Hello all Storm here with a new story! And it's one to celebrate the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, amazing games with even better stories. With this being a pure Pokémon story, but rather than following Ash, we'll instead be following May! Seeing how different her Journey will go without being Ash's traveling companion as she comes into her own as a Pokémon Trainer. Also just a warning, this chapter gets pretty dark near the end. So, without further ado.
I own nothing
'There it is, Littleroot Town should be just up ahead.' Thought May as she rode her bike down Route 101.
May is a slim girl of average height. She has long brown hair with a single fringe at the center with three edges secured by a red and white bandanna and blue eyes with long eyelashes. She wears a red shirt with a navy-blue semi-circle on it, a yellow fanny pack, white gloves with navy fingertips, a white mini skirt over dark blue cycle shorts, and black ankle socks along with red shoes with black and yellow stripes.
At the moment, May was heading to Littleroot Town to meet with an old friend of her father's, that being Professor Birch the Pokémon Professor of the Hoenn Region. With the brunette going to get her Starter Pokémon to start her Pokémon Journey.
Though unlike most Trainers who go on Journeys to battle, catch Pokémon or take on the Pokémon League, May was more interested in the idea of traveling and seeing new places. Having never cared much for Pokémon the way her brother and father did, ever since an incident with a horde Tentacool when she was younger.
She even decided to head out early for Littleroot Town, wanting to get started on her Journey as soon as possible and see everything there is to see in the Hoenn Region and the rest of the world.
'Hopefully, Professor Birch will have at least one cute Pokémon. I don't think I'd be able to choose any creepy ones.' Thought May before she was pulled from her thoughts at seeing something float down from the corner of her eye.
Making May look, only to scream in panic when she saw it was a Pokémon that had floated down beside her.
The Pokémon appears to be a stylized personification of the Grim Reaper. Its body is a black robe with two bones on its back. It has a mask that resembles a skull and has a single eye that floats between the eye sockets.
"Duskull."
May screamed at the sight of the Duskull before peddling even faster, only to end up losing control of her bike as she started going downhill. Before her screams were cut short when the brunette ended up crashing into a tree, making her groan in pain.
"I…really should've…worn a helmet." May muttered as she fell to the ground, with Duskull floating over and looking down at her before flying away.
Groaning as she got up, May rubbed her head as she got back on her bike and continued on her way towards Littleroot while really hoping Birch didn't have a Pokémon like that.
However, unknown to May and many others, her decision to leave early and arrive ahead of schedule will have big changes.
Not knowing that if she had chosen to leave and arrive at the original time, then May would have ended up meeting a certain Trainer and his faithful partner Pikachu all the way from the Kanto Region. A meeting that would've lead to them traveling throughout the Hoenn Region. Encountering many different friends, rivals, and Pokémon along the way, with their Journey even extending back to Kanto.
But now, May's Journey will be taking a far different turn and set her on a path very different from the one she would have originally taken.
*Later*
It didn't take long for May to reach Littleroot Town and headed straight for Professor Birch's Lab, having been given directions for where it was before she left home. With her riding her bike up to the front of the lab, where she was greeted by a young man.
"Ah, hello there. You must be May, right." Said the man with a smile, which May returned.
"Yup! I'm here to meet Professor Birch. Are you him?" May asked since she didn't know what Birch looked like, only for the man to chuckle lightly and shake his head.
"No, I'm not the Professor, I'm his assistant Joshua. Come on inside and you can meet him, as well as pick out your Starter Pokémon." Joshua replied, motioning for May to follow him into the lab, with the brunette leaning her bike against a tree before going inside.
Once inside the lab, May followed Joshua into another room where another person was waiting, with May guessing that this was Professor Birch.
Birch was a tall, large man with fair skin, dark eyes, short and slightly wavy brown hair, and a squarish face with a beard. He wears a navy blue T-shirt under a white lab coat, khaki shorts with a black belt, and tan sandals on his feet.
"Professor Birch, May has arrived for her Starter." Said Joshua, getting Birch's attention before he smiled at May.
"Ah, wonderful. It's nice to meet you May, though I'm surprised to see you here early." Birch said, shaking her hand.
"What can I say, I guess I'm just that excited to start my Journey." Said May, making Birch and Joshua laugh and nod in response.
"Of course. In that case, let's get you your first Pokémon, shall we. I already have three Pokémon picked out for you to choose from. First up is the Grass-type, Treecko." Said Birch, grabbing a Pokéball and releasing Treecko.
Treecko is a small, green, bipedal reptilian Pokémon. It has yellow eyes with long, narrow pupils. Treecko's hands and feet each have three digits covered with tiny spikes. Its stomach and throat are red. It also has a line across its stomach resembling a pouch. Treecko has a large, dark green tail with two separate lobes that it uses to sense humidity.
"Treecko." Treecko looked around before turning towards May, causing her to shiver and back away.
"U-uh…no thanks! It's…kind of creepy!" Said May, making Treecko slump forward at being called creepy.
"In that case the next one we have is Mudkip, a Water-type Pokémon." Said Birch, releasing Mudkip next.
Mudkip is a small, amphibious, quadrupedal Pokémon. It has a blue body with a light-blue underside. Mudkip has a large head with a blue fin on top and a light-blue tail fin. It has black, beady eyes and orange, star-shaped gills on its cheeks.
"Kip!" Mudkip smiled and tilted its head, making May smile at it.
"Aww, aren't you a little cutie? Hmm, maybe you-" Said May, liking how cute Mudkip was and thought it'd be a good Starter.
"Mudkip!" Mudkip cut May off when it shot a blast of water at the brunette, making her scream in surprise.
Once the water stopped, May's eyes were wide open at the sudden attack before she glared at Mudkip when it actually seemed to laugh and grin at her. While Birch and Joshua chuckled sheepishly at Mudkip's behavior.
"Well, you aren't that cute anyway!" May said, now refusing to even consider choosing Mudkip as her Starter after that.
"Ehehe, sorry about that, May. This particular Mudkip seems to have a mischievousness streak and enjoys causing trouble." Said Joshua, with Birch grabbing the last Pokéball.
"That just leaves the Fire-type Pokémon, Torchic." Said Birch, sending out Torchic next.
Torchic is a small, chick Pokémon with stubby, downy, yellow wings. Its body is covered with orange feathers. There is an orange and yellow crest on its head that resembles a flame. Its two thin legs and short beak are a light brownish yellow, and the feet have three toes in front and one in the back.
"Torchic." Torchic looked at May before hopping over to her and nuzzled against her leg, making May smile at the gesture.
"Well this one isn't so bad and it looks like a real sweetheart." May said before picking up Torchic, making her decision.
"I choose Torchic." Said May, making Torchic smile at being chosen by its new Trainer.
"A good choice. Here's Torchic's Pokéball, as well as your own Pokédex and Pokéballs to catch more Pokémon." Said Birch, handing Torchic's Pokéball over to May while Joshua held out her Pokédex and Pokéballs, which the brunette took with a smile and nodding in thanks.
"Great! Thanks Professor Birch." May said while returning Torchic to its Pokéball.
"I'm happy to help, May. Also, just one last thing, that Torchic is a female, something I thought you'd want to know." Replied Birch, making May nod in thanks, glad to know her new Starter's gender.
"Thanks for the information. Bye!" Said May, waving to them as she left the lab and grabbed her bike, getting on it and heading back down Route 101, eager to get started on her traveling
*Later*
'Okay, first stop should be heading back home to show mom, dad and Max my first Pokémon. And after that…' Thought May, going over the first thing she'll be doing, which is visiting her family to show them her new Pokémon.
But thinking of what to do afterwards made her stop and think of what she could do next.
'Huh, I don't actually know what I should do after that. I guess I can figure it out on the way or after I get home.' May thought with a shrug, figuring she had plenty of time to think on what she'll do after visiting her family.
Before May could think on it any further, she quickly came to a stop when she saw a Pokémon walk out of some bushes.
It was a round, blue mouse-like Pokémon. It has circular ears with pink insides. There are two white dots on its cheeks and it has black eyes. It had a thin, black, zigzagging tail with a large blue ball at the end.
"Awww, it's so cute! But uh…what is it?" May said, smiling brightly at the adorable Pokémon, only to be confused at what it was.
'Uuuhh…oh! Right, the Pokédex that can tell me about Pokémon I find!' May thought, pulling out her Pokédex and opening it to scan the Pokémon.
"Azurill, the Polka Dot Pokémon. Azurill is able to throw its tail like a lasso, using the momentum to move about."
"Azurill?" Azurill tilted its head in confusion at the human while May's smile grew before she pulled out a Pokéball.
"Alright then Azurill, I'm gonna catch you! I just take a Pokéball and throw it!" Said May, throwing the Pokéball at Azurill.
With the Pokéball bouncing off of Azurill's head before opening up and sucking the Polka Dot Pokémon inside, much to May's excitement.
"Yeah! I just caught my first Pokémon! That was way easier than I thou-" May said, having heard from her father and brother that catching Pokémon is supposed to be hard, but she managed to catch one without any problem.
Unfortunately, the brunette was cutoff when the Pokéball opened up and Azurill escaped it, much to her surprise.
"Hey, what gives?! I threw an empty Pokéball!" May said, wondering why she failed to catch Azurill when she did everything right.
"Azurill!" Azurill looked at May in annoyance for throwing a Pokéball at it like that.
"Ugh! Did I forget something?! Dad and Max probably said something about catching Pokémon, maybe something I'm supposed to do before throwing a Pokéball." Said May, thinking over everything she's heard her family talk about Pokémon and how to catch them.
With May's eyes soon widening in realization before quickly getting off her bike as she grabbed Torchic's Pokéball.
"R-right! I uh…I need to battle first and weaken the Pokémon, then catch it! Then it's time for a…Pokémon Battle! Torchic, I choose you!" May said, throwing Torchic's Pokéball and releasing her.
"Torchic, Torchic!" Torchic jumped up in the air before gaining a determined looked to see who she and her Trainer were facing, only to see Azurill across from her.
"Now Torchic, let's…um…let's…" Said May, determined to beat and catch Azurill, only for her determination to begin fading at realizing she didn't know what attack Torchic knew.
'Oh man! Why didn't I ask Professor Birch about the attacks Torchic knew?!' May thought, mentally groaning that she had no idea on what Torchic knew.
"Okay um…well Torchic's a Fire-type, so maybe she knows some Fire-type attacks. But what're some Fire-type attacks?" May muttered, trying to recall the name of any attacks she's heard that Torchic could know.
Before May could try thinking of any attacks Torchic could know, her attention turned back to the Pokémon when Azurill began bouncing away, with Torchic chasing after it.
"Huh? Hey, wait Torchic!" May called out to her Starter, only for Torchic to keep chasing Azurill.
"Torchic! Torchic-Torchic-Tor-Torchic!" Torchic ran after the Polka Dot Pokémon, intent to defeat it, only to cry out when she ran straight into a tree when Azurill quickly hopped to the side.
"That wasn't good. Torchic, are you okay?!" May asked, going over to Torchic, looking at her in worry in case she was hurt..
"Azurill!" Azurill smiled slightly at tricking Torchic before it bounced away again, with the Fire-type quickly getting up and glaring at Azurill.
"Tor!" Torchic glared at Azurill before she began chasing after it again, now angry at being tricked and planned to get back at the Polka Dot Pokémon.
"Woah, Torchic not so fast! Wait for me!" May said as she ran after the two, not wanting to end up losing track of her Starter after just getting her.
With Torchic chasing after Azurill through the bushes, refusing to let the Normal/Fairy-type Pokémon get away. Torchic then ran faster when she saw Azurill stopping trying to escape, believing it was going to battle and she intended to get the first attack. Only for Azurill to trick Torchic again, bouncing away at the last second, causing the Chick Pokémon to run right into a rock.
"Torchic-Tor…" Torchic fell to the ground in a daze, not believing she fell for the same trick twice.
"Okay, next time, don't do anything until I tell you to." May said sternly as she caught up to Torchic and picked her up, not wanting her Pokémon to run off again like that.
"Torchic." Torchic looked up at May sadly, upset at feeling like she failed her Trainer and now she's mad at her.
"Hey, what're you crying for? Come on." May said, now feeling bad for upsetting her Pokémon.
"Azurill." Azurill stopped running and looked at the Trainer and her Starter, wondering if they'd give up chasing it now.
Only for Torchic to glare at Azurill and quickly hopped out of May's hands, now refusing to let Azurill get away after being tricked twice, fully intending to get revenge.
"Torchic!" Torchic chased after Azurill when it began hopping away again, much to May's chagrin.
"No Torchic, not again! Wait for me at least!" Said May, running after her Pokémon.
While Torchic ran after Azurill, charging through some bushes before she finally had enough of the chase.
"Tor!" Torchic opened her mouth and unleashed an Ember attack at where Azurill hopped off, feeling pleased when she heard the Polka Dot Pokémon cry out at being hit.
"Torchic! Tor-Torchic? Tor…" Torchic went forward, eager to continue the battle now that she's finally landed an attack, only to freeze when she saw not just Azurill was hit, but two other Pokémon as well.
"Torchic!" May said, relieved at catching up to Torchic, only to notice Azurill standing beside two other Pokémon.
The first is a small, blue, bipedal semi-aquatic rodent Pokémon. It has a nearly spherical shape with a white belly, and has round ears with red insides. Its arms and feet are short and possess no visible digits. There is a blue, bubble-like ball at the tip of its zigzagging black tail.
And the second is also a blue, bipedal semiaquatic leporine Pokémon that has an ovoid body. The lower half of its body is white with a white, bubble-like pattern above it, which helps to camouflage it in water. It has elongated, rabbit-like ears with red insides and circular eyes. When in the water, it rolls up its ears to prevent the insides from becoming wet. Its arms and feet are short with rounded ends and no discernible digits. It has a black zigzagging tail with a blue, bubble-like tip.
'Those Pokémon look a little like Azurill.' May thought in worry and concern at seeing the expressions on the Pokémon's faces.
The brunette figured it might be best to recall Torchic and leave to avoid angering the Pokémon further. But before May could do anything, all three Pokémon unleashed jets of water straight at Torchic, making the Fire-type cry out.
"Tor!" Torchic cried out at the combined Water Gun throwing her through the air before she crashed into the ground, much to May's fear and panic.
"Torchic! Ah, Torchic return now, quickly!" Said May, grabbing Torchic's Pokéball and held it out, recalling Torchic back inside before the three Pokémon could try attacking again.
Not wanting to risk the Pokémon still attacking and having seen how hurt Torchic was from that attack, May instantly ran back to her bike and got on. Not wasting any time as she made her way Oldale Town to get Torchic to the Pokémon Center.
*Later*
Luckily it didn't take long for May to reach Oldale Town, heading straight for the Pokémon Center, only stopping once she arrived and quickly got off her bike. Before she ran inside up to the counter where Nurse Joy stood along with her Chansey.
Chansey is a pink, ovoid Pokémon with stubby arms and dark pink feet. It has tiny eyes and three hair-like growths on each side of its head. The tufts of hair have dark pink tips. On the center of its belly is a dark pink pouch that contains a single white egg. Finally, it has a short tail.
"Hello, welcome to the Pokémon Center. What can I do for you?" Nurse Joy said with a smile, while May ran up and set Torchic's Pokéball on the counter.
"Nurse Joy, could you please help my Torchic?!" Said May, Nurse Joy nodded before grabbing the Pokéball and set it in a machine.
"No problem. Let's see now what the problem is." Said Nurse Joy, running a quick scan of Torchic's vitals to see what the problem was.
"Does she look okay in there?" May asked, unable to help herself, wanting to make sure Torchic is okay.
"Just one more second…" Nurse Joy replied before turning to May once she finished her scan.
"Torchic is fine, just exhausted. A good night's sleep is all she'll need and be better in no time." Said Nurse Joy, much to May's relief as she smiled at the pinkette.
"Oh thank goodness." Said May, relieved that Torchic hadn't been too badly injured and would be fine.
"Perhaps a good night sleep would do you some good as well." Nurse Joy added with an amused smile.
Something May couldn't deny, feeling exhausted from everything that happened
'I guess it also wouldn't hurt to see more of the Pokémon Center too.' May thought, looking around and saw it was much bigger than she expected, along with seeing plenty of other Trainers sitting and talking with each other.
Wondering what they were talking about, May walked around to see if they were discussing anything interesting, only to quickly learn the only thing being discussed was Pokémon.
'Seriously? Don't they talk about anything else? Like the best malls, the best places to eat, the best clothing stores? Anything besides Pokémon?' Thought May, having hoped to hear something she'd be interested in hearing.
"You're a new Trainer, aren't you." Someone said, making May look to see three Trainers sitting by the windows and they were looking at her.
The brunette looked around, but didn't see anyone else they could be looking at, guessing that they were talking to her before she walked over.
"Uh…yeah, I am actually. How'd you know?" May asked, wondering if it's really that obvious she's new, making the Trainers chuckle lightly.
"It's pretty obvious you're new, since you don't seem to know everything about a Pokémon Center." Said one of the Trainers, causing May to blush embarrassment.
"N-no, not really. This is honestly my first time being in a Pokémon Center, so I don't…really know where everything is." Admitted May.
"That's understandable. A lot of new Trainers usually just think Pokémon Centers are where we go to heal our Pokémon, but they also have rooms Trainers can stay in while they're here, along with a restaurant to eat at. And then there's the lobby, which is where we are right now, where Trainers can hang out and talk to trade information on things like battling, training methods, and different kinds of Pokémon." Explained one of the Trainers, much to May's amazement at how much else there is to Pokémon Centers.
"There are also some Pokémon Centers that have Trade Machines, where Trainers can trade their Pokémon to each other, either as permanent trades or to get a Pokémon to evolve." Another of the Trainers added, with May looking at them in confusion.
"You can evolve a Pokémon by trading them?" May asked, confused as to how that works.
"Yeah. Some Pokémon can only evolve if you trade them, either by themselves or when they're holding a special Evolution Item. An example would be that a Machoke evolves into Machamp when it's traded alone, and Scyther evolves into a Scizor when it's traded while holding a Metal Coat." A Trainer replied, surprising May at how Pokémon could evolve.
"Wow…there's really a lot to know about Pokémon." Stated May, starting to see she really had a lot to learn if she's going to be a Trainer, with the others nodding in agreement.
"Definitely a lot to learn, even the most experienced Trainers still learn new things about Pokémon all the time. Come on, we can show you around and help you get caught up on what you should know as a beginner." Offered one of the Trainers, the others nodded in agreement, much to May's gratitude.
"Thanks, that sounds really great." May replied, thankful for any help she can get.
*Later*
After being shown around the Pokémon Center, along with talking to some more Trainers, May's stomach began rumbling, leading to her heading to the restaurant to get some food. With the brunette eagerly digging in to the food once she had her first bite.
'This is some of the best food I've ever had! If all the other Pokémon Centers have food this great, I definitely have to visit all of them to see what else they have!' Thought May, excited at the chance to try more delicious meals at the other Pokémon Centers she'll visit.
Once she'd eaten her fill, May headed to her room, glad that she didn't have to worry about sharing with anyone, and changed into her pajamas.
'I guess being a Pokémon Trainer does have some benefits.' May thought as she drifted off to sleep.
*Next Morning*
May's eyes began fluttering open as she heard the sound of several people running down the hallway, much to her confusion.
'Is something happening?' May thought while getting out of bed and going over to the door to see why everyone seemed to running down the hall.
Though when she opened the door, May grew concerned at seeing it was the Trainers who were running down the hall, some of them who only looked half-dressed or were still wearing their pajamas. Her concern only growing at being able to see how they looked afraid and worried.
'Something definitely happened and not something good.' Thought May, closing the door before rushing to get dressed, worried on what could've happened to cause this kind of reaction.
After she was dressed, May rushed out of her room and into the lobby, finding it filled with Pokémon Trainers as several of them embracing and held their Pokémon close. All of them having varying reactions from fear and hope, relief on those holding their Pokémon. With the ones that worried May even more were those that looked trapped in states of shock and devastation.
"E-excuse me, but…what happened?" May asked one of the nearby Trainers, wanting to know what happened to put everyone in a state like this.
"Last night…some criminals broke into the Pokémon Center, they…they cut the power and locked…they locked Nurse Joy into a storage room. No…no one found her until this morning, and…and because the power was off, some…some of the Pokémon that were recovering didn't make it, because the equipment…wasn't working with the power cut." Said the Trainer, much to May's shock and horror.
'Torchic!' May thought in fear that something happened to her Starter before running straight to the front desk, where the rest of the Centers staff was working quickly.
"Excuse me! My name's May, I left my Torchic here last night, is she alright?!" Said May, desperate and worried to know if Torchic was safe.
Only feeling relieved when one of the staff handed her Torchic's Pokéball.
"Your Torchic is fine. Like Nurse Joy said, she just needed some rest." Said the staff member, much to May's relief her Pokémon was safe.
'Thank goodness.' May thought, but still looked worried as she noticed Nurse Joy wasn't anywhere in sight.
"Where's…where's Nurse Joy?" Questioned May, worried if the criminals did more than just lock her in the storage room.
With two of the staff members looking at each other sadly, only increasing the brunette's worry.
*With Nurse Joy*
Nurse Joy sat against the head of a bed, with her legs pulled up to her chest, while her bloodshot and tear-filled eyes only stared aimlessly in front of her.
"Chansey." Chansey stood beside Nurse Joy's bed, looking at her in worry as the pinkette simply muttered to herself.
"It's my fault…it's my fault…it's my fault…it's my fault…it's my fault…" Nurse Joy muttered repeatedly as more tears began filling her eyes.
If she's just gone straight to the master key the moment she saw the lights were out, rather than go wandering around the dark Pokémon Center. If she hadn't tried seeing why the lights went out, rather than just immediately turn on the back-up power. If she had just done what she should've from the very beginning, then maybe…then maybe…
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Cried Nurse Joy as more tears fell from her eyes, feeling nothing but guilt and self-loathing at failing to save the Pokémon she was entrusted to look after.
"Ch-Chan-Chansey-Chan-Chan-Chansey." Chansey did her best to comfort Nurse Joy, though felt tears in her own eyes at the Pokémon that were lost, with Nurse Joy looking at the Egg Pokémon through her tears.
"Th-tha-th-thank y-y-yo-yo-yo-you, Ch-Ch-Ch-Cha-Chansey. B-b-bu-bu-bu-but…I want t-to-to-to…be-be-b-be alone, r-ri-right now. Th-th-the-they…they ne-n-ne-need y-you m-mo-mo-more d-d-downstairs. G-g-g-go…help save as many Pokémon as you can." Nurse Joy said, knowing Chansey would be more help downstairs, saving as many Pokémon as they can.
Chansey stayed by her side for a few moments before nodding solemnly in understanding as she headed downstairs to help as much as she could.
*With May*
"Nobody can really be prepared or ready for something like this to happen. A tragedy like this would be devastating for anyone in her position." Said one of the staff members while shaking their heads.
"It doesn't help that our Nurse Joy is still new to her position, so she's still rather inexperienced. Which only makes it that much worse. For the moment we're seeing what we can do, but it may be a while before she's fit to resume her duties." Another staff said, much to May's sadness.
"I…I hope that she'll…get better soon, then." Said May before walking away to let them keep working, not wanting distract them at a time like this.
Once she was away from the counter, May let Torchic out of her Pokéball and instantly embraced the Starter Pokémon.
"Tor?" Torchic looked confused at her Trainers strange behavior, only to quickly notice the rather gloom air in the Pokémon Center, much to the Chick Pokémon's concern at what happened.
'Thank goodness she's safe.' May thought before pulling back and looking at Torchic, unable to help but shiver as images of her being dead flashed through her mind, feeling sick at what could've happened.
Only to look around the Pokémon Center, at all the Trainers that were staying as well as those that were leaving. The brunette only feeling sicker when she looked at the Trainers that had lost their Pokémon, being easy to see from the devastation on their faces. It only being worse when she saw a few were some of the Trainers she'd met and talked to.
Trainers she talked and interacted with, who helped show her around, told her what she needed to know to be a Trainer herself. She'd interacted with them just last night and now they've lost their Pokémon!
'It could've been me…it could've been me!' May thought in horror as all these thought flashed through her mind.
Remembering how Torchic got hurt because of her inexperience and lack of knowledge, because of her failure as a Trainer, Torchic could've died. But she didn't, while Trainers that were likely far more experienced than her, who took being Pokémon Trainers seriously, lost their Pokémon instead.
The only reason nothing bad happened to her and her Starter was because of sheer luck, nothing more, as they wouldn't have even been in a situation like this if not for her lack of experience or care as a Trainer.
Unable to contain herself anymore, May set Torchic down and instantly ran over to a trashcan and began throwing up, much to Torchic's concern as she ran up to May.
"Torchic-Tor-Tor-Torchic." Torchic nuzzled against May's legs to try and make her feel better, making the brunette look down at her once she'd calmed down and wiped her mouth.
Kneeling down in front of Torchic, May picked her up and knew they were lucky this time, but if something like this happens again, that may not be the case. This making the brunette realize what she had to do to ensure this doesn't happen again.
"I'm taking you back to Professor Birch." Said May, knowing that way Torchic would be safe and be chosen by someone much better suited to be her Trainer.
"T-Tor-Torchic…Tor…" Torchic though looked at May heart-broken that she was taking her back to Birch, making her wonder if it's her fault, that May didn't like her.
"No, no Torchic, it's not your fault. It's…it's me, really, I'm…I don't deserve to be your Trainer, I don't deserve to be a Trainer at all despite what everyone would believe." May muttered in frustration and self-loathing.
"Tor?" Torchic looked at her in confusion and sadness at what she meant.
"My dad is a Gym Leader, one of the stronger ones in Hoenn, and my brother might as well already be a Pokémon Professor with how much he knows about Pokémon, just with the size and ego of a brat. But I never took advantage of that, I never bothered to ask them anything and barely listened to anything they talked about. All because of an incident when I was younger, where I was surrounded by a horde of Tentacool with my mom even thinking that I was one and tried catching me. Ever since then, I've never liked Pokémon and became somewhat scared of them. The only reason I even agreed to become a Trainer is because I wanted to explore and travel." Explained May, with Torchic looking at her with wide eyes.
"Now I see how selfish that was, that I didn't care about any Pokémon I'd have had with me, they'd just be to show I was making an effort to be a Trainer when I wouldn't do anything after I caught them. And because of that you almost died and don't take it the wrong way Torchic, but you should've died. We got lucky this time, that's all there is to it. But it won't happen again, not if you get hit by a much stronger attack than from those other Pokémon, or if something goes wrong at another Pokémon Center. So…it'd be better if I took you back and you had someone that actual cared about being a Trainer choose you, not someone like me." May said before grabbing Torchic's Pokéball and prepared to return so they could head back to Birch's Lab.
But before May could return her, Torchic immediately jumped out of her arms before jumping again and slamming into the brunette, knocking her into a sitting position.
"Torchic! Tor-Tor-Torchic-chic-chic-Tor-chic-Torchic!" Torchic rubbed and nuzzled against May's chest, much to her shock and confusion.
"Torchic? Do…do you actually…want to…stay…with me?" May said in disbelief at Torchic's gesture, wondering why she'd want to stay even after what's happened and what she said.
"Torchic!" Torchic nodded in response, not caring about what's happened or May's reasons for becoming a Trainer, she wanted to stay with her anyway.
Much to May's shock before she felt tears in her eyes and hugged Torchic tightly, touched and happy she'd choose to stay despite everything.
"Thank you, Torchic. And I promise things will change, I'll try to be a real Trainer, one you deserve to have and we'll both get stronger together, so nothing like this happens again." Said May, not wanting to disappoint the Chick Pokémon in choosing to stay with her.
The brunette then stood up and left the Pokémon Center, grabbing her bike and setting Torchic in the basket, not wanting to return her to her Pokéball just yet. Before May noticed something flying up in the sky, her eyes widening at seeing it was a Pokémon. Unable to see it clearly, only that it looked to be red and white in color, along with incredibly fast.
"Wow…" May muttered before she immediately began pedaling after the strange Pokémon.
Seeing even more Pokémon appearing in the sky, along with the trees and bushes, it made the brunette start realizing just how vast, wondering, and mysterious the Pokémon world was. With May looking down at Torchic and smirked at her Starter.
"Let's go Torchic! There's a big world out there, and we're going to see all of it!" May declared.
"Torchic!" Torchic nodded in agreement with Trainer and looked forward down Route 102.
And the start of a new Pokémon Journey began for May and her Starter Pokémon Torchic as the brunette took off down the route, filled with a new drive and determination.
So, what did you think, good. Yep we see things start out the same as May heads for Professor Birch's Lab to get her Starter, being startled by a Duskull, but with the small difference being May decided to leave early and get their ahead of schedule. Leading to her arriving before Ash arrives in Littleroot Town, allowing her to get her Starter without issue, with her choosing Torchic. Before she sets out to return to Petalburg City and show her family the Pokémon she's gotten. All the while wondering what she should do next after visiting home.
With us then seeing May encounter Azurill and try catching it, only to fail due to trying to catch it right off the bat, before sending Torchic to battle. Only to encounter another problem when she doesn't know any of Torchic's attacks, due to not knowing she can look them up on the Pokédex. With things getting worse as Torchic chases after Azurill, with May following after them, only to end up attacking Azurill along with a Marill and Azumarill. Leading to Torchic getting hit by a triple Water Gun attack, with May quickly returning her and rushing to Oldale Town.
We then see May arrive at the Pokémon Center, relieved to learn Torchic just needs some rest, before she begins exploring the Center. Meeting some other Trainers who help show her around and getting May caught up on everything she'd need to know about being a Trainer. Before May goes to eat and get some sleep for the night, feeling being a Trainer isn't so bad now with the benefits.
Only for things to take a turn for the worse in the morning when May wakes up to all the Trainers running to the lobby, being shocked and horrified to learn that some criminals broke into the Pokémon Center the other night, cutting the power and trapping Nurse Joy in the storage room. With some of the Pokémon not surviving due to the equipment not working, much to May's horror that something could've happened to Torchic, only being relieved to see she's safe.
Finally we see May now considering quitting on being a Trainer, both with how Torchic got hurt thanks to her lack of knowledge, then simply getting lucky she didn't die after the power had been cut. Even planning to take Torchic back to Birch's Lab so she could have a Trainer better suited to raise and train her. Only for Torchic to refuse and chooses to stay with May, much to her shock and joy that Torchic wants to stay with her.
Before May once again sets out, only now being filled with a new determination and drive to be a real Trainer and grow stronger along with Torchic, while still planning to see everything the world of Pokémon has to offer. So, for those that like the story, thanks for your support. For those that don't or at least don't like the direction taken, you're more than welcomed to drop the story. But thanks for giving the story a chance anyway.
Storm out