Chapter 31

"The gift"

"Combusken, use Fire spin!" she commanded.

The fowl Pokemon opened its beak as rings of fire emerged from its mouth. Its opponent was dodging in the distance, cleverly digging itself under the sand to avoid the attack. The fire spread across the sand in a blaze and faded shortly thereafter. May and Combusken stood in a battle ready position, knowing that their opponent could jump out of the sand at any moment. Her eyes focused steadily on the battlefield in front of her, she knew even the slightly ripple of the sand would give away the location of their opponent. She slid her bandana further up her head and wiped the sweat off her forehead, it was tough battling in 95 degree weather with a fire Pokemon no less.

"It's so humid out here," May whined, trying to bear the heat as her tight clothes stuck to her body, "I feel like putting on my bikini again, my outfit just isn't made for this kind of weather."

"May, you're supposed to be paying attention to the battle!" Max reminded her.

"My eyes are open, Max, don't worry," she grinned, "I'm not gonna lose this one."

Brock stood on the other end of the battlefield, biding his time until she let her guard down, thus presenting the perfect opportunity to attack. His trusted Pokemon, Marshtompt, was swimming deeply inside the sand, burrowing toward the fiery chicken unbeknownst to both the Pokemon and trainer. The heat was getting to him too, especially with his zippered brown shirt over his green T-shirt. He came from a Rock type Gym however, he wouldn't allow the heat to distract him from the battle, but the discomfort from the weather also gave him the incentive to end this quickly.

Max wasn't the only spectator however, Tana and Jamie were present as well. One thing the girls never had a chance to witness was Brock's battling ability, and having known that he was a former Gym leader, they pressured him into a battle. May, being the only other person with Pokemon on her, was the one the girls wanted to see Brock battle against. More so than Jamie however, Tana was actually interested in May's battle ability as well. Memories of her past life as a coordinator flooded her mind watching May battle so gracefully with her Combusken. Although she wanted Brock to win, she was excited to see May put him on the edge of his seat.

May tugged on the collar of her red shirt uncomfortably, as sweat accumulated in the harsh heat. She closed one eye and squinted, pulling on her collar again, and that's when the match was decided. Brock knew this was the time to strike.

"Marshtompt, come up and fire your Water Gun!" Brock commanded.

In the blink of an eye, Marshtompt emerged from the sand and jumped behind Combusken. Before Combusken could turn around to see its opponent, it was propelled forward, face-first into the sand by the jets of water that shot into its back.

May was too uncomfortable and distracted to focus on the battle, which led to Brock exploiting more of her weak point; letting outside interference hinder her battle ability.

"Combusken, get up!" May shouted, frantically.

"Combus…" Combusken panted, standing on one knee.

"Marshtompt, finish this with Mud shot attack!" Brock called out.

"Marsh!" Marshtompt cried, firing a clot of mud from its mouth, which connected flawlessly with its opponent.

Before May could react, Combusken was on the ground, defeated. Marshtompt stood proudly as the victor, and quickly ran to Brock as he hugged it in its arms.

"Combusken is unable to battle, Marshtompt and Brock win the match!" Max declared.

"YAY! Brock won!" Jamie squeaked.

"Return, Combusken," May said contented, retracting her starter Pokemon into its Pokeball. She lowered her face and talked to the ball in her hand. "Sorry, Combusken, we'll do better next time."

"Marshtompt, tompt!" Marshtompt cheered.

Tana walked up to May and shook her hand, congratulating her for her performance. Brock returned Marshtompt to its Pokeball, happy to have the Pokemon back on his team again, while Jamie clutched his arm and made remarks about how strong he was.

"Heh, being a referee for once is pretty fun," Max snickered.

"You liked doing that, huh?" May said, playfully messing with her brothers' hair.

"So, Brock, that's the Gym leader spark, right?" Tana asked, with sparkling eyes.

"Possibly, although if we weren't battling in such humid weather, I know that May would have put up a much better fight. She'd probably beat me too, May is an excellent battler who can think on her toes quickly," Brock complimented, "But, in battle you always have to keep your mind focused, whether you're battling in the harsh heat or the bitter cold, you can't let that get the best of you."

"That's true, the heat is really bothering me," May said, discontented, "It's really hot as hell out here."

"Why don't you check out the hot springs?" Tana suggested.

"Hot springs? Are you crazy?" May laughed, "I want to cool off, not boil myself to a crisp."

"Well that's where we're going, right, Brock?" Tana asked alluringly, rubbing her palm along his chest.

Brock chuckled nervously, "I have been putting that off for a while now, haven't I?"

"You really have," Jamie added, resting her head against his arm.

May smiled happily while watching the two girls fondle over Brock with both words and physical contact. She could see the excitement in Brock's eyes, yet at the same time there was a lot of awkwardness and anxiety in his behavior toward them. She figured it was because he had never really been in this kind of situation before, with two girls ready to do God knows what with him, but there seemed to be something else that remained a mystery. She decided to shrug it off however, there really was no reason to be suspicious over girls who became not only close to Brock, but became good friends with her and the others as well.

Jamie's hands began to wander on his body, moving toward unnecessary places in public. May lowered her eyes and caught her brother watching curiously, and she quickly put her hands over his eyes and pulled him away.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Max complained, as his sister was pushing him along with her hand in front of his glasses.

"No little brother of mine is going to gawk at stuff like that," May said sternly, leading him away, "It almost looked like you were drooling, Max."

"That's not true!" Max retorted, trying to pull her hand away.

"Uh, girls?" Brock asked, uncomfortable about the situation in front of his friends and in public, "Why don't we hit those hot springs? Yeah, that's what you wanted to do, right?"

"Really? You're finally going to go there with us?" Tana asked, elated.

Brock pulled their hands away and nodded. "At least there it's more private, you girls do know we're on a public beach?"

"That's never stopped us before," Jamie winked.

"Have fun, Brock!" May called out, still pushing her brother along, "You three play nice together!"

"Don't encourage them!" Brock said jokingly.

~*~*~*

"It's been a couple hours now, I wonder why Ash never came looking for us," May said.

"I'm wondering about that too, he must have went somewhere else by now. He knew we hit the arcades, but we didn't see him at all on the boardwalk," Max pondered.

May leaned her back against the concrete wall, she stretched out her legs and had one arm behind her head, supporting herself. In her other hand she was fanning herself with her bandana, trying to relieve herself of the heat. Max stood next to his drenched sister, checking his PokeNav about the surrounding area of the mainland. The two siblings were at a loss of what to do next, with Brock preoccupied and Ash apparently missing, they were by themselves for the meantime.

May looked down at her brother, somewhat jealous that the heat didn't seem to bother him. She stopped fanning herself and tied her red bandana back around her head.

"Aren't you a little hot at all, Max?" she asked.

Max looked up at her absent-mindedly. "A little," he replied, shifting through his Pokenav, "You know, May, if you're hot why don't you just run down to the beach and cool off?"

"Alone?" she responded quickly, "I dunno about that, Max. Swimming in the beach is always more fun when you're with other people. Why don't you come with me?"

Max looked up at her, surprised. "I wouldn't mind taking another dip in the water, but why are you so afraid to go yourself?"

"Afraid? Who's afraid?" May responded angrily, putting her hands on her hips. She hovered over her little brother, awaiting an answer. "Hey, I'll go take a swim whenever I want, Max, it's just that I like the company of friends and family, that's all."

Max raised an eyebrow, "You're full of angst today, more so than usual." He put one finger on his sisters' forehead, and gently raised her face. "Alright, I'll go swimming with you. I just hate to see my big sister suffer."

"Heartwarming, Max," May said sarcastically, turning her back to him.

Max put his PokeNav into his pocket and chortled at his sisters' behavior. The siblings headed back to the hotel room in order to change to their swimsuits. Along the way, May decided to apologize for her snooty remark, and rubbed her hand lovingly through her brothers' hair.

"I'm not setting such a good example for an older sister, am I?" May asked, disappointed in herself.

"I…disagree with that. I mean, after all the stuff you've been through the past couple of weeks, I'd probably be just as stressed out and as whacko as you are now," Max said, nodding his head.

"You're lucky I'm looking for support here, Max," she said annoyed.

"I meant what I said though. I'm amazed that you're able to adapt to these new scenarios so quickly," he said.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, more concerned about his reply than anything else.

"Well, think about it," Max said astutely, "You've been through a lot these past couple of weeks. When we first met Professor Latrommi, you and Ash were turned into infants! Even as a little baby, you were still carefree and playful. After you were turned back to your normal age, you took care of infant Ash, feeding him, playing with him, sleeping with him, and even changing him!"

"Heh, I remember really enjoying taking care of baby Ash. He was adorable," she said lovingly, clasping her hands.

"You pretty much acted like his mother, and of course when I was turned into an infant afterward by Team Rocket, you basically had two babies to take care of! Come to think of it, that was a handful. Once Ash was changed back to his own age, you decided to trek out to the woods with him to get back the stolen ray gun and Latrommi's Tyranitar."

"I know, and then the bad part happened," May frowned.

"Bad part? Well yeah, that's when the whole forest was scorched in flames thanks to Tyranitar, and you and Ash could have lost your lives. I don't see why you put yourself down for this though, you're a heroine, May!" Max exclaimed.

"Heroine?" May scoffed, "Don't try to glorify me, Max. Ash was unconscious and his Swellow was crushed by a tree, I was too frantic and emotionally confused to react the way I should of. Ash was on the ground, unconscious and bleeding from his head, it was horrifying. I saved his life by the skin of my teeth, mostly thanks to my Pokemon helping me drag him out from the flames. I keep thinking that I could have sized up the situation better, and not cut it so close, heck, if I didn't run into Nurse Joy in the field right beyond the forest...Ash could of…"

"And saving his life doesn't count for anything?" Max retorted, "Nurse Joy just appeared at the right place at the right time, especially rushing Ash and Swellow to the Pokemon Center to heal. One thing I know for sure, Ash will always feel indebted to you, May. If saving someone's life doesn't make you a heroine, I don't know what does.

"Stop kissing up to me, Max," May bantered, "But…yeah…I know that Ash will always remember that I brought him and Swellow to safety. He's my best friend, I'd do it for him or anyone else."

"Staying with him at the Pokemon Center more than anyone else should say that too," Max added, "He'll always have a fond connection to you because of that."

"Max, are you insinuating something?" May asked curiously.

"Huh? No, nothing!" Max shook his head. He continued his summary, although May caught a sly smile on his face. "Heh, and then you told me that you and Ash confronted Team Rocket near the scorched forest, and then the Professor's Tyranitar right after that. It must have been hard to take that Pokemon down."

"It was," May said, "It was mostly thanks to Ash's Sceptile that we were able to beat it, I've never seen a Pokemon so enraged before. We didn't know at the time that it was acting the way it did because its mind was deteriorating from the ray gun, if we had known then we might have gone easier on it."

"Remember that Gardevoir that helped Swellow heal? Kind of reminds me of that Ralts I met back in Hoenn," Max sighed, "Anyway, you were still awfully protective of Ash when he was resting there, always making sure he didn't scratch his head and spending as much time with him as possible. It was really compassionate of you, May."

"You're flattering me, again." May smirked.

Max shrugged his shoulders. "And then of course there was the Pokemon surfing competition. In less than seven days, you and Ash had to practice for a competition you never even heard of before, train with Squirtle and Corphish tenaciously, overcome fierce rivals, and after all that, you still managed to come in 2nd place! I'm still amazed at how good you two got while practicing on that obstacle course, you did better than some people who were practicing for a year!"

May sighed, "I guess when you put your heart and mind into something, the outcome shows. If it weren't for those four... losers I met here on the beach, I think this would have been one of the happiest weeks I've ever spent with my friends. I had a great time surfing with Ash, he's…just so fun to be around. Something about him just makes you feel all warm and positive inside, it's like no matter how bad things get, if you know Ash is there, you know that everything will turn out fine in the end," she smiled fondly, holding her hands in front of her skirt, "He's the best friend anyone could ever ask for, I really can't imagine myself ever traveling on my journey without him."

"Aha! And you said you don't want to be glorified?" Max mocked.

"Huh?"

"I've just summarized everything you've been through during the past two weeks, don't you think it's about time to be proud of your accomplishments? You're not setting a bad example at being a big sister you know, you're setting a great one," Max said proudly, "I really don't want to admit this, but you're as much a role model for me as you are my sister. When I'm old enough to be a trainer, I hope I can be as compassionate and energetic as you are. I'm proud to be the brother of an aspiring Top coordinator."

"You really mean that?" she asked.

Max nodded.

May wiped a tear of happiness out of her eye and sniffed emotionally. She stopped walking and hugged her brother tightly, wrapping her arms around his back and leaning her face against his head.

"Max…you don't know how much I love you for that," she sniffed, holding him tightly, "I'm sorry for being so mean to you all the time. You're the greatest little brother, ever."

"Aw c'mon, May. It's just the truth," he smiled.

May pulled back from her hug and looked at him fondly. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Anytime," Max laughed.

~*~*~*

"This hot spring is so relaxing," Jamie said, "Are you kicking yourself for not coming here with us sooner, Brock?"

Brock slid himself lower in the warm water, the bubbles were up to his neck, with the rest of his body relaxed and at ease. Sitting in the water next to him were his women, with not a sole around otherwise. They were in their swimming attire, with their clothes placed neatly on the side.

"Heh, Brock seems to be enjoying himself," Tana mentioned, flicking her wet red hair to the side.

It's just me and them. This is something I had always fantasized about, I never thought it would actually happen, Brock thought, This is crazy, but these two girls just won't let up. If only Misty could see me now, I bet she'd be speechless if she saw me succeed with girls for once. The pain from my right ear still throbs after all those times she pulled it, yeeouch!

Jamie rose from the water and sat herself on the edge of the tub, her legs still dangling in the water. She turned to Tana and gave her a wink, a signal that the other girl knew quite well. Tana took a deep breath and decided that now was as good a time as any. She stepped out of the hot tub as well, looking back at a motionless Brock. The two girls whispered quickly to each other, with a few giggles attached.

Brock looked up at them strangely, why did they get out of the hot springs when they were begging him to come here all week? His mind didn't dwell on that too long however, because his eyes started to wander toward the skin that their skimpy swimsuits were covering up.

Wow, they have some fine bodies, Brock thought, an ounce of drool dripping from his mouth, They're really beautiful women, and they have brains as well. It's very rare to get a girl with the perfect combination of beauty and brains, Brock I think you've hit the jackpot! I think I'm taking a liking toward Tana more than Jamie, she just seems more down to earth. May got along with Tana real well too, she seems to be a very friendly and easy going person. I don't know if I should say anything though, I don't think they were really serious when they said, "We come in a set."

Tana whispered again to her friend, an embarrassed blush appearing on her face. Jamie reassured her that everything would be ok, and put her hands on her shoulders to calm her down. Brock got out of the tub and approached them, to which the girls reacted strongly. Tana's blush continued to grow, it was almost as red as her hair, but there was a certain sense of insecurity and bashfulness to it. Jamie on the other hand remained calm, trying to ease her friend into the situation they had planned.

"Uh, is something wrong?" Brock asked, desperately trying to keep his eyes on their faces.

"Nothing's wrong, it's just that my friend Tana is a little nervous about the whole thing," Jamie said.

"JAMIE!" Tana scolded, "Are we really going to…?"

"Yes," Jamie said, "Don't worry, I'll walk you through it."

Brock sat down on the lounge chair and put his hands behind his head. He lowered the chair so that it was flat in order to rest his legs upon it, and stared at the two beauties hovering over him.

"So...you guys going to let me in on this little "plan" of yours?" Brock asked.

"You mean you know?" Jamie asked, startled.

"I can tell that something is going on, that's for sure," Brock said knowingly, "The two of you drag me to the hot springs to spend time relaxing together, but instead we barely talk to one another and the two of you get out after just 10 minutes. And since Tana appears to be a little uneasy about something, it's not hard to assume something."

"Wow, he IS good," Jamie said, "I'm impressed, Brock. See, Tana? He's the perfect guy, you shouldn't be worried."

"I'm…not," Tana said softly, "But, you've done this before, Jamie. It's going to be a new experience for me, and probably for him as well."

Ok, now something is definitely odd here, he thought.

"Brock?" Tana asked, "You really like me, don't you?"

"Well...of course!" Brock said quickly, almost on impulse, "Is this going to be some kind of questionnaire or something?"

Tana and Jamie exchanged glances.

"Alright, Brock, if you want to know what we're up to…close your eyes." Jamie instructed, "When you open them…you may be pleasantly surprised."

"Uh…ok?" Brock said. He shut his eyes, Jamie and Tana walked closer toward his lounge chair.

"Are his eyes shut? I can't tell," Tana said.

"They're closed!" Brock exclaimed, "I know it's hard to tell with the type of eyes I have, but believe me they're shut!"

"No kidding? How do we know if you're not peeking or not? Those slits are hard to judge," Tana chortled.

"Trust me, my eyes are closed!" Brock said, "Sheesh. Maybe next time you'll wonder how I can roll my eyes, huh?"

"Heh, you're funny, Brock," Tana said, smiling. She took another deep breath, and looked upon her friend for reassurance.

Brock could hear some movement, but he kept his eyes closed. He pondered for a moment what the heck they could be up to. He knew one thing for sure, when he opened them he'd either be pleasantly surprised or horrified.

"Alright…you can open them now," Tana said.

Brock opened his eyes slowly, he could already feel the breath from the two girls very close to him. When his eyes focused on the visual, his heart nearly skipped a beat. Not because the two girls were standing right over him, and not because they were gazing at him seductively either. It was because of those.

"What the hell?" Brock said, shocked.

"We're all alone, why not take this opportunity?" Jamie asked, "I need to show Tana the ropes though, it's her first time."

After that remark, Tana leaned forward and gave him a small peck on the chest. Brock didn't know whether he should feel elated or terrified. He lie there motionless, almost scared stiff to even move. His mind had trouble registering what was going on, if this was a dream, he knew that some cruel act of fate would wake him up and he would forget the whole thing. This however, was very real.

A few moments later, the topless girls were upon him.

~*~*~*

"That about does it!" Ash said happily, tying the final bow on the wrapping paper.

"Pikachu, pika!" Pikachu said, complimenting its trainer for the surprise.

Ash jumped in delight holding the small box in his hand. The box was wrapped in red and orange wrapping paper, with a cute pink ribbon tied around the front. Ash made sure to pick the right kind of wrapping paper, they were May's favorite colors. Having spent a good portion of his birthday money on the item Fredrick agreed to sell him behind the scenes, Ash was very nervous about how she would react to the gift. He had rarely bought gifts for anyone in the past out of the blue, let alone cover the box in wrapping paper with a ribbon on top. Ash let himself fall down backward on the bed, completely exhausted.

"It took me over an hour to figure out how to put wrapping paper around that box, this must be a thing only girls are good at or something," Ash said, staring up at the ceiling.

"Pika pika, chu," it encouraged him, playfully jumping on his stomach.

Ash sat up and hugged Pikachu in his arms, it was almost as excited as the trainer to see how May would react. Ash thanked Pikachu for his help with the wrapping paper, as he made quite a number of mistakes on his own, having to throw away the paper several times because it got ripped and having to start all over again with a clean sheet. Pikachu had to instruct him on where to fold the paper and where to cut it, a somewhat embarrassing scene for a teenager not knowing how to do this himself. Ash placed his hand on Pikachu's head, it was a team effort indeed.

"Pika pika?" Pikachu asked, hopping back on the bed sheets.

"Huh? Fredrick had it made specifically for her, it has to be the right size. I'm just worried that May will yell at me for spending half of my birthday money on her, but I really don't mind, it's about time I bought her a present anyway," Ash said, walking around the hotel room with the present in hand.

"Chuuuu, pika," Pikachu said, folding its arms.

"Max?" Ash said, startled, "Oh great, I didn't think about that."

Ash slapped his face for forgetting about her brother, how would Max react if his sister got a present but not him?

He paced the floors nervously again, with hands folded behind his back, wondering how Max would feel if he were left out.

"Pikachu, what should I do?" Ash asked, "I bought May that gift as a way of cheering her up for the loss at the race, but I really didn't think about Max at the time."

"Pika pika?"

Ash smiled, his anxiety faded. It may take a hit on his own luxuries, but at least he could make both siblings happy this way. His altruistic nature always got the better of him.

Ash chuckled, "Heh, why not? Max deserves to get something too."

Pikachu and Ash agreed with one another, but they were snapped out of their conversation when they heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, Ash, are you in there?" Max called out from behind the door.

The windows were covered completely by the curtains, May tried peering in the window but the view was blocked.

Ash looked at Pikachu, "They're here! Do you think now's a good time to surprise her? Max is with her too, what are we going to do?"

"Pikachu pika!?" Pikachu yelled.

Ash and Pikachu quickly decided to formulate a plan together before the siblings entered the room.

"If I know Ash, he's doing one of two things," May said to her younger brother.

"What's that?" Max asked.

"Either eating, or sleeping," May grinned.

Max rolled his eyes.

"You do the same exact things you know, I wouldn't talk if I were you," Max bantered.

"Hey, I didn't say those were bad things," May giggled, "Everybody knows that a nice, peaceful beauty sleep and a good meal is the way to get through life. You can't go through life looking like a toothpick, Max. You gotta have some meat on your bones!"

"Are you saying I'm scrawny?" Max asked.

"No, you're just so meek and docile," May said playfully, she was in an awfully good mood, "But now that I'm looking at you, you are kind of scrawny too. Next time we eat dinner with Ash and Brock, I'm making sure you lick your plate clean!"

"Now you sound like Mom again! Stop doing that!" Max yelled.

"Max, you gotta eat. How do you think I maintain this fabulous figure?" May asked, arching her hand behind her neck and posing for her little brother.

Max sweat dropped, and spouted in an irritated manner, "When I said you were setting a great example of an older sister, I really meant it. Don't push your luck though, quit while you're ahead."

May gushed bashfully and held her hands in front of her naively as small pockets of red tints appeared on her cheeks. Even though he was a few years younger than her, her little brother always managed to make a good comeback in their squabbles. She envied him for that, he was always so smart and mature for his age.

Max knocked on the door again, much harder this time.

"Ash, Pikachu! We don't have the keys for the room, are you in there?" Max called out.

"Maybe they're out on the boardwalk looking for us," May said.

The handle began to turn from the inside which caught the siblings' attention. Ash opened the door with a nervous smile, Pikachu was hanging on his shoulder. May and Max greeted their friend while entering the room, but Ash left the door open instead of shutting it.

"So…did you like the arcades, May?" Ash asked, hoping to start with an easy conversation.

"I really did. I've never been much of a fan of videogames myself, but I thought some of those games were pretty cool!" May said.

"She stuck to all the coordinator simulators, it was pretty funny because one game managed to annoy her," Max said.

"Which one was that?" Ash asked.

May put her hands on her hips and pouted. "You wouldn't believe it, Ash. One of those games based on Pokemon Contests actually used real life people! You know who's likeness they used in the game?"

"They used Harley," Max laughed.

"Harley?" Ash said, taken back.

"Could you believe it?" May gasped, "All of a sudden I'm playing this game and I see this skinny guy shaking his butt at the camera. At first I thought it was a girl with long purple hair, I mean NO guy walks down a stage like that. Then I started to recognize the clothing, and when he turned around…it was him. The computer graphics messed up his face a bit, but then again he's not exactly picture perfect to begin with."

"Crazy, huh? I guess some popular coordinators get the honor of being put into videogames. I bet he gets royalties for that too now that I think about it. Too bad you weren't in the game, May," Max said.

"Ptttf, I couldn't care less. I'll take real life fame over virtual reality stuff anyday. Besides, I'd rather not be well known if my fans treat me like they did back in North Petalburg City. Remember that, Max?" May asked, turning in circles.

"Those people were insane," Max grunted.

Ash and Pikachu looked upon each other, it was about time to make their announcement.

"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and came to the floor next to Max.

The electric type than sprung itself into the air thanks to its tail, and snatched Max's glasses off his face. The rodent held the frame of the glasses with its mouth, and then began to dart out the hotel room door.

"Pikachu! What do you think you're doing?! Those are my glasses!" Max yelled.

"Pikachuuuuuuuuuuu," Pikachu mocked the boy, sticking his tongue out toward him near the door frame.

"Wow, what's gotten into Pikachu?" a bewildered May asked.

Alright, Pikachu, you know the drill. It's better to let May take care of his gift, Ash said to himself.

Ash nodded at the Pokemon and it knew just what to do. Pikachu darted out of the room and ran down the catwalk carrying Max's glasses in its mouth. Max slid himself outside the door, and yelled angrily at the Pokemon.

"Pikachu, come back here!" Max yelled, stomping the floor.

Pikachu darted through the lobby, fast enough that the boy couldn't catch up to him, but slow enough so Max would see where he was. Max chased after the Pokemon in a tantrum, wondering why it would do such a thing in the first place.

May peered down the catwalk slightly agitated. She walked back into the room and demanded an explanation from Ash.

"Mind explaining to me what Pikachu was doing pulling a stunt like that?" May asked.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, playing dumb and walking toward his drawer.

"Oh c'mon, Ash. Pikachu loves to play around, but I've never seen him do something like that before. Either Pikachu has some discipline problems or something fishy is going on here," May said, tapping her left cheek.

Ash's back was turned to her, he rummaged through his drawer and pushed some clothes aside until the sparkle from the wrapping paper caught his eye. He picked up the present slowly, and naively hid it behind his back.

"Not to mention the fact that you're standing here and not caring about what Pikachu did," May said, "So, Ash…what's up?"

She approached him while suspecting something, his face filled with childlike innocence, almost acting like she was a stranger rather than a good friend. She glanced downward and spotted him holding something behind his leg.

Ash pulled on the brim of his hat nervously, he knew she wouldn't be fooled by this much longer. She probably figured by now that what Pikachu was doing was just a diversion to keep Max busy for awhile, and that he had something to tell her alone.

"Oh well, I was never good at keeping secrets," Ash said softly, he looked up at her and caught her curious expression, "I…have something for you and your brother, but since you're the big sister and all, I figured that you better take care of his…gift as well, since he's a little young to carry all this around by himself. I just want you to know what his gift is before he finds out, just so you can take care of it for him."

"Whoa wait, slow down, Ash!" May said flabbergasted, "Did you just say you bought me and my brother a gift?"

"Well…yeah," Ash said, pulling the wrapped box out from behind his back. He caught the sparkle of excitement in her eyes once she saw the wrapping paper, and held it in front of his chest. "I'll show you Max's gift later, this is yours."

"I…I…wha…what's the occasion?" May asked, completely shocked.

Ash handed her the box, and she looked down at the wrapping paper with a mix of excitement and curiosity. She held the box in front of her body with both hands, still uncertain whether this was truly happening.

"No occasion. It's a present for my friends, isn't that acceptable enough?" Ash asked, smiling.

May returned his affection with a playful smile of her own. She sat down on the edge of her bed and rested the box on her lap. Ash stood next to her, waiting for her to open it.

"These are pretty colors," May said sincerely, stroking the wrapping paper with her fingers.

"Yep, I made sure to wrap it in your favorite colors. Red, orange and pink…I got them all right, didn't I?" Ash said proudly.

May giggled, "You sure did!" She began opening it slowly, untying the pretty pink ribbon first and then tearing through the paper second. "You wrapped this all by yourself?"

"Pikachu helped me, I found out the hard way that wrapping paper over a plastic box isn't so easy," Ash sulked.

"Heh, you're silly, it's not that hard to wrap something," May chortled.

"Go on, open it," Ash suggested, getting slightly impatient.

She tore off the last remaining piece of paper, and placed the white plastic box on the bed. She placed her hands on the sides of the box, and looked up at Ash one more time before she opened it.

"The way this box is shaped, I'm guessing there's….clothing inside?" May asked, pushing her brown hair out of her eyes.

"Um…something like that," Ash whistled, "You'll like it though, I'm sure of that."

May took a deep breath and smiled coyly.

"Pretty confident aren't you, Ash?" May teased, "Let's take a look…"

She lifted up the cover of the box and saw the usual white plastic paper on top of her present. She calmly removed the piece of paper and was completely astonished of what she saw.

"ASH!" May said flabbergasted, "How…how did you…get this?"

"Remember Fredrick's phone number? Well I called him, and he said since we put up such a good fight in the race, he agreed to sell me it as a favor," Ash said.

May was speechless as she picked up something she thought she had lost forever. It was something she had treasured and hoped to get for a long time…and now…it was hers! In the box lie a two-piece bikini, made specifically for May's body size. It wasn't just any bikini though, it was the one she longed for. It was bright pink in color, with a chibi Skitty face imprinted on the right breast of the top, and a chibi Torchic face imprinted on the back of the bottom piece.

She held the top in her hands, staring at it completely dumbstruck. Her heart almost felt like it was tearing through her chest, it was pumping hard in excitement. Small tears appeared in the back of her eyes, she was astounded that Ash was able to get this for her.

Ash approached her and placed one hand on her shoulder. "I…hope you like it," he said, slightly uncertain.

May's exhilaration got the best of her as she jumped up from her bed and flung her arms around him. Still holding the top of the bikini in her left hand, she hugged him excitedly and jumped up and down while doing so. Ash staggered backward, completely taken back by her jubilation.

"ASH! You're such a sweetheart!" May said joyously, "You're…amazing!"

She held his hands and continued jumping up and down, giggling and squealing a tad as well. It was now Ash's turn to feel dumbstruck, he knew May might have an excited reaction, but he didn't expect this much of a reaction. He stood there smiling as May jumped girlishly while holding his hands.

"Tee hee!" May giggled, running back toward the box and picking up the bottom piece in her other hand. She hugged both pieces of the swimsuit against her chest and jumped toward him with a lot of enthusiasm.

"I take it you like the swimsuit," Ash chuckled, putting his hand behind his head.

"Like it? I LOVE it," May squealed, "How…how did you…tell me the whole story, Ash!"

"Whole story?"

"Yeah…like how you got it, and how you thought of it, and how you bought it and how you, and…and then…and…wheee!" May squealed, losing control of her sentence, jumping up and down with childlike laughter.

"You're talking so fast it's hard to understand you! Calm down, May!" Ash said happily.

"I just can't believe it…I never thought I'd actually be holding this!" May shouted happily, "Tell me, Ash…why did you…?"

"It's because I didn't want to see you disappointed anymore," Ash said, "I know you tried to hide it, but you were crushed when we didn't win that race. All those swimsuits you practiced so hard to win, were now lost forever. I…didn't want to see you depressed anymore."

"Depressed…but…?"

"I called Fredrick on that phone number he gave us, and he agreed to sell me one of the bikinis from the prize list because we impressed him so much. Since it's a rare swimsuit that's not meant to be sold, it cost a lot of money to buy it, more than any sane person would spend on a swimsuit."

"Really? You spent a lot of money just so I could have a bikini?" May gasped, sitting on the side of the bed.

"I spent more than half of my birthday money on that bikini, May," he exclaimed, scratching his shoulder nervously.

May was taken back, she looked down at the bikini in her hands and then back up at Ash. She was floored once more, completely speechless at the gesture he made.

"I bought it for you though, because I know how much you wanted it. I guess I just don't want to see you sad or something. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you by doing this," Ash said.

"You're crazy, you…I mean, I shouldn't be embarrassed!" May gasped, standing up from the bed, "This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me...I just can't believe it."

May walked next to Ash, holding the bikini in her hand. She looked down at the cup of the top, and read the tag on the bikini.

"This…this is the right size too," May stuttered, "How did you know what size I needed?"

Ash blushed heavily, and walked toward her middle dresser. He opened it carefully and picked up May's dark red bikini that she was wearing on the beach.

"I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I had to look at your red bikini for reference, just to make sure I got you a size that fit," Ash said, his face filled with embarrassment.

May found herself blushing as well, her face was turning deep red.

"…and the size of the top?" she stuttered.

Ash quickly blurted the next line out, even more embarrassed than before, "Yeah…I spotted one of your bras in the cabinet and I checked the size of that too! Don't think of me as a weirdo or anything, I just wanted to make sure I detailed the right size to Fredrick!"

"Ash…" May blushed, she smiled and looked toward the floor.

"They…custom make these special bikinis, as you know from the pamphlet. I was only allowed to buy one of them from Fredrick, he was doing me a big favor in the first place by selling them. I…knew you wanted the Skitty and Torchic bikini the most of all of them, which is why I chose that one. When he asked for the size of the bikini…I had to double check your…stuff…just to make sure. If I messed up and gave him the wrong size, you'd either have a bikini that was too big or too tight..." Ash said quickly.

May felt herself breathing heavily, she placed the bikini gently down on the side of the bed. She stared at her friend, whose face was so red it was the same color as her bandana. Her eyes twinkled as her chest continued to pound, she struggled to get a grip on herself. She looked upon the boy again, and when she saw that special twinkle in his eye as well, she knew she had confirmation.

Ash continued to ramble, "I'm sorry, May, but it was the only way to make sure. And the bikini is also…"

"It's ok," May said.

She silenced him by placing one finger against his lips. Ash was confused, she had a look in her eye that was very endearing, or perhaps enamored. Their heartbeats were in unison, making the same thumping sound from one chest to another. She softly slipped her finger away from his lips, as her face drew closer. They were standing face to face, May lovingly looking at Ash in the eyes.

Her face was so close that he could feel her breath coming from her mouth, which was nearly hovering over his own. A few mixed emotions and last minute decisions went through her mind, the warmth of his face almost begged for her to move in closer.

"Thank you," she said softly.

The words were replaced with contact, as her moist lips pressed gently against his. The warmth of their bodies exchanged with one another, the heat of the kiss radiated from one being to the next. He didn't pull away, stagger, or even budge. She moved in closer, tilting her face, her mouth opening only slightly, she was still getting the feeling of having her lips pressed against a boy, Ash. She muttered something under her breath, which was barely noticeable, as it went through the lips of one person and into the next. The slight scent and taste of each others lips were registered in each others minds for the first time, but neither dared to open their mouth. It was a sweet, gentle puppy love kiss, with the two naively pressing lips against one another with their mouths cracking open only to get in a breath of fresh air. She held onto his arms tightly, making sure that this was real and not a fantasy conjured up by her imagination.

All too quickly, it was over. May broke her contact with the boy, and slowly stepped away. She turned around and pressed two fingertips against her lips, thoughts filling her mind. Ash stared naively, licking his own lips where she had kissed him. He had never imagined what a kiss would feel like, but he was pleasantly surprised. It was a different experience for sure, but a pleasant experience nonetheless.

She turned around and looked at him, sharing the same exact expressions. Both were too scared to talk, even uttering a meaningless sound was hard.

She smiled naively, turning toward her bikini on the bed. Her fingers stroke the cloth of the top, thinking about what she had just done. It was her first kiss, that very special time that she had thought about for a long while. She didn't think about what compelled her to move in for a kiss, but there was something that brought her to him, like two magnets attracting one another. She kissed him as best she could, having only TV shows and movies with characters kissing as a reference. She had seen her parents smooching a few times around the house as well, but she was so young that she could barely remember what it looked like.

She picked up the bikini in her hands, and turned around toward Ash, who was still standing there. She looked upon him lovingly, and figured by his positive demeanor, that he liked the kiss too.

She spoke, "Th-ank…you for the present. I'm go-ing to change into it to see how it looks on me, do you mind waiting?"

Ash uttered something but it was a mixture of sounds that consisted of nothing more than gibberish.

"I'll change – in there," she said, smiling, pointing toward the bathroom door in the corner.

Ash nodded, it was the only sign of communication that he could do.

"Ok," she said softly.

She walked toward the bathroom and opened the door, turning toward Ash one last time before she entered. Although he still couldn't formulate any words, he formed a convincing smile on his face. May grinned, that was satisfactory enough. She entered the bathroom with bikini in hand, and shut the door behind her.

Ash stood there in the empty room, absorbing the entire situation and playing it back in his mind. He stumbled a bit on his way to the side of his bed, sitting down awkwardly and pulling his hat off his head. He looked upon the torn wrapping paper on the side of the bed, and picked up the pink ribbon which was once tied around the present. He held the bow in his hands, and stared at it curiously. He glanced up at the bathroom door, and then back at the ribbon.

It was his first kiss too, one that would be remembered for a lifetime.