Chapter
50
"The
Beginning of The End"
"I
think I'm ready," she said, strapping her fanny pack around her
waist.
"You think you're ready, but do you know you're ready?" he asked.
"I…I suppose so. I feel better prepared for it this time than last time, at any rate."
"That's good to know. I want you to do really good in this battle, May, you'll be able to prove to Precita that you're a worthy opponent."
"I really shouldn't have to prove anything to her," May said, looking back at her reflection in the mirror, "I'm not interested in changing Precita's opinion of me, because I know that whatever happens down there today, I'll never change my opinion of her. Her claws were already dug too deep and they left their mark, I'm afraid they'll never go away. The only reason I agreed to this battle in the first place was because…I just want the satisfaction of beating her. Just beating her once, that's all I really want."
"Is that really all there is to it?" he asked.
"Yes, it is," she said, nodding. "I don't know why I have such a strong urge to beat her, it's not really something I usually strive to do, but after the grief she's caused me in the past, I just want to see the look on her face when someone she hates puts her in her place. When she won the surfing competition, she rubbed in the fact that she won those 15 different swimsuits that I wanted so much. She deliberately made sure I was watching her during the award ceremony when she was on stage changing into the swimsuits. She knew how sad I felt and she took the opportunity to make me feel even worse. Not to mention what just happened yesterday in front of the crowd of people here in Shinou, she seems to enjoy rubbing her wins in my face."
"Yeah, but you can't get carried away with this if you do beat her. You know I don't want you turning into another Precita," Ash joked.
"Heh, I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Ash Ketchum fell in love with a coordinator from Hoenn, me, and there's no way I can change into someone else. But if I do win, hey, there's nothing wrong with a little gloating, right?" she asked, snickering as she stuck out her tongue.
Ash walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder as she smiled warmly upon his affection. He held her in his embrace as the couple stared in the mirror together and swayed back and forth.
"I wouldn't love you any less either way," he said, kissing her softly on the cheek.
She breathed heavily and fondly squealed as she let herself sway in Ash's hold, leaning her head back a tad as the mirror captured their happiness.
"Hm, about the battle, you're not going to push your Blaziken overboard this time like the last time, are you?" he asked.
"Oh of course not, I'll never force Blaziken to keep fighting if I know its hurt. I made some stupid mistakes on the battlefield last time that caused Blaziken some damage, and I'm not going to make that mistake again," she said.
"Good, because there's nothing wrong with taking a defeat if you really can't win, you know," he said.
"Gee, Ash, you almost don't sound like yourself there," she said, turning around and facing him. "What happened to the, "never give up" attitude that you always used to tell me back when we first met in Hoenn?"
"There's a difference between never giving up what you believe in and giving up when you know it's for the well being of your Pokemon," he said, "I…admit, I used to make the same mistakes with Pikachu a lot in the past. I was too stubborn and refused to give up in many of my Gym battles, and because of that Pikachu ended up getting far more hurt than it would have when I lost. If…I just took a loss more easily than maybe I wouldn't have had to rush Pikachu and my other Pokemon to the Pokemon Center all the time when they lost. I pushed them too hard…and they ended up getting hurt because of it. It's a terrible feeling to know you did that to your Pokemon, your best friends and companions."
"I see, and I'll be sure to keep that in mind if things look grim for Blaziken out there," she said, "Thanks for that tidbit, Ash, you…really have grown a lot."
Ash chuckled. "That's pretty funny, coming from you," he said.
"You may have been the one mentoring me and teaching me everything I needed to know to be a trainer over the years, but you're not the only one who has been keeping an eye on the growth of another."
"Um, you mean…?" he pondered.
"Yea, Ash, I've been watching you grow, too," she said fondly, "I haven't turned a blind eye to your progress in Hoenn, or when you took down all the Brains in the Battle Frontier. I enjoyed watching you improve too."
"I see we both have kept an eye on each other after all this time," he said, smirking.
"Indeed we have," May said, leaning contently against the dresser. She hesitated and spoke softly. "Too bad it took us as long to realize it as we did."
They silently agreed with one another, both acknowledging the mutual interest in each other that they could have shared much earlier than when it transpired.
Ash turned in the bedroom as his eyes wandered aimlessly, knowing that it would be better to focus on something else than old regrets. His eyes came across the alarm clock and the time it was currently.
"We still have an hour before the match begins in Aticerp Sesol hall, I think that's a small building for practice matches just a few blocks away from the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy told me that trainers have practice battles there all the time to brush up on their skills, so Precita must have reserved the arena just for you and her to battle in. Since it's a public stadium, I guess we don't have to worry about any rigged arenas or anything," Ash said.
"Nah, cheating isn't Precita's style," May said, getting up from the dresser, "She just likes to win the most vicious way she can and make you feel terrible after she rubs her win in your face, but she isn't a cheater. She may be an arrogant, scheming, egotistical, diabolical bitch goddess from hell, but nah, she doesn't tend to cheat."
Ash nodded. "Well in any case, we still have an hour to go before the match. Anything you want to do to kill some time?"
May took his arm and wrapped herself around it, hugging him gently. "Well…we could just stay here…just the two of us. Pikachu is being healed with your other Pokemon with Nurse Joy, so we'd…be all alone," she said lovingly, "You…you could tell me a story."
May brought Ash down to the side of the bed with him, they were both lounging closely together. "What kind of story?" he asked.
"You could tell me about your first day as a trainer again, that one always gets a chuckle out of me," she said, smiling.
Ash chortled. "You mean about how Pikachu didn't listen to a word I said and how I got chased by a flock of Spearow?"
"Yeah, and how you threw a rock right at a Spearow's head thinking it was a Pidgey and ended up having it call the flock after you, hehee, that always cracks me up," she snickered, rolling in the bed toward him, "I like hearing your early travel stories before we met, tell me them."
They were leaning side by side and face to face apart, she had her hand on his shoulder as they rested contently.
"All of them?" he asked.
"As many as you can," she said, "Before we have to leave."
"Should I tell you ones that make you laugh or ones that interest you?"
"Either," she said, "Anything about you interests me regardless."
She inched her face toward him and kissed him softly. They spent the majority of that intimate hour kissing instead of telling stories, but May didn't mind, they had an eternity together to share the tales.
~*~*~*~
The battle arena in Aticerp Sesol hall was a pretty standard battlefield. The ground consisted of smooth pavement where the terrain wouldn't give any type of Pokemon an advantage over the other. Neither side would be able to use the surroundings to their advantage as there wasn't anything to work with, it would be a fair battle to test the strengths of the two opposing trainers and their Pokemon till the end.
The hall was empty aside from Ash, Pikachu, May and Precita. Ash and Pikachu stood to the side as May and Precita walked toward one another to shake hands before the match. May could barely tolerate shaking hands with Precita, but it was an act of good faith for the upcoming battle.
May looked up at Precita as they shook hands, noticing that she had a smirk on but nothing too convincing otherwise. Their hands came into contact with one another and Precita had a firm grip as she squeezed her hand, shaking it up and down.
"I look forward to this match," Precita said.
"I do as well, Precita," May said, "I trust it'll be a good one?"
"Only if you don't decide to forfeit halfway through like you did the last time. I look forward to this match having an ending and a clear victor as well," Precita said, snorting.
They separated their hands from one another and May looked at her cautiously.
"I'll go as far as my Pokemon are willing to go, but I can make no promises otherwise," she said.
"A pity. Considering you're likely to lose again, I'd like to see you go down as something other than a coward," Precita said, "I like to savor my victories, and I cannot do that if you quit before the match is done. I would appreciate it if you don't show me an example of your cowardice once more."
"Don't say that word again, I don't like it," May said discouragingly, "I am what I am and I'll do what I do if you don't mind."
"Tch. Suit yourself," Precita scoffed, "I reserved this battlefield to decide which one of us was the better woman. This battle should decide that."
May and Precita walked to their trainer boxes on the opposite ends of the battlefield, both glaring at each other as a barrage of infuriating thoughts ran through both their minds.
"That's fine with me," May said, "Since I plan to win, it'll be great to see you finally take a defeat with some dignity, rather than acting like a sore winner all the time."
"Heh, good one. I get great satisfaction letting you know which one of us is superior, and I'm afraid that when I win, it will be the same outcome as always," Precita said, snickering, "But don't feel bad, do your best, May, I'm looking forward to a grand performance."
"I'll give you a performance you'll never forget," May said, grinning, "I'm not scared of you anymore. I have more important things that concern me than your poor intimidation tactics."
"Good luck, May!" Ash called out.
May broke her concentration on Precita as she looked contently at her boyfriend. He was sitting on a bench on the side of the arena with Pikachu next to him. She nodded at him and blew him a playful kiss.
"Thank you, Ash," she said happily.
"Pikachu! Pika!" Pikachu said encouragingly.
"You too, Pikachu!" May said happily, waving to the little electric Pokemon.
Precita shook her head with a devious smile as she turned to Ash.
"Hey, why don't you act as the referee for this match?" Precita called out to him.
"Me?" Ash asked, "Why?"
"We need one, don't we?" Precita responded, "Besides, I'm sure your precious May will feel more content with a judge that she knows good and well."
"Yeah, Ash, go ahead and be the referee!" May said encouragingly, "I see no harm in it."
"Um, ok then," Ash said. He looked over at Pikachu and patted its head. "You watch from here, ok, Pikachu?"
"Pika," Pikachu said, nodding.
Ash walked over to the referee square at the middle of the battlefield. He looked at both participants in their trainer boxes, and knew both of them were eager to start the match right away.
"See, May? I'm letting your boyfriend referee the match. Things seem to be in your favor, don't they?" Precita insinuated.
"He'll be impartial, I know he wouldn't want me to win something that wasn't real," May said, "As long as this battle is fair and square, it doesn't matter to me."
It'll be fair and square alright, Precita thought, But she won't be leaving this building without her Pokemon beaten to the ground and whatever false hope she ever had of beating me smashed into a million pieces. I am the better woman, whether she still has a boyfriend is not the issue. Nobody, nobody outclasses me. I am the model, and she is the outcast. Being a Gym leader's daughter doesn't make her anything special. I'm going to enjoy breaking her, just like I did at the beach nearly a year ago.
Ok, this is it. I know I need to win this battle to make Precita shut up for good, May thought, Her superiority complex has gone up to disturbing levels, and it's time to show her what I'm made of. She's weak and insecure behind that tough exterior, and I'm going to exploit it. Blaziken, I'm counting on you.
"Ok," Ash announced, "This is going to be a one on one battle between May and Precita. No time limit. The battle will end either by forfeit or one of the trainers Pokemon being defeated. Trainers, release your Pokemon now!"
"Blaziken!" May shouted, twirling as she threw the Pokeball, "Take the stage!"
The light from the Pokeball formed into her starter Pokemon, Blaziken. The fire-type warrior roared as it appeared on the battlefield, its hands emitting bursts of fire as it raised its fists and its agile legs stretched apart to form a fighting pose. The Pokemon had the proud spirit of a fighter, and this time pride was on the line as well. It knew it was defeated by the same trainer before, and it promised May that it would work hard to beat her this time.
"Blaziken, again I see," Precita said, "I'll use the same Pokemon as last time too then, Exploud, come crush your opponent!"
A light blue Pokemon Exploud formed on the opposite end of the battlefield. It had a huge gaping mouth that hung open with only four teeth on each corner of its mouth, and several tubes that emitted air all over its head and back. It used the sound generating tubes on its body to release steam, bellow, and to generate tremors along the ground. Its red eyes and menacing gaze gave May and Blaziken the same impression as the first time they saw it during their previous battle; it was definitely a powerful and ferocious Pokemon.
"The match is between May's Blaziken and Precita's Exploud," Ash announced, "Are the trainers ready?"
"You bet!" May said.
"Definitely," Precita added.
"Alright then, let the battle begin!" Ash shouted.
"Blaziken, use Sky Uppercut!" May commanded.
Blaziken leaped from its position almost immediately and darted toward its opponent. It was nearly on top of the Pokemon when it delivered its fist toward its target. Exploud used both its burly arms to block his face and shielded itself from taking heavy damage from the punch. The contact made slight ripples through the air and Exploud was knocked backward without its feet ever leaving the ground. The floor cracked and broke upon Exploud sliding back, but the Pokemon kept its face shielded the whole way through.
"Exploud, use Hyper Voice!" Precita shouted.
It removed its hands from its face and opened its mouth as wide as it could. The tubes on its body were generating high levels of steam as it prepared to bellow. May knew what was coming as this is how she was caught off guard the last time they battled.
"Blaziken, get out of there, quick!" she shouted.
Blaziken nodded and somersaulted backward to get as far away from its opponent as possible. Exploud shrieked as the sound waves generated from its interior. The entire room was encompassed by the high-pitched scream, it was so intense that the floor completely split apart in front of it and turned into nothing but gravel. Ash and Pikachu had to cover their ears from the loud scream, but neither May nor Precita would flinch since they had to keep their full concentration on the battle they each wanted to win so much.
"Blaze…" Blaziken moaned as it covered its ears with its hands.
"Endure the pain, Blaziken, like I am," May suggested, "You got really hurt last time because Exploud struck you in the chest while you were still covering your ears from the Hyper Voice attack. Don't let it catch you off guard this time."
"Exploud, use Mega Punch while you scream!" Precita commanded.
"Blaziken, avoid Exploud at all costs!" May shouted.
Blaziken saw Exploud running toward it with a glowing arm ready to strike, along with the ground tearing in two because of its voice. The ground along Blaziken's feet started to crumble and it knew that if it stayed still it would end up being caught off balance in the crumbled floor and be at the mercy of Exploud's wrath.
"Blaze…BlAZEKIN!" it roared.
It opened up its beak and fired a flamethrower attack from its mouth toward the ground. The fire propelled Blaziken into the air quickly enough so that Exploud's attack made contact with the ground instead of its body.
"Missed it, damn," Precita muttered.
Before Exploud could turn around and before May ordered an attack, Blaziken quickly shot back down toward Exploud with a Mega Kick attack. Its foot smashed right into Exploud's back and sent it flying across the room. The Pokemon shrieked in pain but this time the sound wasn't part of its destructive Hyper Voice attack.
"That was a good move, it got Exploud before it even saw it coming," Ash complimented.
"Pikachu! Pika!" Pikachu cheered.
"Heehee, that's right Blaziken, if you see an opening then go for it," May said excitedly, "Let your own instincts as a fighting Pokemon guide you if I'm not quick enough to call an attack."
Exploud slid across the pavement face first with gravel falling on top of its entire body. Precita scorned the Pokemon for getting knocked down so carelessly and demanded it get up immediately. Exploud picked its face from the dirt and after pushing some rocks and gravel off its body, it was ready to continue the battle.
"Exploud," the Pokemon grunted angrily.
"Blazekin, Flamethrower, let's go!" May commanded.
Blazekin blasted its opponent with wave after wave of fire which consumed it entirely. The Pokemon could barely move with the intense wave of heat it was being subjected to.
"Don't just stand there like an idiot, use your Hyper Voice to get rid of the fire!" Precita shouted angrily.
"Exxxxxxxxxploooooooooooooooooud!" it yelled.
The sound waves from its body were so strong that it completely disintegrated the fire it was consumed by.
"Damn, Blazekin, use Flamethrower again!" May shouted desperately.
"Blazekin!" the Pokemon roared, firing another wave of fire at full force.
Exploud however didn't stop bellowing, and this time the wave of fire didn't even come in contact with its skin. Instead, the shockwave blew the entire attack back toward its creator and inflicted damage upon it instead. Blazekin was taken by surprise by its own attack being recoiled so quickly that the flames, while not hurting it too much because it was a fire type itself, ended up knocking it down flat on its back.
"Now while you have it on the ropes, jump toward it and use Stomp!" Precita commanded.
Exploud leaped in the air and delivered a devastating blow to Blazekin's chest as its heavy foot smashed down on top of it. Blaziken gasped in pain, it was so intense that saliva flew out of its mouth and its eyes bulged. Exploud didn't stop there however, it continue to crush its chest with its heavy foot and stomped it continuously in the area where Blaziken was sensitive the most.
"Ugh, May, you've got to do something or this is all over!" Ash shouted.
"I…I know!" May gasped.
"BLAZE…KIiN" it gagged as the stomps on its chest were becoming almost unbearable.
The pain didn't end. Precita refused it to end. Blow after blow was delivered consecutively on its chest that it became painful to even breathe. Exploud's foot was massive and it had no remorse as it smashed down on its battered opponent. May cringed every time she heard her Blazekin cry out in pain, each stomp sounded more painful than the last, and that amount of intense pressure to its chest could lead to serious health implications.
"You really have to be awfully stupid for using the same Pokemon that I already found a weakness to the last time we battled. Now your Blaziken will pay the ultimate price for your carelessness," Precita said, "Exploud, Hyper Beam the hell out of it until it can no longer move."
"Exploud," the Pokemon nodded, as an orange ball of light began to quickly form in its mouth.
Blaziken could see the ball getting bigger and bigger but it couldn't budge an inch due to Exploud's foot still being firmly placed on its chest. It could barely concentrate a means of escape as it was too busy gagging and waiting for the previous pain to subside.
"What am I going to do?" May asked herself, "If that Hyper beam hits then this is all over. C'mon, May, think!
"I'll be having cooked chicken for lunch, tasty!" Precita mused.
Exploud looked down at its prey with much contempt as it lowered the beam of light toward its face. Blazekin could already feel the heat from the energy blast as the ball was close enough to its feathers. May grinded her teeth as she desperately tried to think of a way that her Pokemon could avoid the attack. When she noticed all the dirt and gravel around Blazekin's body due to Exploud's Hyper voice attack, she finally got an idea.
"Blazekin, use Sand Attack and fast!" May shouted.
Blazekin looked to its right and quickly grabbed a clot of dirt with its hand. It then flung the dirt up toward Exploud's eyes as quickly as possible. The dirt made contact and stung terribly, so much so that Exploud wailed as it removed its foot from Blazekin's chest and staggered backward. The beam of energy was still in its mouth but now May could defend against it.
"Perfect, Blazekin, try to get up and use Overheat!" she pleaded.
Blazekin slowly tried to stand, but just like their previous battle, it had to clutch its chest with one hand due to the serious blows it had received. It arched forward on one knee as it formed a ball of fire in its mouth to counter the Hyper beam.
"Blazekin, can you keep going?" May asked.
Her Pokemon looked at her cautiously and saw her worried face. It knew that she promised not to put it into such danger again, and that if worse came to worse she would forfeit the match once more. Blaziken didn't answer.
"Blazekin, PLEASE!" May called out, somewhat uncertain, "If it's too painful to continue the battle please tell me! There's no shame in backing down!"
"EXPLOUD, get ahold of yourself!" Precita wailed at her staggering Pokemon.
Blazekin turned back toward Exploud and noticed that while it could barely stand straight and lost its sight, it still had an almost completely formed ball of Hyper beam in its mouth. Precita continued to scream at it for its incompetence.
"Blaze," it muttered. Even though the pain in its chest was still pounding, this wasn't a battle it was willing to give up.
"Blazekin…" she called out one last time.
Blazekin looked at the worried girl and nodded valiantly. The look in its eye convinced May that it was not only going to continue battling, but it was going to finish it as well.
"Promise me you're not just battling for my sake," May said.
"Blazekin, BLAZE!" it roared. It removed its hand from its chest and continued to form the Overheat attack in its beak.
"Th-thank you Blaziken," May said, smiling, "Use Overheat!"
"EXPLOUD, get ready to counter!" Precita quickly yelled.
"FIRE!"
"FIRE!"
The two girls shouted in unison for their Pokemon to release their attacks. While Blazekin fired its ball of fire toward its opponent, Exploud was still too busy trying to rub the dirt out of its eyes. As a result, the fire collided with the orange ball of energy in Exploud's mouth, forcing a cataclysmic explosion which blew Exploud all the way into a wall on the other side of the room. The Pokemon made a full imprint in the wall as its body stuck in the indentation.
The impact of the explosion caused Blaziken to cover its eyes completely from the emerging debris flying in the air.
"Ugh, no!" May shouted as she was being blown off her feet.
Her starter Pokemon heard her cry and quickly darted behind her, no matter how bad the pain felt, to quickly catch her as she fell into the body of her Pokemon. Blaziken braced itself on the ground and held May still with all its might, it wanted to protect its trainer more than anything.
"Th-thanks, Blazekin!" May complimented as the wind and debris blew toward them, "Hold still!"
The trainer and Pokemon braced together while Ash and Pikachu were having just as hard a time as well. Ash was completely kneeling on the ground to avoid being blown away, and Pikachu was clinging to the bench for dear life as well. Precita on the other hand was caught off guard and had nobody to come to her aid, and thus she flew backward and smacked her back against the wall next to her Exploud.
"Goddammit!" Precita cried as she made impact.
Exploud finally fell down from the indentation above and onto the ground as the shockwaves subsided. May, Blazekin, Ash, Pikachu and Precita all quickly looked at Exploud to see if it had any energy left to continue the battle.
"Ex….ploud…." the Pokemon muttered, collapsed on the ground and unable to move.
"That looks like it did it," Ash said happily, "Exploud can no longer battle, the victor is May and Blazekin! May wins the match!"
"We…we did? We…we won?" May asked sheepishly.
"Blaze, Blazekin," her Pokemon reassured her as it let go of her waist.
"We…we WON!" May gasped, finally realizing what happened.
She turned around and hugged her Blaziken tightly as she squealed and giggled. Blaziken rubbed her back happily and cheered along with its trainer.
"That was an excellent battle, May!" Ash said happily. Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and chimed in with its own compliments. "Pikachu!"
"I wasn't really expecting that Overheat attack to end the match either, but I guess I shouldn't have underestimated the power of two explosive attacks," May said, "Blazekin, I'm sorry for all that pain you went through though, I should have thought of the Sand Attack technique earlier."
"Blazekin," the Pokemon uttered, telling her it had no regrets of a hard fought battle.
"THIS MATCH ISN'T OVER YET!" Precita declared hastily.
"Huh?" May gasped.
The group looked over to a disgruntled Precita who desperately tried to pick her Exploud up from the rubble. The Pokemon could barely move but Precita was trying to force it on its feet. She held it by the arm but the Pokemon weighed more than she could handle and it fell back to the ground.
"GET UP!" Precita said angrily, "We still have a battle to win!"
Exploud lie motionless and didn't utter a sound.
"GET UP, NOW!" Precita angrily demanded, "MOVE YOURSELF!"
"Knock it off!" Ash called out.
Precita looked at him hastily.
"Exploud obviously can't even move! It's knocked out, anyone can see that. Instead of yelling at your Pokemon you should probably take it to the Pokemon Center right away to get healed," Ash said, "You lost fair and square, the worst thing you could do now is take it out on your Pokemon."
"Shut up!" Precita cried, glaring at him, "I'm not done until I say I'm done!"
"Your Pokemon says who is done," May chimed, "Get over it, you lost. I guess I was right all along…you really have no dignity. You're a terrible person when you win and a terrible person when you lose. It's strange, I don't feel as satisfied or as thrilled that I beat you as I thought I would feel. It's kinda anti climatic, I don't really care that you're on your hands and knees trying to force your defeated Pokemon to still battle. All I'm happy about is what my Blaziken proved out there today."
"Blaze-Blazekin," it said happily, putting its hand on May's shoulder.
"You proved yourself beyond my expectations, Blazekin, I couldn't ask for anything else but your continued support," she said happily.
"Blazekin," it said, nodding.
She's really matured, Ash thought, It's hard to believe this is the same girl with that feisty Torchic who couldn't even battle. And now she's standing here with her powerful Blaziken by her side after taking down one of her strongest opponents, it's really amazing how much growth she went through, and in so little time too. It couldn't have been just me teaching her, she must have done some serious training on her own as well. It was because of her own determination and focus that got her to where she is today. May, great job.
"I'll let you rest as long as you want, you should feel better after resting from all that hard work you did," May said, recalling Blaziken back into its Pokeball, "Sleep well, my friend, and thank you."
She slipped her Pokeball into her fanny pack as Ash complimented her on her triumphant victory. The trainers began to walk toward the exit as Precita called out at them once more.
"Don't walk away!" she screamed, kneeling beside her fainted Exploud, "We're not through yet!"
"I am," May said, "I'm done with you. There's really no way else to say this to you. Your pride has been torn to shreds and you don't know how to deal with it. Keep your loss bottled up inside, as well as the feeling of inferiority you have as you kneel next to your fainted Pokemon in the dirt."
"Do you think I'm going to let you just say those things and walk off?" Precia said angrily, "I'll give you hell the next time I see your face."
"Heh, and I guess I'll just have to prove to you which one of us is greater again, won't I?" May said, cheerfully, "C'mon, Ash, let's go. I have better things to do than stare at her all day."
"Well said," Ash agreed.
The two exited the building much to Precita's dismay. She angrily walked toward a rock and kicked it as hard as she could into the wall. She was infuriated as the feelings of inferiority began to dwell on her conscious.
"Damn her," she fumed, "She's not better than me, she just isn't!"
She continued to pace the halls of the arena as she let out her rage on the rocks and debris around her.
~*~*~*~*
"It's hard to believe that this is the end," May said solemnly.
"We're not done yet, May, we have yet to go through the grand finale," Ash reassured her.
"Pikachu, pika!" Pikachu added.
"Heh, thanks, Pikachu," May said happily, "You guys are right."
"Don't forget all we went through to get up to this point," Ash said, "I know we can do this."
"After this battle that'll be it, we'll be all done here," May said, looking at her boyfriend, "Let's win this one together, Ash."
"Sure," Ash said, smiling at her, "Pikachu, get ready!"
"Blaziken, don't lose your focus!" May shouted.
"Blaziken!"
"Pika, Pikachu!"
The crowd from the stadium seats overhead almost drowned out their voices with their loud cheering and roars. Ash and May were standing side by side on the battlefield together, with their starter Pokemon, Pikachu and Blaziken respectively, on the battlefield eager to win the match.
Ash and May had entered the double battle tournament of Shinou's Battle Tower, and thanks to their teamwork and trust in each other they managed to make it to the championship round. The stadium field was a huge oval with all the seats and crowd surrounding the intense and exciting battle in the tournament.
Their opponents were a familiar female coordinator and another red-headed female coordinator that they just met. Their Pokemon were Poottaishi, the evolved form of Pochama, who was a short and round bluish penguin looking Pokemon. The other was a gray whimsical cat with a spiral tail known as Nyaruma.
"I'm not holding back this time, Hikari!" May called out, "I hope you're ready for this!"
"Give me everything you've got, May," Hikari said happily, "Just because you have a fully evolved starter doesn't mean you're going to win. Size isn't always everything!"
"Right. Hikari is a tough gal when she gets angry, better watch out!" her female red-headed companion, Nozomi said.
"Looks like they're as eager to finish this as we are, May," Ash said to her.
"They definitely are, so let's bring this to an end!" May declared, "Blaziken, use Sky Uppercut!"
"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Ash commanded.
Blaziken and Pikachu powered up their attacks, one charging with its agile legs and the other powering up a coat of electricity around its body.
"Blazzzzeeee!" Blaziken roared!"
"PIKACHU!" Pikachu sceamed.
Ash and May exchanged glances as they watched their Pokemon charge into what was sure to be an exciting and epic conclusion to a hard-fought battle.
~*~*~*~~*
Two more months passed. Ash currently had five Shinou Gym badges and May had two Shinou Contest ribbons. Hikari became May's full-fledged Contest rival in Shinou, and ended up being quite a formidable opponent that defeated her for a ribbon in two different Contests. May was surprised greatly at the young coordinator's skills and strength, which inspired her to practice even harder with her own Pokemon for the next time they encountered one another. The journey through the Shinou region was relatively pleasant, and Ash and May were completely at ease with traveling as a couple. May often worried about her little brother back in the Hoenn region, but she kept in touch with him over video phone frequently, and was happy to hear that he had three Hoenn Gym badges in his possession. Max would eagerly detail everything he did on his journey and all the battles he fought, while Ash, May and Pikachu would listen enthusiastically and wish him the best of luck during his journey.
Max explained how his Bulbasaur came in handy especially for the Roxanne and Wattson Gym battles, since it was a grass-type that had an advantage over the types those Gym leaders used at their respective Gyms. Ash and May were taken back when Max raised his young Bulbasaur to the video screen so they could see it, what was once a small infant Bulbasaur the size of Max's shoe had nearly doubled in size! Max and his Bulbasaur giggled happily on-screen, and he explained how his Bulbasaur had become such a strong Pokemon and was currently the best fighter on his team. Ash and May fondly recalled how determined their own two Bulbasaur were and were pleased to know their offspring served Max well.
May loved getting calls from her little brother, and was always relieved that he was doing well. Despite Max's original plan of wanting to travel with Ash when he became a trainer, he was doing quite well on his own. Ash knew that Max was using all the skills he had learned while watching him battle, and he had a great excitement for the prospect of battling Max someday when they would reunite in the future. Seeing what Max had learned and testing him in battle was something both Ash and May wanted to do.
As they were walking on the route to the next town, May's brand new PokeNav began to ring.
"Huh? What's that ringing sound?" May asked, looking around.
"It's from your new PokeNav you bought, remember?" Ash reminded her.
"Oh yeah! I totally forgot I registered a whole bunch of phone numbers on it," she said, quickly pulling her fanny pack to the side of her waist. She opened the top and took out her tan PokeNav.
"Who do you think is calling?" he asked.
"I dunno, but I'm about to find out!" she squealed.
She opened the top of the PokeNav to see her parents phone number blinking on the screen.
"Whoa, Mom and Dad called me! I haven't heard from them in over a month," she said, surprised.
"Surprised that your parents can actually call you now without thinking you're going to start worrying about them again?" Ash asked, chuckling.
"Hey!" May shouted, raising her fist, "You know I got over that a long time ago! In any case, we might as well jog over to the next town right away so I can find a phone and call them back, I wonder if it's important."
The duo started walking again as Pikachu pointed to the clearing opening up ahead.
"They probably miss you, that's all," Ash said.
"Well the last time they called me they actually asked if you were behaving correctly now that we were traveling alone," May said.
"Behaving correctly?"
"Yeah," May giggled, "They're curious about our relationship and what we're doing together. It's very awkward telling Mom and Dad about this stuff."
He suddenly became very embarrassed. "You're…you're not telling them everything we do together, are you?" he asked.
May shook her head and snickered. "Of course not, don't be silly. Déja vu, Ash, didn't we have this conversation once before? I only tell them that I have to be the one to initiate everything most of the time. There's one thing for sure, you're definitely not a romantic, Ash."
"Sorry, May, you know handing out roses and sitting in a candlelit dinner under the moonlight is definitely not my thing," Ash said, laughing, "Or sleeping in big fancy hotels with huge beds and everything."
"Heehee, all the better. You know I much prefer to sleep next to you in our sleeping bags out in the wilderness. At least that way we can sleep near one another without my parents going nuts, not that they'd find out anyway, but it sure beats what they'd do if they thought we were sleeping in the same bed together," she said, rolling her eyes.
"But…we do…sometimes…"
"Shhhhh!" May said quickly, putting her finger to her mouth, "That's exactly what we're not going to tell them. You know my parents can read me like a book, I don't want them suspecting things as they see my face on the video-screen."
"We sleep with our clothes on anyway, so it's not a big deal," Ash said.
"Yeah, but you of all people know how skimpy some of my sleepwear is," May said slyly as she blushed.
"Pikachu, pika," Pikachu said, sighning.
"Pikachu notices that too," Ash said, "And he's seen enough of you scantily clad as it is."
"Pikachu, pika, Pikachu!"
"Nah, Pikachu, I don't think May's going to get off the subject anytime soon," Ash chuckled.
"Pikachu's just jealous that Ash holds me around as we sleep together rather than him now, huh?" May asked jokingly, sticking out her tongue at it.
"Pikachu, pika, pika!" Pikachu chimed, readying electricity in its red cheeks.
"Heh, what Pikachu is really annoyed about is how you accidentally kick him off the bed as you sleep every night!" Ash told her.
May pushed her fingers together and spoke sheepishly as she looked at the ground. "I can't help it if I get overly fidgety as I sleep," she said, "I'm sorry about knocking you off the bed though, Pikachu, you know I don't mean it."
"Chuuu, Pika."
Pikachu leaped off Ash's shoulder and onto May's head. May smiled and looked up at the electric Pokemon hitching a free ride on her bandana.
"I take it my apology was accepted," May chuckled.
"Yep, but uh…didn't you want to rush over to the next town to call back your parents?" he reminded her.
"Oh jeez, I almost forgot about that, and I'm still holding the PokeNav in my hand too!" May gasped, "I really should stop sidetracking myself in these silly conversations, hurry up, I'm going to run ahead to the next town and find a phone before my parents leave the house or something!"
May started running down the dirt road as fast as she could with Ash trailing behind her.
"Oh c'mon, May, like I was really the one who started this gibberish," Ash said, trying to catch up to her, "Wait up!"
Pikachu taunted its trainer, watching him try to catch up to May as it sat on her head while she ran down the road.
"Pikachu…!" it cheered.
~*~*~*~*
Ash and May found a videophone in the town's Pokemon Center and she managed to call back her parents while they were still home. Her Mom answered the phone and she talked with her daughter as Ash and Pikachu sat on the couches in the lobby and waited. May was talking feverishly with her mother on the phone, but Ash was sitting too far away to hear what was going on.
"I guess it was an important call after all, Pikachu," Ash said.
"Pikachu," it agreed.
May continued to talk excitedly on the phone for a few more minutes and then waved to Ash to tell him to come over to her.
"Ash, c'mere, quick!" May shouted excitedly.
"Alright, I'm coming," Ash said, as Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and the two walked over to her.
"May, honey, there's more," Caroline said on the video screen.
"Ok, ok, ok, I know!" May said excitedly, "Let me just tell Ash the good news first!"
"You sound really excited, what happened?" Ash asked, looking at the video screen.
"Dear, I didn't get to tell you the whole story…" Caroline said hesitantly.
"It doesn't matter, Mom," May said happily. She turned to Ash and smiled. "Ash, my Mom said something wonderful has happened!"
"Something wonderful?" Ash pondered. He looked at Caroline on the phone and saw some uneasiness in her face. "Like what?"
"My Mom is pregnant!" May said ecstatically, "She and Dad are going to have another baby!"
"Whoa, really?!" Ash gasped.
"PIKACHU, Pika!" Pikachu cheered.
"Isn't it amazing?!" May squealed, "I'm going to have another little brother or maybe a baby sister this time! My Mom didn't tell Max yet and boy will he be surprised when I call him later! This is just so amazing!"
"Dear…please…" Caroline pleaded.
"Wow, that is good news," Ash said smiling. He turned to her mother on the screen. "Congratulations, Caroline!"
"Th-thank you, Ash," Caroline said, nodding.
"MOM, why didn't you tell me earlier that you were already over 5 months pregnant?" May asked, "Why'd you keep it a secret for so long?"
Caroline bit her lower lip and sighed.
"C'mon, Mom, tell me already!" she squealed, giggling uncontrollably.
"Well…to tell you the truth…"
"Yeah? Go on! Go on!"
"…I wasn't exactly sure if I were keeping the baby," Caroline said sternly.
"WHAT?!" May asked, shocked.
"Did…did I hear that correctly?" Ash pondered.
"Pika?!?"
"M-om...wh-at?" she asked again, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Yes, you heard correctly…but your father managed to talk me into keeping it…" Caroline continued.
"Of course he talked you into keeping it," an annoyed May shouted. She gripped the phone tightly and pushed her face right toward the videoscreen. "What are you crazy, Mom? This is the best thing that's happened to you in a long time! I'm so excited about having another brother or a sister that I can barely calm myself down!"
"I'm glad you are, May, your father and I discussed this pregnancy for a long time and finally decided that it would be the best to keep it. We've also decided it was finally the time to break the news to you, May, as well as Ash, and your brother," Caroline said, "But before you get carried away, there was a reason why I was unsure about this baby."
May stopped cheering and acted a bit more reasonable as she talked to her mother.
"Um…ok, I'm…calm now," May said, taking a deep breath, "But really, Mom, what's all this negativity and uneasiness about? Wasn't it joyous to find this out?"
"Yeah, I don't know a lot about this stuff but I'm happy to hear May is going to have another sibling sometime soon, it's really good news," Ash said happily.
Caroline looked sternly at the kids and sighed before taking a deep breath. Just like her mother could read her face like a book, May could read her mothers as well. She knew something was wrong.
"The reason your father and I debated about going through with the pregnancy is for a very important reason, and I need you to be mature about this, May," Caroline said.
"I understand, go on," May urged her.
Her mother hesitated again.
"This baby isn't your father's," Caroline said bluntly, "We're pretty sure its father is dead."
"Huh?" Ash asked, completely baffled.
"No…" May gasped, suddenly feeling sadness wash over her.
"I didn't want to believe it either at first, but your father and I have agreed to forget the incident ever happened and treat this baby as one of our own," she said, "He impregnated me when he kidnapped me, its father is Ross."
"Ross….?!" May gasped emotionally.
Ash was silent.
"Be strong, May, I need you to be my courageous little daughter," Caroline urged her, "I know you've been on a rollercoaster of emotions lately, but I need you to accept this as I have. Whether or not we wanted this baby, we have it, and it's going to become your new brother or sister when it's born. Be strong, please."
May nodded feverishly and wiped her wet eyes quickly.
"We're going to have a new addition to the family and we're not going to let the baby know of anything that happened in the past. It'll grow up knowing its parents like you and Max have," Caroline said, "I want you to understand this carefully, May, please don't feel mixed emotions toward this or the child. We're going to love it as one of our own."
Ash noticed the complete change in May's enthusiasm. He and Pikachu exchanged uncertain glances.
"But…but…it would only be my half-brother or half-sister, wouldn't it?" May asked meekly.
"In reality, yes, but as I said, we're not going to bring that issue up," Caroline said, "Ash, please continue to look after my daughter. I'm counting on you to help her through this if she gets emotional and needs someone to turn to in the future. You're the only person with her right now, and I trust you'll do your best to comfort her if need be."
"I…I will," Ash promised.
Pikachu lowered its ears and felt bewildered.
"M-om?" she asked suddenly.
"Yes, dear? If there's anything you want to get off your chest, please tell me," Caroline said softly.
"I…I," she stuttered, forcing out a smile, "I…just want to say I love you."
Caroline felt relieved and smiled warmly at her daughter.
"I love you too, May," she said warmly, "I'm going to go call your brother and tell him the news as well, but remember, not a word of this baby not being from your father will you tell him. I don't want him to know anything more than he has to."
"I understand, Mom," May said, breathing heavily.
"Ok, dear, I'll speak to you later, bye," Caroline said.
"Bye, Mom," she replied softly.
The videoscreen went blank and she stared at it for a few more seconds. Ash stood by her side, unsure of what to say. She was still breathing heavily and fidgeting with her hands, but she looked like she was trying to rationalize the ordeal in her head.
"Do…do you want to sit down anywhere?" he asked, "We can…just get a room and you could spend your time thinking about this there."
"Pikachu, pika," Pikachu added.
She didn't say anything but continued to wipe her eyes.
"Is that ok with you, May?" he asked unsurely.
May shook her head and turned to him. She smiled fondly and walked straight into his arms, holding him tightly and rubbing her teary eyes against his shoulder.
"Hold me," she said softly.
"Are…are you sure? You don't want to sit down anywhere or anything?" he asked.
"No, Ash, just hold me," she repeated, "I just want you to hold onto me."
Ash nodded reluctantly and held her close, caressing her brown hair as they waded in the Pokemon Center lobby together. Pikachu leaped off his shoulder to allow them to hold each other passionately and stood on the floor below watching them. Passerby's were also watching the two, amused to see a young couple in love. She spoke softly to him.
"Ash?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you," she said simply.
Ash smiled and held the girl in his arms happily, not caring who would see them embracing in the public Pokemon Center. Pikachu's eyes lit up and he cooed as he watched them.
They were a pair in young love, a young Pokemon trainer from Pallet Town and a coordinator from Petalburg City. In times like this, the couple felt like all they needed was each other in order to relieve their fears, doubts, and uncertainties. Their love would pull them through several challenges they would face in the future, and although there would be plenty of pitfalls and roadblocks along the way, they would always persevere.
"I love you too," Ash said warmly.
The only sound that could be heard after that was May's squeal as her face lit up joyfully. She had her happy ending that she always dreamed of, and knew at that moment that Ash would be the boy she would love for the rest of her life.
~*~*~*~
Norman and Caroline solemnly sat on the couch in their living room together. Both had their hands folded and were looking at the floor. She suddenly looked up at her husband.
"We…we thought we got rid of him forever, but he left us a little piece of him to remember him by. We'll always be remembered of him when this child is born, we won't be able to forget the pain and heartache he inflicted upon this family," she said sadly, "His curse on us will continue long after he's dead, and this baby is the proof of his sadistic ways."
She placed her hands on her stomach and thought of the baby inside her womb.
"I'm carrying the baby of the man I killed," Caroline said softly.
"I know," Norman replied.
"In the end, he had the last laugh after all," Caroline said, beginning to sob, "He violated me and left his legacy in my body, leaving this family forever tainted with his crimes. After all was said and done, Ross won…he…won."
"I know," Norman repeated.
The mother began to sob and break down into tears as her husband put his arm around her to ease the pain.
"May was stronger than I was after all, yet she doubted herself all the time," she said emotionally, "I was always the mother trying to push her on and hide my own sadness, yet she thought it was the other way around. She needs to be happy, she needs to live a fulfilling life without any heartache like I had. She deserves to have a happy ending."
"She'll get one," Norman said, holding his wife in his arms, "Ash will make sure she gets one."