(Author's Notes)

Aaaand here it is, the next chapter! I honestly can't believe I wrote it so fast, haha. So, May's journey has finally begun! I also gave her Treecko a name in this chapter, and points to anyone who can guess the character his name was inspired by! Anyways~ On to reviews!

lightxhope2124: Yes, actually! Treecko was my starter, and I named him the same name that she does in this story. I personally don't like the other starters very much, so Treecko was the obvious choice! I'm glad you're enjoying the story, though, and I look forward to writing more!

KagamineRin02: Thank you! I'm really glad you like the reverse harem aspect, because I wasn't sure how Pokemon fans would take it haha! I'm a huge Otome game fan, and I guess that kinda comes out in this chapter. I totally agree though! A reverse harem needs a really interesting plot to carry it! May will be getting her second Pokemon in the next few chapters, and I think the pokemon I chose might actually be a little bit of a surprise to some of you~ And yes, I felt May needed a rough past to round out her character, so I ended up making Norman the bad guy. I guess he's the obvious choice, haha!

Anyways, thank you so much for the reviews, guys! They get me inspired to keep writing this! :D

May sighed heavily as she collapsed onto her mattress. The house around her was dark and quiet; shadows played on the walls and every creak and crack of the house made her jump a little. She felt almost like she was sleeping in one of those spooky houses in horror movies, or something. May wrapped the jacket she was using as a blanket around her body, but her thoughts would not rest.

It had taken all afternoon for her and Brendan to make their way back to Littleroot. However, she still remembered what he had told her when they had parted.

"Well… from tomorrow on we won't really be neighbors anymore. That was kinda short lived, eh? I've decided to head out on my own journey. Of course, I'll be helping my Dad along the way, but…"

That sentence had really got her thinking. Here was this idiot, ready to take on the world. He had a bright future, and his parents were going to support him. But… what was she going to do? At this point, Wallace and her music were all that she had. Even if Wallace did his best, at this rate, she wouldn't become the amazing superstar of her dreams. Not the way things were now. Hoenn was not that accepting. And did she really plan to spend the rest of her life in this dump of a town?

May clenched her fists around the fuzzy jacket. And, tomorrow was the day she was supposed to give Professor Birch his Treecko back. If she did that, May knew she would be stuck here in Littleroot town for the foreseeable future. Despite herself, May had had fun that day with the little Treecko. It had been terrifying, to be sure — but maybe she could make it work… maybe she could go on a journey too?

"So… I'm keeping him! No going back on what you said~" May chirped with a quick smile. Birch grinned from ear to ear.

"I'm so happy to hear that, and I'm sure Treecko is too!" He responded with excitedly. "So, what will you name him?" He continued. May looked up, toying with a strand of her hair.

"Hmm… People name Pokemon? I guess it makes sense." She mused. May honestly hadn't thought about it; her Father had never named his Pokemon, so the idea hadn't occurred to her. She looked concerned for a few moments.

"I think I'll call him... 'Tsubaki'. Yeah! That works!" May exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. She decided to name him after one of her favorite anime and game characters; both him and her Treecko were very cheeky, but still adorably clingy. She nodded happily to herself, despite the fact that she still held a sense of dread everytime she saw that pokeball.

"Oh! But are you going to be leaving Littleroot as well?" The professor asked politely.

"Of course! Who would want to stay here permanently?" She said with a sweet smile, though her tone was clearly sardonic. Birch laughed uncomfortably and began digging in his desk. "Besides, Wallace said it'll be easier to arrange recording sessions if I'm on the move. There aren't really any studios here, after all." May continued, barely paying attention to the older man.

"Then you should take this!" He said, handing her a rather advanced looking piece of technology, that he had removed from his desk.

"Uh… what's this? Some kinda pokenav rip-off?" She asked dubiously. Right about now, Birch was quite glad this girl was not his kid.

"No, it's a pokedex! You can use it to get information on the Pokemon you meet throughout your journey. It will not only record them all, but help you keep track of their attacks and stats!" Birch explained.

"Hm. Cool, I guess. Anyways, thanks and all Professor, but I gotta get packing. See ya!" She said with a little wink, before turning tail and skipping out of Professor Birch's lab.

"Is that girl really going to survive out there…?" He mumbled after she had gone.

"I doubt it." His assistant replied flatly.

The next morning, May and Tsubaki set out. She was full of nerves, but her outfit was on point and she felt more than a little confident that, at the very least, she would be the most fashionable person on route 101. That alone put a smile on her face.

It was well into the afternoon, when she and Tsubaki reached Oldale for the second time. As they rested at the pokemon center, May looked over the map in her pokenav.

"Hmmm… we should be able to make it to Petalburg before nightfall. No way we're staying outside anyways." She mumbled to herself. The very thought of returning to Petalburg made her feel like vomiting, but she knew it was the only way forward. If all went well, she wouldn't be there long anyways. After a quick lunch, she picked up some items from the pokemart and headed out once again.

Along route 102, May was challenged by a few trainers. However, she declined all of them with a cute smile and a wave. She didn't see much point to battling when it wasn't necessary — after all, she wasn't power hungry like her father. That said, she did find herself slowly getting more comfortable with battling as she and Tsubaki encountered many wild Pokemon on their way.

Sadly, however, afternoon turned into evening, and evening found May and Tsubaki still a few hours from Petalburg.

"W-what do I do?!" May shouted into her Pokenav after hurriedly dialing Wallace. She found herself standing in a clearing, with darkness looming around her and panic taking hold. She wasn't afraid of the dark or anything — but she was certainly afraid of the wilderness. It was dirty and gross, after all!

"Calm down, dear. You have a sleeping bag, right? Just set up camp, it'll be fine if you let Tsubaki sleep out of his pokeball." Wallace said, his voice all soothing tones.

"Are you kidding, I don't have one of those!"

"Well… I guess it's not too cold, so you should be okay… haha."

"'SHOULD'?!" May yelped, her eyes wide.

"And… where am I supposed to change? Wash my face? I'll look horrible tomorrow if I don't—"

"May. You'll be fine. This is your big adventure!"

"B-but—"

"Have fun~" He sung, before a resounding click echoed through her ears.

"Bastard hung up on me…!" May whined. She felt like crying as she released Tsubaki from his pokeball. Did people actually enjoy this kind of thing? It boggled her mind. May sighed and plopped down on the ground. Tsubaki stood beside her, watching closely.

"Well… I guess we're stuck out here…" May mumbled, sounding rather irritated. She knew they could try to make it to Petalburg, but Tsubaki was still low level and it didn't seem safe after dark.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she heard a strange noise that sounded quite like something… crawling… along the leaves behind her. Horror filled her eyes and her hands began to sweat as she slowly inched her head around. Is that a…?

"B-B-B-BUUUUG!" May screeched at the top of her lungs. Only inches away from her stood a bright red Wurmple, crawling around in the fallen leaves as it came closer. May scrambled away from it in a panic, and Tsubaki immediately placed himself between the bug and his trainer, his eyes narrowed venomously.

"T-tsubaki! Kill it with fire!" She shouted, her voice shaking. If there was one thing that May hated more than Pokemon, it was bug pokemon. Tsubaki gave her a confused look. Fire?

"Uh… I mean, pound! Use pound!"

Needless to say, after the Wurmple had been taken care of, May spent most of her night nervously singing to herself, completely unable to sleep, as various unseen creepy crawlies milled about the wilderness around her. This, to her, was the worst start she could have possibly imagined.

Wally took in a deep breath of the crisp night air. It was well passed midnight, so it had been easy to sneak out of his house in Petaburg. Unbeknownst to his parents, he actually did this quite a lot. Wally had a special place he always went to and everything — it was a pretty little pond that reflected the moonlight pleasantly a few hours outside of town. He knew it wasn't really safe, but he always took along one of the family Pokemon just in case, so it didn't seem so bad to him. It was the only time he could at least pretend to have fun.

Tonight, it was unusually chilly, and he clutched his jacket closer as he meandered along the well-worn path. As the quiet pond came into view, Wally became aware of a voice that tickled his ears. It was someone — no, a girl — singing softly. As he approached, he could just make out the figure of a girl huddled up against a nearby tree. Her bright eyes were looking out over the gentle waters, and her pale skin was bathed with hints of moonlight. Her hair was brown and drifted gently on the wind, while she was wearing an oversized, pale pink sweater that hid her curves. What Wally found most appealing, though, was her voice; the song she sang was gentle and atmospheric, while her voice was soft, and yet so powerful. He could feel a blush spread across his face as he watched her from the shadows. He wanted to approach her, but the butterflies in his stomach prevented him.

He was shocked out of his reverie when she paused and stirred. The Treecko in her lap lifted it's head as her eyes shifted towards him. Quickly, he hid behind a tree, scared she might see him. His heart was racing as he listened. She muttered something he couldn't quite make out, and then she leaned her head against the tree once again. As her breath evened out, he realized she had fallen asleep. Peeking around the tree, he could see that she was shivering in the darkness. Without another thought, he shrugged off his jacket and crept up to the girl. Her Treecko eyed him carefully, but luckily it didn't seem to think him a threat. He draped the jacket around her shoulders with a smile, and then turned to leave. He gave the cute girl one last glance over his shoulder, before heading on home.

"Ugh… that was horrible." May grumbled, her head face down on the table as she sat in the Petalburg Pokemon center's cafe. She knew memories of that night would haunt her for months to come.

May had arrived in town early that morning, though, and of course, she had headed straight to the center to clean herself up first thing. And now, she was sitting in the cafe with a cup of coffee in her hand, attempting to wake herself up before she headed out for the woods. The faster she left Petalburg, the better.

Suddenly hearing a commotion near the door, May looked up, and what she saw sent her into a panic for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. Standing in the doorway among the whisper's of the center's patrons, was her Father; Norman. May had never expected to run into him during her stay, and her first instinct was to dive under the table. The gym leader was the last man on earth she wanted to see. However, before she could move a muscle, his dark eyes zeroed in on her.

"May!" He called tersely. May's complexion turned pale as she watched him approach. He glowered at her.

"I figured you'd be here after what Birch told me. C'mon, we're going back to the gym." He nearly growled. May shook her head fervently, but found herself unable to speak. Norman only rolled his eyes and grabbed onto her wrist so hard that it hurt, before dragging her out of the Pokemon center.