Three months later, Ash had seven of the eight Hoenn badges and they were now heading back to Sootopolis City to get his final badge. Misty had left for Cerulean City not long after the defeat of Team Aqua, but she had promised Ash and Brock that she would come and see them when, and as she had jokingly told Ash, if Ash made it to the Hoenn League.
That night, they stayed at the Pokemon Center so their pokemon could all get some rest before Ash's big battle against Wallace.
As the others slept, Ash laid in his sleeping bag, unable to get any kind of sleep. This would be the battle for his final badge from the Hoenn League, and he was beyond nervous. However, he didn't think the nervousness was completely from the match. The past few months had been as normal as they had been before the Team Aqua incident, accept of course his feelings toward May. He had noticed how beautiful she had become, and he liked her, a lot. But, he knew she liked Drew, so he was not going to make a fool of himself, so he was not going to say anything about it to her, so she would probably never know what he thought about her. He looked around and saw May, asleep with Pikachu not far from her head, halfway between her and Ash.
'She looks so innocent when she's asleep. I wish she knew how I felt, even though she would probably kill me. Oh well, can't have everything.'
The next morning, Ash, May, Max, and Brock went to the Sootopolis City Gym to face Wallace for his final badge. The battle started easily enough. Wallace thanked Ash for stopping Kyogre in the Cave of Origins and then the battle officially commenced.
It was now down to one pokemon for each of them. Wallace sent out Milotic, and Ash chose Kyogre.
"Milotic, Water Pulse attack!"
"Kyogre, dodge and use Surf!"
Kyogre's surf attack hit Milotic, but the damage wasn't good enough to do any real harm to Milotic.
"Another Water Pulse!"
This time, the attack hit Kyogre head on. However, though the attack didn't do enough harm to defeat Kyogre, it did cause the giant water pokemon to become confused, and instead of attacking Milotic, Kyogre hurt itself.
"Kyogre!"
However, Kyogre could not snap out of it.
"Okay Milotic, finish it with a Take Down attack, now!"
"Kyogre, do something, anything!"
Then, something totally unexpected happened. As Milotic closed in on Kyogre, a burst of electricity shot out, completely encasing Kyogre in yellow light.
"What? No way! What's happening?"
"Ash? You didn't Kyogre could use Thunder?" Brock asked as Ash looked on in surprise.
"No, I..."
"Milotic is unable to battle, Kyogre is the winner. Victory goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town."
"I did it!"
An hour later, the group was eating lunch, and Ash was still going on about his victory. Finally, it got to be so much for May that she leaned over and whispered something to Brock.
"Is there anyway to shut him up?"
"Nope. Normally, he can go on for three days after a big win like this."
"Oh brother."
"Brock, where did you say the Hoenn League Tournament was being held?" Ash said, finally calming down for a few seconds.
"Ever Grande City. It starts in one month, so you need to start training so you can do well. Have you chosen which Pokemon you will use in the battle?"
"Ummm..."
"Thought so. You need to get serious Ash. Luck and the skills of your pokemon can only get you so far."
Ash looked at May as she said this. Normally, she would support him, but this was unexpected.
"May, I have enough skill to win it?"
"Yeah, whatever Ash. You'll be out by the third round."
"Shut up May."
And that was where the argument began. At first, it was normal argument, but then it became more and more heated. Finally, Ash was as mad as he ever got.
"You should be happy for me! I finally got all eight of my badges, and now I am going to compete in the Hoenn League. But you have to criticize me. If only you knew how hard it was to win a real pokemon battle. But you're trying to be a Pokemon Coordinator, which is easier and more stupid and weaker. You could not last one day in my shoes."
Ash then said some things that crushed every ounce of feelings May possessed. As tears streamed down her eyes, she turned and run off, but not before looking at Ash.
"I don't want to see you again Ash! I hope you loose the tournament. Good bye. Max, after the tournament, you need to go home!"
As she run off, Ash wanted to chase after her, but Brock stopped him.
"Ash, she needs her time alone. She'll come back."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Then leave her alone. After all, you said some mean things to her."
Ash sighed, but deep down, he knew Brock was right and he felt bad, but he didn't know what to do. Max, however, stood up.
"I'll be back. I'm going to go talk to her and try and bring her back."
Ash watched hopelessly, wondering if Max would be able to succeed.
So, what did you think? Is this good-bye to May, or will she return? I think the result depends on the mood I'm in when I write the next chapter, and my mood depends on the number of reviews I receive. cough-hint-review-cough