I get the feeling that by the end of this chapter that many of you aren't going to be all that happy with me, or if not with me then…well I'll just let you find out for yourselves I guess. As always thank you to everyone who took the time to review the last chapter.
"Fine fine, where to start?" May said mostly to herself while she tapped her finger on her chin. "Kay, why not with Eevee. Believe it or not that little Pokémon is actually one of my most impressive battlers. It mostly started after I learned that her ability was actually Adaptability. As you both know a Pokémon who uses an attack that is the same type as itself the attack's power would be greater than if they used one that wasn't, for a quick example Pikachu using Thunderbolt and Iron Tail respectively. Eevee's ability further increases this power and as such her little body packs quite the punch. She's even beaten Blastoise a few times. But we also like to use moves that include deception before hitting with one of our two powerhouse attacks. The first is one that you saw, Return. That is an attack whose strength is based on the bond between the Pokémon and its trainer, the greater the bond the more powerful the attack. And for us that equates to quite a bit of power. The other is one called Trump Card whose power increases the more times it is used in a single battle. After a few times it becomes powerful enough to even knock out a Gyarados in one hit, the only problem is that if we use it in a contest battle we will lose points for repeating an attack so it's kinda a double-edged sword. Mimic we just learned to fill the gap between the other two and to give a bit of flair to not only appeal rounds but to confuse our opponents in the battle round at times as well. The combination of the three actually works rather well."
"That explains that much I guess," Ash said as he tried to take in the information. Complex strategies outside of battle were never his strong suit.
"So that explains how Eevee could keep up with Pikachu in terms of power," Dawn continued, unphased by May's explanation, caring more for the other question. "You still haven't told us why you were able to beat Torterra and Pikachu so easily."
"Oh that one is actually kinda simple," May said as she smiled slightly remembering some old memories. Grabbing her cup of tea she sipped it a bit before continuing. "That's because besides possibly Brock, I know Ash's battle style better than anyone. As we traveled together I found myself copying virtually his entire style. Possibly due to the fact that I was always intently watching every one of his battles learning all I could, unconsciously taking mental notes the whole time. And when I was getting into a slump in Johto I acquired copies of every one of his battles that I could get my hands on. From the Kanto Gyms and Indigo league, to the Orange Islands, Johto Gyms and Silver League Conference, and even most of his exploits in Sinnoh. Including the entire Sinnoh Championship."
Nearly choking on the water he was drinking Ash was quite surprised by May's response. He knew that she had taken on some of his quirks and strategies but not to that extent.
"You know May some people would call that stalking," Dawn told her rather flatly.
"I was using them for educational purposes, nothing more," the brunette defended herself. "From all of those I was able to further refine my battling skills and after that point I only lost one other battle round in the Johto Contests. Of course I had to work on the appeals round all by myself it wasn't too bad as long as kept an open mind. While watching all of those videos I guess I kinda started to absorb his style more than I thought as I found myself falling back into my habit of taking mental notes of each one of his moves. I actually surprised myself as to how much I was able to predict his attacks and strategies in the final round of the Sinnoh Tournament, and again in our first battle in Pallet. So to put it simply while I don't doubt my battle skills I do doubt that I would be able to win against any other League Champion besides Ash."
"So what are you saying that I could never beat you?" Ash asked her, still surprised at all the work she went through just to copy his technique.
"Well besides the fact that I could list off all 50 different species of Pokémon that you own, and as I've also already stated about how much I've studied your battle style I'd have to say that yes, you could still beat me. And depending on what Pokémon you chose you could do it rather easily."
"Huh? But after everything you've said…"
"I know what my Pokémon can and can't do, as well as what yours are capable of. If we were to battle each other again under completely fair conditions Pikachu would have won almost hands down. While Eevee has a greater physical power than he does that doesn't matter one bit if she can't hit him, and Eevee simply can't contend with Pikachu's speed. That's why I needed to wait for you to use Agility before we really did all that much in our battle. Besides there were a few other reasons that she was able to win," May finished in a whisper.
"Wow that wasn't the response that I was expecting to hear," Dawn blurted out as their food arrived. "But how were you able to paralyze Pikachu in the end?"
"Paralyze him?
"Yeah, after the Sand Attack Pikachu could barely move. He didn't even respond to Ash's commands during that time, he just kinda stood there."
Giggling a little at the true reason why May looked back at her two companions with as clueless a face as she could muster. "Who knows? It wasn't anything that I was planning so the only person that you could ask that one to is Pikachu."
Ash and Dawn both looked down at the mouse, who was currently trying to fend off Buneary, looked back at the two of them and just gave a nervous laugh. He barely understood why he couldn't do anything but stand there and take in that smell. There was just something about it… His eyes shot open as he once again got a whiff of that scent. Shaking his head he didn't even try to look over at where he knew it was coming from. It had such an effect on him he had no clue as to why he acted like that when it came to him.
"So he isn't going to be telling anything anytime soon," Dawn finally said as Buneary looked curiously at his reaction. "At least not to us," she finished while looking over at Ash.
"Hey don't give me that look," the trainer told her as he caught her reference. "Pikachu will tell me if and when he feels like it. I won't pressure him in any way to say something that he doesn't want to."
"Alright that's enough of that," May finally said as she picked up a couple of chopsticks. "Seeing as how our food is here we might as well enjoy it."
Sure enough in all of their talking the two sitting across from her didn't even notice when their food was placed in front of them. This was quite surprising considering that Ash needed three large plates and a large bowl to hold everything that he ordered.
"Ironic that even though you agreed to pay for our portion of the bill you were the one to order the most Ash," Dawn said as she started to pour some of the vinaigrette onto her salad. "I'm also surprised that you didn't order enough to match him May."
"I guess I'm just not all that hungry tonight," she told the other coordinator. "I've had a few things on my mind and I think they are the reason."
"Anything in particular?" Dawn asked, seeing if May would say what the blunette was hoping to any higher power that she didn't want to hear.
Shaking her head May just grabbed some more noodles from the dark broth before blowing on them a little. "Just a few random things that don't want to leave; it's nothing to worry about."
Breathing a slight sigh of relief Dawn turned to her own food and filled a fork full of the leafy greens before taking a big bite. Looking over to her right she nearly gagged as Ash was already patting his stomach, virtually every morsel of food that was in front of him had completely disappeared. The only thing left was about a quarter of his ramen, which by the looks of it were being saved for Pikachu. Turning to say something to May she found that Ash wasn't the only one who was done. Most of May's bowl was also gone and she was feeding the last of it to Eevee who was happily leaning over the bowl taking what was being offered.
"Am I the only normal person here when it comes to food? Is it too much to ask to just sit down and enjoy a meal without becoming a living black hole?"
Giving a portion of her salad to her own Pokémon, Dawn could only try to hide her embarrassment at knowing, let alone being friends with, the only two humans that could beat a Snorlax in an eating competition.
Walking by, their waitress stopped suddenly as she noticed that two of the three at the table were already done with their food. "Um, was everything okay?" She hesitantly asked.
"Very good," Ash said to her as he began to give the last bit of his ramen to Pikachu.
"Yes it was," May added in, just finishing up Eevee's own portion.
"Will there be anything else or should I get you the bill?"
"I think that the bill will be fine."
"Alright I'll be right back," taking one last look at the empty plates just to make sure that she didn't go crazy the waitress quickly ran off to get their tab.
"You do know that you two don't have to rush through every meal like that," Dawn told them as she was just starting to get to the end of her salad. "The food won't go anywhere after you get it."
"I just couldn't help myself," the other coordinator said. "It was pretty good."
"As for me after all that shopping I was really hungry. You do know that we skipped lunch today just to go in and out of those stupid shops. Besides once we get back to the hotel I'm going straight to bed."
Sighing Dawn knew that that was one battle that could never be won. "I guess it's just something that I'll just have to accept later on. No matter how many times you see it he can still surprise you."
"So are you already forgetting that you owe both of us a dessert Ash?" May asked.
"I can't believe that I'm actually going to say this but I'm going to have to take a rain check on that one. I'm not going to back out of it but I just want to head back and sleep right now."
Seeing that their waitress was back at their table the three of them looked back up at her as she sorted through her booklet. "Okay then did you want it all on separate tabs or one?"
"All on one please," Ash told her in a slightly dejected tone.
"Alright here you go. I hope that you will join us again in the future." Giving Ash the bill she also put a few wrapped thin cookies that were folded in on themselves looking almost like a bow-tie.
"What the heck are these?" Dawn asked as she grabbed one and opened up the wrapping to get a closer look at it.
"I think that they're called fortune cookies," Ash said as he grabbed one of his own. "There is supposed to be a piece of paper with your fortune in the center of them. Or so I've heard, I've never had one before."
Splitting the cookie into two Dawn found the paper tucked into the folds of the cookie.
"What's yours say Dawn?"
Turning it towards the light she read off the words. "'Sometimes the greatest gifts in life are sown from the seeds of misfortune.' Well that's not a very uplifting fortune." Seeing Ash open up his own cookie Dawn asked him the same question. "How about yours?"
"'Many questions will be asked of you soon yet only one of them can be answered with yes. Treasure that one forever.' Talk about cryptic; what's the point of these things if we don't even understand them? May why don't you try yours, maybe we can get one that makes sense."
"Sure." Grabbing and opening up the last one May took a look at her own fortune. "' A great change in your life is not far off, don't be afraid to reach for the stars.' Sorry, can't say that mine is much better. The first part isn't all that hard but reaching for the stars? What's that supposed to mean?"
"No clue," Ash said as he counted out the amount of the bill plus a little more for a tip. "But I'm getting tired so let's head back. All I want to do is go back and relax long enough to fall asleep."
"Fine, I guess I can't say anything against that," Dawn said as she let out a big yawn. "Besides I'm a little tired as well."
Grabbing their Pokémon the three of them set out again for the hotel and, for at least two of them, king-sized beds to sleep in. Walking back the sun was just finishing up falling beneath the horizon, casting a dim but relaxing red glow about the town. Looking up a bit May saw something that she missed while she was scouting out the area for a place to eat. Walking up to it she found that it was a poster tacked onto the window of a tourism agency.
"What's that?" Dawn asked as she stepped in behind May.
"It looks like a poster for some festival that they are having in the coming days. I think that this must have been the reason that that radio station was giving out the tickets in the first place. It actually seems kinda interesting. What do you guys say, should we go?"
"I don't see why not," Ash commented as he stood behind the two girls, arms crossed over his chest.
"Oh look! It says that any attendees are invited to wear traditional clothing of the area," Dawn noticed as she read the poster. "You know what that means; we get to go shopping tomorrow!"
Ash let out a big groan as he immediately started to walk back towards the hotel.
"Oh come on, shopping is fun!"
"For you it is, personally I'd rather drink a bottle of battery acid."
"Now you're just being pessimistic."
Watching her two friends bicker like a married couple, May couldn't help but feel both proud that she at least somewhat helped get them like that and depressed that they were getting closer.
"This will be one of my best chances yet to get them together," she thought as she started to catch up to them. "There should be a large crowd there tomorrow so it won't be hard to 'lose' myself among them and give those two plenty of time alone. The sooner that I can get them together the sooner I can finally convince myself to let go of this silly crush."
Yet no matter what she told herself every time that May saw those two together it was just another pain that shot through her body. While some were barely noticeable even to her, there were others that she couldn't even think about anything but it until the pain passed. She knew that she was jealous of Dawn getting close to Ash but she also knew that there was no way that a simple crush would win over the budding love that she so clearly saw between them. But no matter how much she reasoned with herself the pains seemed to be coming more often and hit harder as the vacation continued on, much to her own discomfort.
"At least Eevee will be able to find someone during our time here. I just hope that Dawn isn't too mad," she thought as they entered through the sliding glass door of their suite.
"Well I'm going to do a couple things and I'm heading to bed," Ash told them with a big yawn. "I'll see you two in the morning." Heading towards the suite's bathroom one could just hear him mumbling "I hope that the couch at least pulls out into a bed," before closing the door behind himself with Pikachu right on his heels.
Taking a closer look, Dawn seemed satisfied once she heard the shower start up. Motioning for May to follow her, the two of them and their Pokémon entered into Dawn's room as she closed the door behind them. As May sat down on the bed she could see that Dawn was once again in the same mood as she was after first entering the restaurant.
"I just couldn't wait to finally tell someone," the blunette finally declared as she took a running leap onto the bed with Buneary still in her arms.
"And what would that be?" May finally asked several minutes later once Dawn seemed to calm down enough to talk coherently. She continued to pet Eevee as the little Pokémon lay in her lap, if nothing else just to calm her nerves from the walk back.
"As you can probably guess, after your battle today I followed Ash into town. This morning he said to me that he was planning on buying something for someone while we were on this trip. I could only assume that it was for me but I had absolutely no way to be sure."
"And…"
"He went into the shopping district that we were earlier and entered one of the shops there. It was a jewelry store just across the street from one of the ones that we went into."
"The same one that he was looking at earlier?" May asked herself as Dawn continued.
"I could barely hear and see him but I was able to catch enough. Apparently he bought a gold locket from there, a very expensive one. Pure 24 karat gold locket and chain with several small sapphires and diamonds on the top of the locket itself. And to top it all off I could make out a few sentences that he told the jeweler, 'I really hope that she likes it, it should really bring out her eyes,' and 'I've been with her for quite a while now and I think that I'm ready to finally say it.' Considering that it was us traveling together for the last couple years I now know that it's me, not to mention that the sapphires really would go well with my eyes."
"Well that is one step I didn't expect from Ash. I'm really happy for you Dawn," May told her friend in an unintentional half-hearted manner. "Maybe he'll give it to you during the festival."
"I can only hope," she squealed. "I can picture it now, sitting under the stars and him taking out the locket and finally confessing his love for me. I then tell him my own feelings and we share our very first kiss."
May visibly flinched at the thought. "Well I'll try to give you two as much time alone tomorrow as possible so that it can just be you two." Faking a yawn she stood up letting Eevee down on to the ground. The Evolution Pokémon looked up at her trainer; she could tell that this talk wasn't helping her in any way. "I think that I'm going to head off to bed, goodnight."
Not even hearing an answer, May left Dawn's room with Eevee close behind and stepped out into the darkened living room. She could hear the soft sound of breathing coming from the couch and she walked over to find Ash and Pikachu already asleep on the couch. Apparently it didn't fold out like he had hoped but the leather couch was more than large enough for him to sleep comfortably on.
"He always did look cute and innocent as he slept." Feeling a single tear make its way down her face May wiped it off before taking another look at him. "I really am happy for you. Dawn is a good friend and should be an even better girlfriend."
Walking off to her room May quickly but quietly closed the door behind her.
Eevee watched the entire scene unfold before her. While she felt sorry for her trainer she could see no reason that this would be any worse than the nights before. Hearing a noise behind her Eevee quickly pointed her head in the direction of the sound. To her surprise Pikachu was not asleep like his trainer and was sitting on the top of the couch looking down at her.
Pikachu had just woken up to the sound of May's door closing and climbing up on the couch he just then saw Eevee looking back at him. When they caught eyes he could see her entire body posture change. Lifting her tail up high she slowly headed for the sliding glass door while he just watched every moment. As she reached the door she looked over her shoulder expectantly, as if the little Pokémon knew exactly what he was going to do, before opening it and walking out into the cool night.
After watching that display he knew what his body was telling him to do. The scent coming from her was now as strong as ever and it was activating some of the most basic drives in his body and mind. It was at this point that he now knew what that smell was and why it was coming from her, but since the battle he figured out how to keep himself from being hypnotized and taken in by the scent. Even though he was no longer controlled by it there was still something else that drove him to follow her out the door. It wasn't solely due to the fact that the smell that was coming from her was interesting, exciting, and all around enjoyable but simply due to something that he realized during their battle. The thought of hurting her was one thing that he felt almost as if it was physically impossible for him to do. Even if he should have been taking the last portion of the battle completely seriously, there was still a part of him forcing him to hold back. He knew that he wanted to be there to protect her from harm, both physically and emotionally, and not just as some parent or brotherly figure but to be by her side as equals and that he would be the only one that she would allow to fill that position.
Leaning up against her door May could feel a few tears make their way past her eyelids. The more she thought about her talk with Dawn the more it hurt. But it wasn't the locket that truly upset her, nor was it even the fact that she was planning on leaving the two of them alone for a good portion of the night tomorrow. What seemed to tear her in two was a scene that kept replaying in her mind, over and over and over again. It always started with Ash and Dawn sitting next to a lake with the stars and moon shining over them; Ash bringing out the locket and presenting it to an overjoyed Dawn. And finally taking his finger under her chin he gently pulled her face so that her blue eyes were looking straight into his own dark brown ones. Bringing her closer there were only three words said between the two. Right before they finally made contact Ash said in a sincere romantic voice "I love you."
"I was wrong," she whispered.
As the scene continued to play over and over again in her mind May could feel the tears becoming more and more forceful. On a simple urge she hurried over to her pack and started to rummage through it for a few seconds. When her search failed to produce what she was looking for she found herself beginning to panic.
"Where is it?" May asked herself as she started to nearly tear into the different pockets of the pack. "I couldn't have lost it. Where is it!"
Lost in her frantic search May just started to throw anything that got in her way out of the pack. Clothes, spare Pokéballs, her wallet, it didn't make a difference; they were all tossed over her shoulder in search of that one thing. One of the items in there was a polished silver case, not a single blemish or scratch had ever touched its surface; yet it too was grabbed and tossed aside like all the others, flying over her shoulder it crashed into the wall with a quiet but echoing thud. Its contents of several colorful ribbons falling out and landing on the floor as the case landed on top of them with a soft thump.
Just as the pack was empted of all of its contents May finally remembered where it was. Racing over to a chair where some old clothes were laying she mercilessly began to tear though them as well. She only then calmed down as she felt the item in a side pocket of her pants.
Taking it out, the item glowed in the soft moonlight coming from the window. Clutching it tightly this single piece meant more to May than anything else in the whole world at that point; more than any trophy, any ribbon, or any title. Taking another look at it the ribbon was her most prized possession, the crème de la crème of her good luck charms. Well to be more precise it was only half of a ribbon, and yet it was because of this simple fact that she treasured it so. For it was the person who held the other half that she was able to feel connected to him no matter how far apart they were.
As she held the item to her breast the last bit of resistance that she had towards the tears fell away as they soon came full force.
"I was wrong. How could I have been do stupid, I was just plain wrong," she muttered to herself through the crying. "It wasn't just a crush that I had for him; it was far more than that. Is this really what it feels like to be in love and see that person taken away from you? I could stand seeing him and Dawn together, I could even bear through watching them hold hands and laugh together, but to watch him confess his love to her is something that I just can't… I just can't… How could I have been so stupid!" She nearly yelled as she took the ribbon and threw it full force at her door.
Hitting the door an echoing thud could be heard as the sound resonated though the wood. The ribbon bounced harmlessly off and hit the carpet, making no sound whatsoever as it fell.
The tears still flowing, May walked over to the bed and grabbed one of the pillows before pulling it in and lying on the soft mattress, using them both to muffle the sounds of her grief.
"How could I have been so stupid?" She asked herself again. "And to make it worse I've already made a full promise to Dawn that I would do everything in my power to get her and Ash together. If I go against that now what would that make me? I truly would be the worst person in existence, not only breaking a promise to a close friend but at the same time snatching away her hopes and dreams right in front of her face. Of course that's even considering if there was a slim chance that he would even return my feelings, he and Dawn have gotten so close, partially thanks to my help… I've made it so that he would never think of me like that anymore. By this point it's hopeless, completely hopeless"
Sniffling as the tears refused to stop May just buried her head even further into the pillow. "What should I do? Mom, Dad, Max, Brock, Eevee, what should I do? I just feel so powerless right now, so utterly powerless and alone. I don't know what to do!" Realizing one of the names that she just called the brunette quickly raised her head and scanned the pitch black room. "Eevee? Eevee!? Don't tell me… Even you abandoned me? I really am alone now… My friends, my Pokémon, if not these then who?" Curling back up with the pillow hard within her grasp the depressed coordinator just cried her heart out in hopes that it would relieve the great pain that she was feeling as a bottomless hole just seemed to form within her. She felt so cold, so alone, and as there was no one she could confide it in, all she could to was cry as the clock ticked away.
A good amount to take in but like I said not the most happy ending, for May at least. There's still a few chapters to go so don't tune out just yet. Reviews, comments, and questions are always welcome; but please nothing about the amount of Pokémon that Ash has caught. I did a rough count of what he had up until this point and added a couple, while I try for perfection some areas are more important than others. Next chapter should be up as scheduled.