Chapter 48
"The egg is beautiful," she said, examining the lime-green egg in her hands.
"It does have a really nice color," the mother added, "It stands out a lot with that shade of green."
"Bulbasaur! Bulba!" the female Bulbasaur cooed.
"May, it sounds like your Bulbasaur is thanking you for the compliments you're giving its egg," the father said.
"Oh, well it's really no surprise the egg is lovely considering how cute its Mommy is," May squealed.
"Bulba," the Bulbasaur smirked.
The entire family was gathered in the living room, sitting on chairs and couches that were all centered around the two Bulbasaur and their egg. They were the center of attention, and everyone was taking turns holding the egg and admiring its beauty. Ash's Bulbasaur and May's Bulbasaur were pleased to introduce their offspring, or what would soon hatch into their offspring, to their trainers who cared for them over the years.
Ash was overjoyed yet he sat on the couch with a look pf befuddlement on his face at the same time. This wasn't the first time one of his Pokemon had fallen in love with another Pokemon, but it was the first time the love brewed into something long lasting, something permanent. He couldn't get over the fact that his Bulbasaur, who was one of his earliest Pokemon that he had for years, actually fell in love with May's Bulbasaur while they were at Professor Oak's ranch together. Even more astonishing was that they mated and produced an egg together in such a short timeframe. His Bulbasaur wasn't just his trusted Pokemon anymore, it was a father. It actually had its own family now, and that, most of all, shocked Ash completely. He was happy for his Bulbasaur, albeit still stunned at the turn of events.
Pikachu and Ash's Bulbasaur chatted for a while, while May's Bulbasaur stood near its trainer while she held its egg. Pikachu found it amusing that its longtime friend started a family, and Bulbasaur gave Pikachu a whole story about how they fell in love. Since it was in Pokemon language of course, none of the humans could comprehend the love story, so it was Pikachu alone that Ash's Bulbasaur told its little secret to. Pikachu felt special being the only one to know how the two Bulbasaur tied the knot, and made insinuating glances at Ash and May as if it was expecting the two trainers to do the same when they reach their twenties.
May bent down on her knees and petted her Bulbasaur on the head. The Bulbasaur cooed in delight, as it missed the feel of May's compassion for a long time.
"It really is amazing to wrap my head around the concept that you're a Mommy now," May said, stroking her Bulbasaur, "It feels like only yesterday when you were this cute little Bulbasaur that I used to cuddle in my arms while we were traveling in Hoenn."
"Bulba, Bulba!" Bulbasaur cooed.
"You sound just like your mother," Norman said fondly, "She remembers holding you like a baby just like it was yesterday too."
"Indeed I do," Caroline added.
May blushed and quickly stood up. "Well you know, I guess like mothers, like daughters…eheh," she said squeamishly.
"Can, can I hold the egg?" Max asked anxiously.
"Of course, Max, why didn't you ask before?" May asked.
"I'm just…nervous," Max said.
May's Bulbasaur picked up its egg with its vines and approached Max with it. Max hesitantly picked the egg out of its mothers' vines and held it carefully.
"See? Nothing to be nervous about," May said.
Max looked over the egg from all sides but was still fairly nervous about holding it.
"My…first Pokemon is inside this egg," Max said, "It's scary to think about."
"Don't be scared, Max," Ash said calmly, "Just like your sister said, there's nothing to be nervous about. I know getting your first Pokemon is really exciting, but you have a lot of time to get to know it while it's just an egg! I didn't meet Pikachu until it was already at Professor Oak's lab, but you're going to get to see your Pokemon hatch right out of its egg! You'll be with it since birth, and that's really exciting!"
"Yeah, Ash is right. It's just like when I had my Eevee when it was just an egg, it was so fun to look after and count down the days until it hatched," May squealed, "I was the first thing Eevee saw, and we've been a team ever since."
Max glanced down at his egg and then looked up at everyone else. "But…but what if it doesn't like me? What if it hatches and doesn't think I'm good enough to be its trainer?"
"Max, you're sounding irrational, even for you," May said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Actually, it's perfectly normal for him to be uncertain about this," Norman said, "It IS his first Pokemon, May, and it's going to be just a baby when it hatches. You'll have to take good care of it, Max, especially since it's an infant."
"I promise to," Max said, nodding.
"Yeah, and if you ever need any help, its parents can help you out too!" Ash said.
The two Bulbasaur chimed together. Max felt more relieved and handed the egg back to its parents.
"I also have to thank you guys for actually allowing me the privilege of keeping your baby," Max said, "I promise to take good care of it."
"Bulbasaur," the male Bulbasaur nodded.
"Heheh, thanks," Max said bashfully.
The two Bulbasaur had great trust in Max to take care of its offspring, especially since he was May's brother. Ash and May did a wonderful job taking care of them, and the Bulbasaur knew their offspring would grow wonderfully under Max's guidance. It would be some time before Max reached his tenth birthday, but he hoped that his Bulbasaur would hatch from the egg before he became of age to be a trainer, because that way he could play with it in the Gym for a while.
Norman was proud to see his son so enthusiastic about becoming a trainer, and expected good things from him in the future. He would have his own infant Bulbasaur in no time at all, a Pokemon that connected him both to his sister, May, and his best friend, Ash. Perhaps Max having the combined qualities of both his sister and Ash would benefit him the most on his journey.
Ash walked over to greet his Bulbasaur.
"Gee, Bulbasaur, I never knew you liked May's Bulbasaur to begin with," Ash said, patting its head.
"Bulbasaur. Bulba, Bulbasaur," Bulbasaur cooed.
"I guess these are some of the things that just go over my head, don't they?" he joked.
"Bulba," Bulbasaur smirked.
"It was sudden, so don't feel so bad, Ash, about being slow to catch onto things like this," May teased, sticking out her tongue at the boy.
"Pi-kachu!" Pikachu added.
"Pikachu, do you always have to take her side?" Ash asked.
"Chaaaa!" Pikachu cooed.
Man, I've waited for this day for so long and I can't believe it's almost here, Max thought gleefully, C'mon little egg, hatch really soon! I'm waiting for you!
~*~*~*~
Another week passed at the Petalburg Gym, and Ash, reluctantly, stayed at the Gym for yet another week instead of setting off like he planned. The arrival of the egg of his Bulbasaur changed things for him, and he didn't want to miss it hatching either. Not only because he would love to see his trusty Bulbasaur fathering its offspring, but also because he wanted to see how Max would interact with his first Pokemon. After all the time he spent traveling with Max, he felt somewhat compelled to at least see him set off with his infant Bulbasaur instead of rudely leaving without being there for him in what was quite possibly the pinnacle of his life thus far.
The wait at the Gym nearly killed Ash, but thanks to Norman and May having practice battles with him everyday, it helped ease the wait for the egg to hatch. None of them knew how long it would take the egg to hatch, but they figured it wouldn't take more than a month. May knew that Ash was being awfully patient and felt sympathy for him, especially since she knew he was doing it only for her little brother. She rewarded him with a number of intimate moments for his patience, some that even pushed the boundaries of what either Ash or May knew they were capable of.
Aside from May's private moments with her boyfriend, she also managed to keep herself from obsessing over her mother like she used to. She did catch her mother looking somewhat depressed every few days or so, but she figured she was probably exaggerating how her mother really felt or that the aftermath of the crime still haunted her internally. May knew the feeling, as no matter how much time passed since the incident, she would never forget how her mother was violated and how their family was threatened with violence. She tried not to dwell on the issue too much and kept herself from overreacting like she used to, and focus on the present, rather than on the depressing past. She knew she needed to heed Ash and her mother's advice that she had to move on, and focus on the good aspects of life over the bad.
Max spent each passing day cradling the egg in his arms, when it wasn't in possession of its parents, and eagerly waited for it to hatch. He would hold his knees together and huddle himself on a small chair overlooking the lone egg on the floor, counting each second down and hoping he would eventually see a small crack appearing down the middle. The two Bulbasaur were greatly appreciative of all the help Max was while watching their offspring, and were more than satisfied over the fact that he was going to be its trainer when it hatched.
For Max, the wait for the egg to hatch was almost as agonizing as Ash's was. Both of them wanted to see the baby Pokemon, and both of them were very eager to start the next segment of their lives. Max recalled all the moments he watched Ash, May and Brock interact with their Pokemon as well as their battles, and the thought of himself finally being able to do the same was an overwhelming thought of glee for the boy. Not only would he have his first Pokemon soon, but he was almost legal to start traveling by himself as an official trainer as well. He giggled to himself, this was going to be the wait to end all waits.
~*~*~*
The following week Max noticed that the egg had a strange glowing aura surrounding it. He walked toward the egg hesitantly and was wondering what was going on, but when the egg flashed brightly and illuminated the room, he knew one thing was certain, the egg was hatching! The two Bulbasaur were also nearby and looked upon their offspring excitedly, it was finally time!
"GUYS! GET OVER HERE QUICK!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Ash and May quickly darted over to the egg and clutched their own Bulbasaur respectively as they awaited the birth of the new Pokemon.
"Bulbasaur, it's finally time!" May squealed, holding her Bulbasaur in her arms, "The egg is glowing!"
"Bulba! BULBA!" her female Bulbasaur chimed.
"Bulbasaur, can you believe it?" Ash asked rhetorically.
"Bulbasaur…" it uttered in amazement.
"Pikachu! Pika!" Pikachu gasped as it watched the egg from Ash's shoulder.
The light began to dimmer and they saw the small green bulb on the back of an infant Bulbasaur lying on the table. The infant Bulbasaur was tiny, it was about the size of Ash's right foot. It had a wonderful shade of green that resembled its parents, and had bright red eyes that were common for all Bulbasaur. The infant Bulbasaur slowly and hesitantly opened its eyes as the first visual of life formed for the Pokemon. It saw three humans with wide-open smiles as well as two Bulbasaur. Ash was on the right holding the father, May was on the left holding the mother, and Max, its future trainer, was standing in the center, gazing upon the Pokemon in awe.
The infant Bulbasaur uttered its first words, "Bu-lb-a."
"It…it spoke!" Max gasped.
"Bulbasaur! Bulbasaur!" the father and mother Bulbasaur shouted in unison.
They excitedly jumped out of their trainers arms and reached with their vines to carry the infant Bulbasaur up from the floor and rocked it gently in the air. They had their vines wrapped around its bulb and held it so its tummy stuck in the air. The poor baby had no idea what was going on, but it had an instinct that it was in its parents clutches, and relaxed gently as they cradled it.
The father and mother Bulbasaur softly sang a tune in a tone that only Pokemon could understand, and Pikachu joined in as well to welcome the cute and tiny Bulbasaur into the world.
The baby spoke again, "Bu-lba."
"It's…so adorable," May squealed, clasping her hands.
Max stared at the family rocking the infant Bulbasaur and singing to it, but he felt somewhat neglected that he didn't get to say hello to it yet. After all, he was going to become its trainer, and wanted to talk to the baby for the first time.
"Max, are you ok?" Ash asked.
Max hesitantly nodded as he continued to watch the family of Bulbasaur from afar.
"Y-yeah, I'm ok, Ash. They…look so happy together," he said.
"They certainly do," Ash added.
May noticed her brother's uneasiness and put her hand on his shoulder. The younger brother looked up at his older sister for guidance.
"You'll get to say hello to it soon, Max," May said lovingly, "It just hatched, let it be with its parents for now. They're overjoyed with their newborn baby, they need to have their moments together."
"I…I see," Max said, staring at the baby, feeling left out, "Um…ok then."
"Max, be happy for them, they're a family now. And soon, the baby Bulbasaur will recognize you as its trainer and best friend. It may not be aware of you now, but you'll have plenty of time to get to know it very soon," she reassured him.
"Bu-lba! Bu-lba!" the baby Bulbasaur cried, trying to imitate the soothing lullaby from its parents.
"Heh, it's trying to sing!" Ash said.
The baby Bulbasaur looked to its left and noticed an eager little boy looking at it from afar. The Bulbasaur didn't know what to make of the boy, but it was fixated on him for the time being. Max was overjoyed when the Bulbasaur finally made eye contact with him, and he raised his hand slowly and meekly waved at the Pokemon.
"Hi…" Max said meekly, lowering his hand to his side.
The baby remained silent, but continued to stare at him nonetheless. Max soon found his confidence building up, and smiled contently. It was an adorable Pokemon, and Max felt like one of the happiest kids on Earth.
~*~*~*~*
"Give us back our Bulbasaur!" May shouted angrily.
"Bu-lba…!" the infant Bulbasaur uttered, upset to see its parents in trouble.
Max clutched the baby Bulbasaur in his arms protectively. Its parents may have been taken away, but he definitely would not let the infant be stolen. He promised himself he would take good care of his Pokemon, and this was one promise he swore to keep.
"Great, I don't think Pikachu's electricity can reach that far either!" Ash said angrily.
"Pikachu, pika!" Pikachu said disappointingly.
"How dare you come here and do such a thing, those Bulbasaur are parents!" Norman yelled.
Ash stood angrily outside the Gym with clenched fists, along with May, her father and Max, who were looking up at the two Bulbasaur that were desperately trying to break free of large mechanical arms that held them in the air. The giant hands were pink and were attached by a long metal cord which extended back to a machine underneath a hot-air balloon. The balloon had a green platform for the three familiar crooks to stand on, and the balloon had the face of a mischievous Meowth.
"Ooooh, these two lovebirds are parents now?" James squealed.
"Bulbasaur, Bulba!" the Bulbasaur cried as the metal arms continued to dangle them in the air.
"Who would have thunk it? The two Pokemon tied the knot!" Jessie exclaimed, "Why is it that everyone can find true love but me?"
"Maybe it's because no man could stand the torture of being married to you?" Meowth scoffed.
"What did you say, Meowth?!" Jessie demanded, as she picked up Meowth's body and shook his rapidly.
"H-h-he-y, ca-lm, d-o-o-o-o-w-n, J-ess!" Meowth gasped between shakes.
"Well what he said was true," James said, "Being married to you would indeed be a living hell."
"Hey, shut up!" Jessie yelled, throwing Meowth straight into James' face. The two fell over backwards on the platform with dazed expressions. "You two are already in a living hell, and I'll make it even WORSE if you don't get focused and make our get-away!"
"Ugh, aren't we going to try and get Pikachu too?" James asked, trying to sit up.
"Nope, we already have the two Bulbasaur, and you know that every time we get greedy we end up bumbling and getting blasted off, so let's be content with our riches for now, hm?" Jessie sneered.
"Dat's fine with me, now how's about we scram outta here!" Meowth shouted.
May looked up at the Meowth balloon as it started to move away from the Gym. She desperately turned to her father and asked him for a plan. Norman spoke what was on his mind.
"They're moving away too fast and we can't just cut the metal cords of those arms, because if we do your two Bulbasaur will go plummeting to the ground," Norman said, "We wouldn't be able to catch them in time."
"But there has to be something we can do!" May pleaded, "Ash, c'mon! You're telling me that we can take down dangerous criminals like Ross yet we can't beat guys like Team Rocket?!"
"I could just send Swellow to pop their balloon but like your father said, that would mean our Bulbasaur would come crashing down to the ground and they'd get hurt!" Ash retorted, "If only there was some way to get them down safely…"
"Hey…when you mentioned Swellow, Ash, I just thought of something!" Max said as an idea clicked in his head. The little Bulbasaur looked up at its trainer innocently, hoping that he had a plan to rescue its parents. "Ash, why don't you send up your Swellow to snap the metal cord and then quickly let your Bulbasaur land on its back and then it can glide your Pokemon down to safety! And May, you can do the same thing with your Beautifly!"
"Wow, Max, that's a great idea!" May exclaimed.
"Bu-lba, Bu-lba," the baby Bulbasaur said anxiously.
"Your parents will be safe, Bulbasaur," Max said, squeezing the infant, "My big sister and Ash have taken care of Team Rocket lots of times, and they're going to do it again!"
"Alright, ready, May?" Ash asked.
"Ready!" she said, holding her Pokeball up.
"SWELLOW, GO!"
"BEAUTIFLY, I choose you!"
The two trainers threw their Pokeballs in the air and the small blue bird and majestic butterfly appeared before them.
"Go save our Bulbasaur!" Ash and May commanded.
Beautifly and Swellow nodded and flew up to the Meowth balloon quickly.
"Looks like we've got company!" Meowth gasped.
"There's two of them coming right at us!" Jessie shouted.
"I know, that's why I called them company!" Meowth exclaimed.
"No kidding!" James added.
"Beau-tifly!" the Pokemon shouted, as it approached the metal arms.
"Swe-llow," Swellow shrieked, calling out to the Bulbasaur.
The two Bulbasaur spotted the two flying Pokemon and knew they were about to be rescued.
"Swellow, use Aerial Ace!" Ash shouted.
"Beautifly, use Silver Wind!" May commanded.
Beautifly flapped its wings at rapid speeds to create strong strokes of wind that sliced clean through the metallic arm that held the female Bulbasaur. The hand's grip on the Pokemon loosened and as the Bulbasaur was about to fall to the ground, Beautifly swooped under it and let it land on its back.
"Darn it, these metal arms are as cheap as they look!" Jessie cried.
Swellow swiftly rammed right into the other metal arm with its beak, breaking the cord instantly and quickly caught the male Bulbasaur on its back and hovered in front of the balloon in mid-air.
The flying Pokemon raised the Bulbasaur on their backs to face Team Rocket on their balloon with a very wicked grin.
"I don't like the way they're looking at us," Jessie said.
"Great, why do I get the feeling we're going to lose a lot of hot air fast?" Meowth said.
"Bulba," Bulbasaur said as it glanced at its female mate.
"Saur," the female Bulbasaur nodded.
The flying Pokemon rose in altitude up to the middle of the balloon and allowed the two Bulbasaur to use their Razor Leaf attacks.
"BULBASAUR!" they shouted, as their swift leaves shot out from their bulbs and toward the Meowth balloon, which instantly tore a hole in the thing and caused Team Rocket to go plummeting down to the ground.
"They did it!" Max shouted.
"Bu-lba-saur!" the baby said happily.
Team Rocket screamed as their balloon crashed into the ground right in front of Ash and the others. Swellow and Beautifly made their descend to the ground and the two Bulbasaur quickly jumped off their backs and onto the ground to greet their trainers.
"Awesome work, you two!" May complimented.
"Bulbasaur," the two Bulbasaur smiled, tapping vines together.
"We're not done yet!" Jessie shouted as the smoke cleared from the fallen balloon.
"Indeed, we didn't come back this late in the story only to get blown away again so easily!" James said angrily.
"You can say dat again, what do we look like, filler material?" Meowth sneered.
"Alright, Pikachu, want to send them packing?" Ash asked.
"Pika!" Pikachu said as it leaped off its trainer's shoulder.
Max quickly noticed his baby Bulbasaur struggling to get out of his arms. "Bulbasaur, what's the matter?" Max asked. The Bulbasaur then broke free from his trainers hold and ran toward its parents.
"Bulbasaur!" the infant Bulbasaur growled at Team Rocket.
The two parent Bulbasaur looked surprised at their baby as they noticed it was gathering sunlight on the bulb on its back.
"What did it say, Meowth?" James asked.
"Wow, I think that little pipsqueak actually threatened to send us blasting off!" Meowth said.
"You've got to be kidding me," Jessie said.
"I'd be worried if I were you guys," Norman said, crossing his arms and grinning, "It looks to me like this little Bulbasaur is charging energy for a Solarbeam attack."
"Solarbeam?!" Ash gasped, "Are you sure, Norman? It's just a baby, how could it know the most powerful grass type attack?"
"Sometimes the attacks the parents know are passed down to their offspring after birth, its an instinctive move they inherited early from their parents," Norman said, "It may not be as powerful as your Bulbasaur's Solarbeam, Ash, but it should be enough to blow those three clowns away."
"Whoa, my Bulbasaur knows Solarbeam already? I can't believe it!" Max gasped.
"Buuuuuuulba," the baby Bulbasaur growled as the light on its back grew bigger.
"Max, why don't you command its attack?" May asked, "Your're its trainer, tell it to fire the Solarbeam!"
"Hm, you mean me?" Max asked insecurely, "But I don't know if…"
"Bu-lba!" his baby Bulbasaur nodded while looking at its trainer.
Max nodded excitedly as his Bulbasaur gave him the ok. He ran up behind his Bulbasaur and pointed at Team Rocket ecstatically.
"Ok, Bulbasaur, USE SOLARBEAM ATTACK!" Max shouted.
"BUUUUUUUUUUUULBAAAAAASAAAAAAAYYYUR!"
A large and powerful beam of white light fired toward the cowering Team Rocket in an instant.
"Crud," Jessie muttered as the energy attack was upon her.
A large explosion shook the area in the distance as Team Rocket were blown into the air. Their bodies flew through the smoke as they gasped from the powerful attack.
"Please don't tell me this is our last appearance!" Jessie cried.
"At least we went out with a bang!" James yelled.
"It may be a bang, but this sure isn't a blaze of glory!" Meowth gasped.
"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!" the trio shouted as they faded into the distance.
Max gasped excitedly and snatched his little Bulbasaur off the ground and twirled with him in his arms. The two giggled excitedly together as the others and the parent Bulbasaur watched happily.
"I can't believe you can use such powerful attacks already, you're going to be such a strong Pokemon!" Max squealed, jumping up and down.
"Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur," the infant cheered happily.
He hugged his Bulbasaur tightly while May and Ash watched, and they knew for sure that Max definitely had a bright future as a trainer ahead of him.
~*~*~*
It was finally time for the group to go their separate ways. Ash, May and Max stood in Petalburg Square, each reluctant to finally leave one another and go their separate paths. Ash and Pikachu were ready to make a brief stop in Pallet Town to visit his mother and Professor Oak before he decided where to set off to next. May knew plenty ahead of time that he was going to start traveling and compete in Gyms again, yet she was still somewhat sad when the time actually came to see him off. She promised to catch up to him in whatever region he decided to travel to, but in the meantime she still felt she was required at the Gym for a little while longer. Although there really was no reason she had to stay behind, it was a little kink she had to work out in her head about being too emotionally attached to her mother after the crisis. She hoped that after the counseling sessions her mother and she were scheduled to attend every week for two months, that she would be emotionally stable enough to leave her parents behind and catch up to Ash and compete in Contests. It was her mother who suggested the therapy sessions, and the daughter agreed it would be beneficial for them both.
Max held his baby Bulbasaur in his arms, and was very eager to start his travels through the Hoenn region and collect Gym badges. Although he still wasn't ten years old yet, he wanted to finally experience traveling by himself with only his Bulbasaur by his side and see if he was cut out to be a trainer. He wasn't legal to battle in Gyms just yet, but he could still build a team before he took on the challenge and prove to his father that he was a worthy successor.
Ash and May's Bulbasaur returned to Professor's Oaks lab via the Pokeball transfer machine the previous day. The parents and child spent the last couple of weeks together at the Gym, and they were content with giving Max custody of their baby Pokemon. The two Bulbasaur knew their infant was in good hands, especially considering they were owned by Max's, "family."
"Its been a long time coming, Max, but you're finally going to break free of our wing and make something of yourself," May said sincerely, "I believe you'll do just fine on your own."
"Heh, thanks for the vote of confidence, sis, I'll keep in touch with you via the PokeNav and let you know if I run into any trouble. Of course I don't expect that to happen anyway," he said proudly.
His Bulbasaur cooed in his arms, and Max was reminded that he had a strong and loyal Pokemon willing to help him out through thick and thin. It inherited a lot of powerful attacks from its parents, such as Solarbeam and Petal dance from its father and mother respectively, which meant it already had an arsenal of moves at its disposal at such a young age. It definitely meant that Max was on the right road to success.
"Don't forget everything you've learned, and make sure you build up a good and balanced team before you take on the first Gym!" Ash said.
"Pikachu!"
"I will guys, besides, I've already seen all the Hoenn Gym leaders already when I watched you do them, Ash, so I'd say that with that knowledge on my side in addition to the powerful attacks my little Bulbasaur knows, that I'm going to be cruising on air here!" he said proudly.
"Don't get carried away, Max, you can still screw up if you're not careful," May scolded, placing her hands on her hips. "And this time you won't have your big sister or Ash here to bail you out."
"I may not have you guys, but I have my Bulbasaur!" Max said, grinning.
'Bulbasaur, Bulba!" the Pokemon cheered.
"MAX! You know what I mean!" May yelled.
Max cowered and stepped away from his sister. "Heh, I was just kidding with you. You don't think I'd let my ego inflate now, would you?"
"You could have fooled me," May scoffed.
"Heh, are we just going to stand here and argue with each other all day or are we actually going to get going?" Ash asked, chortling.
May and Max looked at Ash and sighed. All jokes aside, they knew they really were going to split up for a while. The trio that traveled together for so long as a closely-knit family was about to break apart, and it would be somewhat difficult to part ways to say the least.
"Ash, you know I'll be waiting for you, right?" May asked, hesitantly.
"I do, I promise to keep in touch with you every single day until you're ready to travel again. Make sure to take good care of your mother," Ash said.
He walked over to May and placed his hand on her cheek, then slowly moved in to kiss her softly on the lips. Max watched them pressing against one another, and it was at that moment where he ultimately realized that Ash loved his sister tremendously. It wasn't just a silly crush between Ash and his sister, but it looked like real love. For the first time since he found out the two were intimate with one another, he actually watched the full kiss without turning away. It was still a teensy bit hard for him to watch, but he was no longer as grossed out about it as he used to be. Instead, he thought Ash and his sister kissing looked rather…pleasant.
"Take care, Ash," she said, gently breaking apart from him. "You too, Pikachu."
"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu said.
"We will," Ash said, "Pikachu, wanna see if we can hurry up and catch the next ferry to Kanto?"
"Pika!" Pikachu chimed.
"Ok then, it's time to go!" Ash cheered.
"Heh, I'll be heading to Rustboro City," Max said happily, "I'll try to catch some Pokemon before I get there!"
"Be careful, Max, you know from our travels there before that wild Pokemon can sometimes be unfriendly," May warned.
"Ok, I understand," Max said, nodding.
Ash, May and Max looked upon each other lovingly one last time before they all turned around and walked their separate ways. Each was feeling upbeat and cheery about doing what they wanted to do, and they knew that before long they would be reunited anyway. Being separated from her boyfriend was going to be hard, but she was willing to wait like her mother did with her father when they were younger, and grow a bit stronger because of it.
As Ash was running down the hill to reach the port where the ferry awaited him, he could think about how exciting it would be when May finally travels along with him again…
…next time, they would travel all alone, as a couple. And it would definitely be an experience to look forward to!