Chapter 23: Healed

She stood on a grassy hill overlooking Ecruteak City, which she would pass through on her way to the contest hall in Olivine City. As she walked, the sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky. A few bird Pokémon flew overhead. The serenity of the scene was unbelievable.

She was still a good distance from the town, at least an hour's walk away. Taking a deep breath, she began her gradual descent down into the town. However, as she did, dark clouds suddenly blocked out the sun and clear sky.

A flash of lightning illuminated the surrounding area. Seconds later, an earsplitting boom of thunder echoed through the valley below. Immediately after her horror-filled experience ended, the rain began falling. Falling lightly at first, the rain soon began coming down in great torrents. The water was anything but pleasant for the shivering girl, who began running in the hopes of finding cover from the storm.

The brunette shrieked as another great flash of lightning accompanied an impossibly loud clap of thunder whose echo in the sky lasted for about half a minute. She began running even faster, her hopes of finding shelter reaching their peak.

By now, her shoes, black socks, biking shorts, mini skirt, red-black blouse, and bandana were all completely drenched with rainwater. As she ran, she failed to take notice of a large puddle in her path. Trying to run through the surprisingly deep muddy water caused her to lose her balance and fall face-first into the mud.

Suddenly, a figure came up to her. By the sound of the voice, it was a male, and one she thought she could recognize at that.

"C'mon, Ecruteak is literally just steps away! I'll take you to the Pokémon center, and you can warm up and dry off there."

"Thank you," the girl said to the young man, who extended a hand out to help her off the muddy ground. The mud in her eyes impaired her vision, although she could see the proffered hand. She gratefully took it and let him lead the rest of the way to town.

May was asleep in her hospital bed. She'd woken briefly to find herself in the hospital, and it was obvious to her that her leg had been treated successfully (though it still gave an irritating twinge). She was grateful that Ash had managed to get her here safely, or else she was sure she'd be in trouble right now. After she ate her dinner, she took her pain medications, which caused her to fall into a deep sleep, during which she had the dream.

The next two days went by quickly and eventfully. After seeing May in the hospital, Tracey and Misty took their leave of town to take the first ferry back to Kanto. Likewise, Paul boarded the first ship heading back to the Sinnoh region. Ash, Brock, and Dawn refused to join him, since they wanted to see May out of the hospital and say their goodbyes before they would make their own trek back to Sinnoh.

Max, too, also wanted to say good-bye to his older sibling before returning to his anticipated adventures in the Hoenn region. He waited alongside his friends in the hospital lobby, hoping May would be released as expected.

Drew was also wanting to see his friend in safety and comfort. Besides that, he wished to return to Johto on the same ship as her. This was perfect, as the ferry would take them to Olivine City, where they'd been heading towards before the chaos caught up with them. Hence, they'd be able to pick up where they left off, and with the timing being such that they'd have hardly lost any time on this whole side-adventure.

It was around mid-day when May was formally released from the hospital's care. She was back in her usual outfit of choice, except for her heavily bandaged leg. She walked with the assistance of a pair of crutches, as she was to keep off the injured leg for at least two weeks, the doctors told the group.

Everybody had something they each wanted to do before regrouping and planning out the rest of the day (they couldn't leave yet, since the last of the outgoing ferries had departed, and the earliest ones they could board would be ready the next morning). They decided to meet in the Pokémon center within one hour.

May wanted to call her parents in Petalburg to tell them what all had happened, and Max came along with her, not wanting a chance to bring his parents up to speed on his journey thus far.

As May sat in front of the graphical telephone booth, she carefully placed her crutches to the side and told Max he'd get his turn when she was done with hers. She dialed the number, and shortly thereafter, Caroline Maple's image came on the screen.

"Why, hello May! It's great to see you remembered to call home once in a while!"

"Hi, mom. Sorry about not phoning more often, but you know how it is being an aspiring Pokémon coordinator! Anyway, I'd just though I'd let you know how things are going."

There was a brief interruption on Caroline's end, which was shortly followed by the screen splitting in two, the second half revealing Norman.

"Hiya, May! How's my eldest child doing?"

"Hey, daddy, I'm doing okay. There's some stuff I'd thought I'd let you both know, now that you two are speaking with me…"

May went on to explain her journey in Johto following Azalea Town (where she'd last contacted them), and everything that happened since then, concluding with the circumstances of her injury and her desire to tell them before heading back to pick up where she left off. She was careful not to mention her brief fling with Drew, as she felt that her parents might disapprove of her having a boyfriend at the age of thirteen.

Naturally, Caroline was very shocked by May's tale, which also had the effect of bringing out Norman's rage. Norman swore he'd cause great pain to Harley if he ever saw him, and only stopped his venting when Caroline prompted him to get his emotions under control. They wished a speedy recovery for May, and best wishes for her future adventured. Max's time with his parents was much shorter, as May had already explained much of the events (although Max told the story again from his point of view). He talked about his Pokémon and about how he planned to return home briefly before setting out once more.

Ash and Brock decided to kill time around the town. Brock, whose traveling supplies were running low, went to the store to replenish the stock. He made sure that he had everything needed to last him, Ash, and Dawn their first few days back in Sinnoh. Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu went off to the nearby beach to find some aquatic Pokémon to train against.

Last, but certainly not least, Drew and Dawn decided to have some alone time with each other. They felt a bit guilty about coming together so soon, but knew what their exes were like. They both knew that Ash and May were made for each other. Hence, they shouldn't feel guilty about hooking up either. Dawn was drawn by Drew's romantic advance, and Drew was drawn by Dawn's fierceness in the few contest battles they'd had during May's hospitalization. In a single moment, they were linked together by a bond that went beyond mere friendship. They even decided that they were definitely up to the challenges of a long-distance relationship.

Once everyone was at the Pokémon center an hour later, they ate lunch and began plotting how to spend the rest of the day. And so the afternoon began…

Ah, I'm TERRIBLY sorry for posting another short chapter! I promise the next chapter'll be considerably longer than these last two! Also, I'm afraid I'm going to miss my usual update tomorrow night because I have a Math test Tuesday and I need to study for it. I promise I'll have something up by Tuesday night, and I'll continue as I normally have from there on out. Thanks! –ShadowKing1988