk either. Unless I just can't find her in this crowd of people. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Brock anywhere around here either, I wonder where he ran off with those two girls to."

He decided to keep looking however, and after about 15 more minutes of looking through the boardwalk he was still unable to find her. He then decided to check back at the hotel to see if she was there, especially since she had to go there to pick up their Pokeballs.

He pushed through the front doors of the hotel and walked along the corridors until he came to the open terraces on the first floor. He walked over to the room they were staying in and turned the doorknob. He noticed the lights were out in the room as he opened the door slowly and peeked his head inside. He turned his attention to the left where he spotted her – May was resting on her bed on her side facing the right side of the room.

"May?" Ash asked softly, unable to figure out why she was resting on her bed.

The girl didn't notice him enter the room however as her body was faced away from him while she was sleeping gently.

Ash closed the door behind him as he walked over to the side of her bed and looked over her shoulder. Her back was toward him as her hair was all scrunched up against the pillow. He could hear her breathing softly while she napped. He was puzzled why she went to sleep when she said she was going to get their Pokeballs.

He hunched over her and gently rubbed her shoulder to wake her up.

"May? Are you asleep?" Ash asked rhetorically, as he already knew the answer.

The girl didn't flinch as her snores got a bit louder.

Ash sat on the side of the bed as he tried nudging her on the shoulder again to wake her up. The girl muttered something in her sleep as she tossed herself around and turned her body toward him.

"May…?" Ash asked again, softly, looking at her face and nudging her shoulder once more.

The girl flinched from the nudge as she opened her eyes slowly. The first thing she saw was Ash – in his bathing suit smiling down upon her passionately.

"Wha…Ash?" May yawned as she rubbed her right eye.

She sat herself up on the bed and stretched out her arms and legs before looking at him sleepily.

"Had a nice nap?" Ash asked, leaning toward her.

"Huh…you mean I fell asleep?" May asked, somewhat surprised.

She sat on her knees as she rested her hands in her lap. The two youths were sitting in their bathing suits in the dark room, with only a few ounces of light beaming in from the curtains which illuminated parts of their skin.

"I heard you snoring as I came in here, guess you did," Ash smiled. "It's been over a half hour."

"Really?" May asked, "I don't believe it, I was only resting my eyes for a few minutes and I guess I just conked out. Sorry, Ash."

Ash sat with one leg off the bed and the other turned inward. The two looked at each other shyly as they were in the room all alone, scantily clad in their swimsuits.

"Max was worried about you, we both were, we wondered what was taking you so long to come back with the Pokeballs," Ash said, trying to avoid the awkward silence.

"I'm so stupid, I didn't mean to fall asleep really," May said with a half-smile.

"So…do you want to grab the Pokeballs and head back down to the beach to practice surfing?"

"I…dunno," she said, turning her head away, "I don't think that I'm interested in competing in this race anymore."

Ash looked at her with a shocked expression.

"Whaddya mean?" he asked surprised, "You were so excited to come down to the beach and enter the surfing competition!"

"I know, but at the time I never really thought about the competition we might get," she said, looking back at him timidly, "Some people here are really expert surfers Ash, what chance would we have against them?"

"Does it really matter how tough are opponents are? That just makes this all the more exciting!" Ash said enthusiastically, "You've never backed down from a challenge before, May, why now? Did you meet some other people who are going to compete or something?"

"Something like that," May said, looking down in shame.

She sighed as she didn't want to tell Ash about her run-in with Precita and her friends. Ash was confused by her last comment, he looked at her as the two exchanged nervous glances and looked away again. Having traveled with her for almost two years, he could tell that there was something wrong. He quickly got up from the bed and walked over to May's fanny pack which was on the dresser. He opened the top of her bag and then began looking inside.

May asked airily, "What are you doing in my bag, Ash? I didn't say you could look in there."

"I'm just looking for something….got it," Ash said as he took out the pamphlet from her fanny pack.

May watched as Ash opened the pamphlet about the surfing contest. He knew how much she treasured the pictures of the bikinis in the booklet as he turned the pages trying to find the right one.

"Just a sec," he said, "Trying to find the right page…"

May smiled and said, "It's page 11, Ash."

"Eh?" Ash said as he looked up at her. He flipped through to page 11 which pictured the bikini prizes. "How'd you know I was looking for that?"

"I slept with that pamphlet in my arms back at the lab, remember?" May giggled, "I figured that you were probably looking for the page that showed the swimsuits."

Ash hopped back on the bed, sitting in front of her as he placed the pamphlet between them. May was still sitting on her knees facing him, while Ash sat with his legs crossed with the pamphlet resting in the middle.

"Since you already know what I was looking for, then you should know what I'm about to say, right?" Ash asked her, softly.

"Yep, after all the time we spent traveling together I can read you like a book, Ash. You're going to try to get me excited for the competition again by showing me the pictures of all the bikinis, right?"

"Wow, you're right, May," Ash said, scratching the back of his head in astonishment.

May raised an eye brow as she leaned herself toward him and quickly pulled his arm down.

"Scratching the back of your head again, I see?" May teased, holding down his arm.

"Hey, I didn't mean to do that…! It just happened naturally after hearing that you knew what I was going to say," Ash laughed, pulling his arm out of her grip.

"Heehee, I guess we both don't know what we're doing sometimes. You keep scratching your head where you injured yourself without knowing it, and I take a rest on the bed and end up falling asleep for half an hour without knowing that, either," May said. She smiled, brushing her hair out of her face.

May was more upbeat and energetic, it seemed like the company of a friend was all she needed to feel good about herself again, rather than depressed and discouraged from before.

"Hmm, I guess you want this swimsuit the most?" Ash asked, pointing down at the pamphlet.

He was pointing to a pink two-piece with a Skitty face imprinted on the right part of the top, as well as a Torchic face imprinted on the backside of the bottom.

May blushed slightly, "You're right, Ash, that is the one I want the most. Isn't that cute with the little itty bitty Skitty face on the bikini?"

She quickly pointed to another bikini that was pictured beside it. This one was a bright yellow bikini which had the outline of a Pikachu face imprinted on it.

"I bet this one would be your favorite if you were a girl, Ash," May jested, "You wouldn't be able to resist a Pikachu themed bathing suit would you?"

"No, and even Pikachu would probably like it," Ash chuckled, "Too bad it's a girls swimsuit or else I'd want it, but you'll probably look cute wearing that anyway."

May and Ash looked up at each other bashfully. Upon hearing his compliment, her face looked flustered as she tried to hide her blush as quickly as possible. This wasn't the first time he gave her an unintended sign of attraction, but she now caught him saying this at least twice, and it probably meant something. She placed her hand over the side of her cheek as she folded up the pamphlet and held it against her chest.

"Um, are you ok, May?" Ash asked, somewhat confused.

"Yea, I just have to ask you something, Ash," May said, pressing down the pamphlet against her chest as she stared at him.

Ash listened as he sat about an inch apart not sure what to expect. The curtains flickered as some more light finally radiated off their bodies. Each breath in the room could be counted as May hesitated for a few seconds.

"When you were resting in the Pokemon Center because of your injury," May began quietly, "And I first found out about the surfing competition and all the swimsuits as prizes…"

"Uh…yeah?"

"…and we promised Professor Latrommi that it would also help pay back the debt we owe him for destroying his machines…"

May placed the pamphlet down gently on the bed beside her. She rested her hands on her lap again and looked at Ash carefully. She could tell that he also looked uneasy, as she watched an ounce of sweat drip off next to his ear. She took a deep breath and continued.

"…we came to the beach for two things, Ash. I really wanted those bikinis and we really needed the prize money to pay back the Professor…" she said.

"You're kinda repeating yourself, May," Ash said honestly, "Is it something important you want to ask?"

"Yes, there is," May said, looking into his eyes, "What was more important to you? Entering the surfing race to pay back the Professor, or entering the race so I could win the swimsuits?"

"Huh?" Ash asked.

"Listen," May instructed.

She placed one hand down on his leg, the same way she did yesterday when they were sitting in the grass outside the lab.

"Deep down, did you decide to come to the beach just for me?" May whispered, "Just so I can be happy and win a prize?"

"I'm…not sure what you mean," Ash responded, "Of course I want you to win the swimsuits, but we also came here to we can pay back the Professor. Isn't that the same?"

"Maybe," she said, slightly disappointed, "I really thought that you decided to come to the beach so that you can make me happy…by winning the bikinis I mean."

Ash glanced at the pamphlet that she had placed to the side.

"I think I get it now, you're asking me if I decided to come here more for you than the Professor?" Ash asked.

He placed his hand over hers which was against his leg. The two smiled warmly at each other as the words got harder to formulate.

"Yes, that's it, Ash. Did you? Did you decide to come to the beach because you saw how much I wanted to win the swimsuits?"

"I think so," Ash said as he smiled, "I know that paying back the Professor is very important, but you're one of my best friends, May, and I want to see you happy too. I think that's what convinced me to go to the beach at the end, it was for you."

"Thank you, Ash," she said lovingly, "I knew it had to be for more than just Professor Latrommi and his broken machines."

She slowly leaned herself toward him as the cracks of light radiated her body. She wrapped her arms around his back as she leaned her head on his shoulder. Unsure how long the hold would last, Ash wrapped his arms around her as well while her hair tickled his shoulder. The two were in a tight embrace as skin brushed against skin while sitting on the bed.

"I'm so glad I met you, Ash," May said, clutching him, "You're the best friend I've ever had."

For some reason, Ash felt different as he held her. He wasn't sure of what it was that came over him, but he just felt content with her against his body.

The hug lasted for roughly ten seconds before May moved away and got up off the bed. She picked up the pamphlet and placed it on the dresser beside her fanny pack. Ash turned and sat on the edge of the bed with his feet resting on the floor.

"Maybe I should give this another try," May said, looking back at him, "I'm not going to let myself get discouraged by my opponents anymore."

"So you did meet some other surfers, eh?" Ash asked, eyeing her, "That's why you looked kinda sad on the boardwalk earlier today, right?"

"Yes," May confessed, "It's…nothing to worry about though, Ash. I mean, if we're in this together then I think we can pull through."

May leaned her back against the dresser, resting her elbows on the top. She watched him as he get got up from the bed and peered through the curtains.

"Looking for someone?" May asked, noticing him look looking through the window.

"Just wondering if I could spot Brock, since I have no idea where he is," Ash said, "If he's too busy with those girls, then I guess it really is just you and me who are going to be racing, right?"

"Looks like it," May responded, "Two people need to race together on the surfboard with two Pokemon, so if Brock isn't around, it's just…us."

Ash turned to her and clenched a fist in the air.

"Let's start practicing then!" Ash cheered enthusiastically, "You're ready for this, right, May?"

May cheered as she also clenched a fist, "Sure! Even if we don't win the competition, at least I know that I tried and gave it everything I got."

Ash picked up his backpack from the floor and opened it to find Corphish's Pokeball. He rummaged through his bag until he took out the Pokeball and showed it to May.

"I'm going to be using Corphish, he's already been in a lot of fast battles in the water so he should be perfect for a swimming competition," Ash said, clutching his Pokeball, "You're using your Squirtle, right?"

"It's my only Water Pokemon, it's not like I have much of a choice otherwise, Ash," May smirked, picking its Pokeball out of her fanny pack.

"Are you sure Squirtle is up for this?" Ash asked, walking up to her, "It's still fairly young, and from what Brock told us the course is pretty long and has a lot of obstacles to overcome."

May peered down into its Pokeball.

"I could lend you one of my other Water Pokemon that I have back at Pallet if you want," Ash suggested, "You know my Kingler, Totodile or Squirtle would be good choices too."

"No way, Ash!" May said confidently, "I'm using my own Pokemon for this race. I have to put my trust into my own Pokemon to win my battles for me, and this surfing competition is one battle I'm not going to turn away from."

"Heh, I knew you'd say that," he said, putting his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, sorry, Ash, but I'll have to pass on your generous offer. I'm using my Squirtle all the way and we're going to come in 1st place!" May shouted triumphantly, jumping in the air.

Ash opened the door as the light from outside filled the room entirely. The two trainers were taken back as to how bright it was outside.

"Jeez, after all this time I didn't even realize we were sitting and talking in the dark," May slapped her forehead.

"You're the one who decided to take a nap," Ash said mockingly.

"Hey!" May bantered.

Ash and May walked out of the room and into the outdoor corridor as he shut the door behind them. The ferns planted next to the walkway gave the area a wonderful fragrance. May loved the smell as she bent down next to the ferns and took in a few whiffs. Ash told her to hurry up as Max and Pikachu were waiting on the beach with the surfboard waiting for them to return.

~*~*~

Max was sitting sternly with his arms crossed atop the surfboard. Pikachu paced back and forth in front of the surfboard, ready to defend it if the case need be.

Max brought his hand up to his face, pretending that he was talking on a radio transceiver, "This is Captain Max speaking, atten-tion!" he ordered in a stereotypical voice of a an army officer.

"Pikachu – Pika!" Pikachu shouted as it stood still and saluted the captain.

"Lieutenant Pikachu, at ease!" Max ordered.

"Pika!" Pikachu complied.

Max got up from the surfboard and continued to pretend that he was talking through a radio. He hunched himself over and gave himself an overbearing expression.

"We have been ordered by General Ash to guard this vessel. We have to protect it from all would-be attackers!" Max shouted, "Do you accept this mission, sir?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted.

"I didn't hear you! Speak up, son!" Max said, almost giggling at his own accent.

"PIKACHU!"

"ONE MORE TIME!"

"PIKACHUUUUUUUU!"

"That's better," Max snickered, turning around, "At ease, soldier!"

"Chaaa…" Pikachu panted as it collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.

"We don't know how long we have to wait, but we will protect the vessel with all our might. We're currently waiting for General Ash to return with the captive princess over at enemy headquarters," Max declared, "His last report stated that he broke into the enemy base, called "The Accomodator" and is now fighting his way through rescuing the girl."

"Pika?" Pikachu said as two people were coming into view behind Max.

"Of course the girl is lazy and is stupid enough to be caught in "The Accomodator", Max shouted into his hand, "Maybe if she were nicer to her younger brother and didn't try to drown him at sea, said younger brother would try to rescue the helpless young female because she's too worthless to save herself!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT ME, MAX?!" a female voice shouted.

"Wha?!!" Max gasped, falling to the ground in shock.

Max looked up startled as May and Ash stood over him.

"You got a lot of explaining to do, mister!" May snarled, "Did I just hear you call me WORTHLESS?!"

"May…I was pretending!" Max said, squeamishly.

May glared at her little brother as she brought her face right next to his.

"Pretending to be in the army, huh, Max?" May yelled, "Well how 'bout you do 30 pushups right now!"

"What? You're crazy!" Max bantered.

May stood up and brought her hand to her mouth. She grinned as she spoke into the side of her hand.

"This is Princess May talking, I hereby order all little brothers to do 30 pushups on the floor, this instant!" May ordered happily.

"But…" Max tried to say.

"No buts! I ORDER you to obey me, Captain Max, or else its back to Petalburg City for you and I won't allow you to travel with me and General Ash anymore! I'm sure King Norman and Queen Caroline will be very unhappy to hear the news of a certain little brother misbehaving," May teased.

"OK, OK!" Max said quickly, getting on his hands and knees.

Max started doing pushups in the sand as May hovered over him. Ash and Pikachu weren't sure if they should burst into laughter or feel sorry for Max. Ash watched, trying not to chuckle as May continued to order him.

"You call that a pushup?!" May exclaimed, "My grandma could do a better one than that!"

"No she couldn't!" Max shouted after doing another pushup, "Our grandma can barely run, let alone do push-ups!"

"Quiet you! Or it's back to Petalburg for the likes of you," she taunted.

"OH SORRY!" Max grunted after he did another pushup.

May looked up at Ash, watching him trying to hide his laughter. She winked at him playfully, taking her hand away from her mouth.

"Ok, Max, that's enough for now," she said happily, pulling her little brother up by his arms, "That's all this Princess wanted."

May kneeled down on the sand and hugged her brother in her arms. Max hugged back just in case she would yell at him again if he didn't.

"Aw, you know I love you, Max," May said, squeezing him.

"I am so going to tell Mom and Dad how much you've been teasing me lately," Max said.

The two let go and stepped away from each other as Max ran up to Ash.

"So, Ash, where did you find my sister anyway?" he asked.

"Like you said when you were playing Captain before, she was at "The Accomodator" in our room," he said, smiling.

"It took you that long to get the Pokeballs?" Max moaned.

"Oh be quiet, Max, I was uh…kinda…" May trailed off.

"Tired?" Ash finished for her.

"Eh, maybe," she said, smiling.

"You did a good job looking over the surfboard while I was gone, you guys," Ash said to Pikachu and Max, "Guess I'll be dragging this thing to the other side of the beach."

"Huh? Why don't we just practice here?" May asked.

"Because Brock said that they have a separate section reserved for people training for the competition, remember?" Ash said, picking up the two tethers in the front of the surfboard, "At least there we'll be able to practice with our Pokemon, and we won't have to worry about bumping into any kids playing in the water."

"Alright, Ash, I'm right behind you," May said, holding up her Pokeball, "Let's get started."

Ash tugged the surfboard along by the tethers as May walked next to him. Max decided to stay behind to continue building his sand castle, and for the fact that he was afraid that someone would knock it over if he was gone. Pikachu stayed with Max as well, since electric Pokemon weren't allowed in a Water Pokemon competition.

The duo walked on the sand as the sun continued to beat down on them. May wiped some sweat from her brow but Ash didn't mind the heat, he knew that he'd cool off as soon as he went into the water anyway. The surfboard seemed to get heavier as Ash was pulling it, either that or the sand made it feel like he was dragging something weighing 20 tons. He hurled the two tethers over his shoulders, hoping that would make it easier to pull it along. May watched with discontent as he was struggling to pull it.

"Gimmie that," May said as she snatched one of the tethers off his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Ash asked.

"You looked like you're about to die, Ash! I'm helping you pull the surfboard along," she said, tugging the second tether.

Ash held the first tether and continued walking as the surfboard dragged behind them.

"Thanks, May, the sand really drags the board down, doesn't it?"

"Sure does…ugh," she panted, "Why the heck do they have to make surfboards this big anyway?"

"Because we both have to stand on it at the same time maybe?"

"Yeah that's probably it," she said, "Oh, I forgot about something!"

The two stopped in their tracks as Ash looked at her curiously.

"What is it?" he asked.

"This surfboard is hard enough to pull as it is, I forgot that our Pokemon are actually going to be pulling this along in the water!"

"Erm so? The two tethers will be tied around their bodies as they're swimming in the water."

"But…" May turned to Ash, clasping her hands, "You mean my little Squirtle is going to have to pull the weight of this surfboard, AND with us standing on top of it at the same time?"

"I think so. But Corphish will be there right beside him pulling us along as well."

"I think we may be too heavy for our Pokemon to pull. This seems like a lot of work for the Pokemon!" May said jittery.

"May, you're forgetting that the surfboard will be floating in the water, and Corphish and Squirtle will be swimming in it as they pull us along. It probably won't be so hard to pull while floating," Ash reassured her.

"But what about our weight? Can they pull the weight of the two of us?" she asked.

"I only weigh about 105 pounds…err…at least that's what I think I weigh," Ash shrugged his shoulders, "How much do you weigh, May?"

"What?" May said in disgust, "Ash, don't you know you're never supossed to ask a girl her weight?"

"I'm not?!" Ash said, confused, "What is that a law or something?"

"No, it's just common sense," she rolled her eyes, "You're lucky I'm your friend, you know."

"Ok ok, I'm sorry. You were asking if Corphish and Squirtle would be able to pull us though so I wondered how much we weigh together."

"Well…I weigh about…95 pounds I think," May said, scratching her chin, "Don't you dare tell anyone that though."

"Uh…"

"What?"

"I only weigh 10 more pounds than you!"

"Kind of hard to imagine since you're so skinny, Ash!" May teased.

"Skinny?" Ash remarked.

"Yep! Looks like your body doesn't agree with your appetite," May chortled.

Ash rubbed his hand over his face and sighed.

"Uh…so with our weight combined we should be around…" Ash thought carefully, "180 pounds?"

"What…no I don't think that's right….more like around 190 something…no wait it's 200!" May slapped her forehead.

Ash looked down at his Pokeball, 'Well, Corphish, looks like you'll be putting all your training to the test!"

"For some reason I think this is going to be harder than we realize," May sighed.

She picked up one of the tethers and began tugging the surfboard again, with Ash picking up the other tether shortly after. Ash and May noticed the signs that were placed in the sand and against the walls of the small stores, which detailed where the reserved section of the beach was for competitors. They followed the signs until they came to a a part of the beach with buoys and ramps placed in the waves.

"This must be the right place," Ash said, looking around at the obstacles in the ocean.

"Ash, look!" May pointed.

Ash followed her gaze as he saw many people surfing the waves with their Pokemon pulling them along. Over 30 people riding on surfboards were in the waves, riding off the ramps or staying in between buoys. The two trainers gawked as they watched the various competitors performing incredible feats on their surfboards as their Pokemon shot out elemental attacks to keep them on the course. The Water Pokemon were nothing to scoff at either, they were all huge compared to the choices Ash and May had. Pokemon such as Tentacruel, Sealeo, Dewgong, Seaking, Wishcash, Quagsire, Marshtompt, and Golduck were among the many choices that the trainers were using in their practice races.

Ash gasped while watching two teens on a surfboard cheer in the wind as their surfboard flew off a ramp, with their Milotic performing a beautiful dive back into the water – and without a moments hesitation – it continued pulling the surfboard along the race course.

"This is incredible," Ash gasped, "These people are all really good!"

"I know, I know, I know, I know!" May squealed in joy, "These people are all so good and this looks like so much fun! You were right, the surfboards do move quickly in the water while the Pokemon are pulling them. And the trainers look like they're having so much fun too!"

"But aren't you at least amazed by how tough this is going to be?" Ash asked while still gawking at the people in the ocean, "I sure hope we can get ready in time for the competition next week."

May's eyes sparkled as she watched with clasped hands at a beautiful Vaporeon breezing in the sea, pulling its trainers along.

"Oh my god we have to try this, Ash!" May squealed, jumping up and down, "Hurry up, let's start practicing, this looks like so much fun!"

May ran ahead on the sand to get a closer look at all the people surfing with their Pokemon on the race track. Her jaw almost dropped to the floor while watching the festive activities, as she giggled and pranced while watching the fun.

Ash smirked at May's enthusiasm, watching her from afar. He knew from what he saw that this would be no easy competition to beat, but for Professor Latrommi and especially May, this would be worth it. He vowed to himself to do his best, if not for his own sake, then for May's.