"And after I won the Grand Festival, I decided to come back home and relax for a while. I knew my pokémon were exhausted and I knew they deserved the rest."

Ash smiled as he continued to listen to his friend speak. So far, neither of them went out to train any of their pokémon. They were just talking about their travels and their respective wins at their respective tournaments as they laid under a big oak tree on top of a hill, which was just fine for Ash. To him, May's voice was like the voice of an angel.

His smiled even wider when he realized that Melanie was still off training her pokémon. She didn't really have anything to talk about and figured free time was training time. Although Ash didn't know the reason, he didn't give it much thought when she decided to go away for a little while. After all, she was irking his nerves for four whole days. He could use the time away from the little ten year-old.

Ash continued to nod his head as he continued to listen to May.

"I was a little homesick too, so it didn't take me long to decide whether to catch the ferry to Hoenn the following day."

"I know exactly how you feel, May."

"You do?"

Ash sat up straight.

"Of course. I haven't been home for months, not to mention the fact that I rarely get to talk to my mom. And whenever I do stop by after my journey, she does this guilt thing on me every time just because I only spend a day or so home before beginning my next journey! Like four days ago, I tried to tell her that was coming here to visit you and she…"

"Ash?"

"Huh?"

"You're monologuing."

"Oh, sorry. Guess I've been spending too much time with Ms. Priss over there," he said pointing to Melanie in the distance, who was telling her pokémon to attack a nearby tree.

"Stop," May said giving Ash a playful shove, "I think she's kind of sweet."

"Sweet? May, sweet Melanie went on vaca the moment she became a trainer."

"Ash."

"I'm serious. I met sweet Melanie. Sweet Melanie was a naïve innocent little girl who loved all pokémon of all kinds. This!" He pointed at her again, "This Melanie right here? I have no clue about. She's nothing like the sweet Melanie I met in Pallet Town. She's rude. She's bossy. She's conceited. She's cocky. It's like she has two faces or something."

"She's not the only one who can be cocky, Ashy," May said in a sing-song voice, causing Pikachu to laugh and Ash to scowl.

"What is with you two? I am not cocky! I'm competitive I admit, but I am not cocky!"

"Have you seen yourself when you get fired up, Ash?"

"Competitive!"

"You can be competitive and still be cocky."

"May!"

"Ash, I'm cocky. I admit that. I'm cocky. I know I'm cocky. Competitive too."

Ash chuckled. "Trust me, I know. I've seen the way you get remember?"

"Shut up," she said as she nudged him playfully again, causing them both to laugh. Ash thought that was the sweetest little laugh he ever heard.

A few moments passed where the two shared a moment together, gazing into each other's eyes. Ash began to feel nervous again and quickly turned away to keep May from seeing his heating face. Likewise, May did the same.

Ash gulped as he tried desperately to slow his heart rate down. After he was sure that his heart wouldn't plunge straight out of his chest, he turned back around to face May.

"Hey, May?" He said, his voice cracking.

"Yeah, Ash?"

"You know you're my best friend, right?"

"Of course."

Pikachu crossed his tiny arms and stared angrily at his human. He knew this was a special moment between the two humans and that it was time for his trainer to tell May how he felt, but Ash's words still hurt. But after given it a second thought, Pikachu shrugged it off. He watched the two with interest and listen to his trainer, waiting for him to tell May his feelings.

Ash bit his bottom lip. "And you know you'll always be my best friend, well, human best friend, right?"

Pikachu smiled at this.

"Of course, Ash."

Ash let out a small sigh as he continued. "May, there's something I wanna tell you."

"I'm listening." She said, leaning closer to him.

He gulped. "May, I…"

"Hey, you guys!"

Ash's eyes snapped opened as he saw Melanie run up to approach them. His surprised state quickly changed into anger when he realized the girl interrupted his chance to tell May how he felt all these years.

"You guys!"

"What Melanie! Can't you see that we're busy?" Ash said angrily.

Melanie crossed her arms.

"Well excuse me!"

Ash sighed. "What is it, Melanie?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll just go tell Blaze," she said as she turned away from the two with a huff.

Ash and May stared in confusion as the little girl walked further and further away from them.

"Ugh! That girl is such a pain!"

May blinked. "O-kay. Anyway, what was it you were saying?" She said, turning her attention back to Ash.

Ash a paused. "Saying?"

"Yeah, you said you wanted to tell me something."

"Oh, uh…" Ash started rubbing the nape of his neck, "N-never mind."

May's heart sank. She had a feeling what it was he was going to tell her, but now, he wasn't going to tell her anything. "Are you sure?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm sure."

"Okay."

Ash heard the disappointment in her voice. He wanted to say something to make her feel better but he couldn't think of anything since he felt the same way.

Finally thinking of something, Ash opened his mouth to speak, but was once again cut off by Melanie as called out to them.

"Hey, you guys! C'mon! Let's go! We still have a lot of ground to cover."

Ash exhaled loudly as he stood up. He held out his hand to help May up. She took it, and the two began walking down the hill and after the magenta headed pigtailed ten year old.

"Tell me again why we're following her?" May asked.

"I really don't know the answer to that, May." He replied tiredly.

Ash let out another sigh as he and May continued to follow Melanie through the town.

"Hey, May? Isn't that your brother?" Melanie asked pointing towards the little boy exiting the pokémart.

"Yeah. What is he doing here?"

"Looks like he's buying some supplies," Ash pointed to the brown paper bag he held in his hands.

"Max!" May shouted as she ran to her little brother, Ash and Melanie right behind her, "Max!"

Max stopped walking when he saw his older sister running towards him. "May?"

"Max," May said once she got close to him, "Max, what are you doing here?"

"Mom asked me to pick up some supplies for her. She…"

Max was interrupted as a tiny Pokémon with bright yellow fur, black triangle-shaped ears, and two pink cheeks popped up on his shoulder. A red bandana was wrapped around her right ear and continued down to her neck where the tie was made.

Once the pokémon saw May, she cried out in happiness as she jumped from Max's shoulder to May's, nuzzling her face at seeing her trainer again.

"Pi Pichu!"

May started petting the small pokémon. "Pichu?"

"Pichu!"

"You have a Pichu, May?"Ash asked with curiosity as he gazed up at the small electric pokémon perched on her shoulder.

"Yeah. Remember that girl from the pokémon egg farm back in Kanto? The one who gave me Eevee when it was just a little egg?"

Ash put his hand to his chin as he thought about it. "Yeeahh, that girl, Nicolette. Man, was she crazy about you."

May nodded.

"Well, when I was on the ferry on my way back home I saw her again. She said that thanks to me, she was able to build up enough courage to start her own journey to becoming a pokémon coordinator. She gave me Pichu as a way to show her appreciation, though it was only an egg at the time."

"Pi!"

Ash smiled. "Wow, that's great May!"

"Pi Pikachu!" His pokémon said in agreement.

May smiled at Ash's comment, but she still hadn't forgotten what her brother did.

"Max, why did you bring Pichu out here? You know it's still just a baby."

Max crossed his arms, the bag still in his hand.

"I didn't just bring Pichu out here. It followed me. You left poor little Pichu back at home, all lonely and with no one to play with. You know it doesn't like to be in her ball and now you completely abandon it?"

"I didn't abandon Pichu!"

"May," Ash said, "Pichu doesn't like being in her ball?"

May turned away from her brother to face Ash. She tried to force her brother's hurtful words out of her mind.

"It not some much Pichu dislikes being in its ball. It just prefers to run around and play and to be social. Not to mention ride on my head from time to time."

At this, Pichu hops from May's shoulder onto her head. "If it makes my pokémon happy, why not?"

"Has it been in a pokémon contest yet?" Ash asked.

"Not yet. We still have a lot of training to do, but Pichu has watched some of my other pokémon compete and cheers them on, much like Plusle and Minun do," she said as she took the baby mouse off her head and held her in her arms.

"It's so cute!" Melanie cooed as she began fiddling with the little Pokémon's paws, causing the little mouse to squeal with enjoyment.

"Char!"

Melanie turned around to her Charmander looking at her scornfully, as if she felt somewhat betrayed.

"Oh, but you're still my cutie-pie, Blaze. You best believe that. No one can take your place."

The Charmander smiled at this, giving her trainer a victory symbol as she leaped into Melanie's arms.

Melanie smiled knowing that her starter had forgiven her but soon stopped smiling. She looked off into the distance, listening for something.

"Hey, you guys hear that?"

"Hear what, Melanie?" Ash asked as he began looking around.

"That. That sound," she said as she looked to her left towards a path that led to an open field, "It sounds like someone's battling."

Ash shook his head. "Oh, c'mon. You exaggera…"

"Let's go check it out!" she said as she sprinted off.

"Melanie! Gah, that girl never stops!" Ash said as he, May and Max ran after the little girl.

Why do we keep following her?

Melanie's smile widened once she got onto the field.

"I was right!"

"Melanie," Ash said with exhaustion, "Mel…Melanie, why did you take off like that?"

"Look!"

Ash, May, and Max all looked in the direction where Melanie was pointing. They saw two trainers standing in a clearing, apparently having a pokémon battle.

On the right, was a girl with hazel brown eyes and light brown hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. She was wearing a teal tight-fitting tank top and a thigh length ruby red skirt with an ebony belt. She had on cream colored opened-toed sandals with pumps and a cream colored summer-style hat with a ruby red pokéball symbol on the front. A sunshine yellow pack was hanging from her left shoulder.

On the other side of the field was a boy. He had deep mahogany brown eyes and brown hair. He was wearing an onyx black camp shirt and loose-fitting indigo colored jeans. A grey fanny pack was around his waist and a purple pendant hung from his neck.

Ash didn't recognize the girl, but he was certain he knew the guy she was battling.

"Gary?"

Gary stood tall as he continued to analyze the battle field. He tried to think of a strategy to beat the girl and her Raichu. They were both up to their last pokémon and neither of them were giving up.

Gary smirked. How he admired this girl.

After shaking himself loose of his thoughts, Gary looked towards his Umbreon and gave his next attack.

"All right, Umbreon! Use Shadow Ball!"

Umbreon opened up his mouth and began charging, soon releasing a dark ball of energy towards the electric mouse.

The girl's smile widened and she gave her pokémon her next attack.

"Lightning, intercept it with Zap Cannon, then use Quick Attack!"

The small electric mouse created an electrical field from her mouth and launched it at her target. The colliding attacks caused an explosion to form.

Not waiting until the smoke cleared, Lightning shot through the cloud of dust and charged straight toward her opponent at incredibly fast speeds.

"Quick, Umbreon! Dodge it!"

Before Umbreon could move, Lightning hit him with her attack, causing Umbreon to skid across the ground to a stop, before forcing himself back up to his feet.

"You okay, Umbreon?" Gary asked as he looked towards his best friend, concern in his eyes.

"Be…Umbreon!" Umbron said once he got to his feet, staring down his opponent.

"All right, then. Now Umbreon, use Hidden Power!"

The moonlight pokémon eyes began to glow white as he started releasing radiating waves of energy towards the Raichu.

The female trainer smirked as she gave her pokémon her next attack. "Now Lightning, use Surf!"

"What?" The group exclaimed in unison as they looked towards the female trainer.

"That Raichu knows how to use Surf?" Ash exclaimed as he continued to look on at the display.

The Raichu's eyes glowed white as her body was enveloped by a yellow energy. A few moments later, a huge tidal wave was seen coming behind the electrical mouse. Use the wave to lift her, Lightning began riding the wave, getting closer and closer to her opponent.

Sweat began to trickle down Gary's face as he gazed upon the display. The bipedal rodent was gaining on his pokémon.

Thinking fast, Gary gave his pokémon his next attack. "Umbreon, jump in the air and use Double Team!"

Umbreon's body glowed white as he began creating identical copies of himself.

"That's not gonna work, baby," the girl said as she looked back towards her pokémon, "Now Lightning! Attack Umbreon with Surf!"

The Raichu gave a large cry as she jumped into the air. Making direct motions with her paws, she sent the wave down, hitting all the Umbreon copies, soon revealing the original and sending him crashing into the ground.

"Umbreon!" Gary cried out as he saw his pokémon get plummeted by the tidal wave.

To his amazement, when the water evaporated, Umbreon was still standing, causing both the girl and her Raichu to stare in shock.

"How is it still standing?"

Gary smiled.

"Through love and friendship, Harmony. Now Umbreon, let's show these two what we're really made of!"

"Umbreon!"

"Now, Umbreon, let's finish this battle! Giga Impact!"

A yellow-orange energy covered Umbreon's body. A purple energy sphere surrounded Umbreon and swirled around him.

"Two can play at that, baby. Now Lightning, let's end this battle with Volt Tackle!"

Lightning began running towards Umbreon, soon being engulfed in electricity as she prepared to tackle her opponent.

"Now, Umbreon!"

"Do it, Lightning!"

The two pokémon gave a loud cry as they took one large leap and tackled each other.

The energy between the two combined attacks increased and soon created an explosion. Both pokémon cried out in pain as they spiraled in opposite directions. They hit the ground and bounced off of it three times before skidding across the ground and stopping with a thud.

"Umbreon!"

"Lightning!"

After the smoke cleared, both pokémon had spirals for eyes, the clear indication of a knock out.

Realizing that the battle was a draw, both Gary and Harmony walked over to their pokémon, consulting them.

"Hey, Umbreon, thanks. You were awesome, pal."

"Be…"

"Thank you, Lightning. You were amazing."

"Rai…"

After praising their pokémon both trainers walked up towards the other, smiling widely.

"That was some battle, Harms. I can see how you became Johto's champion." Gary said, shaking her hand.

"Don't sell yourself short, baby. You were incredible. I had no idea my pokémon researcher was so strong," She began pinching his cheeks. Gary smiled lovingly at her as he took her hand and kissed it.

The two's little moment was interrupted when Gary noticed the small group of onlookers behind Harmony.

"Well if it isn't little Ashy," he said with a smirk.

Ash raised his hands. "Gah! Will you stop calling me that!"

"Whatever," he said as he flicked his hand.

Despite his anger at being called that childish nickname by his old rival, Ash and the others walked up to go greet Gary and the other trainer.

"How's it been, Ashy?"

"Stop calling me that!"

"All you have to do is ask, Ashy-boy." He said with a smirk.

Ash starting growled.

"Oh, don't take it personally, Ash. Gar-bear has a thing for giving people nicknames," Harmony said as she playfully shoved Gary.

Gary turned to face the group. "Ash and….company…I'd like you to meet, Harmony. She's…"

"Wait a minute!" Melanie exclaimed as she stepped in front Ash, "I know you!"

"You can't be serious!" Ash said as he began getting a strong feeling of déjà vu.

"I know you! You're Gary Oak! You're that pokémon researcher who figured out how to revive an Aerodactyl from a piece of amber!"

"Well, uh, thanks. Glad you didn't call me the grandson of the famous Professor Oak," Gary said with a sweatdrop.

"And you!" Melanie screamed with excitement as she pointed towards Harmony, starting her.

"Y-You're Harmony Song! You won the Johto Pokémon League and beat all of the Elite Four! You even won the Kanto Grand Festival! You're Johto's Champion! And you're a Top Coordinator!"

"Well, er, thank you," Harmony replied nervously.

"You guys are like my whole reason for becoming a trainer! My whole aspiration and purpose for living is to become just like you guys!" She said feverishly, causing Gary and Harmony to sweatdrop once more.

May looked on at the display in confusion, while Ash wasn't the least bit fazed and shook his head.

"Just your typical fangirl, huh Melanie?" he said with crossed arms.

"But…I thought…" May said with confusion.

"Don't be the least bit fazed by this, May. She's done this twice already. I wouldn't be surprised if she started screaming if she even saw Team Rocket. 'Oh, I can't believe this! Y-You're the famous Team Rocket! I have a profile on you guys! You are the largest organization to fail so miserably in a time period of three years. Can I have your autograph?'" Ash said doing a horrible impression of Melanie.

"Excuse you!" Melanie said with crossed arms, "I'm still here yah know! I can hear everything you're saying about me!"

"Who said I didn't want you to hear?" He said, evening his gaze at her.

Melanie hugged her arms tighter as she cut her eyes at Ash, who reflected the same look at her.

"O-kay, guys," Gary said as he began waving his arms, "I'd like to stay and talk but here is not the place. Harms and I have a camp set up a little further back. If you wanna come along you can," Gary said as he slipped his arm around his girlfriend's waist and walked off.

After a few moments, the group started after them, curious about what the pokémon researcher was doing here in Hoenn. But that did nothing to stop Ash and Melanie from arguing the whole way there.