I don't know if May and Gary ever met. In this story, they didn't until now. The magic of fanfiction.

Chapter 5: The Power of Food

Nearly a week had passed since Gary's arrival, and Cam was avoiding said guy as much as she could. She'd run out of the house with a small breakfast in hand before he woke up and came back to the house as little as possible. She spent most of her time with her pokemon at the gym. Greg had indeed come back and defeated the gym leader, sending Whitney into a fit of hysterics. He took pleasure in watching her bawl her eyes out, but grew agitated when she ran off without giving him a badge. In the end, Samantha was the one that gave him the respected symbol and kicked him out as kindly and quickly as she found herself able. Cam didn't object to this since she had gotten creepy undecipherable looks from him throughout the entire match and was glad to see him leave. Her days would continue with the usual lunch she had with her friends at a nearby café and they'd train a bit more afterwards. When the group finally cleaned up and headed home, Cam made sure to stay late hours at the Game Corner, claiming to her uncle that she had "lost track of time" and would sometimes go so far as to block his number whenever he constantly rang up her pokenav. Mostly he just called to whine about wanting some meal that required a level of cooking skill he didn't have, but Cam had already stocked up on food that didn't require appliances to be eaten, giving her the excuse to stay out late. On the few days in which she did come home for short periods of time, she and Gary always locked into a war of sorts. Nigel learned to ignore them and let them fight, otherwise they would gang up on him, and he wanted to keep his body parts intact with the rest of his being.

No progress was being made on discovering the pokemon that lived inside the egg. When Nigel wasn't studying it, Gary and his umbreon were guarding it with their lives. Umbreon wouldn't let anyone get too close unless it was Abigail, who he took quite a liking to. The absol had an air of wisdom and mystery, but was also very gentle and kind, making Umbreon feel that she was perfect for guarding his treasure while he rested or took breaks. The two also had a mutual understanding as they were both dark-types.

And now, as Abigail cradled the object of her protection between her forepaws in the middle of the living room floor, Cam couldn't help but to stare in wonder. She never had much time to dwell on what could be inside; at least she never gave herself the time. She was too irked by Gary, too emotionally warped from losing her aron and encountering an aggron so soon after as if the universe was punching her in the eye, too disappointed in not being allowed to travel the region when so many new pokemon awaited to be met, befriended, and captured, and too restless from the lack of challenge during her training sessions.

"Cam, can you please make dinner? I want something warm and healthy and not processed food." It wasn't like Nigel to whine and beg, but when he did, he did it in such a pathetic way that his niece couldn't say no.

She yelled back a reluctant "fine" as she climbed the stairs to the hallway that led to her room. Once there, she stuffed her coin case in the bookshelf and stopped to glance at the posters on her wall. After admiring them for quite some time, she forced herself to pull her longing eyes away and she made her way to the kitchen.

"What's cooking, razz head?" Gary leaned against the fridge, but moved aside when a hand swung at his face.

"I believe the saying goes 'What's cooking, good looking?' but I won't force you to say something nicer."

Gary cocked an eyebrow at the girl making Arceus-knows-what. "Oh? And why's that?"

"Because," she began as she stirred the rice, "anything nice that comes out of the mouth of Gary Oak is bound to bring some sort of apocalypse."

"Well with my excellent experience and strong pokemon, I'm sure I'llsurvive," he declared with such a smug grin.

She was about to use some pretty colorful language that would get her grounded for a month, but settled for mumbling, "Not if I push you off a cliff, first…"

"Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Gary gave her a suspicious look. "Did you say you'd push me off a cliff?" Before she could respond with something snappy, he reached his hand out to poke her bare arm. She jumped when she felt a light spark pierce her skin and she glared daggers at him.

"Keep shocking me like that, Sparky. I'll beat you with a frying pan and bury you under my floorboards!"

He smiled at this, thoroughly amused. The electric charge he carried around in his fingers was from handling the egg so much, and he found an odd satisfaction in using this to his advantage by shocking the girl into one of her agitated states.

She almost gave in to a whirl of anger, but noticed a tiny abra on the floor. Gary's gaze fell to the psychic that was trying to get his attention. He bent down on one knee to be at eye-level. "Hey there, Syke. Did you need something?" Cam watched silently from her peripheral as the abra beamed and scaled up his leg and climbed on his back. His tail swished in delight as he found a comfortable grip on his clothing before propping his chin up on one of his shoulders. Gary rose from his crouch and stroked behind Syke's ear while his free hand rested on his hip. A snobbish grin was directed at the chef, who scowled.

Like she cared if Syke started to like him.

The threesome sat at the dining room table. As Nigel gladly dug into his custom-made rice dish, Gary and Cam got into another useless argument.

"I already told you I don't like bluk berries. Why'd you mix them with my rice?"

"If it were up to me, I'd let you starve."

"Nah, I'd just take yours. What'd you mix for yourself, anyway?" Gary leaned forward and stuck his fork into one of her diced berries.

"Hey! Eat your own!"

He shoved the berry into his mouth and successfully dodged her fist as his face broke into a huge grin. "Razz berries?" he said between amused laughs. "You put razz berries in your rice? Do you die your hair with this stuff or do you eat so much that it's natural?"

"Shut up! They are not razz!"

"They sure taste like them."

"They're rabutas!"

"Aren't those green?"

Cam cursed under her breath as she was hoping he wouldn't know their color. She wasn't about to admit that razz was indeed her favorite berry. After all, that would just supply the enemy with more insults, though it wouldn't make much of a difference after this event. Regardless, her pride prevented her from saying anything out loud.

"Hey." The two bickering teens turned to Nigel, who set his now empty bowl aside. He had an expression of wisdom and importance and they leaned in curiously when sensing the seriousness in his tone. "If you hate bluk berries so much, you wouldn't mind if I ate that, right?" He pointed at Gary's bowl and its owner as well as Cam nearly fell off their chairs in surprise at the unexpected request. The researcher laughed at their reactions and took a sip of his coffee. Unless he wasn't at home, that man was never seen without his coffee. It wasn't even decaffeinated; Cam didn't understand how he managed to fall asleep so quickly at night. "Seriously, though. You two are going to have to learn to get along pretty soon."

"Me? Get along with him?" She pointed with her fork at herself and Gary respectively and shook her head in response to her own inquiry.

"I'm serious, Cam. I'm going to need you to be on good terms with all the pokemon as well."

The redhead narrowed her eyes and swallowed a mouthful. "Please don't tell me you're leaving again. I just got here a week ago!"

"I know, but I need to go see Professor Birch in Hoenn. I'm not getting anywhere with this egg. Gary, you already checked in with Professor Elm and Mr. Pokemon, right?"

Gary nodded in confirmation. His food was pushed aside, getting cold, and forgotten. Cam would have tried to sneak the dish away from him, but she didn't want to devour something that was breathed on by Gary Oak.

"And I still don't know much about it. If I don't figure out what pokemon it is, it might die from not being properly cared for. I finally got a hold of Birch's lab this morning, and he wants to observe it for a few days in person. If nothing comes out of that I might have to make a trip to Sinnoh…"

The girl tapped her eating utensil on the brim of her bowl in thought and turned to Gary. "Where'd you find it, anyway?"

"It was lying on the shore on one of the Whirl Islands."

Cam hummed. "Washed ashore, huh? Mysterious~!"

"I'm heading out tomorrow morning." Nigel put his mug to his lips once more as Cam gave a start.

"What? So soon? Wait a minute, does this mean…?"

Gary put on the much-hated smirk, and some of his brilliant white teeth managed to catch a sliver of light through his slightly parted lips. "Finally catching on, razzy?"

"You're going to leave us here alone? Why can't I come with you? Or…or have him go with you and let me stay here?" She spat the pronoun as if it was poison on her tongue, and Gary put a hand on his chest and acted like he took offense.

Nigel set his mug down after a nice long drink (severely adding to his niece's impatience) and stared at her hard. "Listen, you know you can't leave the city, so you can't come with me. I'm leaving Gary here so if I take longer than expected, he can go on his way to Ecruteak. I'll have it delivered to the Pokemon Center there if I discover that it's doing okay."

"So in the meantime…?"

"You're stuck with me." The smirk was still present on his face and Cam openly groaned.

This couldn't be happening. Not to her. It could have been anyone. Anybody would have died to be in the same room with him, and of all the girls that would be able to put up with his arrogance, it had to be her. What she ever did to Arceus to deserve this, she'll never understand.

She was getting to that point of desperation where anything from jumping off of the bullet train at full speed to eating a whole girafarig would be done if it got her out of this situation.

"I'm not that bad," Gary informed with a slight frown.

Cam's mouth pursed in disagreement, but her eyes remained on Nigel. "So you're going to leave me home alone...with a boy?"

Nigel, totally unfazed by the question, narrowed his eyes apathetically. "As long as you're still in one piece by the time I get back, I don't have a problem."

Exasperated that the hint was either ignored or unnoticed, Cam pushed Gary clear out of his chair as her anger steadily built up. "Why can't he go with you, Uncle? You can leave me here all by my lonesome."

Gary got up from the floor with a groan, rubbing the arm that broke his fall. Nigel shook his head and said, "I don't think you'll stay within your boundaries if I leave with Gary. Not only that, I need someone to watch over the pokemon, which Gary is more than capable of doing – what, with working at different labs and such. Duplica's at a wedding in Cerulean and you alone won't fit the bill."

She looked at her uncle weirdly. Now he was keeping up with her friends? "I've babysat the pokemon by myself before!"

"Remember how that worked out?"

Cam's eye involuntarily twitched. So the basement had a little flood and most of the electrical equipment was ruined: it was replaceable. And the house wasn't that trashed. Just a few hours of pitching in (with the help of the pokemon) and a few hundred dollars, everything was as good as new.

But after many bouts of protesting, the matter was settled. Nigel was sticking with his original plan and Cam was to be left alone with Gary for an unspecified amount of time. She was sure of it: her life was going to suck for a while.

The next morning, Cam had surprisingly made a nice big breakfast. As revenge for what he was putting her through however she hogged most of what she made and gave Nigel only half of what he usually ate. Gary woke up too late and had to fend for himself, which Cam was perfectly fine with. He could be punished, too.

Shortly before noon, Nigel secured his traveling bag and adjusted the egg in his arm to a more secure position. As Cam watched him get ready to walk out the door, she could only ponder the very short list of the positive things that could be gained from his absence. The only thing that came to mind was that noisy Chatot was going with him.

"Well, I'm off." Nigel smiled at the two and Chatot chirped his goodbyes from his perch on the man's shoulder, but Cam sat on the steps with a miserable pout and crossed her arms.

Gary noticed her giving the cold shoulder and filled in for her by nodding at the duo. "Take care."

"Will do. Don't forget to keep an eye on Noah and Fury." He turned to leave, but whipped around again. "Oh, and don't give Vulpix any candy under any circumstances, and don't forget to chain the fridge every night so Quagsire doesn't get in." Nigel began to count the reminders on his fingers, eyeing Cam especially. "Let Jack and Bruce train for only six hours a day, otherwise they'll be at it all week. Delibird likes to sit in front of the air conditioner, so make sure it's on the lowest temperature in the spare room; but keep the door closed – I don't want the house getting colder than it already is. Also, remember to keep Tangles in her pokeball if Jindow's out, and vice-versa. And – Cam, are you listening? This is important-"

"Don't worry about it, Nigel. We have the list," Gary reassured with a carefree smile.

Nigel returned his smile and gave his thanks before heading out the door. As they parted with their final goodbyes and a last "We'll be back before you can say Mew," Cam stood abruptly and stomped up the steps.

Gary's eyes followed her and a sigh escaped from his lungs. Hopefully it wouldn't be too bad. It's not like Nigel broke up any of their arguments while he was there, but Gary didn't want to think about what Cam might do to him without being under the watchful eye of her uncle. To be in her direct line of full fury – her without any thought of the consequences and him just being his awesome self and pushing her off the edge – was an idea that could easily convince an ursaring to run back to its cave in fear and continue hibernation.

And for some ungodly reason, he was looking forward to it.

"Razz head!" Gary yelled up the steps. It was almost seven, and she still hadn't come out of her room. "Get down here and eat something!"

"No!" was the sassy answer he received.

Gary frowned and checked his watch, confirming the time. He jumped up the steps with ease and rapped on the door. "Come on! You need food at some point."

"No I don't!"

His eyebrows furrowed in frustration and he pounded on the door with more force.

"Go away!"

"What, so you're going to starve?"

"Yes!"

His fist knocked against the wood one last time before he let it rest against the surface. After a few more seconds of internal debating, he abandoned his attempts with a sigh and went back down the steps shaking his head. His umbreon stood at attention upon seeing his master enter the kitchen.

"Bre?" He tilted his head questioningly from his placement on the counter as Gary opened the fridge.

"No luck, Umbreon. Guess I'm gonna have to throw odds and ends together."

"Breon…"

"Huh…leftover miso soup? No. We have leeks…pickles…cabbage… Yuck, how am I supposed to eat all this by itself? I mean, I always cooked while out on the road, but that food was crap and there's nothing here but a bunch of traditional stuff…"

He closed the door with a huff and searched the cabinets in the kitchen. He turned to his pokemon after taking a jar of peanut butter out of the cabinet next to the sink. "Ah, yes! Modern food! I could really go for some PB&J. I think I saw some jelly in the fridge…"

Umbreon's ears twitched and he cheered gleefully at Gary's findings.

As he made his small meal, he couldn't help but think about what Nigel had told him. When Cam had retreated to her room after dinner the night before, the professor gave him a serious look.

"She's a big handful," he had said. "She does a lot of rash things. Watch out for her, okay?"

The man's eyes were gentle and caring, but they also held a bit of anxiety. Of course, Gary knew he had every right to be all these things. Cam was…well…Cam, and Nigel's niece. If anything were to happen to her, he would have to take full responsibility. And he was temporarily passing this responsibility onto Gary.

"No problem, Professor. I promise I'll do everything in my power to keep her out of trouble."

If the boy didn't feel the pressure before, he could certainly feel it now. She was so stubborn… How was he supposed to keep her out of trouble if she wanted nothing to do with him? He couldn't even get her to leave her room.

Was she really not that hungry? What if she got sick from not eating anything? If she fell ill, would she still insist on starving herself?

Gary took a bite, but he couldn't bring himself to swallow anything. He sat in the living room with his cheek puffed out and Umbreon, sensing something wrong, prodded his trainer's leg curiously with an uncertain paw.

When he saw Umbreon's worried look, he forced the food down and shivered. He didn't realize that his throat had gone dry and his food almost got stuck. "I'm okay, Umbreon." He continued to eat his sandwich, trying to calm down for the sake of his companion that he was stroking. In vain attempts to push the silly, yet somehow believable scenarios from his mind, he turned on the television.

Every glance at the clock was another sharp jab at the walls of her stomach. Time wasn't going nearly as fast as she would have liked. One more hour until two in the morning… Gary had to be sleeping by then. She could sneak out of her room, swipe some goodies, and slide back to her room with the quickness of a pikachu and the stealth of an ekans. One more hour…

Unfortunately, her stomach wouldn't wait that long.

Cam jumped off of her bed and opened the door silently, peeking out to see if the coast was clear. Not that anyone would be upstairs at this hour since most of the pokemon slept outside in the warm night weather, but she liked how she must've looked in her secret agent mode. She tiptoed over the fuzzy carpet and flinched when a loud creak leapt off the floorboards. Her movements froze as she listened for the dreaded curious footsteps from the floor below, but heard none. She exhaled and tensed – even her breathing echoed.

Due to many nights of experienced espionage, she stretched her arms and danced gracefully in the usual reckless pattern. She memorized where all the creaks were, and they were no match for her practiced balance and rusty ballet skills. As soon as she reached the top of the steps, she turned to face her room and bowed for the imaginary audience as the spotlight beamed down on her figure and happy red roses graced her feet.

"Like a boss," she whispered proudly. She slunk down the steps and hugged the wall to peer around the corner. No sign of Gary so far. Through the dining room and into the kitchen she went. Upon seeing the fridge, her stomach let out a loud growl and Cam instinctively wrapped her arms around her abdomen. If that wasn't heard, she might as well bang pots and pans together and yell out her mission to be a success. Oddly enough, no one appeared in the doorway.

Cam took a shaky breath and arrived at the fridge, reaching for the handle.

It wasn't until she pulled did she realize that it was chained.

"Wait, what the...?"

Another yank, but nothing came of it. She followed the chain to the metal bar on the wall Nigel had installed to keep Quagsire from indulging in his late-night snack habit, and Cam had no idea how to get it off. Was it tied or locked? She could barely see.

Irritation flashed in her countenance and she rustled the chain in hopes that it would loosen. After many seconds of useless shaking, she puffed out her cheeks and thrust her heel into the hard frigid floor.

"Cam?"

"EEK!" the girl shrieked and threw a blind panicked fist in the direction of the new voice.

"Ow! Watch it! Stop hitting me, Cam! Calm down!"

"Umbreon!" A bright flash of light caused Cam to cease her attack and stumble back in shock. Just a second ago it was pitch black, and now this blaring light was destroying her retinas. Not only that: she was hungry. What a terrible night.

Her first thought was that she would be blind forever, but when the light faded and spots of her vision returned to her, she saw the source of her pain. The circles on Umbreon's body were shining brightly, but slowly getting dimmer. His expression matched that of his trainer's, except the latter's hair was more disheveled than usual and he was panting heavily in a defensive stance.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Cam's mouth was equivalent to that of a fish and she squeaked, "I-I thought you were a burglar."

"You think a burglar would know your name?"

"I wasn't thinking, okay? Don't scare me like that, especially in the dark!" she scolded roughly.

Gary raised an eyebrow at the smoke billowing out of her ears and took notice of her distance from the fridge.

"I thought you said you weren't hungry."

Cam's body straightened and she managed to sputter, "I'm not!"

"Then why are you in the kitchen?"

"It's my kitchen! I can be in here if I wanna!"

He crossed the room and flipped the light switch, allowing Umbreon's colors to fade to normality. The pokemon shook his fur and leapt up on the counter while Gary expertly untied the chains and set them aside. He gestured for her to grab something once he opened the door.

"Hmph." She stomped away into the darkness of the living room. She couldn't bring herself to retreat upstairs, but that nagging emotion called pride kept her from seeking delicious salvation with that nuisance of a boy around.

She settled on the couch only to stare blankly at the television. Too hungry to watch anything and too hungry for her mind to drift. It was quite the dilemma. Five minutes, and she couldn't take it anymore. To hell with pride; she was going to have a bloody feast.

Cam envisioned herself jumping off of the couch in a silver suit of armor, holding a sharpened spear and a polished shield. She would race out of the room with a battle cry and invade the kitchen, use awesome pokemon powers of her own that she never knew she had to throw the door off the fridge, and indulge in all of the delicacies she wanted. Then, with a satisfied belly, she would kick down Gary's door and rip him to shreds, just for kicks. She smirked at the thought, but quickly came back to Earth.

"So this is what hunger does to people…" Cam concluded. Just as she let her epic dream falter, she stood to walk to the kitchen, but a familiar purple light sprouted from the wooden floor and blocked her path. The light disappeared to reveal Syke holding a small plate. And on that plate was a gift from Arceus himself.

"You…you made me a sandwich." Cam was tearing up, clearly touched by the deed.

Syke shook his head quickly at the misunderstanding, but she didn't seem to get the hint. She grabbed it and practically shoved it down her throat, leaving Syke to stare at the crumbs glittering the surface. When she was done, she sighed in contentment.

"Peanut butter and jelly. You're the best. Thanks, buddy!"

Once again, Syke's head flew back and forth.

"Hey, what's wrong? Stop moving your neck like that – you'll break it."

Syke's tail drooped in expected defeat as his trainer headed for the stairs. Oblivious as always.

A loud knock at the door caused Umbreon to jolt awake, and the first thing he did was dive for the egg a few feet away. He leaned against it in a protective stance and attempted to shake the drowsiness away, but his eyes remained heavy even after ruffling his fur. The threatening sound came again, and he dipped into a crouch as his fur bristled. Abigail was sitting on the other side of the room and watching, thoroughly amused by his behavior.

"Somebody get that!" Cam yelled groggily from upstairs.

Gary walked to the door and checked his watch. "Are you telling me it's noon and she's still not out of bed yet?" Rolling his eyes, he opened the door.

A brunette in traveling gear and a green bandana stood at the doorstep, and her eyebrow raised in confusion upon seeing Gary. "Is…Is Cam here?"

He nodded. "She's upstairs in bed."

The girl gave him a suspicious look and gripped the bag at her side. "I'm a friend of hers. Can I come in?"

He didn't see why she couldn't, so he opened the door a bit wider with a shrug. He trudged to the bottom of the steps and called, "There's someone here for you! Hurry up already!"

"Don't tell me what to do or I'll kick a concave dent in your forehead!" Cam warned in a malicious tone. Several crashes shook the house and muffled scratching sounds danced across the ceiling. Curiously wondering what could possibly make up the wide variety of noises from the floor above, he willed himself to the other room. He probably didn't want to know, anyway.

His attention directed to the traveler, who made herself comfortable. The atmosphere she carried was calm – the complete 180 of Cam's. Her slender legs swayed forward and back, gently pounding the supporting wood behind the fabric of the sofa. Her irises were a bright sapphire that didn't seem interested in observing the room at all, so she must have been in the house before. She didn't have the kind of gaze that could burn a hole in anyone's conscience, but it seemed like that was what she was trying to do to Gary, making him feel rather uncomfortable. It made him feel like he didn't belong there, and he couldn't help but to feel insecure for whatever reason.

"So who are you?" she finally asked.

"I'm a researcher in training. The name's Gary Oak."

"Gary Oak...?" Her eyebrows pulled together, but her face soon lit up in recognition.

That's right. He was the famous Gary Oak, professor Oak's grandson. Revel in his awesomeness.

"You're Ash's rival, right?"

That wasn't quite what he had in mind.

"U-Uh...yeah. I guess I am. Or, I was."

"You're not a pokemon trainer anymore?"

"I am, but I'm focusing more on the science field at the moment. You know Ash?" he casually threw in, but he couldn't hold back a wince. The girl didn't seem to notice.

"Yep. We traveled together a few years ago in Hoenn."

Gary could slowly feel the edginess slip away as she visibly grew more relaxed. "Ah, now I remember. He did say something about you. You have an older brother, right?"

"No, no. A little brother, Max."

"Then you must be May, the coordinator."

"Yes!" At the mention of contests, her back straightened and her face lit up the room with a proud smile. "That's me!"

Right then, Cam flew into the room with a gigantic smile and embraced (more like crashed into) May. The latter released a yell of astonishment, but mirrored her friend's excited expression.

"Hey, you scared me!"

"Well I missed you. There wasn't time to think about greeting you properly." Cam sat up and attempted to tame her wild sleeping hair, but wasn't getting much success. "What are you doing here, anyway? You usually call before you come over. I didn't know you were traveling in Johto!"

"Slow down; I'm not in a rush like I was last time. I was just passing through and wanted to say hi to you and Nigel... Come to think of it, where is he anyway?"

Cam's features turned sour like she was presented with one million phony pokedollars. "He's away on business and left this idiot in his place. I don't want to talk about it." She motioned to Gary carelessly. "Just ignore him."

"Actually, we've gotten to know each other a bit. Apparently we have a mutual friend." Gary nodded smartly and crossed his arms in a terrific pose.

"And who might that be?"

"Ash Ketchum."

"Oh yeah. Your grandpa told my uncle who told me that you bullied him all the time back in the day."

"What? I did not! He was clearly inferior to me as a trainer."

"Mean Gary Oak. Fits perfectly."

"You know, you're being mean yourself."

"I'm hungry!" May chimed in quickly as a sweat drop graced her forehead.

Cam and Gary entered a whirl of silence, but the air remained unstable as they stared each other down rather unpleasantly.

Abruptly, Gary broke eye contact and headed for the kitchen. "I'll get you something. Any preference?"

Her face softened to show gratitude. "I eat anything and everything."

When he left, Cam automatically turned to May, using an abnormal robotic voice. "Get me out of here."

"Huh?" She tilted her head in confusion, unsure of how to take Cam's stoic face.

"You're traveling Johto again because of that weird pokemon migration, right?"

"Well yeah, everyone is gathering here. It'll be great training for my pokemon, too since we'll meet a bunch of strong trainers. I already have a few appeals-"

"Focus, May. Here's the plan."

"What are you talking about? What plan?"

"I'm coming with you, of course! And we can't let the idiot know where we're going."

"I don't think I like the sound of this, Cammy. You know your uncle won't let you leave the city, and your parents! What do you think they'll do if they find out?"

Cam swatted the air in front of May's nose, offering some sort of a growl. Her face had scrunched up in disgust once more. "Are you kidding me? I don't care what my parents say – that is, if they even find out. If Gary gets a hold of my uncle and blabs, I doubt he'd tell them. He lets me get away with everything; you know, he's cool like that. Besides, I'm only following you to Ecruteak and coming straight back. It's a passive road, so no harm done."

"Well...I guess if you only come for the contest, your uncle will be okay with that."

"Exactly. I'm supporting a friend in her quest to become the best coordinator ever. There's nothing wrong with that."

May nodded, but her composure was flimsy enough for Cam to see that she was still uncertain.

"There's nothing to worry about, I swear. I'll be on my best behavior," she assured.

"Then when should we leave?"

"Whenever you're ready to go! The more time I spend here, the more years shed from my youth."

"That bad?"

"You have no idea."

Cam had been everywhere with May that day. Up in her bedroom, the backyard, and out in the city. They had already stopped by the gym to tell Whitney and the others about their plans and raced to Mr. Game's famous Game Corner and played the slots to regenerate their luck for the road (in the words of Cam). They then skipped to the Pokemon Center to leave their teams to be fed and cared for, stopped by the Department Store to stock up on supplies, and now walked the streets with little idea as to where they were going.

"I love visiting the Day Care, but my uncle is really close to the old couple that works there, so that's a no-no. Hopefully, word won't spread around that I'm gone and it won't make it to my uncle!"

May placed her hands behind her back and leaned forward to examine Cam's face. "Be realistic here. He's going to find out eventually, and if this Gary guy matches what you're telling me, then he's bound to say something to him."

"I can dream, May." She pouted. "Uncle Nigel will forgive me. It would be so much easier if he never found out, though. Maybe I should at least make my bed before I leave..."

"And that'll make him less angry with you?"

"What are you worrying about? It's my problem, and I don't care that much about when I'm getting caught. This is something I've wanted for a heck of a long time, now. Nothing's going to stand in my way!"

May couldn't help but smile amiably at her friend's determination.

"Get out of the way!"

That voice sounded oddly familiar. The two girls whipped their heads around at the cry, only to see a panicked boy charging at them on an unstable bicycle. May shrieked, and Cam was frozen in shock. Her reflexes didn't want to work. A white light flashed through her vision and Jabari came to their rescue, using his tail to smack the tire and send both the boy and his transportation flying. He hit the ground, almost in a silly but sickening way, and Cam felt the burning anger come on.

"Stay off that damn bike, ya stupid kid!"

"Cam, are you sure he's okay?"

"If he is, he's not going to be, because I'm going to kill him! What did I tell you before, huh?" she bellowed at Adam. "That shop is getting a bad reputation because you don't know how to ride a freaking bike. Take it to one of the routes and try it, not in the city with a bunch of people. This isn't bowling, okay?" She roughly blew some stray bangs out of her face and stomped over to the cowering teen, grinding her teeth in an ugly and threatening fashion.

"I'm sorry! I took it back to get it fixed and this was the new one they gave me."

"Let's see if you can ring up those excuses while I pound your face in."

"Uh, Cam?" May called timidly from a few feet away. "We're leaving soon, remember? You should end on a positive note with people to avoid bad luck."

Cam was still glaring at Adam and baring her teeth like a vicious pokemon, but his attention flickered to May.

"You girls are hitting the road soon? Where are you going?"

"Ecruteak. For a contest."

"Ah, so you're a coordinator!" He floundered to his feet and beamed. "I don't see coordinators around Johto that often. Not as many as in other regions, I mean. You any good?"

May smirked and crossed her arms. Confidence rolled off of her in waves. "Yep! I won the Grand Festival in Hoenn last year."

"Whoa, really? Man, I sure am out of the loop. You must be pretty good, then."

"You must be pretty good, then," Cam intercepted in a squeaky voice. "Of course she is. She's May Maple. The best of the best!"

"Oh, I don't know about that..." The coordinator flushed and scratched at her cheek shyly while Adam gave Cam a strange look.

"I'm Adam, by the way."

"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm May, as Cam said."

The redhead rolled her eyes at the introduction and drummed her fingers on her arm impatiently.

"So are you entering the contest, too?"

Cam stopped stewing and motioned for him to repeat himself, not realizing before that this amateur had the audacity to keep speaking to her.

"Are you two going to be competing with each other?"

She huffed and glared at him hard, stomping her foot childishly into the ground. "Now why would I enter a contest with May in it? Number one, she's my friend. Number two, I don't do contests. I battle."

"Just because she's your friend doesn't mean you can't enter the contest. In fact, that's what most coordinators do. It's only friendly competition, after all." His hands gripped the handlebars of his bike and twisted the front wheel back and forth as he spoke.

May nodded in agreement. "Dawn and Ash competed with me a few times. It was really fun!"

"Yeah, but I'm not too enthused about becoming your opponent, May. You get too excited about contests, who am I to get in your way? And all these stories you tell me about you and Drew snapping at each other offstage doesn't make me want to go up against you any time soon."

At the mention of his name, May blushed faintly, but shook it away and protested. "T-That's different, though. Drew's a jerk and you're not."

Cam shrugged and stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets. "Nah, the contest life isn't for me. I'm more of a battler; I always was."

"Then maybe you'd want to battle me sometime?" Adam smiled hopefully and motioned to his shoulder bag, which was probably where he was holding his pokeballs.

"If you fight as well as you ride a bike, then it's not gonna happen," she deadpanned, beginning to walk away with the obvious veil of disinterest.

May stayed with her hands locked behind her back, watching Cam go further and further. When it was clear that she wasn't coming back, the brunette turned to Adam with twinkling kind eyes and said, "I guess we'll get going, then. It was nice meeting you, Adam."

"H-Hey, wait a second."

She tilted her head in question, noticing his sudden anxious expression.

"Um..." he began awkwardly. "I was wondering if...you wouldn't mind, you know, me...maybe coming along with you? I really have nothing better to do with my time. I'm obviously not getting anywhere with this bike, and I get very lonely and-"

"Sure!"

He blinked rapidly, taken aback by the zealous exclamation. "Really?"

"It's no problem. The more, the merrier!" she quoted as she waved him along lightheartedly.

Adam beamed and guided his bike to a nearby dumpster. With a new found energy, he trotted to May's side and followed Cam's shadow, fully aware but uncaring of how she would react once she found out their party of two had a new addition.