October 16th (Lilycove City, Hoenn)
(May's POV)
When I woke up the next morning, I saw Dawn fast asleep on her bed with her hair sticking out all over the place. In other words, I want to get out before she wakes up screaming. I quickly changed and grabbed my pokemon before snagging a granola bar in the kitchen, left a note saying I would be back, and left the dorm. I decided to head to a nearby park and let out my pokemon so they could run around a bit and relax. They deserved it especially for doing so well yesterday. After a few minutes, I saw a thunderbolt come up from somewhere in the park and decided to check it out along with my pokemon.
I soon saw Lizzy trying to train her Electrike again and it seemed she wasn't having that much luck.
"Hey Lizzy, what are you doing here this early?" I asked, since it was around 8:30.
She sighed, "I'm trying to get Electrike to use Thunderbolt correctly, but it's not goin' well," she said sadly.
"Shinx," Shinx said to me with a determined smile making me grin.
"Would you like Shinx and I to help you out?" I asked.
Lizzy's face lit up with a smile along with Electrike, "Could you?" she asked excitedly.
I smiled, "I don't see why not. Besides, a little bit of extra training never hurt."
"Thanks!" she said excitedly.
"Alright Shinx, use Thunderbolt," I commanded.
"Shinx," he said and did Thunderbolt at a nearby tree.
"Good job Shinx. Alright Electrike, your turn," I said.
"Electrike," he said and did Thunderbolt but it was loose in energy and almost hit me but I jumped out of the way to dodge.
"Electrike," he said sadly.
"Don't worry Electrike. What you need to do is focus all your electric energy in one point and then aim it at your target," I said. "Shinx can you do Thunderbolt again?"
"Shinx," he said and did Thunderbolt a little bit slower this time.
"Good job Shinx, your turn Lizzy."
"Electrike use Thunderbolt," Lizzy said.
"Electrike," he said determined. This time he was able to gather all his electric energy in one point but he missed his target.
"That was great Electrike. All we need to do know is work on your aim," Lizzy said excitedly.
I smiled and gave some Pokeblock to Shinx, "Thanks for helping out Shinx."
"Shinx," he said happily.
"You can go back to playing," I said and he scampered off to play with my other pokemon.
"Electrike, why don't you join them, you deserve a break. We'll work on your attack later," Lizzy said happily.
"Why don't you let your other pokemon out to play?" I suggested.
"Great idea, Mudkip, Ralts, and Surskit come on out," Lizzy said happily as she tossed their pokeballs. "Why don't you play with the other pokemon?"
Her pokemon then scampered to join mine while Skitty ran up to me, "Nya," she complained.
"You hungry?" I asked.
"Nya," she said while nodding her head.
"Alright, I'll give you a small snack to tie ya over, get ready," I said.
As always, I tossed her the Pokeblock to Double Slap and then snapped my fingers to allow her to eat them.
"How did you do that?" Lizzy asked.
"It's a technique I taught my Skitty to help with doing moves for contests," I explained.
"That's so cool, no wonder you're a Top Coordinator," she said.
"SSSSHHHH!" I shushed. "I'm in disguise, remember?! We have to keep that on the down low. Do I need to remind you what it's like to have the press swarm ya constantly?"
"You don't have to tell me, I know, it's annoying," she agreed.
I checked my poketch to see that it was 9:30, "You wanna tag along with me? I have to pick up some berries and herbs."
"Sure, do you think you could teach me a bit about making Pokeblock?" she asked.
"Sure, I actually have to make some today so why don't you just tag along with me back to the dorm," I suggested.
"Awesome, let me send a quick message to my parents first," she said as she got out her pokenav.
While she was doing that, I returned all my pokemon but Glaceon and soon Lizzy did the same though she left out Mudkip. Soon we made our way to Bob's shop by school to grab some berries and herbs.
"Hello Lin," Bob said in a jolly voice as Lizzy and I walked into the store.
"Hi Bob, how is your day goin'?" I asked.
"My day is going okay though I can't say the same for business. Ever since that one Pokeblock stand opened yesterday, people have been going there to get their Pokeblock instead of making it by hand," he said sadly.
"Well, I never trust premade Pokeblock, you never know what is in it," I said firmly. "Speaking of Pokeblock, do you have any Remeyo, Salveyo, and Revival weeds?"
"Sure do, got a whole bunch yesterday," he said.
"Good, I need to replenish my stock. I ran out a few days ago and you always want to keep some on hand," I said.
I went around the store basically almost getting a little bit of everything though I got more of some than others. After paying, we carried everything back to the dorm to find everyone still sleeping. We set the berries on the counter when we heard a scream coming from my room.
"DAWN!" Leaf and Misty yelled from their room.
"What was that?" Lizzy asked shakily.
"That," I said, "is when your roommate finds out they have bed head."
"By the way, how is your brother still asleep if Dawn's scream woke up everyone else?" she asked.
"He wears ear plugs that he invented to block all annoying sounds or something," I explained as I started making the Pokeblock.
Soon everyone poured into the common area in their pjs while still a bit sleepy.
"Thanks for the wakeup call," Misty said grumpily.
"Sorry, but I hate bed head," Dawn complained.
"Hey May, how is your brother still sleeping?" Gary asked.
"He invented special earplugs," I said while still in the kitchen.
"What are you doing airhead?" Drew asked.
"We're making some Pokeblock," Lizzy answered.
"You were already awake, when did you get up?" Dawn asked.
I stepped out of the kitchen, "I woke up at 8:15. I left seeing your bed head and tried to avoid the scream, but I didn't stay out long enough," I explained.
Max then woke up and was surprised to see everyone in the common area, "Did I miss something?" he asked confused.
"You lucked out missing Dawn screaming bloody murder," Leaf explained.
"I'm sorry, but I hate bed head," Dawn complained again.
"I don't see how you have bed head," Max said seeing her straight hair.
"She has Piplup use Bubble Beam to get rid of it," I said as I went back into the kitchen.
Lizzy and I continued to make Pokeblock and after a while I heard a bunch of laughing coming from the common area so I decided to investigate, "What's so funny?" I asked.
When everyone saw me, they burst out laughing again though Paul and Max had smirks on their faces, "Max…..what did you tell them?" I asked sweetly.
"I don't know about you airhead, but I never thought you would be captured like a pokemon," Drew laughed leaving me appalled.
"You told them the Tentacruel story!" I screeched.
"What, they asked for any interesting stories and I think that counts," he said slyly.
"You…..are…so…dead," I said menacingly.
"Or the fact you have no sense of direction," he said.
"Max," I threatened.
"Or the time you were on a mission and while trying to stop the bad guy you got green paint in your hair and it was there for three months," he said.
"Max!" I said a little louder.
"Or the time you got a chunk of your hair chopped off and you had a contest the next day and someone thought you were punk," he said.
"MAX!" I yelled as I tried to grab him but he dodged me.
"And that was embarrassing story time with Max. Now I've got to run if I want to live, Kirlia use Teleport quick," he announced.
"Kirlia," he said and teleported the both of them somewhere.
Everyone was laughing extremely hard, "It's not that funny," I whined.
"You're right airhead, it's hilarious," Drew said laughing. "This is funnier than when mom was trying to catch a Roselia to find that it was Lizzy."
"Drew!" Lizzy yelled.
"Revenge?" I asked Lizzy.
"Revenge," she said shortly and we shook on it.
"Like revenge is gonna work, I know all your tricks Lizzy," Drew said bored.
"Who said I would plan your revenge? She'll do you and I'll do Max," Lizzy said as she gestured to me.
"I'm for that," I said with a smirk while Drew looked nervous.
Lizzy and I went back to making Pokeblock and fed our pokemon while everyone else went to get dressed.
Soon I had an evil look on my face, "You got a prank in mind already?" Lizzy asked.
"Yup, this is gonna be good," I said while smirking and whispered it in her ear.
"Oh my gosh May, that is gonna be hilarious. I can't wait to see it," Lizzy said excitedly as we returned our pokemon and cleaned up.
Lizzy then got a call on her pokenav from her mom.
"Hey Mom, what's up?" Lizzy said.
"Lizzy, you need to come back and change. Remember we're going out to brunch with everyone," she said.
"Sorry mom, I forgot. I'll come right back," Lizzy said quickly and hung up.
"Sorry May, I have to go. Hey, you should join us," she said excitedly.
"That's sweet of you to invite me, but I don't want to be a burden."
"Nonsense May, you should. Lizzy you go ahead, we'll take over and try to convince her," Dawn said as Lizzy left.
"Guys, I have no business in coming with you guys. I'll stay here while you go spend time with your families. Anyway, aren't you a bit dressed up for brunch?" I asked since the girls were wearing dresses.
"The place we always go to is fancy. We do this tradition every year and besides May, what else are you gonna do?" Misty asked.
"I could go practice for the Wallace Cup tomorrow," I argued.
"May….come on, don't you do anything fun?" Leaf asked.
"Not really, I either do missions, practice for appeals, practice music, or play with my pokemon."
"That's it, you're coming," Dawn said firmly as she, Leaf, and Misty dragged me back to my room to change.
"Guys this is too fancy," I complained as they put an outfit together.
Of course they ignored me and I quickly changed into a tie-dye like blue and white halter dress a little below knee length, white heels with flowers at the tips, a blue topaz and diamond alternate bracelet, and a blue gem necklace with a strand of silver going around it with a small group of diamonds at the top. I decided to go as my regular self so I took off the contacts and wig while putting my hair half up half down with it slightly curled.
To be cautious because I thought of Arceus' thought from yesterday, I wore fingernail darts, put the small blue crystal from the mission a few weeks ago on Blaziken's pokeball to make it look like the necklace I had on and switched the necklaces, and lastly, I put on a small hidden garter to put a rod that released a net. It was designed like a mascara brush which is cool because no one thinks twice when looking at it. Today, I wasn't gonna take any chances because it's better to be safe than sorry.
I came out of the bathroom to have the girls nod in approval, "Was that so bad?" Dawn asked.
"I still feel like I'm imposing," I complained.
"For the last time May, you are not imposing and besides, our families would want you to come," Leaf said exasperated.
We left my room to find the guys in dress shirts and slacks hanging in the open area.
"You look great Leafy," Gary complimented as he stood up causing Leaf to blush.
"Same to you Oak," she said in return.
"You look awesome Misty," Ash said enthusiastically.
Misty blushed while laughing a little at his enthusiasm, "You too Ash," she said.
Paul and Dawn didn't say anything but you could tell that they complimented each other through their eyes and facial expressions which was sweet.
"Not bad airhead," Drew teased and handed me a blue rose causing me to blush slightly.
"Thanks Drew," I said as I stuck the rose in my hair.
"Hey May," Max said behind me scaring me to death.
"GAH! Max don't scare me," I scolded.
"Sorry May, couldn't resist," he said teasingly causing me to roll my eyes.
"We'll let's get going," Dawn said cheerfully.
Soon the couples linked up with holding hands while Drew, Max, and I walked by ourselves.
"How did you get yourself invited Max?" I asked curiously.
"They guys invited me when I came back to the dorm," he explained. "So what's the flower mean?" he teased since he saw that Drew gave it to me.
I blushed slightly, "It basically means appreciation for something that cannot be grasped in full measure. It can also mean enchantment and mystery," I explained.
"That fits you to a 'T' May," Max teased making me blush a little more.
Soon we found ourselves at the Crescent Lily Inn. No wonder everyone is dressed up, this place is really expensive and elegant.
When we got inside, we found everyone waiting for us. Soon we were escorted to our table by someone that seemed really familiar.
As we sat down I remembered who it was, "Bonjour Pierre," I said happily.
"May, quel plaisir de vous revoir. Comment allez-vous?" he asked happily. (May, it is a pleasure to see you, how are you?)
I smiled, "Je suis très bien, merci. Comment vont les affaires?" I asked. (I am good thank you, how is business?)
"Les affaires sont très bonnes grâce à vous, depuis que vous avez aidé ma fille inventer pour rendre la pâte quand le chef était malade, c'était le ciel pur," he complimented. (Business is very good thanks to you ever since you helped my daughter invent that pastry when the chef was ill, it was sheer heaven.)
"Je suis heureux d'avoir pu aider, c'est votre fille aujourd'hui?" I asked. (I am glad I was able to help, is your daughter here today?)
"Belle est ici aujourd'hui, elle se remplit à une hôtesse," he said and turned his head to a girl over a ways, "s'il vous plaît venez Belle ici." (Belle is here today, she is filling in for a hostess. Belle please come over here.)
"Oui papa," she said as she came over and then noticed me, "Oh salut mai, comment allez-vous?" (Yes papa, oh hi May, how are you?)
I laughed, "Je suis bien, j'ai vu votre récent concours et vous avez très bien, j'aime ce que vous avez fait avec Polichombr, vous avez grandement améliorée," I complimented. (I'm good, I saw your recent contest and you did very well, I love what you did with Shuppet, you have improved greatly.)
"Merci, je vois que vos française a grandement amélioré ainsi, c'était super de vous revoir mai, voir autour de vous," she said before she left to go back to work. (Thanks, I see that your French has improved greatly as well, it was great to see you again May, see you around.)
Soon Pierre left too but spoke to our waiters first, "Assurez-vous de donner un bon service à ces gens, d'accord?" he said. (Make sure you give good service to these people, okay?)
The waiters nodded in understanding and took our drink orders before leaving, "What the heck was that May?" Dawn asked speaking for everyone around the table.
"I know the owner and his daughter," I explained.
"We could tell that but you speak French?" Leaf asked astonished.
"Oui," I said with a wink. "About a year ago, I came to Lilycove City on business and met Belle in the park who was having a hard time with her contest appeal. We made a tradeoff where I gave her contest tips and she helped me learn French. This bargain happened for about two weeks and I learned French extremely well. Then while I was eating here with Belle one day, the main pastry chef became ill and couldn't prepare the dessert so Belle and I volunteered to improvise with something. It became a big hit and saved the restaurant from bankruptcy."
"Goodness May, you just have a tendency to help all over the place," Jennifer said astonished.
"So what's the dessert you two created?" Johanna asked.
I smiled, "La fraise rose élégante," I said (the elegant strawberry rose).
"English please," Drew said.
I smirked "That's for me to know and for you to find out," I said as the waiters came back with our drinks and took our orders.
"May, can you please tell us what your dessert is in English?" Dawn begged.
"If my hunch is right, I know Drew will like it," I said with a smirk.
"May, what pokemon are you using for the Wallace Cup tomorrow?" Lizzy asked.
I smiled, "It'll depend, though my appeal pokemon will remain a surprise," I said with a wink at Max who grinned in knowing.
"By the way you two, congratulations," I said happily to Reggie and Maylene.
"What are you talking about May?" Dawn asked curiously.
"I'm not the one who should be telling," I said as I took a sip of my water.
Maylene put her hand on the table to show everyone a beautiful engagement ring.
Soon congratulations spread around the table and I turned my attention to Dawn, "Have you guys told your families yet?" I asked.
"No we haven't and don't you get any ideas," she said sternly.
I smirked, "I believe these six have something to tell you," I said while pointing to the six across from me making the whole table look at them.
The six blushed from all the attention, "Umm….I guess we are dating each other," Misty summed up and then glared at me along with the other five while I ignored them.
"Congrats you guys, you finally had the guts to tell each other," Red teased while everyone had smiles on their faces.
Soon our food came and everyone began to eat. After a while, we were done and everyone wanted to try the desert Belle and I created and the waiter came back with Pierre.
"May, le chef pâtissier est pas encore là, pourriez-vous faire le dessert pour votre table?" he asked. (May, the pastry chef is not here yet, could you make the dessert for your table?)
I smiled, "Mais bien sûr, pourrait Belle aidez-moi, qui de mieux pour faire le dessert que les créateurs originaux," I said happily. (But of course, could Belle help me, who better to make the dessert than the original creators.)
"Oui, merci beaucoup," he said gratefully.
"I'll be back shortly, the pastry chef isn't here yet so Belle and I get to make your dessert and no Drew I won't poison yours," I teased while standing up.
I left for the kitchen and found Belle waiting for me, "You ready to make our famous dessert?" Belle asked me as she grabbed an apron.
I smiled, "Of course, it's been a while since we've made it," I said cheerfully as I grabbed the other apron.
Belle made the pastry bit and shaped it into a basket after it was done baking. I cut up the strawberries and set the ice cream out along with the leaves. Belle then grabbed some plates, put the pastry on them shaped like a basket, and did a gentle covering of powdered sugar. I put the cut up strawberries in the basket and placed a big scoop of strawberry ice cream on top while Belle used a spoon to crave it like a rose. Lastly, we stuck a few leaves behind it making it look like a flower. After we were finished, we cleaned up our part of the kitchen before I went back out to sit at the table and Belle went back to helping her father.
"Where's the dessert May?" Max asked.
I smiled, "It's coming," I said and sure enough, two waiters brought the dessert on two carts.
"Oh my gosh May, it's so pretty," Dawn exclaimed while everyone was surprised.
"Bon appétit!" I said happily as everyone got one.
"This is so good May," Lizzy said happily after the first bite.
"I'll admit it May, this is really good," Drew complimented happily.
I smirked, "Is the only reason you actually called me my name because I gave you strawberries?" I teased.
Drew was too into his dessert to answer my question making everyone laugh while we finished eating.
"That was wonderful May, I'm surprised you haven't become a chef yet," Delia said.
"Cooking and baking are a hobby. I'd rather pursue music, coordinating, and saving people," I explained.
We soon left the restaurant and were on our way back to the dorm when I noticed the Pokeblock stand that Bob mentioned earlier. I looked up close and I didn't like the looks of the Pokeblock.
Then I saw the face of Maxie from Team Magma, "I think you should be closed for business," I said venomously.
"May, what are you going?" Dawn asked appalled since I was acting so rude.
Maxie smirked, "If it isn't May Maple," he said slyly and was about to hit me but I jumped back but stumbling a bit due to being in heels.
I kicked my heels off as Maxie snapped his fingers and I was surrounded by grunts, "May!" everyone cried.
I smirked, "Don't worry you guys, I came to play," I said as I took ahold of my necklace to make it known it was Blaziken's pokeball.
"Blaziken let's go," I said and we knocked out all the grunts surrounding us.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Jordan take the car and the Pokeblock, I'll handle her," he said. "Mightyena, let's go."
"Blaziken go!" I said.
The two pokemon soon were locked in battle and I saw Jordan trying to get away in the car, "I don't think so!" I yelled and put my arm on my shoulder and swiped it straight ahead activating the nail darts which popped the tires.
"Why you little….," Maxie started to say as he came charging at me with his fists and I noticed that Jordan was coming my way as well.
"Maylene, you wanna help out here?" I asked as I dodged a punch and threw one at his nose causing him to clutch it in pain.
Maylene had a grin on her face, "Of course," she said as she took off her heels and started to fight Jordan.
Maylene was lucky cause she was wearing a dress shirt and dress pants, I had to get stuck wearing a dress. After a while, Maylene defeated Jordan who was on the ground and Maxie was trying to run away.
"Tsk tsk tsk, you just wanna fight the hard way," I said bored and took out the mascara brush to throw a net at him making it impossible to escape.
"Max did you call Officer Jenny yet?" I asked.
"Just did, she'll be here in a few minutes," he said.
"I'm glad to see you've improved May, I think you've gotten better than me," Maylene complimented.
"I don't know about that, but what you've taught me has sure come in handy," I said as Officer Jenny arrived to take over.
Before we left, I took a piece of Pokeblock from the stand. I'm a little suspicion about this, I'll check it out later.
We soon arrived at the dorm and Dawn decided to let out Piplup. When she did, he looked so skinny, pale, and plain out ill.
"Piplup, what's wrong?!" Dawn cried.
"Max, can you get your laptop and a microscope," I said worriedly.
"Sure thing May," he said quickly and came back with both.
"Max, can you ask for the antidote recipe from last time from Nurse Joy?" I asked.
"I'm on it May," he said as he started to type super-fast.
"Dawn, you should take Piplup to the Pokemon Center," Johanna said concerned.
Dawn nodded, she and Paul were about to leave when I stopped them, "Guys I don't think you should go," I said cautiously.
"May, I have to. Who else is gonna care for Piplup?" she asked.
"I have a bad hunch about all of this, a very bad hunch. I just pray I'm wrong, please wait a few minutes," I begged.
Dawn finally relented causing me to sigh in relief, "In the meantime, put a cold clothe on Piplup's head to help bring his fever down," I said as I went to grab my laptop.
Soon I was starting a video cam session to connect with Brock at the school Pokemon Center. His picture soon appeared and he looked exhausted.
"Brock are you okay?" I asked.
"Sorry May but you called at a bad time, students have been pouring in here with their pokemon. The pokemon are extremely ill and I've tried all my medicine, nothing is working," he said tiredly causing me to worry more.
"Hang on, let me connect Nurse Joy at the Lilycove Pokemon Center," I said as I saw a screen of her pop up next to Brock's, she looked worried and tired as well.
"Nurse Joy, are you having an overflow of pokemon," I asked.
"Yes and it keeps getting worse, I've tried everything and nothing is helping. We can't find the source at all," she said tiredly.
"Guys, I think I know what the problem is and you're not gonna like it. Team Magma has brought a bad virus and they put it in their Pokeblock which they sold to everyone starting yesterday," I explained.
"How do you know that?" Brock asked.
"Around when I was twelve, Team Magma struck Petalburg City and tried to start an epidemic there but it didn't get very far. We were able to cure it after we found the right medicine but two pokemon died," I said sadly.
There was a few seconds of silence, "What's your death count?" I asked.
Brock looked sad, "We've lost ten so far," he reported.
Nurse looked terrible, "We've lost twenty," she said.
After they said their numbers, everyone in the room was shocked at the number of deaths that already happened.
"Nurse Joy and Brock, could you convene all the pokemon in one place? I think it'll help by caring for everyone in one place because more are going to show up. While you do that, I'll try to figure out what the antidote is, I'll keep in touch," I said as I hung up on the calls.
"May, is it that bad?" Leaf asked scared.
I had a very serious look, "This is a matter of life and death. We lost at least two pokemon before Nurse Joy and others found the cure. We have already lost thirty and more counting. Since Team Magma started another epidemic on a larger scale, this is a nightmare because and we might not have antidote," I said sternly as I started another call.
"Hi May, what can I do for you?" Wallace asked.
I had a tired, seriously look on my face, "Wallace, can you bring the other champions along with Steven into this please, this is extremely important."
"Sure thing May," he said and soon everyone's pictures showed up.
"What did you want to tell us?" Wallace asked.
"I want to declare a state of emergency for Hoenn with a watch of caution to all others," I said.
"That is serious request May, why do you want to declare a state of emergency?" Cynthia asked.
"Steven, you remember the small epidemic in Petalburg City when you were champion four years ago?" I asked.
"Yes, it sure spread panic all over. At least we found the cure before there were many deaths," he said.
"Team Magma has spread another virus by selling Pokeblock since yesterday. I stopped them earlier, but the virus is bad. I've talked to Brock at the Lilycove High Pokemon Center along with Nurse Joy at the Lilycove Pokemon Center. They are already overflowing with a total death count of thirty and we don't have an antidote," I reported before continuing. "I'll let you handle all the public relations and such in trying to contain panic. In the meantime, I'll try to figure out an antidote with Max. I'll keep you posted."
"Please do May," Wallace said before I left the call.
I then stared at everyone, "Did any of you feed that Pokeblock to your pokemon?" I asked.
"We did because we walked by the booth on our walk back last night from meeting up with our families and it wasn't that expensive," Leaf said.
"I only fed it to Kirlia before I came back to the dorm," Max said.
"The rest of us didn't, we didn't know about it," Jennifer said.
I sighed in relief, "That's good your pokemon are safe. If I'm right, this disease is not contagious so it can't spread except by eating the bad Pokeblock.".
"Max, did you get the recipe from Nurse Joy?" I asked.
"Got it right here," he said as he brought his laptop over to the kitchen so I could start following it.
"Thank goodness I bought a bunch of herbal weeds earlier this morning," I said as I started to crush and blend herbs and berries together.
After a few minutes, the antidote was done and I gave Piplup a little bit to drink. After a few minutes, he remained the same. Something's not right, his fever should have broken immediately, but it's rising.
"May, what's wrong?" Dawn asked worried.
I had a sad look to my face, "The antidote didn't work, his fever would have broken by now if it did," I said while standing up and went to look out the window.
"So what does this mean?" Dawn asked looking as if she was about to cry.
I turned around to face her with a grim look as someone outside screamed in sadness of losing their pokemon, "We have nothing to stop this."